Day 62: Toddler brain freeze

I see my pictures on 7 different monitors.  I have two monitors for my home desktop and two for my work desktop.  My husband also has two monitors for his home desktop.  Although rare, I also use the laptop and see my pictures there.  I’m so tired of seeing how different the photos are looking on different monitors and I can’t imagine what they look like when family prints the photos. 

Now that I edit more often I decided to buy software to calibrate my monitor.  I’m trying to fix all my settings from upgrading to Windows 7.  Did you know there’s a built-in monitor calibration in Windows 7?  It’s not all that sophisticated, but it’s better than the cool tones my monitor usually shows me.

Now I’m putting it to the test.  I already know how the photos look on my one un-calibrated monitor, but I want to know from others how my photos look today.  Any different than normal?  Good, bad?  (I know Charlotte’s hair has a red cast to it…it’s from the overhead light and I didn’t try to fix it with editing.)

Eating sherbet for dessert since they ate so well at dinner. 

Eating said sherbet a little too fast, resulting in a brain freeze.  This is what a toddler brain freeze looks like in case you were wondering.

All done!  I love her expression here.  (She has wild hair today because she wasn’t in the mood to let daddy style it.)

Cooper also enjoyed some sherbet.  He’s wondering if you want a bite too.

Cooper has suddenly likes salad.  He and I usually fight over who gets to eat more of the salad and somehow he ended up with my salad bowl tonight.  It’s so funny because he used to spit out lettuce like we were feeding him dirt only 2 months ago.

Day 61: Second dinner

After eating dinner, Cooper decided he was still hungry.  Here he is eating hot dog buns and bananas.  They boy can eat!

He tries desperately to use the remote to control the tv.  He knows if he points it in that direction it will do something.  He holds it above his head because that’s what my husband has to do to make it work if they are standing in the way.  (I turned it black and white because color didn’t add anything to the photo.)

Charlotte is really starting to look like a little girl these days instead of a toddler.  I love her profile, messy hair and all.  She is just so beautiful.

Being silly with mommy.

Edit Challenge

Practicing my editing skills again…this time by taking apart some of the actions.

Original

I first brightened and added some contrast using curves (pulling up in the middle, and down slight on the bottom left).  Then I sharpened with a high pass filter and added a vignette with Pioneer Woman’s quick edge burn.  Then I added some cream and brown from Coffeeshop Creamy Chocolate B&W.  Then I added more warmth with Pioneer Woman’s warmth action (set with a lower opacity).  Then I ran Coffeeshop little perk at 8% opacity.   

After all that, I ran my favorite action, heartland (modifying the edges just a bit).

Day 60: 6 month growth photo

I didn’t even try to take a good photo tonight.  Charlotte isn’t feeling well and Cooper was feisty.  Charlotte came home on August 1, 2008 and since then I’ve taken a photo of the two of them on the same chair every 6 months.  I’m showing the past photos to compare.

March 2010.  Taken with speedlight, no natural light, and Nikon D90.  I probably should have upped my f/stop so that Charlotte wasn’t out of focus, but I assumed they would both sit back like they usually do and it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Aug 2009.  Taken with onboard flash, natural light, and my Pentax K2000 DSLR.

March 2009.  Taken with direct flash (and a yellow side table lamp) and my Sony point and shoot

August 2008.  Taken with direct flash and my Sony point and shoot (with a little natural light).  If you can believe it there really was a time when Charlotte was the bigger than Cooper!