Shutterfly Book - Rockville Vacation

Click below to link to my recent shutterfly book. The pictures are from our May vacation in Rockville, which was such a fun time. Hoping this little book will help Priya and Taj remember the experiences that they had. I used a premade book template (by Ali Edwards-Designer Digitals Store) which speeded up the process. I just had to put in my photos, and add some text.

Click here to view photo book

ROAD TRIP 2 TRAILER

We took our 2nd annual Road Trip last May. I'm still editing the video, but here's a little preview (with tongue firmly planted in cheek as always).

PROJ 365 - week 28

And here is the page with the pictures that I took last week...

PROJ 365 / week 27

Here are the pictures that I took during the 27th week of this year... I have passed the half way mark now!

Fake TTV photo effect

I am taking an online class at Jessica Sprague's site that is about photo treatments. The most recent class is about adding textures to photos to give the TTV look. What in the world is TTV you ask? ... well I did anyway. TTV is "Through The Viewfinder". TTV photography is defined as taking a picture through the viewfinder of any camera, with the viewfinder of another camera.





Turns out some clever people have made textured overlays to duplicate the effect. The ones that I have used came from a TTV group at Flickr. The downloads were free. So I tried out a few different textures on some photos I took while vacationing in Rockville this May. I cropped my photos square to give the authentic look of an old camera. I reduced my opacity to 85%. I applied the textured overlay, and then very importantly... select the overlay layer by clicking on it, then under the layers palette, in the drop down menu, select "Multiply." That's it... and you get this cool effect : )





**Edited to say: Posting these on the web subdues some of the effect. In real life the scratches, specks and dust are a little more dramatic... But you get the idea.

Bridal Shower for Aubrey

We had a bridal Shower for Aubrey (Matthew's Fiancee) on July 8th. The day of, there was much preparing to do, and it was a real fun day for Mom, myself and Shayne. We don't often get a chance to do girl stuff together, like shopping, decorating, working in the kitchen. So we appreciated that, even though we were worn out by the end of the day. Thanks for everyone's help! Ashley did the invitations, and brought several yummy treats to the event. It was a family shower, so nice to see everyone and meet some of Aubrey' family too! I think Aubrey had a nice time and got some wonderful gifts that they can use when they set up house.

ALL FOR LOVE

Today our marriage turns 15 years old. For a couple of "50 somethings", that's not very long; but because our children are grown and our grandchildren are growing too fast, this anniversary has brought my thoughts to the blessings my marriage has given me: the love of my life, a wonderful family and so much more. There was a time when I had all but given up on ever enjoying these, life's greatest gifts. This video portrays our separate lives before we met and our lives since. Words fail when I try to describe my feelings at this time. It is my hope this little slide show will express what I cannot. Thank you, Cindy, for my greatest treasure: you. Happy Anniversary, My Love.

Dean

All For Love

PROJ 365 / week 26

And here is the week just finished. Week 26:

PROJ 365 / week 24

I am behind on my 365 Project and trying to catch up. The 365 project is a picture a day for 365 days. I make a layout each week with the pictures that I took that week - or at least that is the plan. Here is the layout from week 24 when we were in Denver visting Erica's family. Taj turned three that week, and we were able to go to his Birthday party. His party was at MY GYM, which by the way he calls I GYM. The reason that is so funny, is because Taj uses "my" where he should say "I". So, maybe it makes sense then...or at least it does to Taj.

Because of the pending arrival of a new baby sister, Erica has been very busy these last few months making big changes around the house. New rooms for the kids, and the biggest project is finishing the basement. It now has a guest suite (and let me tell you, it is incredibly sweet!) There is a gorgeous bedroom with large walk-in closet. She was still waiting on some furniture when I took these pictures. The bathroom is beautiful (notice the sink), and there is a living room with television screen, sofa, lamps, rug, built in bookshelves... There is a little bar area, a storage room, and a large exercise room with a mirrored wall. Very deluxe!!