Dog Ahoy!

Tyler had an exciting adventure over the weekend; he took a little boat ride around the pool. At first he was a little wary of the boat. Then once he got in, he tried drinking the pool water. He settled down, though, and seemed to enjoy his little trip.

After returning to land, Tyler went back to his usual routine of running around the edge of the pool until he ends up sliding into the water and needs to be rescued . . .

 

which  happened about fifteen minutes later.

Photoshop to the Rescue

My interest in learning Photoshop began about seven years ago. I wanted to see if it was possible to salvage some old photos which were in less than perfect condition. Here's an example:

It's quite discolored from age, has a tear in the top right corner, and has many creases, some of which are very visible. After some Photoshop magic, here's an edited version of the image:

The original image is about 4.5 x 2.5 inches. I cropped some of the background out to better focus on the subject; plus, cropping eliminated the torn corner very easily. The photo still isn't perfect by any means. Removing every single crease individually is just about impossible. I blurred the background slightly to soften the creases instead of trying to clone them out. The trade-off is that those parts of the photo have now lost some detail, but I didn't think that they were as vital as, say, someone's face. Unfortunately, because the original photo is on the small side, there isn't much that can be done to zoom in on the subject without causing pixelation.

Depending on the sentimental value of the photo, though, sometimes a slightly fuzzy background is a small price to pay as opposed to the picture falling further into a state of disrepair.

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival

We were psyched to go to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival a few weeks ago. Armed with our cameras, we were greeted at the park by heavy clouds and drizzle:

Although it was nice not to have the sun beating down us, these weren't ideal conditions for taking pictures. I adjusted the color temperature for the next two photos in Lightroom to remove some of the blue color cast from the cloudy day:

Of course, the sun popped out just as we were about to leave. More photos to
come . . . .

Just Hangin' Around

These little guys set up camp on my rocking chairs for about a week.  They usually sat together on the same chair, but of course when I went outside with the camera, they decided to spend some time apart.

 

I finally managed to snag a picture of them sitting together, but as you can see, I couldn't get a clear shot of both of them.  Not having a good zoom lens, I had to creep up on them all stalker-like so that they wouldn't fly away.   Surprisingly, the sound of the lens focusing didn't scare them; it was me getting a tad too close that made them take off.

FUN FACT: I used Photoshop to digitally remove the rather large mess that they had left behind.  Ick.

Happy Easter

Floral Fun

These are the roses in front of Lee's house. I love them because they are so pretty, so I'm always taking pictures of them. Here are a couple of different shots taken at different angles. 

Spring Blooms

I really love hibiscus flowers.  They're pretty hardy weather-wise and seem to be able to withstand my total lack of a green thumb.  Of course, they also make great photography subjects.  These are the kinds of photo ops which make me wish that I owned a macro lens. 

I took these pictures on a windy day and thought it would be fun to see what I'd get with a slow shutter speed (0.5 seconds).  Here's the ghostly result:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wild Giraffes

One day, I was inspired to see if my dog, Tyler, would like to wear my critter hat (Larry). Tyler, didn't seem to mind at all, I think he quite liked it because it was warm and cuddly. I think he looks so adorable in these pics. And just so you know, I didn't force him to do anything or was mean to him in any way.

Reflections On The Water's Surface

So, I took this pic at Epcot. When I was taking the picture, I wasn't really trying to get the reflection of the building. However, since it came at so good, I'll just pretend that's the effect I was going for in the first place.

Light And Dark, Shadows Of The Setting Sun

This was one of my first pictures and one of my favorite. I love how striking the tree and electrical lines look against the setting sky. I took it a few days after Lee gave me her old (now mine) camera. We went on a walk looking for interesting photo opportunities and this is what I came back with.

Spring Encased In Ice

One rather chilly morning, our sprinklers went off. The result was fascinating; everything was glazed in ice. So, I decided to brave the cold and ran outside in my pajamas with my camera.

I think this one is so magical looking because the entire plant was encased in a thin layer of ice, but the plant  looked so green and alive.

I think this one is really cool too (no pun intended) because the water froze looking like it was still dripping.

Not Ready for My Close-Up

Everyone probably knows how challenging it can be to photograph pets.  This is when the camera's burst mode is your best friend.  Sometimes you just happen to press the shutter at the right time, which is what happened here.  My canine cousin Tyler had just gotten a haircut, and I was trying to take an "after" photo.  Instead I caught him doing his best lizard impression.

Kicking Off St. Patrick's Day Early

The local supermarket has carried these bouquets for the last two years, and I can't resist buying (and photographing) them.  I know that they'll wilt way before March 17, but they're still nice to look at while they last.

I tried to get all of the flowers in focus on the top shot, but there wasn't enough light coming in through the window.  I had tried shooting with the flash, but I didn't like the result.  The bottom photo turned out better, with a nice fuzzy background, thanks to opening the aperture to f2.8.

Going Bananas

I took these photos while our banana trees were still alive.  Sadly, they are now all brown but will come back eventually.  I thought these pictures looked pretty cool and would make a pretty good first post.

I thought this one was interesting because of the contrast between the dark leaves and the light sky.

I also like this one because of the very vibrant green.

This one's my favorite because I think it looks so cool with the dew drops.  They created an eye-catching texture.

Welcome!

Hello everyone!  We are excited to share our photographic adventures with you!  Although we're not professionals, that does not stop us from snapping away with our cameras.  Our purpose in starting Life Through A Lens is to share our love of photography and possibly make you laugh along the way.  We plan to feature a range of subjects, including nature scenes (Nature Novelties), oddball shots (Shutter Shenanigans), funny Photoshop composites (Spoof-tastic), old photo restorations (Restoration Projects), and our all-time favorite photos (Photonomenal).  Thanks for visiting, and check back often for updates! 

Melissa & Lee