Link to My P365 Template

http://www.4shared.com/file/212301560/cf9fe987/Elegant_P365_Template_MLK.html

Unzip the file and save it someplace handy.

Notes:

- Font is Georgia

- Drop shadow on the large white layer.

- The light orange blocks are all clipping masks. Resize to suit your photos. Select a block and drag your photo over it. In the layers palette, hover your mouse over the line between photo and block and alt-click to clip.

- Insert your bg paper between the large white block and the background to form the border.

That's all there is to it! If you have questions, please leave them in the comments.

Photos from Stebbin's Gulch, Jan. 16, 2010

Images from Ian Adams' Ice Photography Workshop at Stebbin's Gulch in the Holden Arboretum. With the wet snow and camera gear, it was a pretty challenging hike. Very worthwhile though, the place is spectacularly beautiful. The most fun part? Wading in the icy cold Pierson's Creek - i felt like a little kid, splashing in puddles. The Wellies and thermal socks kept my toes toasty and dry.

Ian suggested cropping this one much tighter, so I did. It does look better.

Spent a lot of time chimping and wiping the fog from my specs. Keeping the histogram centered required constant adjustment of the exposure compensation because of the strong lights and darks.

Without a person in the shot, it's hard to get a sense of how big these icicles are. Some are three and four stories tall. That's a full size tree, toppled into the gorge.

The melt was on after a few above-freezing days. That little geyser in the lower center was about a foot tall when we walked downstream. By the time we came back a couple of hours later, it had more than doubled in height.

January 21 CVPS Members Show Critique

Judges for the show were Jim Roetzel, who is the photograohy instructor at Hudson High, and Ian Adams, noted landscape photographer. Both have collaborated on photography books and Ian has written quite a number on his own.

Notes:
Peonies was hammered - neither liked the composition and Jim found the green leaf intrusive. One of them suggested using a reflector to bring more light into the center of the flower.

The toad photo was the crowd favorite. Jim suggested cropping it so more of the reflection was visible.

They both liked the Longwood water lilies. Ian suggested trying a polarizing filter to reduce specular refection from the leaves and to soften the plants' reflections in the water. He also suggested allowing a little more breathing room for the lilies on the right side of the photo.

I was worried about sharpness, but that was not a problem with these photos.

Due to time constraints, we we only able to show three photos, so I chose to skip the bridge photo.

I was a little bit nervous going into this, but it turned out to be a worthwhile experience - not just the critique of my work, but also of that of other photographers. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Submissions for the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society Members' Show

My "One Little Word" for 2010 is Embrace Fear. So, despite the drumbeat in my head - you'renotgoodenoughyou'renotgoodenough - I am submitting these photos to CVPS tonight for a critique in front of sixty people, fifty of whom I do not know. Wish me luck!

Ice Photography at Holden Arboretum

North Chagrin Reservation

Took at walk at Buttermilk Falls and around the pond with Lisa. There are two nature centers here. One has a number of terrariums with frogs, snakes, and turtles. The other has owls who can't be released due to injuries. 01/10/10

Sledding at Kendall Park

Kendall is part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Kendall has a Winter Sports center which rents snowshoes and cross country skis. Despite the cold - it didn't break 20 - lots of people were out enjoying a beautiful day. 01/09/10.

Reflections on P365 - Final Layout of the Project

Final Week LO for P365

January 2, 2009: Pufferbelly

Happy New Year's!

Trying out my new flash. Judging by the size of the yawn, Sootie is not impressed.

Today was a wonderful day. My family made it here, despite less than perfect weather. We had a nice lunch and plenty of family chat. And we decided the celebrate Sheila's 50th birthday and Gary's retirement with a dinner at the end of January. And, we're meeting Sheila, Greg, and Kenzie for dinner tomorrow night, then going to see Ryan play hockey. Chuck's snoozing on the couch right now and I'm messing around with my blog. All in all, a very satisfying start to a new decade.

Last Photo for P365 2009

Last Photo for P365 2009 , originally uploaded by sweetpeony.

P365

 What I Learned
o I understand the D60 a lot better
o Using the white balance more effectively
o 3 focus points are not enough
o Slowly getting a grip on exposure compensation
o Composition – it’s better if you get it in the camera, but usually salvageable if not.
o Creative processing can salvage crappy shots - and it’s fun!
o Faster and more effective processing

 Pros
o Understanding the D60
o Nice to have a record of 2009
o Photographed things I wouldn’t normally, some successful, some not
o Speeded up processing
o Discipline of shooting everyday
o Discipline of getting my shots up on the blog and onto Flickr
o The constant learning process
o Meeting fellow photographers IRL and on the Web

 Cons
o I still don’t feel like I’m getting the “art” of photography
o Time needed to shoot, process, blog and annotate
o Seriously cut down on my non-P365 scrapping time

 Plans for 2010
o Shoot every day as much as possible
o Steady progress on my Kent project
o Finish the D60 Magic Lantern dvds
o Find and participate in one or two workshops
o Participate in as many of the CVPS Photowalks and critiques as possible
o Getting shots I’m proud to post in appropriate Flickr groups
o Get closer to the sublime I recognize in the works of others, and every once in a while, in my own