tasha's blog

This week's theme over at iheartfaces is "Bundled Up." In Alberta, we bundle up for sure! I had my nephew for a sleepover in January of this year and asked if I could take a few shots of him.

Here we are again....and it's Friday already! Where do the days go? Well here is another photographers image that all of us (pros, amateurs, hobbyists or beginners) have the opportunity of "fixing." When I saw the image, it "felt" very nostalgic to me. Ha ha, fitting, since this is my style!  The problem with this photo is that it is very underexposed, meaning it is too dark.  So the challenge is to bring it up to a level that looks clean and clear without alot of noise.  Noise is when your photos look grainy.  This usually occurs when you have to make a picture brighter and lighter...especially when it was too dark in the first place.  The good news, is that the photo has some great color to it, which is a bonus.  Well I can't tell you all of the steps I took to get to the end product, but I can tell you some of the things I have used to get there. I always love using my Flypaper and Florabella textures, and Florabella actions. I am also a CS4 & Lightroom user, so definitely incorporated both. I actually didn't want all of the distraction in the background, so did clone out some of it. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy these posts so you can see that almost 'any' image is fixable!  Head on over to iheartfaces to see all of the other before and afters.  Happy Friday!!

Take in the splendor and tranquility of this soft ocean view.  This is the second Limited Edition Print for Tasha Ramstad Photography, and I was just delighted when I saw the image through the tiny viewing screen.  This shot was taken at Pacific Beach, California.  I was at the coast on business shooting the covers of a client's meditation cd's.  I just knew that when I was down near the sun, surf and sand I would get the most amazing shot...I do believe I did :o)  You can find this print in my Boutique for purchase.  There will be 1000 in print in various sizes including canvas!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest!!  I really appreciate all of your support and your extra kind words.  It means so much :o)  The lucky winner of the contest has won 1 of the following:

1.  An individual (one person) 1-hour photo session with me anytime between May and September 2010.  You will have approximately 15 final photos to choose from your free 8x10 print (a $300 value with session fee & print).  If you wish to have additional prints or digital images, they may be purchased at regular print pricing (there is no obligation).

2.  If you do not happen to live in my area or would prefer; you may alternatively choose a 16x24 Boutique Fine Art Print (excluding Limited Editions & Canvas)and I will ship it to you!  (I am hoping to add more to the gallery soon!)

Thanks again to all of those who entered.  Your names were assigned a number based on the date and time you entered (in order of entry).  There were 27 entries, and I put them into random.org to randomly choose a winner and to keep it fair!  The list of entries & generator results are below:

1.  Mandy C
2.  Leslie S
3.  Tammy K
4.  Ania B
5.  Kirsten N
6.  Kim N
7.  Tammy B
8.  Prudence H
9.  Lisa R
10.  Diane C
11.  Sherri L
12.  Taryn M
13.  Sherri R
14.  Maryann S
15.  Lori K
16.  Lorelei L
17.  Cheryl D
18.  Kristy L
19.  Selina H
20.  Annette W
21.  Ellerie K
22.  Erin E
23.  Joey M
24.  Jane F
25.  Alyssa M
26.  Renee R
27.  Amanda S

....AND THE WINNER IS TARYN MARTINEK!  Congratulations Taryn...we will be chatting :o)

Well it is "Fix It Friday" again over at iheartfaces, and I find it fun to participate each week (when I can).  Each week they give you a photo to fix.  Many of you have your own photos that may look a little "blah" even though you have a great capture! There is always a way to give it more pizazz, and over at iheartfaces, you can take a look at what others have done. Everyone from parents, to hobby photographers to the pros :)



Here is what I did to achieve this look:

1.  First I applied a levels adjustment layer to brighten up the image, however, I masked out the sky to keep the deepness of the blue.  I also applied a contrast adjustment layer.
2.  I used Soft Urban from Florabella at 69%
3.  Applied a saturation adjustment layer to pop out her dress and the sky a little more, masked out her skin areas and any other areas I didn't feel needed it.
4.  Then I used some textures from Florabella, Clover (I adjusted the hue to a blue rather than the original green).  Antique White Overlay-screen at 49%, & White Linen-soft light at 68%
5.  I used Florabella's Lighten & Brighten and Sharpen/Defog, and applied a final sharpen in the areas I needed, masked out the rest.
6.  I also flipped the image horizontal....more for my own liking.

Voila, this is what I came up with :)

 So it is week 8 for the iheartfaces challenge and the theme is "Hands On Fun." My entry is about fun alright as these two sisters were being super silly, and having lots of fun! You can find my photo below. Click on the icon to see more and maybe enter a challenge yourself (it's for anyone and their camera!)

So today is Friday, and it is "Fix It Friday" over at I Heart Faces.  Each week someone contributes a photograph, and whether you are an aspiring photographer, a hobbyist or a professional...you get your chance to "fix" the photograph in your style.  This week is my first time participating and you can find my "fixes" below on the contributors original photograph from Keli Hoskins.  If you are not already a member of I Heart Faces, it is a great place to connect, enter contests, and learn basic editing as well!  Anyhow, onto my before and afters, I did up two versions.  I used a few Florabella Actions and some textures from Redleaf to fix these photos up.  As you can see the original photo is underexposed and there are distracting houses in behind, but the little girl is adorable!  So I cropped her in, utilized my textures and actions to put the focus on her, and in typical "Tasha" style, gave both shots a vintage feel :o)

I had just received these pettiskirts in the mail the day before leaving for California. I knew Brandy (whom I had never met) had two little girls, and I had a hidden agenda of photographing them in the pettiskirts. Vacume packed in a bag, and stuffed into my already 49.5 lb suitcase, the skirts went to San Diego for a photoshoot!  I left in -20 degree weather (celcius), and travelled the California coast for 5 days.  Of course we looked like tourists, since we thought the 20+ degrees (celcius) was warm!!  And it was!  I just love the ocean, and if I could live anywhere, it would be right by the ocean...

Thanks girls for having so much fun!  I mean, how adorable are they?

While travelling the California coast last week, I am excited to announce that I have captured my 2nd Limited Edition Print and can't wait to share it with you all! Honestly, maybe it is because I am an Aquarian (water bearer), but I could just stare at the image for hours.....so stay tuned. I will post it in the next few weeks or so. It truly is a beautiful piece of artwork.

~Tasha~

I just got back from an amazing 6 day California coast roadtrip for a photoshoot for www.justexhale.ca. We are putting together the new covers for the meditation cd's, and what better place to run away to for sun, surf and sand!

I will post when we get them all finished up!

~Tasha~