This week I’ve been trying out Topaz Adjust from Topaz Labs, using the plugin to edit some of the photos that I took during our little outing to the beach last week.

There are a huge number of presets and fully adjustable options within this powerful plugin, I feel like it’s going to take me quite some time to try absolutely everything. There are HDR style processing presets, Film style cross-processing preset and so many more in between. Each one can be tweaked however you might like with both global and local adjustments, you can go for a bright bold effect or use it for a more subtle edit. For my beach photos, with bright light and harsh shadows, I felt like some of the HDR style presets would be great.

With one click, Topaz Adjust brought out some amazing bold contrast and beautiful depth to these beach scenes. It brought back some of the detail that I’d lost in both shadows and highlights on the bright day that the photos were taken, with no need to mess around with taking extra photos at different exposures and layering them to get it right. With the preview panel I can see the presets as I apply them, and click on the image to see what my image looked like before to compare as I continue with my adjustments and tweak the various options.

I ran the plugin on the images above, editing the SOOC from start to finish with the plugin and no other photoshop edits, adjusting each preset within the plugin itself for the effect that I wanted. With the photos below I tried out using Topaz Adjust as an addition to my regular workflow. I ran the plugin on a duplicate image layer in Photoshop and did a little of my normal editing with different layers as well.

I love how beautiful these skies all look after using the plugin, the clouds are brighter and more defined and the blues are so rich. I’m looking forward to trying out some of the other presets in the plugin and really getting used to using all of the different options, I also can’t wait to try using it on different types of photography as well, I think some nature shots would look great!

The Topaz Adjust Plugin works with Photoshop, PSE, Lightroom, Aperture, iPhoto and more. For more information visit the Topaz Labs website, where you can read more about Topaz Adjust and their other plugins, as well as look at some more before and after photo examples, view tutorials and check the system specifications.

Don’t forget to link up your Favourite Spring Photos to the Leap into Spring! Finale, where you could be in with a chance to win one of 5 copies of Topaz Adjust, or one of our other wonderful prizes!

_{Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary copy of Topaz Adjust (as a part of the Topaz Labs Plugin Bundle) to try out, but was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.}

Friday was absolutely gorgeous here in Chicago, so after a phone call from a friend we decided to ditch our chores for the days and make an impromptu trip to the Lake to enjoy the sand and sunshine (and also to enjoy ice cream and some Marilyn Monroe films upon our return).

Mikey is fascinated with birds at the moment, in this case the seagulls that lined the lake shore. He watched them for a while, listening to their calls and practicing himself until he could make the same sound. Then he got up and ran towards them, watching as they flew up and along the beach to settle elsewhere.

If you’ve yet to read it, I wrote a guest post for Sarah Halstead’s Tutorial Tuesday. Some tips on shooting in direct sunlight (a problem that I’m sure most of us are going to come across at one point or another in the rapidly approaching summer!) and a few more of my photos from our little beach outing.

And also, don’t forget that the Leap into Spring! Finale is still open for entries. Simply link up your favourite photos that you’ve taken this Spring to be in with a chance to win one of our awesome prizes!

A Not-So-Wordless Wednesday post linked with:

A lot of good and regular art gets made because of who you talk to. No one is immune to human contact and art is not made in a vacuum.

- R. B. Kitaj

I thoroughly enjoy co-hosting these challenges, seeing all of the different ways each prompt can be interpreted by each of us and of course all of the beautiful results. All of us learning to grow, together, as a community. I want to say the biggest thank you to my amazing co-hosts, Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud and Alicia of Project Alicia, for all of their hard work and for just generally being awesome. We’ve got some fun things planned for the summer too, don’t forget to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing!

Alicia, Kristi and I shared a few tutorials and tips during the challenge, in case you might have missed any of them and would still like to take a look I’ve collected them here.

• Shooting During the Golden Hour – Project Alicia
• Composition – Live and Love Out Loud
• Perspective and Perception – Bumbles & Light
• Capturing Movement – Bumbles & Light
• White Balance – Live and Love Out loud

Our finale giveaway just wouldn’t be possible without a little bit of help from our wonderful friends.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their generous prize donations and support:

And thank you to the following blog sponsors and business owners for their monetary contributions:

Twenty lucky winners will have a chance to win one of these awesome prizes:

Five (5) winners will win an annual subscription of ThisLife’s Adventure Box package, valued at $80 each.

Five (5) winners will win Topaz Labs fabulous Topaz Adjust plugin, valued at $50 each.

One (1) winner will win a custom 26-page 8″ in spine photo book from AdoramaPix, valued at $40.

One (1) winner will win a lovely card bundle template of their choice from Life-n-Reflection, valued between $24-30.

One (1) winner will win a 11 x 14 “pretty print” of their choice from Veronica Armstrong Photography, $25 value.

One (1) winner will win a beautiful camera strap of their choice from Forshee Designs, valued between $19-27.

One (1) winner will win a gorgeous Daisy & Elm camera charm bracelet, valued at $30.

One (1) winner will win a $50 gift certificate to Photojojo.

Three (3) winners will win a $25 gift certificate to Photojojo.

One (1) winner will win the “Beyond Snapshots: How to Take That Fancy DSLR Camera Off ‘Auto’ and Photograph Like a Pro” book, valued at $16.

Rules: The linky will be open from Friday, May 11th 9am CST – Friday, May 18th 11:59pm CST. Submit your favorite spring photos to be entered into the drawing. Link directly to your blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog’s homepage or Flickr photostream. Link back to the Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge in your post. One entry per household, please. All are welcome regardless of experience, time commitment and whether or not you’re experiencing Spring at the moment. All winners will be chosen at random, prizes will be matched as best possible, no exchanges. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 21st.

We played outside on Tuesday morning, a brief spell of sunshine making a lovely difference from all of the thunder and rain we had over the weekend that kept us mostly indoors. Mikey has become much better at kicking the ball since we last played, I think his dance classes must have their part to play in that development, he has been just much more coordinated in general.

I’ve been busy over the weekend too, this week I’ve got a couple of posts about iphone photography for you. If you want to check them out I’ve written about some of my favourite photo apps and also some quick tips on iphone photography and photo filters.

Another reminder, it’s not too late to enter your photos for the prompt Green/Grass in the Leap into Spring! Photo Challenge. Don’t forget to stop by on Friday May 11th for the Leap into Spring! Finale, it’s going to be fantastic! All you have to do is link up to your favourite photos that you’ve taken this Spring to be entered to win some amazing prizes!

A Not-So-Wordless Wednesday post linked with:

The best camera is the one that’s with you.

Chase Jarvis

I also use my cellphone camera to take photos in places where I’m not allowed to bring my DSLR, such as my son’s dance classes. So I can still take a few photos to send to his grandparents.

I can play around with different effects and filters too, something that I don’t usually do when processing photos from my DSLR. It is fun all the same, because I feel almost as though I don’t have to take cellphone photos as seriously as I do my DSLR, I can play around and have fun with it.

If you missed my previous post, iPhoneography: Favourite Photo Apps, you might want to start reading there.

I love following the instagram feeds of talented photographers (@pennydelossantos is a personal favourite) to see what remarkable photos they come up with on their cellphones. From these instagram feeds though, you can see that there are still certain principles that separate a simple cellphone snapshot from something a little more artistic. Composition and lighting are still hugely important in defining a good photograph, whether it’s a photograph taken with a high end DSLR or a simple cellphone camera.

Light

I would have never taken the above photo with my DSLR. I actually had it with me, but I didn’t have the right lens. Plus it was packed away in my bag and my husband or Mikey may well have noticed as I was pulling it out… which would have ruined the shot. But here they are, sitting on the train as we headed downtown on a Friday afternoon. My favourite photo that I’ve ever taken of them together, on a simple cellphone camera. That perfect light streaming in the train window, outlining their faces but casting shadow onto everything around them.

Light is a hugely important aspect of all kinds of photography, so learning to see light and manipulate it… being aware of how it plays on different features, will benefit all of your photos.

Composition

Composition can be a little different on cellphone photos, especially if you’re posting to instagram which uses a square format. A square has a natural sense of balance, with square format, the viewer’s eye moves differently around the image than with a rectangular format. The eye moves around the image in a circle instead of from side to side, opening up different opportunities for creative composition.

We are often told not to center our subjects when shooting in a rectangular format, but the balance of a square means that we can in fact place the subject in the center of the frame. This means that you can (and should) throw out the rule of thirds or the golden ratio, they no longer apply when shooting in a square format.

Filters & Processing

When posting to instagram, I started out just using the filters that came with the app or no filter at all. As I discovered various different photo apps I started trying out different combinations, often layering filters on top of one another for varying effects.

Something that I really love to do is to convert a photo to black and white using one of the apps detailed in my previous post, importing the black and white photo and using one of the instagram filters on top of that to add a slight colour hue, vignette or light texture to it. Don’t let yourself be limited to what is offered by a single photo app, play around and try out different ideas using a whole variety of different filters from other apps.

Don’t forget to read the previous post, iPhoneography: Favourite Photo Apps

Do you have any favourite processing or filter combinations? Do you consider cell phone photos to be art in the same way as photographs taken with a DSLR?

Before owning a cellphone, I enjoyed it when people would post their own cellphone photos to facebook or twitter. Little unstaged glimpses into real life, without the bother of a big camera or extensive computer based editing. As someone who would often carry my big camera around with me just in case, the idea really appealed to me.

I’ve been playing around with various photo apps for some times now, as well as posting to instagram, and I’ve found a few that I really enjoy that I thought I’d share with you. These are all available on the iPhone, but I’m not sure about the availability for Android users.

Favourite Photo Apps

Camera+

($0.99 in the app store)
This one is my main go-to camera app that I use instead of the native iPhone Camera app. It has a straightforward interface and some great editing options. I use this app to take my iphone photos and use the extensive scene options to enhance them.

VSCO CAM

($0.99 in the app store)
I only very recently got the VSCO CAM app, but I already love the minimal interface and beautiful filter options. I import the photos taken with Camera+ into this app, I use it mostly for photos I’d like to convert to black and white and love that I can edit the different filters to my own liking.

Instagram

(free in the app store)
Before I had an iPhone I already knew I’d love instagram. Filters aside, I really enjoy the social aspect of photo sharing in this way. I import my photos to instagram either straight from Camera+ or from VSCO CAM depending on what kind of filters I want to use for them. (You can follow me on instagram @satakieli)

Whereas I’m usually the sort of person who likes nice clean processing in DSLR photos, when using my cellphone I like to play around and see what I can come up with! I really like to use aspects and tools in all three of these to achieve something a little different, you can get some great effects with combinations of filters from different apps.

Don’t forget to read the next post, iPhoneography: Photo & Filter Tips.

What are your favourite photography apps on the iPhone or Android? Do you end up taking more photos with your cellphone as opposed to your camera?

Of course this week it has been raining almost every day, the grass has been growing and everything green is just that much more beautiful for it. Mikey has been stomping along sidewalks in his rain boots, jumping in and out of puddles or stopping to examine leaves, sticks and any little creatures we find along the way.

And speaking of greenery, we’ve also been stocking up on some lovely fresh broccoli while it is in season! I posted a recipe earlier in the week for Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Lemon and Parmesan. It’s become one of our favourite ways to eat broccoli, at least until the weather starts to get too warm to use the oven, and it’s so quick and easy to make (not to mention delicious).

Don’t forget to stop by Kristi’s blog, Live and Love Out Loud, this week for some tips on using White Balance!

I’m teaming up with Alicia of Project Alicia and Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud to bring you the Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge – a 6-week photography challenge aimed at capturing the beauty of spring.

Just a few details:

Not experiencing spring in your part of the world? No problem. All are invited regardless of geographic location.

Two prompts to choose from each week! Share your favorite images inspired by one of our weekly prompts. Or both. It’s totally up to you.

The linky will remain open from 9am Friday – 9am Thursday CST. Leap Into Spring! blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog’s home page or Flickr photostream. Feel free to share your photos in our Leap Into Spring! Flickr Group as well.

We’ll be showcasing some of your lovely photos by pinning our favorite submissions to our Leap Into Spring! Pinterest Board each week.

We love Instagram just as much as you do! We’ll be on the lookout for your lovely spring photos, so be sure to use the #leapintospring hashtag.

Last, but not least, don’t forget to grab our lovely button!

Come back next week and share your favorite spring photos, anything goes, and link up for your chance to win some fabulous prizes! For a complete list of prompts, head on over to the Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge page.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their generous donations to the upcoming Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge Finale Giveaway:

We found a few books about dance, Mikey’s still really loving his dance classes so we’re building on that as much as we can. We also picked up a couple of new-to-us storybooks and managed to only just avoid the downpour of rain on our way home. After the general lack of rain over the month of April, we know that it’s welcome, but it also has been stopping us from spending much time outside. Now we have some lovely library books to read so we can spend our afternoons sitting inside, watching the rain splash against the windows as we read.

There’s still some time left to enter my Pinhole Press $50 Gift Card Giveaway, entries close at Midnight CST Wednesday! Check here for how to enter. I’ll be drawing a winner on Thursday morning.

Don’t forget that we move onto the next Leap into Spring! Photo Challenge Prompt Green/Grass on Friday May 4th. There’s still a little time to link up for the last prompt, Water/Rain, if you haven’t done so yet! You can take a look at the upcoming prompts and find out more information on the challenge here. We’re looking forward to seeing more of your photos, and if you haven’t taken part before, please just jump on in, all are welcome!

A Not-So-Wordless Wednesday post linked with:

The idea of roasting broccoli in the oven never really occurred to me, until I came across a recipe by Melissa Clark in the New York Times a couple of years ago. Her recipe involves roasting broccoli with shrimp, and is so delicious. Unfortunately shrimp is somewhat of a luxury for us these days, reserved for important dates and celebrations instead of having a place on the normal meal rotation. My husband and I love the combination so much though, I cooked it for us last Valentine’s Day and served it with lemon and rice.

So, instead of making this roasted broccoli and shrimp recipe, I had been thinking of slightly different ways to cook the broccoli in the oven by itself. Broccoli is in season in Illinois about now too, which means that we can stock up on it on sale at our lovely neighbourhood supermarket. I am so sold on roasting it, I actually really love it cooked this way and am well on my way to being a person who will willingly eat broccoli. It’s quick, easy, delicious and I have to make most of cooking it now before it starts to get too warm in the city to have the oven on.

I think we’ve settled on this particular recipe as a favourite, at least for when there’s no shrimp involved. I love the way that the florets of broccoli begin to caramelize in the oven and the way that all of the distinct flavours mix together so well.

If you’re wondering, I am going to start writing down the odd recipe here and there again. I stopped for a while after we left the military and moved from Germany to Chicago. Everything was up in the air for such a long time and I wasn’t sure if I would get back to writing about food. But food got the better of me in the end, and I do love to cook so it seems like a good mix.

Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Lemon & Parmesan

Around 1 1/2 lbs Broccoli Crowns, cut into bite sized florets.
Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Lemon wedges, to serve.

Preheat the oven to 450F. In a large bowl, add the broccoli florets, drizzle liberally with olive oil and toss to coat. Add the lemon zest and garlic, and toss again until well mixed. Spread the broccoli on a large baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and return to the oven until the Parmesan begins to bubble and the broccoli is tender and golden around the edges, about a further 10 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges (or squeeze a little of the lemon juice over just before serving).

I’ve updated my old recipe index too if you want to take a quick look. There are still a few older recipes on there, but I’m also making room for the newer ones!

Luckily my awesome, sweet (and maybe a little crazy) friend agreed to model for me again, even if that did mean waking up at a ridiculous hour to wade into Michigan Lake in a sundress, in Chicago, in March. We had some beautiful fog that morning though!

It turned out that getting these photos taken ahead of time was a good idea, because we really didn’t have all too much rain in Chicago this April.

Capturing Movement

I thought that a lot of us would have been taking photos involving movement for this prompt, be it raindrops falling, kids splashing in puddles, once-small creeks flowing with the fullness of spring rain, or like in these photos, the breaking of small waves against the shore. Water is always so full of life and movement, even the seemingly still surface of a pond is often teeming with wildlife just out of eyeshot. Frogs, fish, waterbirds and various insects making ripples that break the calm surface of the water.

I’ve also got some human movement in these photographs too, I made my friend run up and down the shore while I photographed her and also photographed her wading in and out of the lake (don’t worry, she doesn’t hate me too much for it!)

Freezing Movement

The shutter speed that you choose is a key component to capturing motion in your photograph. A slow shutter speed will blur a moving object, and a high shutter speed will result in a sharper focus on your moving subject. When you use a high shutter speed to freeze motion, you should still try to capture your subjects in such a way that conveys to the viewer that they are actually moving. A person mid-run, or the waves just at the moment they break to crash against the shore, freezing the whole scene captures the motion as it happens with minimal loss of detail.

In determining the shutter speed you will need to freeze motion, every situation is unique and comes with it’s own set of challenges. A good rule of thumb though, to avoid motion blur and to freeze your subject, is to not go under a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. Try it out and see if it works, depending on the speed your subject is moving, your distance from the subject and the lighting conditions you may have to take the shutter speed higher. To expose properly you may have to then adjust your aperture or ISO.

Using Motion Blur

Sometimes you can lower your shutter speed in order to use motion blur as an artistic element in your photographs. In the above photo, my shutter speed was fast enough to freeze my subject walking slowly towards me, but not quite fast enough to freeze the small wave breaking behind her. There’s only a little amount of blur on the wave, but more than enough to give a real feeling of movement to the water in the image. You can do this to a greater extent with faster moving objects, for example a person standing still on a train platform while a train is blurred, moving quickly behind them or a longer exposure on a fast moving river to blur the movement of the water.

Try switching your camera to Shutter Priority Mode and using it at different shutter speeds to see the effect that it has on movement in your photographs. You might want to use a tripod or place your camera on a solid surface for very long exposures.

I’m teaming up with Alicia of Project Alicia and Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud to bring you the Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge – a 6-week photography challenge aimed at capturing the beauty of spring.

Just a few details:

Not experiencing spring in your part of the world? No problem. All are invited regardless of geographic location.

Two prompts to choose from each week! Share your favorite images inspired by one of our weekly prompts. Or both. It’s totally up to you.

The linky will remain open from 9am Friday – 9am Thursday CST. Leap Into Spring! blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog’s home page or Flickr photostream. Feel free to share your photos in our Leap Into Spring! Flickr Group as well.

We’ll be showcasing some of your lovely photos by pinning our favorite submissions to our Leap Into Spring! Pinterest Board each week.

We love Instagram just as much as you do! We’ll be on the lookout for your lovely spring photos, so be sure to use the #leapintospring hashtag.

Last, but not least, don’t forget to grab our lovely button!

Next week’s prompt will be Green/Grass. For a complete list of upcoming prompts, head on over to the Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge page.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their generous donations to the upcoming Leap Into Spring! Photo Challenge Finale Giveaway: