Who, Me?

Winners will also receive a prize from B&H Photo, the official

sponsor of Photoshop world, and where I purchased my first 

Digital SLR a year ago.

I was floored Saturday evening when I received the news from Photoshop World that 2 out of the 3 pieces I entered into the Guru Award contest, are finalists in the Photo Retouching Category! I really considered myself going out on a limb entering into this prestigious competition as a first time PSW attendee. After all, I am the photoshopper who tends to edit everything on 1 layer, who just picked up the concept of masks, who has no textbook knowledge of the software, and who had to google the other week what the difference is between "dpi and ppi." I consider myself an artistic rookie. I was even more surprised when I received a second email saying my other piece is also a finalist in the same category...I read it over and over, and then said out loud "So its, me, myself, and one other person competing?" Score! I had to send off  the images again in full res this time, where they will be displayed in the Photoshop World Gallery in Vegas. The awards show takes place during opening ceremony. I am to arrive 10 minutes early. My name will be on a list of finalists at the door, and I'm bumped to front row for easy access jusssssst in case I'm named winner. This is so Academy Award-ish, I can't even stand it! 

You can see the original shots here. Jet-setting to Vegas in a week!

Work Ready

EDITOR'S NOTE: I didn't feel so ready for work this morning when I got a flat tire 1 minute away from the school. There it was at the end of the road and I was stranded. I clocked in 2 and a half hours late this morning after tow truck and car insurance drama. I ran into the board meeting an hour late, flushed and stressed. Right now I'm getting by on a cool bottle of water, the fact that it's Friday, and my high hopes that I'll get Libby (my Jeep Liberty) back by photoshoot time at sundown. Cross your fingers for me, will ya?

Mix-it-Up Montage

I've been trying to lay out the curriculum for my 9th grade Advanced Photoshop elective. I found out I will be teaching 2 different groups once a week. They also are rotating electives by quarter. This boils down to me only seeing any given group an average of 7 times throughout a quarter. It's such a short time, that I have felt overwhelmed with what can be interesting, fun, and meaningful to them. I've been torn between mini projects or 1 cumulative project. Should they turn in a photo book at the end? Should they keep a photo blog for the quarter? I got lots of creative ideas from Worth 1000. It's super advanced editing, but all the more entertaining to explore. I also had Caryn Esplin's Custom Images flipbook, jam packed with tutorials...which is where I got the idea for this Mix-it-Up Montage:

Start with a background image: (Kennywood Park,  my favorite day on vacation!)

Add a middle layer image: (Pittsburgh Benedum Theater, my favorite night on vacation)

Add a texture layer of your choice:

Add a double border, play with opacities and masks, and voila! An antiqued montage of summer vacation highlights:

I played with a lot of different images to see what had good balance, but interesting composition. It was key to find a picture that filled the roller coaster's negative space. I also kept trying to just mix 2 things from Kennywood Park, but what better way to Mix-it-Up than with day and night shots? I love the marquee coming through the clouds. Can't wait to see how students interpret the project and what they come up with!

Work Ready

Guru Awards

I will be a first time attendee at Photoshop World Las Vegas in a couple short weeks! It is a world renowned conference and week of workshops for photographers and designers alike. I get to learn from the best in the field, on the Vegas strip...with my workplace covering all expenses! (I just got the final details on my weekly allowance, $90/day in f-o-o-d...)! The Guru Awards is a special contest for those attending PSW to recognize new talent, and skilled professionals in design, photography, retouching, and creativity. They have become the most prestigious and coveted awards in the international digital imaging industry.
...So I thought I'd give it a whirl. I can do a mean before and after, so I entered 2 pieces into Photo-Retouching:

Contestants could submit a maximum of 3 pieces. I entered my last into the Artistic category, reserved for "artistic or painterly images created using Photoshop." Illustration was a separate category. I did not draw any part of the piece, but it could pass for a painting. This is what retouching on steroids looks like...

I still see all those yellow flowers in my head when I close my eyes. Hours of cutting, erasing, and filling in weird spots, and I'm still critiquing it! Finalists will be announced before PSW, which begins September 5th. I love the spirit of competition and being wowed by others' pieces. No matter the results, it was fun to push myself and try to whip out all my best tricks!

Which of these would you enter if you could only select 1 piece?

Proactive

Flickr is the site I use to store my blog pieces and get the HTML code to lay out my posts here. I upgraded to Flickr Pro today. That means I can have as many sets (albums) as I want. It means I have limitless storage and space. I can download in hi-res and upload video in high-def. And TODAY I get to take you on a trip down memory lane and go back to albums I made months ago that I totally forgot about! Let's go in the vault and unveil some of my favorite shots I never got to share. We're going so far back in some of these you're going to see DoublClik as DoubleClick! Woah.






People of Garcia We went miles outside city limits with a church group to bring food, shoes, and clothing to a remote village of people that had nothing to call their own. Garcia is one of most poverty stricken municipalities in the state of Nuevo Leon.


Santiago is my friend Claudia's first born son. She recently had a little girl, Renata. This was only a year ago and was one of my first paid jobs in Monterrey. I was still "playing it safe." I would said yes to any kind of photoshoot and went to parks.


The Cottrell Family hired me to shoot their family at the end of last summer, while their older daughters were home from college. I guess I randomly rebranded my self as "DoublClik Fotografy" for the duration of one album. Classic amateur. I also had no clue about "Continuos shooting mode" as you can see in the pool jumping pictures. So much for freezing that moment in time for them...


Gahhh I love the Sand Shoot to this day! This is what I was the most excited about finding again. It was literally the first concept photoshoot with my Canon T1i, Summer 2010. I love the set up, I love the location, I love how much Av mode did for me. It is rare to consider first shots amongst your favorites taken to date because we progress with time. I scoff at work from 2 months ago because I believe I can do better today. But the Sand Shoot will always be special. Too bad I put DoubleClick in turquoise across every image and the originals are now on a damaged hard drive...
You win some, and you really do lose some.

Follow on Flickr: Doubleclicker

Behind the Scenes: A House is Not a Home

Work Ready

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to excessive training and a "House is Not a Home" editorial magic making, I opted out of Work Ready last week. I don't think I should let that slip anymore...what do you think? Full details on my favorite photoshoot to date, tomorrow!

A House is Not a Home

EDITOR'S NOTE: DoublClik Editorials are carefully crafted to tell a story, and are often accompanied by a song suggestion to make your experience meet the photographer's expectations. "A House is Not a Home" is inspired by the "One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home" medley. Click the video below for your listening pleasure as you view this editorial. Enjoy.

Makeover Giveaway

Mariel let me debut on her blog a week ago to promote my brand and mention my first giveaway. And it just so happened to be that this good samaritan won the giveaway fair and square, just luck of the draw! I love it when it works out like that, but I wish I could have made all of YOUR makeover wishes come true too! Time will tell, time will tell. Here was the tip Mariel left me with her picture of choice attached:

Hey love, 

Here is the picture.

It's from a very special night with my love but for some reason I find the picture oh so plain.

Please help me make it marvelous Andrea hehe ;)

Besos,

Mariel

And that is exactly what I tried to do....

Twinkle lights make everything better. Always.