A Funny Thing Happened In Photoshop - Editing Photos - San Gabriel Mission & Ventura 10/28/13

I've been learning more about editing photos in Photoshop Elements 11 (the version I have) lately.  I didn't really know if I was making my photos better, per se, but I did learn how to do some fun effects, use different filters, and generally work more in expert mode.  

Well, now I kind of have a way to see if what I'm doing really makes for a better photo.  

I had some photos from October 2013 which have probably the best sunset photos I've ever taken and, to be honest, some of the best I've ever seen.  I was amazed at what God created and at what was coming across on my camera viewer. 

Then I lost them. 

The photo where they should have been?  Was empty.  I had long since deleted the photos from my camera.  I had no idea what I had done with them.  I vaguely remembered editing (or not editing, in the case of the sunset photos) them, but who knows where I saved them.

As previously mentioned, I've been trying to clean up and organize my photos.  Lo and behold, I found them in some obscurely named folder that had absolutely nothing to do anything.  haha  But they weren't edited - they were just raw *scratches head*.

So a couple days ago, I edited and relocated them so I could do another "Flashback" post.  Today, going through more folders, I found the ones I had edited previously!  Who knows what the hell I was doing.  lol

So I'm going to post them here...in groups for comparison.  Some of them were not edited originally or included in the folder where I found them. The Grill Em All photos are all from the recent edit.    

First Stop:  Grill Em All burger restaurant - Alhambra, CA

I may or may not have previously mentioned that I love food trucks.  If you do too, this name might be familiar to you...especially if you watched the first season of The Food Network's Great Food Truck Race.  Grill Em All was the winning truck and used their $50k winnings to open this restaurant.  

To be honest, I don't remember the names of what we ate; I think the first photo is The Behemoth. The second picture doesn't resemble anything on the menu really.   

But I do remember that it was pretty damn good.  Especially the truffle fries.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars (I really should do a belated Yelp review, but they are doing well in that area). 

And this was dessert.  I don't think they have this one anymore.  It doesn't fit the one dessert on their website.

It's located in a nice little area.  I guess you might call it a strip mall, but it's a bit higher end with a lovely courtyard. 

The next day, I was set to drive back to Sacramento.  But first, I decided to stop at the San Gabriel Mission.  Let the double edits begin.

Obviously that's a much higher contrast on the 2nd photo.  Not sure it's better...I like them both. :/

Definitely love the 2nd edit on this one.  I learned how to adjust the lighting to bring out the rings in the sun rays.  I think that looks cool. 

I see pros and cons for each photo.

Same with that one.  I definitely am much better at the contrast and lighting in the second edit.  But I did a much better job with the blurring/depth of field effects. I think I like the first one a bit better.

This pic of the cactus garden and mission walls was not part of my first set of edits.  The original was really dark and I didn't trust/know as much about lightening shadows.  I like this photo.

First edit, I used the tilt shift feature.  2nd, I used the lomo effect.  I think I like the one with tilt shift better.  But I wish it was more easily controlled.  It's very restrictive. 

Here are a couple more that I apparently couldn't get to work in my first edit attempt. 

Now Leaving the San Gabriel Mission.  Next stop:  Unknown beach near Ventura

Love this gorgeous bridge.  

I like the cropping of the first because you can see the sand, but the color in the 2nd is better.  

And now, for our last stop, we move further up the coast to another unknown beach where I saw that amazing sunset. 

This is the unedited original.  Probably resized, but that's it. 

For the second edit, I changed the lighting (but not the color...the darkening of the colors was achieved solely through lighting) because I wanted to have more definition around the sun, and especially bring the sunbeams out. 

I didn't have this photo in my original edits.  Probably because it's very similar to the first.  

Okay, is it just me?  The shape of the clouds around the sun TOTALLY look like the bat signal, a bat, or even a phoenix!  
Just me?  Okay then...  

I'll probably edit this with more observations after I view the post on my large screens at work. 

EDIT:  After viewing the photos on a larger screen, I can see the value of editing the light for a more dramatic photo.  I think both edits were pretty good, but I do seem to prefer photos with more definition and color.  

Personal preference I suppose.  :-)

xoxo

Ruminations on Santa Barbara Ruination - Photos from Before the Oil Spill 5/2/15

Santa Barbara.

The name of that California coastal town usually brings visions of blue Pacific ocean, green palm trees, the Mission, and Oprah.  Right now, the thoughts and visuals, coming from the beach area anyway, are not so pleasing.

I don't have a lot of experience in Santa Barbara except for several brief drive-throughs over the years. But it just so happened that I made a brief stop in Santa Barbara two weeks prior to the burst oil pipeline that has done so much damage to the ocean and it's inhabitants.

Because I was just there and spent several peaceful hours at a small beach just south, I have found myself paying particular attention to the news from the oil spill.  I feel such sadness about the life lost and habitats ruined.  I wish we were not so oil dependent...I wish there was some other way.

One thing that is frequently on my mind is Sea World.  Say what you will about the dolphins and orcas that are kept in too small pens and made to perform under stressful positions...I agree with that while disagreeing with the position that they should be "free".  There is just no way they can be returned to the ocean at this point.

I wish they could build bigger and more habitat-correct pens for them to live in.  And I definitely agree that there shouldn't be any more orcas or dolphins captured and imprisoned ANYWHERE!  I am definitely looking at you Taiji!!

But Sea World does do conservation work and has treated 28 mammals injured by the spill.  Five of those have died.  In total, 22 oil-stricken birds and 14 mammals have died due to this disaster.

Below are the photos I took on a small, rocky, and beautiful beach near Mussel Shoals south of Santa Barbara on May 2nd.  I don't know how affected this beach was, but given it's location, I'm sure there was some damage.

The walk from the parking area to the beach was filled with gorgeous flowers.

 A little note about these photos...I was experimenting with using my 18-55 mm lens with a cheap macro extension.  I prefer as a general rule to use my 70-300 lens because you get such lovely bokeh and depth of field with it.  Not to mention the zoom factor.  But this trip kind of showed me that I need to learn more and use my smaller lens more.  I'll try to note which photos were taken with which lens. If I don't, it means I didn't note and and can't remember.  :-)

This branch with gorgeous pink leaf-like flowers was taken using the regular 18-55 mm lens.

This was taken with the macro extended about halfway.

Regular lens.

There was a very touching memorial to a surfer on the path. (macro)

Regular lens

Macro extension

How is this even possible??  I think this is the macro extension.  

Gorgeous complete shell.  I do not think that pink/red stuff is an organic material. 

The shells were so colorful! Loved this little blue and orange one.  Macro extension...pretty sure...

Loved, loved, loved the colorful sea grass with all it's fascinating debris.  

This shot of this crazy rock with shells in its many holes is with the macro extension. 

This one is with the regular lens.

I found another awesome rock with a hole burrowed all the way through.  You can tell by the shadow that this is with the macro extension.  One of the problems with it. 

Regular lens.  Notice the difference in the depth of field. 

This is one of the pictures that makes me really sad.  I watched this pelican hunt for a good, long, peaceful time.  It was so beautiful.  Now?  Who knows if it's wings are able to stretch...who knows if he can take flight or hung...who knows if he's even alive?

My pelican friend wasn't the only bird hanging around.  I love tiny, little finches. 

More sea grass with a mussel shell. 

He was working so hard...he needed a rest. 

Ironic.  Picture of the beautiful pelican with the intriguing looking Rincon Island in the background. 

Or, "Oil Island" as I like to call it. 

I love this photo.  Love the sea grass, as I've already stated.  For some weird reason, I love the plastic flower caught in it.  I love the slightly fisheye look from the macro lens extension.  Love that you can see the beach, ocean, and sky.  

One last shot of my pelican friend. 

Note:  Pelican and finch photos taken with my zoom lens. 

xoxo