Portrait - Before and After

It's lovely to do some portraits for a change.

I have been wanting to take some pictures in the late afternoon with some backlighting, but lately the weather hasn't been very co-operative.

Whilst playing in the backyard a couple of days ago, I saw the perfect patch of light appear through the trees in the front yard. There wasn't much time as the sun was setting quickly and we also had to contend with a few clouds. But we managed to get the shot that I wanted.

Below is the image straight out of the camera.

I love this image of my Son, but I felt it needed to be a bit warmer.






And here is the image after editing.

Canon 7D, Canon EF 50mm 1.4, 1/125sec, f2.8, ISO 200

 

Here are the steps I followed:

1. Spot Healing Brush Tool -  to remove some minor blemishes.

2. Colour Balance Adjustment  Layer -  to add warmth to the image.

3. Dodge/Burn Tools -  to lighten and darken areas on the face.

4. Crop Tool.

Flowers in the Grass

Texture: KK Violet by Kim Klassen; Divide at 85% opacity.

When I was walking out in the backyard yesterday, I came across these beautiful flowers growing in the grass.

They were about 5mm in size and in various shades of purple.

I have no idea what sort of flowers they are but they are so pretty (and a good excuse to put off the mowing for a couple of days).





Texture: KK Violet by Kim Klassen; Soft Light at 75% opacity.

Murraya paniculata

Sharing with Texture Tuesday

Texture:   KK Edith by Kim Klassen, Colour Burn at 65% opacity.

Murraya paniculata, also known as Orange Jessamine, is one of my favourite plants in the garden.

These fragrant, white flowers appear several times a year.

They make great hedges and seem to thrive when you give them a trim.

When I took the above photo a couple of weeks ago, there were more flowers than ever before.

I'm so glad I did because two days later, all the flowers were gone and a lovely white flower carpet lay below.

Fruit Is On The Way

After recent rain, the citrus trees are starting to flower.






The fruit is beginning to appear.






When you walk amongst the trees, you smell the most amazing perfume.






When you look underneath the flowers, you can see tiny spots on the petals.


                                                                                               Sharing with Macro Monday

Peewee (Magpie-lark)

This bird has many different names in Australia.

Here in Queensland it is known as a Peewee.

Adult males and females look quite similar.

The male has a black throat with a white stripe above the eye, while the female has a white throat.

All juvenile birds have the white throat of the female and the black eyestripe of the male.





When I took the photo above, this young Peewee was sitting patiently on the rock, waiting for Dad to come back.






The father bird came back with a beak full of food.














I guess we aren't the only parents who always have hungry kids.










Now the young bird can relax with a full tummy under Dad's watchful eye.

(All the photos were taken through a glass window, as it is really hard to get up close when the young Peewees are around.)

Fairy Wren

This gorgeous little fairy wren is building a nest with a little help from our doormat.

The photo was taken behind a glass door, as it is almost impossible to get up close before they fly away.

Dragonfly

                                                                                               Sharing with Macro Monday

Capture Your 365 - January Favourites

One month in and I've managed to take a photo for every day of January as part of Capture Your 365.

Here are some of my favourites:









It's never too late to join in. You can start your project on any day of the year.

Why not start today?

Visit Capture Your 365 for details.

For more of my P365 photos click here.