3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

365project

Day 115/365: Mother Natures April Fools Joke, Not Funny

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Day 115: Really, it's spring already!

Really? Snow in spring?

I can’t tell you how upset I was when it was officially spring, March 25th to be exact, and it snowed! Really? I love snow in December, Christmas just isn’t the same without a blanket of snow. Even in January snow is tolerable, it’s winter so yes, snow should and needs to be in the picture to complete the four seasons.

But, after March 21, nope, nadda, not a snowflake should appear. Anyone around me heard my disgust. I mean really, the flowers are blooming. Give me rain, but not snow this time of year. You might have seen an First Flower of spring of the crocuses, before the snow.

Retitled this post when I saw what day it was going live. Seemed like a cruel joke of Mother Nature. Somewhere I heard from friends in Connecticut that it’s supposed to snow on April 1st. Hopefully it’s a weather forecasters April Fools joke.

Day 114/365: Making Piano Music

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Day 114: Church

During Lent and Advent Vespers on Wednesday nights, I am the piano accompanist. I love those nights, especially during Lent, sitting a few feet from Pastor, listening to the Passion expand each week until Easter.

I try to arrive at church early, about forty-five minutes so I can warm up and play some pre-service music. Lorie Line is my favorite and The Heritage Collection II and play it from cover to cover.

 

 

Day 113/365: Joe and the Jungle, The Band

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Rockin' the Philson Basement (SOOC)

Meet Joe and the Jungle as they gave a free concert in the Philsons’ basement. Beth lives across the street and her family’s philosophy should be  “Life is an adventure, explore and experience”. They have traveled to all over the United States, Europe, and have hosted multiple international exchange students. They are registered Couch Surfers and the Los Angeles California band, Joe and the Jungle, were their latest guests as their tour brought them to the Midwest.

The band has been compared to a cross between Guns n Roses, Cheap Trick and The Beatles with a splash of the Sex Pistols for flavor. If that doesn’t make you curious nothing will.  They are the best of both coasts starting in New York City and moving to the LA Strip and selling out venues on a regular basis.

Knickerbockers in Omaha canceled on them at the last minute so Joe and his band rocked away in the Philson basement in Elmwood Nebraska this week. Although the band drives a stereotypical van and couch surfs across the country, they have never stayed in a house with it’s own amps, woofers, drum set and extra bass. Papa Philson is a closet musician and has all the toys.

The band signs were hung, blue and red bulbs went into shop lights and the atmosphere was created. Didn’t matter that the acoustics were a tad off, the rock and roll beat was alive and a Joe and the Jungle rocked the Philson house. Those in Omaha missed out. Check out their music in the video below.

 

Day 112/365: Birthday Candles

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Day 112: Birthday Candles

I like birthdays and I LOVE chocolate cake. Here’s a quick picture of the chocolate cake I made for a friends 14th birthday and the ever lighting candles. They drove him crazy as he tried to blow them out. My kids hate them too.

Added benefit, this image is untouched by Photoshop other than resizing and sharpening.

Day 111/365: Portrait Professional Takes 10 Years Off

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Before & After (click on picture for larger image)

My first self portrait on my blog, only because I want to show the capabilities of  my new Portrait Professional program.  (Click on the image to see a larger view.) However, this program may encourage me to be in more pictures. I like the effect. This is virtually a photographers secret weapon.

The process is fast and easy. In less than five minutes I selected the borders of my eyes, eyebrows, nose, and shape of face. Then the program does a mild adjustment and gives you additional options to enhance even further with slide bars. I can sharpen my mouth, increase my upper or bottom lip width, whiten my teeth and even open my eyes a little more. But not so much that it’s distorted.

Ever hear how the camera adds five pounds? It can be taken off by lengthening the neck and narrowing the jaw and face. The key is to keep as much of the natural features of the face so the person is still recognizable. Otherwise you end up changing the persons identity too much, and creating a Beyonce controversy.

I think Portrait Professional can be used to a great advantage in senior pictures to cover up those temporary blemishes (i.e. acne) that might even disappear before the student gets the final photos returned. I think the image below shows this concept quite clearly. My daughters friend was much happier with the “after” image.

Before & After (click on image for larger view)