photo friday--"editing photos" & link party!

welcome to photo friday, friends! (link party at the bottom of this post)

i'm excited to bring you a guest post all the way from jolly ole' england!  michelle, from momma bird and momma bird photography, is with us today to share some fun insights into photo editing.
thanks, michelle!


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Well, this is my FIRST guest post!
I'm not going to lie - I'm SUPER nervous!
Andi & I's history:
Andi and I actually met in college.
She lived with two of my former roommates/friends.
And then she ended up marrying a high school friend of mine!
Such a small world.
We actually lost touch for a while until the blogging world brought us back together.
Andi is such a sweetheart - but I don't have to tell her readers that - you already know she is!
Thank you so much for allowing me to guest post on your blog!

Andi has been doing a great series on Photo Friday and since it's Friday I thought it was only fitting to talk about:
photography

I have always been BIG into taking pictures, but it wasn't until the last few years that I really took a more serious interest in it. My hubs bought me our first DSLR before our trip to Maui last summer and I was thrilled! But even with that fancy new camera there were still times where I took a picture that just was 'off'.
Insert the power of editing! I had been using the program that came with my computer (iphoto) to edit my pictures and it did do a great job, but I wanted more. I uploaded the photoshop elements and so far I'm sold!

Today I'm going to help you out a little with some editing tips and photoshop tricks!

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These lily photos were edited using iphoto.

{a photo editing software that comes with macs}

 {original}

{edited}

What I did to this photo {using iphoto}:

• I turned on the b&w
• I boosted the color.
• I lightened the exposer. {this adjusts the lightness of an image}
• I increased the shadows. {this increases detail by lightening shadows}
• I increased the saturation. {this changes saturation intensity}

I absolutely love black and white photos. I feel like they really show off the details of a picture. Pictures that seem too busy can be toned down by using b&w and help you focus in on the subjects.
In  my edits I increase the shadows and increase saturation. I feel like these two typically go hand in hand. If you increase the shadows, the colors seem to disappear so you want to bring some of that back in. When I take pictures of my kiddos their eyes seem to always darken up and I want to show off their baby blues - this editing tip helps with that!

{original}

{edited}

{all I did was lighten the shadows}

I'm still trying to learn the ropes with photoshop elements - but there are some simple ways to improve your pictures. They have lots of brushes to lighten images, increase color, brush up portraits, and that's just the beginning! They also have lots of fun tools to change up your picture - adding in lighting effects, blurring images, swirling your photos, wave effects - pretty much lots of fun stuff!

{original}

{edited}

In this image I used a brush to make the skies more blue, I lightened the image. 

Then I added lighting effect. 

{original}

{edited}

I cropped this image.
I used the brush on the skies - nature - blue skies.
I used the brush on the grass - nature - greenery.
I used the brush to lighten the entire image.
I then used the eraser to take the power lines away.

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I hope I have helped in some way! 

Editing pictures can make a normal picture turn GREAT! 

I would love it if you showed me some of your edits using these tips. 

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If you have photoshop - I found some 'actions' that are a free download:

Pure Photoshop Actions

Pioneer Woman's Photoshop Actions

100 Free Photoshop Actions & How to Make Your Own
http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com/

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♥

thanks again, michelle, for the really useful tips and tricks and also the links to the actions.  actions are my friend~!

please check out michelle's blogs (momma bird, SAHM confessions) and photography blog----she always has so many great insights and tips on photography, living life, and motherhood.

now onto our weekly photo friday link party:




only a few guidelines to help us all have a fun party:1.  please link to your specific photo post (and not your home blog page)
2.  add my button to the post or your sidebar so we can keep this party growing





<center><a href="http:milesandmems.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc383/dreamrdo/photofridaybuttoncopy.jpg"/></a></center>
3.  and visit some of the other linker-uppers and give them some comment love

remember:  this can be any photography-related post from this week~

thanks for participating!

fresh fish taco recipe

saturday i drove all day (with two kids) home from the beach,
jon went fishing (it was his first day off in weeks),
and when we finally all got back together in one place....
we made the yummiest fish tacos ever!

please ignore the plastic plates and quickly-taken pictures (remember, i just got home from vacation and there are still clothes and dishes piled up even today)

ok, now on to the recipe:
fresh fish tacos
ingredients:
fresh fish (or you can buy it from the store--this happens to be blue gill from a local lake)
corn tortillas
cilantro
lettuce
red onion
tomato (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
cilantro lime sauce (see recipe below)
salt
pepper
olive oil

warm up a dry skillet and crisp up the corn tortillas, flipping a couple of times, until the tortillas are browned a bit on both sides and crunchy.  salt and pepper the fish generously.  heat a large skillet with a thin layer of olive oil and cook the fish, flipping once, until they are flaky--i prefer to leave them a little on the medium done side.  now, pile up your taco and enjoy!

cilantro-lime fish taco sauce
ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp chopped jalepeno (or more if desired)
1 T chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 a lime
zest from 1/2 a lime
mix all ingredients together well and serve in fresh fish tacos.

yummy in your tummy!  let me know if you try this recipe and like it~

linking up with:
remodelaholic
blue cricket design
i heart naptime
passionately artistic

milestone monday--planned a family summer vacation

~if you are new to milestones & memories, each (or i should say,) most mondays, i do a post that updates you on how we are doing at accomplishing our family goals/milestones.  here's a complete list if you are interested.  thanks for stopping by~

***milestone:  plan a family summer vacation 
summer vacation?----check
family summer vacation?----not quite

technically, last week was a beach vacation to the outer banks (love!) and there was 
sand, 
sun, 
a private pool, 
great food, 
good company, 
cute kids in bathing suits 
and the smell of sunscreen everywhere. 
but we were missing our complete family, because jon wasn't able to come with us.......booooo, hisssss. 
there was a major event going at his work that he just had to be there to help with 
and he was sad,
we were sad, 
but such is life.  
nevertheless, i took both kids (with the help of some great friends) and drove the 6 hours to have our vacation anyway. 

i learned a few things in the process about beach vacationing and vacationing with children (without a spouse):

1.  go the outer banks before schools are all officially out for the summer---we had NO traffic and it was wonderful!

2.  pack as much food and plan meals to save big money---i spent a total of around a $150.00 dollars for the whole week's meals/snacks, etc.  

3.  buy a wonder wheeler and use it every time you go to the beach---i'd really like to kiss the person who invented it and i already hugged the friend who purchased it for our trip this year :)

source

4.  drag your 2 year old to the beach the first couple of days kicking and screaming, because by the end of the week she will not want to leave.

5.  let your baby eat sand---it's just too cute to resist

6.  take great (and helpful) friends with you to assist in the child corralling and feeding adventures---thanks so much brian and sarah.

7.   drink a lot of coffee and diet coke

8.  put the kids to bed early--they're tired and so are you!

9.  wear a little bit of sunscreen on your back/shoulders even if you think "i don't burn"---note: you do.

10. and thoroughly enjoy every minute (even if you are wishing your husband was there) 

*by the way, kudos to all you single parents or moms/dads with a spouse who is gone often (deployed, traveling for work, etc).  it's really hard work! 

on another milestone note:  
both of my kids are sleeping the same room----
all night long!  
hallelujah, hallelujah!  
i hope i didn't just jinx it.  

happy monday!