ROSIES BUBBLE

ROSIES BUBBLE
Originally uploaded by fayre

And Everything was Alright | # 1

And Everything was Alright | # 1
Originally uploaded by *bernadeth

Originally uploaded by PissAngel

NEW BLOG

Hey everyone!

We have created a new blog, and won't be using this one any longer, but the new one is sure to please!

Check it out!!

http://nacedesign.com/blog/

Aaron and Rosie
ARF

Getting back to my Roots

Back to my Roots from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

Regina Spektor plays "Sampson"
One of mine and Rosie's songs!
If this is cool, consider signing up for my digital enhancement class, details above!

Alopecia

Alopecia is a term used for hairloss, due to stress. It is due to failure/deficiency of the immune system, which causes hair to fall out. Another cause can be a thyroid problem, but it usually due to stress.

I've had alopecia areata since I was 16. I noticied a small insignificant bald patch and didn't think anything of it, and within a couple of months it had grown to this size


And I was still ok with it, it could be handled. I bought hair extensions to cover any baldness, and I soon forgot I had it again. A couple of weeks later, I noticied another bald patch on the other side of my head.
Within three months, my hair looked like this:


the left side the right side

It was now starting to get bad and I told my mum, and she took me to the doctors. There is no cure for alopecia, you just have to wait and see. In most cases, hair will grow back in 1-5 years, but in some cases it does not grow back at all. Alopecia universalis is when you loose ALL your hair - including eyelashes, eyebrows, leg hair, arm hair, hair hair and pubic hair. Alopecia totalis is where you loose just the hair on your scalp, and alopecia areata is what I had - big ass patches. Though they cannot be overcome physically, they can be overcome mentally. I truly believe that by changing my attitude towards life to a more positive one, it helped my hair grow back. Being miserable all the time doesn't help and didn't help me - you have to get out there and be OK with it! Being bald has it's plus points - you can make a million jokes at your own expense, you can change hairstyles with wigs/hairpieces, but most of all, it makes you proud to be you.

And even though I am shitting myself that this whole thing is going to happen again now I've found a new patch, I know it will be ok, and it will make me a better person because of it.

If anyone else is going through/has gone through/is scared they are about to go through this or something similar, don't be scared. Shit happens, but life is all about challenges and if you can find it in yourself to overcome it then kudos to you. Wear it however you want to wear it, but do it with pride.

:)

In the flowers before and after

5 MORE DAYS!!!!!
"I don't take photos anything like Aaron's - how might his photo enhancement class help me?"

I decided to post a rather normal shot and do a before and after to show just that! No matter your style, there is always something that can make an image better!
By the way, this was shot with a Canon 1ds MarkIII and a 300mm 2.8 lens. that is like $15,000 worth of camera, and the image to the left is straight out of the camera, not bad, but even images from this camera can be improved dramatically! For more information on digital enhancement, click on the link at the top of the page!
keep in mind this is supposed to be a stylized image, I wasn't necessarily just going for accurate skin tones :)

Before & After - I was once a hero

Another really simple edit. I copied the tree on the left, scaled it larger, flipped it and pasted it over the leafy things so it joined up with the tree behind them, added in a ray of light by selecting a light ray sort of shape, feathering it and then adjusting the curves of that selection, and then played with the colours!

So I was rooting through my old youtube uploads, and I found this video of me when I was about 6 singing to weird song, so I thought I'd post, since you'd all seen aaron being cutesy as a kid! i am not sure what the gold wig is for, but i'm pretty certain i'm supposed to be an alien. in a nativity.

Before, During & After - Anomaly

Anomaly




(click to enlarge)

So what I did for this shot, was drag Julius up the hill, and then took some shots of me, and then moved Julius around the hill, keep my tripod in the same place. This made him easier to edit in, which I did using a large eraser circley brushy thing on GIMP. I used a 10 second self timer on Julius, because he wouldn't stand up on his own so I had to hold him up.

9 days till Aaron time! He's asked me to look at some resturants to go to when we are in NYC, and holy crap some of them are posh!! Four seasons has a dress code - and if you don't bring a jacket, you have to borrow one of theirs!! I mean woah!! Thats insane!!!

Can anyone recommend anywhere?

Sleep time for me now. Mmm, my eyes are droopy :)

Before and After - This Way

So this shot was pretty basic. Not a whole lot of editing went into this, just some cloning, rotating, superimposing and "clearing" of the field and those damn bulls (you can see one of them eyeing me up in the before picture!!! grrr).


As you can see - I added the post in afterwards. This was because it turns out it is really hard to push a pole into solid rock, and so I had to hold it up:

and yes I really did wear that to walk up there - it is cold out and the woods are muddy so trainers were appropriate! and it turns out they were very useful when it came to running away from angry bulls.

:)

11 days!!!! (almost 10!)

You Raise Me Up - Outakes

A few people have been asking what I shoot with. So before I post the outakes, I thought I would answer.

I use a canon EOS 400D, a tripod, a remote occasionally, but with shots like this one above I use a 10sec self timer because the remote seems only to work at certain distances. I work with natural light, but I have gotten some lights for my birthday, but I can't remember what type.

Some outtakes :D

my first attempt: way off

getting closer...

the ground was all wet and squidgy from the rain yesterday so everytime i took a photo i had to lie on the ground to see if it had come out right, so I didn't disturb the balancing of the camera on my shoes. It took about 30 attempts, my estimating skills are awful! and my knees were very dirty.

Also, I've had enquiries about which of my photos are available for prints - and the answer is all of them! if you'd like one, send me a message to georgiarosehardy@gmail.com and i'll get back to you with a sizes/prices list. The prints come out in great quality - I am so pleased with how they are looking!
Here is a sample snap of the 12x12s!

The blurb books are coming on, but are taking way longer than I'd imagined.
I've found that the 7x7s are also harder to fit everything into - in order to retain quality and size of the images, i'm having to put text (which are important to the fairytale series) on a separate page, and so I have less photos I can fit in. So the 7x7s can only fit in the Fairytale series and the Seven Deadly Sins, whereas the larger blurb books are going to have around 8-10 extra images.

Guh, so much work to do! I am off to project x to write 6 essays (yes 6) for psychology. Eep!

sophie and rosie - world on our shoulders - behind the scenes

So my friend Sophie from school helped me with today's shoot!
It was soooo rainy and muddy! We went into town to buy the exercise ball which you see in the photo, and the pavements were flooded because of the amount of rain that had come down! It was insane. We went home and made the ball into a "globe", which we admit is a little off geographically. we forgot to include asia and put the UK 10x bigger than it really is.

We walked up through the woods and up the hill, then climbed the rocks you can see behind us here!
It was so cold, we both put on as many layers as we could. Under my "outfit" if you can call it that, its more of a concoction, I am wearing a pink dress, a tshirt, a jumper, and wellington boots. I don't really have an explanation for the hat.

The big green thing in the center of the globe is supposed to be the arctic.

Me and Happy!

Aplcalypse now :)

Apocalypse from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

In Love

I am in love.

all together, everyone say "awwww!"

Time

Time from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

Digtital Enhancement workshop

Hey everyone, just to let you know, half of the spaces in the workshop are already taken, so sign up soon if you would like to be a part of November's Class!!
Look forward to meeting you!

Client Shoot - Ed & The Deadly Sins of Dental Hygiene

Here are some final images from mine and Ed's photoshoot from today! She is the lovliest, funniest girl in the world - she's up for absolutely anything and we had such fun doing these photos. They are for Bridge Dental Surgery in Macclesfield.

Thou Must Avoid Tea

Thou Must Floss

Thou Must Have Regular Check-ups

Thou Must Avoid Coffee

Classic Portraits

Hope you guys like them - I may post some up on flickr! I am available for shoots like these, so if you're interested just give me a message to georgiarosehardy@gmail.com.

Making the Gardener

The Gardener from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

Blurb Book (again!)

Thanks for all your input guys! Its really made things ALOT easier to decide.

So I have decided to make not just one, but FIVE choices!

I will make softcover optional for the 7x7square and 10x8 landscape.

The other three will be a choice of:
hardcover 7x7 square,
hardcover 10x8 landscape,
and hardcover 13 x 11 landscape.

To give you guys an idea of how big they will be in reality, I have made some quick templates so you can see their real sizes :D

Click on the pictures to enlarge to full size.




I am downloading the software tonight, so I should have books up and running and ready to be ordered by next weekend. I'll post a blog and mention it on flickr when I do, and all you'll have to do is send me an email to

georgiarosehardy@gmail.com

and state the size you'd like
hardcover/softcover
and your address for shipping.

I'll send you an email back with full pricing including shipping, and you're free to back out until you confirm by transferring payment!

I can do bank transfers or cheque via post! So its up to you which one you'd prefer.

Yay for blurb books!

<3

BLURB BOOKS update :)

First off THANKYOU so much all of you who have contacted me saying you are interested in a blurb book!!! I am blown away. I feel that it is only right that I let you guys decide the best choice for the actual sizes etc - and of course this determines the price. So I would want you all to give me your preferences, I want these books to appeal to everyone!

Here is a sizes/prices list from blurb.com:

Square (7" x 7")


Standard Portrait (8" x 10")

Standard Landscape (10" x 8")
I would love to know whether you'd all prefer softcover or hardcover. I'm using the 0-40 page count, so all the pricing should fall into that range :)

The book pricing above doesn't include shipping or profit towards the ARF fund. ARF fund wise, I am going to add £5 onto whichever size/price people think would be most appropriate. I'm completely open to suggestions, this is my first time making one of these!

Its up to you guys!

Rosie <3

Outakes

My brother really helped me out on this. He hammered those sticks so hard into the ground, the wood they were made from was really unsteady, but somehow they didn't snap! Of course, I fell off many many times.

Oooh, another thing - the prints I've been doing have been coming out really well!!! Here is a snap of a couple of 12x12"s I sent down to Reading!


I am super happy with how they look. I have some more orders to place and some to collect and others to post! If you'd like to order one, message me at georgiarosehardy@gmail.com with "PRINT" in the subject and I'll message you a sizes/price list. Hooray!!

Also, on the blurb book front, I am having trouble downloading the software cos I have a dumb linux (it only runs on windows/mac) so I am trying to download it at school. It will be a couple of weeks yet until I get them ready, but I have decided to include both the fairytale and seven deadly sins series, and also my personal favourites plus some unseen photos! so if anyone wants one, send me a message to the above address and i'll put your name down!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this beautiful weather!

Making a Monet

Making Monet from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

How To Make Wings

Hey Connie!! In response to your question in that little box to the right, here's how I did it!

I collected about 100 feathers in all - I made sure I had a variety of long ones like swan feathers and shorter fluffly ones.

Then I cut out a piece of white cardboard, in this shape:

I began sticking the feathers, longest first, at the bottom and overlaying the smaller ones in that kind of pattern! I used cellotape, its barely noticeable!

<3

Outakes - Wings

All my shots are done with a canon EOS 400D, a 18-55mm lens, a tripod and natural light. Nothing too spectacular :)

Here are some outtakes from todays shoot!




Aaron is in Virginia at the moment for work, so my sleepy clock is going haywire because he always rings me at 11pm my time until about 12.30pm on school nights. My body is refusing to be tired!!

I feel as though I have had an Aaron-shaped hole in me for a very long time, and now it is filled up :) Its crazy that there is actually someone willing to fly an ocean for me. He must be insane. My turn soon though, and he is worth every mile!

Ooh, my art teacher has told me to enter for this photog competition in my area, and the piece is supposed to depict the beauty of your area yada yada, which is your favourite of the above and do you think I should enter for it? Corbar Cross (the place where I took it) is a Buxtonian landmark, so it would work (I think)

<3>

Motorcycle 2.0

Motorcycle 2.0 from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

The music in the video is Ratatat - Seventeen years. They are awesome

BLURB BOOKS!

Sooo many people have commented me telling me about blurb books, and after giving it some thought, I've decided to go about getting some done!
They would include my fairytale series and my seven deadly sins series - which is around 27 images all together. If anyone has any other suggestions for what should go in it - maybe to fill it up, maybe some "unseen" images that I don't post on flickr - let me know!!

And also if anyone would be interested in purchasing one, either leave a comment on here, send me a flickr mail, or a gmail at georgiarosehardy@gmail.com!



a blurb book example :)

The Rapture

The Rapture from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

The music is Laura Veirs-Rapture. pretty much all of her songs are awesome. check her out.

Behind the Scenes - Handlebars

Ok, so this picture is a little different to my others - because for this one, me and my brother created a set :D Which we have never done before. I didn't want to photoshop myself onto telephone wires, so instead we decided to make them ourselves.

We dismantled an old pallet and nailed them both together, and using a combination of ropes, ladders, heavy weights and heavy plant pots, we managed to construct this:


which we are both damn proud of. All that was left to do was to pose on the bike :D Which was actually the hardest part. but super fun! :P

The Eyes of Aaron

The Eyes of Aaron2 from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

The music on this video is Laura Veirs - Shadow Blues

What do I mean when I say "digital retouching"
This is a little example of what can be done to a photograph
:)
By the way, I do this for a living, if you are interested in mine or Rosie's services, just contact us!

Aknacer@gmail.com
georgiarosehardy@googlemail.com

There's always more

For all those curious in the process of what it takes to do a shot like this, here is a quick step fade through animation :)
This is the first video like this I have made, so enjoy this one, they will get better.


There's always more from Aaron Nace on Vimeo.

The Great Escape

The Great Escape

(before, during & after)


This photo didn't require to much pp, despite what you see here. It is all very basic, quick stuff.

In a few steps:

1. Copy the clown onto the background of the garage (I find this better than a white layer because sometimes that can look unnatural, and here I already know all the tones are the same)

2. I took some pictures of balloons outside my garage too, so copy and paste those onto the new photo - strings are just black lines attached to wherever they should go

3. Add a sky layer, decrease the opacity but not too much. I didn't bother getting rid of the sky texture from my body, because this would disrupt the colours and lighting the sky created. This is also why the balloons appear "transparent"

4. I adjusted the curves, then selected and feathered the sky around me, and adjusted their curves again

5. Then it was time to have fun playing with the colours!

Finito!
:)

There's always more

Finding Happiness

I am offering my services both as a instructor and as a post-process artist. Need some heavy post production done, or just a quick retouch, but don't have the time or knowledge? That is exactly where I come in :)
Send me or Rosie an email if you are interested in our services

Aknacer@gmail.com
georgiarosehardy@googlemail.com

Costume Kisses!!

Unsurprisingly, 90% of the time me and Aaron speak on webcam, we are both still in full costume from our 365s!!!
Hehe, took this crafty screenshot during kissy time :P
Yeah, we have kissy time. Damn right.

Trapped In Our Own Fairytale - OUTAKES!

My brother helped me with the shoot - I climbed up there with a ladder which he took down for me. It was awful!
Here are a couple of outtakes :)



Thats real fear right there!!!!!!


Oh and I would also like to mention a very nice old man I met in the sewing shop I went to to buy the material for my dress. He asked me what it was for, and I told him all about the series, and then he told me his trousers had broken and now his wife had passed away, he didn't know how to fix them. I thought he was so lovely and sweet - so he deserves a mention on here :)

Scrubbing the Yellow Brick Road

Warning: Poster paint does NOT come off easily. Despite whatever the man in the shop tells you, it will NOT wash off bricks!!!

mum, john and nadine :D we ended up bleaching it. I'm not sure why john has petrol.

john soaking me with the hose damn him!

Whats Next Before and After

I am offering my services both as a instructor and as a post-process artist. Need some heavy post production done, or just a quick retouch, but don't have the time or knowledge? That is exactly where I come in :)
Send me or Rosie an email if you are interested in our services

Aknacer@gmail.com
georgiarosehardy@googlemail.com

Be sure to click on the image to see the before and after

Digital Painting

A complete digital painting done in photoshop, done as a tribute to Norman Rockwell. Be sure to click on it to see it full size!

Post Processing is open for Business

There are many things I love about photography and creating images. Lighting is probably at the top of my list, but right below it comes Post Processing. I used Photoshop in a professional capacity for about 6 years now, and realize what an important tool it can be to create a desired image.

So now, it is time to share!

I will be posting more before/after shots, just like Rosie, so it becomes visible what can be done after a photo is taken.

I am offering my services both as a instructor and as a post-process artist. Need some heavy post production done, or just a quick retouch, but don't have the time or knowledge? That is exactly where I come in :)

Click on the image below to see what can be done!

Before & After - Gretel's Just Dessert

As you can see, quite alot of post processing has gone into this. I removed all the excess items cluttering up the photo, edited out the window to create a more "closed in" effect to the piece and not distract from the focal point, and of course, added an exploding head. This was done using around 15 separate pictures, some of me throwing sweets in the air, some of torn strips of paper infront of my face. When I had finished that, I added a mushroom cloud layer over the top, decreased the opacity and erased at low opacity where I saw fit.

Voila!

Pocahontas's Carbon Footprint OUTAKES

Pocahontas's Carbon Footprint
Originally uploaded by rosiehardy

OUTAKES!!!

The best photo of the bunch, we both look like complete idiots
frizzy hair? check
gormless expressions? check
camp hand positions? check

Our Website!

Rosie and Aaron now have an official portfolio website! check it out!

http://www.nacedesign.com/

Compilation Saturday!!

Rosie and I celebrated our 4 month mesaversary yesterday, It has been the most amazing 4 months of my life! Rosie is doing her Fairytale series now and I am doin my artists inspiration shots, but i decided to post a version of the Aladdin shot, with an Aaron twist just for fun!

LOVE

Today has been so awesome. Me and Aaron just got off the webcam, we were making our outfits for today's shot! Even if the picture turns out crappy, I am so proud of our costumes they are awesome :D

I have been going through a memory card full of photos we took together. Alot of them we haven't uploaded, but this one here I thought I'd share. I miss him so much! Not long now until we are back in each others' arms :)

The SVA catalog came in the mail, too!! Hopefully this time next year I'll be living with Aaron, and going to college there in NYC!!

Happy Anniversary to US

The best four months of my life!!!

And also the best tasting ice cream of my life... mmm, virtual flavour!!

A quick snapshot of our meal for you all :)

OPEN WIDE!!!

Interview - Friday Flickr Feature

Internetjogging.com recently interviewed me for their Friday Flickr Feature! I am very honoured, and you can check out the interview here!

PRINTS AVAILABLE

Cinderella's Abduction
Originally uploaded by rosiehardy

Prints are now available for all of my photographs. If you are interested in purchasing a print, email me at georgiarosehardy@gmail.com with "PRINT" in the subject title. I can then give you more information on prices/sizes. All money raised will go towards the ARF fund!



My own personal ARF fund :)

Termi Rosie Finale

Termi Rosie Finale
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Michaels

Holy crap... this video was made my Jonathon Michaels on flickr - his PP skills are out of this world!! I HAD to post this on here - it is a MUST see! I can only hope one day to be as good as this with an editing program!!

Soon to be a termi-NACE-r! ;)

How To Create The Wasp Prince

This is a quick tutorial on how I created the images for my series "The Wasp Prince". Make sure to click on the images to see them full size!
First I start off with an insect, this is a cute little crab spider i found while in Charleston SC. All of the photos of the insects were taken by me, using live insects I just happened to find hiding around me.
This is my lighting setup for a good macro shot of an insect. Because they are so small, and I am so close with my lens, it is necessary to shoot at at least f22 to get a decent DOF. The studio strobe is very bright here, pumping enough light onto my subject to let me stop way down. The small desk lamp on the table is just to help with my autofocus. As you can see the setup is nothing more than a piece of posterboard on a table. No fancy setup needed. We are shooting something the size of a pea afterall.

Next I shot myself against a white wall. Normally I would have used background lights to lighten the background significantly more and make my editing job easier, i just wanted to show everyone that it is still pretty easy given the above image. i am standing on that same piece of poster board. It would be a little bit of a pain to take out the wood, besides the color would cast on my pants, something i dont want. I realize I look completely stupid here, but hey if you cant laugh at yourself...

Next I browsed through my images in lightroom and chose a couple I thought might do for the shot, and brought them into Photoshop.
First I will edit the shot of just me, as it will be the image that needs to be changed to fit the scene of the spider.
Getting rid of the background is pretty simple here, duplicate your layer, choose the dodge tool and set it to highlight, then surround your subject, making sure to be careful over lighter areas. If you accidentally go over your subject, don't worry about it, that's why we made another layer. Just add a layer mask and paint it back.
This is what it looks like after about 3 min of dodging, easy :)

Then I copy over the parts of each individual image I would like to keep onto the original photo, here i have 3 spiders and me. I am going to use parts from each spider to create a new creature, giving me the image I would like. Examine them closely and see which attributes were taken from which spider.
This is the end result, I am pretty happy with how it looks, but still needs work.
I want to make sure everything around the spider is pure white, so i am using the same dodge tool in the same way. adding a levels adjustment layer over everything shows me for sure what is going all the way to white, and what is still in the grayscale.
I then place and scale the image of me, where appropriate. I set this as a multiply layer, so i wouldn't have to mask out any white. As you can see I still look very out of place. The immediate things that jump out at me are color balance, saturation, and contrast. A couple more adjustment layers and we are looking better.

Now all that is needed is a shadow. Ctrl+shft+Alt+E will make a duplicate layer of all that is visible, and is very handy in times like this. I made a duplicate layer, chose the area under one of the feet on the spider, duplicated that, stretched out the layer, set it as multiply, duplucated it again, and placed the 2 layers under me. Instant shadow. And suddenly I belong, The Wasp prince. Crop and save.

Everything took about 1 Hr, and I was talking to my bro during the whole time, so you can see this stuff isn't killer. Good Luck :)

Melissa's Photoshoot - August 27th 2008

Some final images from Melissa's photoshoot this morning. She needed some photos for her modeling portfolio, and these were some of our favorites.

Into the Wind


Fragility

(we decided to do a remake of my "Rapunzel" shot because her dress had such a beautiful long train. Hers came out wonderfully, she has such long elegant arms!)

Anomalie

Isn't she beautiful!?

Now, I have a little bit of a situation on my hands. As many of you know, I have booked my flight to the USA to visit my Aaron! I am so excited, my flight leaves in October and we are both literally counting down the days. Minutes even.
I have been saving up to go for around a month (since he left England) and unfortunately, my current job has suffered a massive staff loss and we do not have a full time chef - meaning around 90% of the other staff were cut - including oneself! Because as you can probably guess - a pub without a chef doesn't need waitresses to run non-existant food. Being only 17, I can't work behind the bar, either.
So I have decided to start trying to make money with my photography instead.

If anyone has any ideas - I have heard some people mention photobooks, but I have no idea what they are, then please let me know!

I am available for photoshoots - band shoots, portraits, fashion, commercial, personal shoots, model portfolios and conceptual work.

I am also available for tutorials - for example, if any photography beginners would like me to spend the day teaching them tricks and sharing my secrets, I am available for that. I can also make online tutorials to sell - for example, "clearing the background" (see a few posts below "R E L A X") and other handy photo editing tutorials. These will be simple to follow and very much step by step.

If you're interested, message me at georgiarosehardy@gmail.com
or on my flickr http://flickr.com/rosiehardy

I need to see my love and if this is the only way I can make money to do so then I am going to put my heart and soul into it! If you have any ideas, please do get in touch!!!

<3
Rosie

Behind the Scenes - Wendy's Survival

Some behind the scene footage!!

the set up:

in the hole twisting the doll thing because we found out that it plays this really creepy music like a music box!!!!! insane!!!!



we had real fatalities, too



melissa doing my hair again to make it look more "bombed"



What an awesome day! Hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes!

Our Song - This Time Tomorrow - The kinks

The ARF Song

The ARF Song
Originally uploaded by wolfgang.gruber

AWESOME!!!!

Wedding

So I didn't have any time to take a 365 yesterday because my step sister Susie got married! I was a bridesmaid and the whole thing was so beautiful. So instead of posting a 365 to flickr, i'll upload some randoms that I found on my camera when I got home! I left it in the hands of my friend Nick who came with me, so once I'd taught him how to switch the camera on, he went crazy! :P


from left: one of the ushers i cant remember his name! sorry usher! my brother john, jess my team mate :P, andy the groom, susie my step sister, the best man who was funny as fuck, self, my step brother david and someone who i have no idea!!

OK actually on 2nd thoughts I'm pretty sleepy so I'll upload some more tomorrow!! Big day. Biiiiiiig day!

I miss my love and all I want is his arms right now!

WE LOVE THIS!

hahahahahaha.... this is SO our new acronym!!!!! Big thanks to Gergely Biro (www.flickr.com/birogergely) for making this!!!

A Tutorial For Beth

I get quite a few emails asking how I get an "old vintage dirty look" to my photos, and although a written response is ok, I figured the best thing to do would be to explain via pictures too!

So here you go, Beth!

step 1) OPen up your image and adjust the colours and everything to how you want. This image I used is the alternative half to compilation sunday, I figured I may at least put it to some use so there we go :)


Step 2 is as above - "open as layers" and then select a texture. I get my texture from www.deviantart.com in the resources>textures catagory. Some are free to download, other people prefer if you credit the picture with a link to their profile or the texture itself.


Step 3. You should then have something that looks like this (above). If you are using GIMP, you should then go to DIALOGS (pointed at by a red arrow) and select LAYERS. If you are using an alternative program, you need to hunt around for anything that says layers, or on photoshop it is automatically always up.


The LAYERS box should look something like that - and above the mini thumbnails there should be a scrolly thing with OPACITY written nearby. Adjust the opacity to around 8-17% depending on your personal preference for it. Flatten the image and you should have what you set out to get!:


VOILA!
Now i have to go for my driving lesson!
Hope that makes sense!

What Does That Slug Taste Like, Aaron?

What Does That Slug Taste Like, Aaron?
Originally uploaded by viva la vibs

Babygirl absolutely loves THIS PHOTO by Aaron. Every time she comes over, she asks to look at it. Yesterday she wanted to ask him if he was real so I relayed the message to Aaron. Turns out he is real! (imagine that!). Today, she sends her message to him directly in video form! So, what does that slug taste like, Aaron?


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aknacer Pro User says:

Babygirl is absolutely adorable! I love this video - It is going directly onto Mine and Rosie's Blog!
aaronrosieforever.blogspot.com/

To answer your question, the slug is surrounded in goo, and there is so much goo everywhere that when I put it in my mouth I couldn't even feel it! It was like it was floating there! really weird. It tasted like salty leaves! haha, I just spent the last 5 minutes brainstorming on what it was like, but that is definitely it! Salty leaves.
I don't suggest putting one in your mouth, but if you do make sure to take a photo, so you can gross out the world :)

Hahaha, you should have seen the wide eyed face on her when she heard the answer was salty leaves! She was so excited to hear you wrote back. She had me refreshing the page every 5 seconds (same thing happened when we emailed Santa and the reindeers). Glad you enjoyed it! Oh and by the way, she also likes yours and Rosie's photos in which you're both in photo frames, reaching out. Her little 6 year old mind goes into overdrive trying to understand how you're not really both there. Conversation quickly turned to "But wait, is he there? Or is she there? How are they not there but they're touching?" SO MANY QUESTIONS! =)

r e l a x

r e l a x
Originally uploaded by rosiehardy

R E L A X - a tutorial!

So I decided to show you guys a little of the post processing that goes into shots like this. I worked on an outtake for you all to see, and you will see the transformation from an unedited shot to a fully edited shot. Of course, because I'm a slacker and off out in 20minutes, I didn't put a whole lot of effort into the outake - I didn't photoshop some wires out or post process it in the same way as the final shot.

As you can see - totally unedited. There was a radiator in the way which clutters up the photo, as well as a weird thing in the top right corner and some unwanted furniture. Step 1 for me is to sort out the photo composition wise and crop until I like it, and it is simple and uncluttered.

Leaving this image:


Next, I would play with the curves as shown. Aaorn taught me how to do this, it is far more effective than using the brightness/contrast bar!


Finally, I would decrease the saturation and add a texture layer to the wall behind me. As you can see, I have it on around 12% opacity.


Finally the image is almost complete, and adding the finishing touches produces a photo much like this one:

And voila! An outtake.

Alone Together

Alone Together
Originally uploaded by fayeshka

It was inspired by him and her , and how they found each other through Flickr and their love for photography. I learned about them through Pam and i thought theirs was a lovely story. Too good to be true, even. I guess when you find someone as special, even strangers celebrate with you and are inspired by the love that you share.

This is for Rosie and Aaron.

We fly together or not at all

This time Rosie was traveling on Sunday, so we decided to do the same thing we did last week. Compilation Shmunday!

How is it that I managed to find the most awesome girl in the world, and have her love me in return? Damn I am lucky.
Rosie and I have planned out so much of our future over the last week, it really feels amazing to be part of a team I know are going to make it. Team ARF.

it had to happen at some point

This is the biggest compliment ever! thanks so much to Sunshine doll!

He took me to places I'd never seen

How I shoot

I know pretty much the exact image I want before i touch the camera, which helps out a bunch. I go over a scene, the props, the "talent" and of course the lighting in my head before a shoot.

Here is the biggest lesson i have learned over the last month or so. Light changes everything. It creates mood, which is important, but it can also transform a perfectly normal scene into something suitable for a photo.

This was taken in the living room of my parents house :) A completely normal and boring location, something i have waked by thousands of times, the only thing that makes it special is the light.

As far as props go, sometimes I will go out of my way and purchase something if it is really needed for a shoot, but I find that usually I can find something just as good lying around the house- FREE.

Another lesson I am learning is - some shoots/ideas are doomed from the start, and it is best to not cling. Knowing when a shoot just isn't going to work can be tough, but generally if i am messing about with lights/props etc for too long and not getting what i want, I will pick everything up and go somewhere else. Some of my favorite shots were taken right after a complete FAIL.

I spent 13 hours on the website yesterday, and another 6 on it today, so hopefully soon something will be up for everyone to look at, then pay us!!!! YAY.

Unseen Photos

So me and Aaron decided to start up a blog - posting pictures that aren't 365s or compilations, yet still belong in the "ARF" category.


We'll update with news and stories - like for instance, we have been featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer!!

You can read the article here!

Seven Deadly Sins, Sloth

Seven Deadly Sins, Sloth
Originally uploaded by rosiehardy

okmijm

Sloth

Sloth
Originally uploaded by aknacer

Aaron Rosie Forever

Hey guys! This is our first blog, we'll upload photos, messages, diaries and all sorts of cool shit, so check back for all the ARF updates you will ever need!!!

first post

I love you baby