New Photography Websites

I have two new web pages realated to my photography business that I would like to share. Please feel free to provide feedback.

First is a Business Page on Facebook where I will be posting specials for Fans and giving some previews of my current photography projects.


Second is a new Zenfolio web site that is still a work in progress. I will be using for clients to preview pictures as well as a place to house my online Portfolio. Hopefully, if I get enough business, I will eventually be able to provide my friends and fans an easy way to order any of my pictures. Right now you can order any print by emailing me or sending a message on Facebook.

Please bookmark these web pages:

http://artist.to/jmcbeephotography/

http://jmcbeephotos.zenfolio.com/

Thanks to all my friends and fellow photographers who have helped me get this far!

I love you all.

My post would not be complete without a picture, so here is some Gerber Daisies I am working on for a family member.

Brothers and Baseball

Last Friday was Zacary's first baseball game of the season. I had just sat back down in my chair when Jessica points towards the bench. The camera went immediately to my face and I started shooting. It's a moment I will now cherish forever.

Why do I love this picture?

As I do every Easter, I try to get a picture of my kids and sometimes family in front of the cross and dogwoods next to our church. This year I couldn't get them to be still, especially Joseph.
But to my surprise, one of the pictures that I took of them goofing around is now my favorite. Maybe because it captures something that you can't see.
Why do you think I am drawn to this picture?

Panoramic Images Made Easy

I just wanted to quickly share some Panoramic images that I put together from some pictures I took last summer. When I took these, I wasn't planning on putting them together because that can be a daunting task. PhotoShop has a tool for doing this and the one attempt I made, I didn't like.

Anyhow, a past co-worker got in touch with me yesterday and it so happens he is in to photography now as well. He had some awesome panoramic from a trip he took to Arizona so I had to ask how he did them.

He pointed me to a free tool from Microsoft called ICE. It is totally easy; no brainer; feed it pictures and it does the rest. I had to share these images I/it created.

For those of you who have gone through the pain-staking process of "stitching" pictures, you will be amazed at what this tool can do. Usually to take panoramic pictures, you want to make sure that your camera is in the same horizontal position with an overlap of each shot. Well, I followed no rules for creating a panoramic when I took these --pretty much they were random shots. I'll let you be the judge of the results!

All of these were taken June 30, 2008 from overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. you can click on the photo to go to my FLICKR page with a better view of the image.

This is my favorite view. In the distance is the Smoky Mountains. Here's the sign that shows the points of interests.





As the sign says, this is Pounding Mill Overlook, ELEV 4700. In the distance, about the middle is Stone Mountain (I think that's what it is called). Not to be confused with Stone Mountain GA.


The sign here tells about the Qualla Indian Reservation. Don't remember exactly where this is. I really need to get a GPS for my camera...someone drop a hint to my hubby for my birthday.

Family Picture: Plays with PhotoShop

Well since Mr. Williams gave me photo credit on his blog, I will do the same for him now.



Because I am the behind the camera, there are not many pictures of my family which includes me or even all of us. Bill got this shot of us after the birthday party a few Sunday's ago.


He sent me the picture and I was so pleased that everyone was looking happy. With his permission, I worked some PhotoShop magic and came up with a few variations.
The first one is basic enhancements on color, contrasts and sharpening, etc.
The others are a few plays with some free actions from Pioneer Woman. I love her PS Actions.





PW Heritage Action



PW Seventies Action

Mrs. Lula Celebrates 98 Years!

Spring is here and I haven't been posting much. Seems I haven't had much time to get on the computer and write. I think it has something to do with I moved my computer from the family room to the Toy room/Office. In some ways this is good, but I can't do two things at once from my office like watch TV and be on the computer. :

Thought I would share a few things I have been up to photography-wise. Our family attended a friend's 98th birthday party a few weekends ago and I had a chance to photograph 5 generations!

Mr. Bill Williams (retired Gaston Gazette editor and writer of Bill's World) featured my picture on his BLOG! Thanks Bill. I will be sure to pay you later ;)

Mrs. Lula Bolick is seated in the "now famous" picture below. She is 98 years young. When we first met her about 12 years ago, she was still playing golf once a week. Additionally, she is also my daughter's prayer partner at our church. I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather have praying for and with my daughter for the last 4 years. She is a precious person and I am so happy that we have the privilege of knowing her.



Mrs. Lula seated. L-R daughter, Libby, granddaughter Carol, great granddaughter Mary and great-great grandson Aiden

Here's a close up on that precious baby boy, Aiden.

(I forgot to mention that I used Catherine Keene's Chocloate Action on this one).

Hopefully, I will do better now that I am getting spring fever and will try to post more this week.

A New Year

Well I have been quite hermit during these past few weeks. Guess it's the after Christmas blah's. Haven't done a lot of fun photography. I have taken a few of Jessica's basketball games and of course the family gathering pictures during Christmas.
I got a few new "toys" related to photography. My family got me a new camera bag and my DH got me a BAMBOO pad for my computer. It's amazing how much easier it is to edit pictures espcially since there's a bit of a long lost artist hiding inside.