Today the children and I went to one of our favorite haunts, the library. Twenty-five books, fifteen dvds and a handful of Archies later we were merrily on our way. So few books. We’re obviously easing back into school. Rachel and I were especially gleeful to pick up books we had reserved online.

Normally I spend the precious free moments of my day on the computer: perusing blogs, reading and writing e-mail, and working on various other computer projects. Not this afternoon. Not once I had this book in my hands.

Author, Scott Kelby, is the editor of Photoshop User magazine and the training director for Adobe Photoshop seminars. He’s written over 20 books and has an informal, easy-going writing style that makes his work highly readable.

After five minutes of reading (only at stop lights, I promise), I was hooked and prepared to spend the rest of the day devouring the Photoshop Elements 5 book. If you own Photoshop and have been too busy/overwhelmed/scared to dive into the editing experience, head straight to the library or Amazon.com and check out this excellent book. Don’t be intimidated by its thickness, there are hundreds of step by step instructions and illustrations.

Included in the book is an entire chapter on retouching portraits - removing blemishes, whitening teeth and eyes, lessening wrinkles, and even giving a digital nose job. I am only a Photoshop novice, an amateur at best, but I thought it might be interesting to tackle some basic steps using a sweet picture of Sarah.

Here is the original photo:

My flower girl.

The first thing I did was to remove some mild blemishes (freckles, a small scar on her forehead, etc). I used the Healing Brush tool. This is a fantastic editing tool as it allows you to easily make very subtle changes.

Next I thought it would be interesting to try softening the circles under Sarah’s eyes. Kelby’s book had a helpful section on this topic (offering three different ways to approach it). I tried the Clone Stamp but couldn’t get a natural look and went back to the Healing Brush tool.

Circles under eyes softened and few blemishes faded.

There are instructions, in the book, for whitening eyes and teeth. I tried both on another picture and it found them to be incredibly easy. Select the area to be lightened (using the Lasso tool) and then go to Enhance — Adjust Color — Adjust Hue/Saturation. For eyes select Red in the Edit Box and then slide the bar all the way to the left in the Saturation field. After making that adjustment, you change the Edit Box back to Master and then slide the bar to the right in Lightness field, adjusting it slightly. This will brighten eyes beautifully.

To whiten teeth, select the teeth (being careful not to include the gums or lips) and then follow the same procedure choosing Yellow in the Edit Box of the Enhance — Adjust Color — Adjust Hue/Saturation function. Slide the bar all the way to the left in the Saturation field (removing the yellow tints) and then switch the Edit Box back to Master and brighten slightly with the Lightness guide. The Preview feature in the editing panel immediately reflects the changes made.

Note to self: Be careful to use a deft hand and light touch in photo-editing.

After whitening Sarah’s eyes slightly, I decided to soften her skin tone. For this procedure I went to Enhance — Adjust Color — Adjust Color for Skin Tone and selected a spot on her skin. I liked the overall color change this edit applied to the picture so I didn’t adjust it further. There are controls within this editing box that allow additional alterations in the colors — Tan, Blush and Ambient Light — and a wonderful Reset button. I was able to fine-tune and modify as much as I liked, nothing like a handy “reset” button.

This is probably the most dramatic change - warms and deepens the entire picture.

There was a detailed chapter on color correction. Much of the editing in Photoshop can be accomplished using the Quick Fix application. I didn’t use it with this picture because I wanted to explore some other, more complex techniques. Sure enough, there was a a complicated process of color correction in this chapter that involved setting the values of target colors for the shadow areas then using those default numbers to adjust the overall picture. I don’t exactly understand the mechanics behind the various steps (okay, I don’t understand them at all) but Kelby outlined each stage so clearly and with full-color illustrations that I had no trouble following the directions.

I saved Sarah’s picture after each step of editing but some of the differences are so slight, I didn’t include them here. As it is, this is a LOT of focus on one picture. By the end of this post we’re all going to be bored to death of Sarah and her flowers.

I thought it would be nice to heighten the color in the roses and Sarah’s blue shirt so I used the Magic Wand tool to select the pink flowers and blue shirt. It took several clicks (holding the Shift key down) to be sure everything was selected. There are other ways to select a portion of the photo, this just happens to be the one I used for this step. After I had the areas selected I clicked on Enhance — Adjust Color — Adjust Hue/Saturation and then increased the Saturation just a bit by sliding the bar to the right. I might have made her shirt too bright. It’s hard to find the line between enhancing and transforming.

Note to self: Keep working on that gentle touch. Don’t be afraid to use the undo button and start over.

What pretty roses, Sarah, and such a nice, bright shirt.

Scott Kelby says most (okay, all) pictures need a bit of sharpening after the colors have been adjusted. Who am I to argue with an expert? I followed his instructions for sharpening a portrait. Kelby explains the reasons behind the various settings and includes numbers for basic sharpening, sharpening soft subjects, portraits, as well as moderate and maximum sharpening.

I’m telling you, this is an awesome book!

Again I went over to that wonderful little Enhance menu (seems like I spend much of my time there) and clicked on Unsharp Mask. I set the numbers to Amount 75% — Radius 2 — Threshold 3. Now that I look over the pictures I don’t see very much change after applying the sharpening (or rather unsharpening) tool. Interesting. Of course, subtle editing is theoretically the goal in this operation so I should be pleased.

I thought Sarah’s lips looked a little pale so I selected them and darkened the saturation level just a bit. Too much and she looked like she was wearing makeup. I wanted to try out one other tool in Photoshop’s portfolio so I decided to give Sarah a few highlights. I used the Dodge tool to “paint” some lighter streaks in her hair. I’m not sure it looks natural so I probably wouldn’t use this in my final picture but it was fun and certainly more affordable than going to the salon.

Would you people STOP looking at me, please.

So there you have it, a nice little tutorial on Photoshop Elements 5 from someone who knows little but can obviously read and follow directions.

Here’s a set of before and after pictures, side by side:

Tune in again for another unique modification of this picture.

Kathy

The Lord has generously blessed me with two precious daughters. Rachel, my oldest daughter, was born in the wee hours of the morning, during one of the coldest snowstorms we have ever known. Sarah, my youngest, was born in the heat of the summer, on my birthday; tying her to my heart in a unique and memorable way and vividly illustrating for me that all five of my children are gifts from God.

October 2002 — Pumpkin Patch

I want so many things for my daughters, yet in the midst of those hopes and dreams, I find surprising contradictions.

I hunger for them to love the Lord with passion and intensity so they will go wherever He calls them, and serve Him fully. At the same time, my heart trembles at the thought of ministry taking them into danger far from home.

I long for them to know, with absolute certainty, that their worth comes from the Lord and His love, not from the world or anything external (beauty, wealth, power, popularity). But I also want them to be beautiful, well-liked and full of confidence.

August 2003 - Texas Vacation

I envision the courageous, independent women they will become, unafraid of the challenges and responsibilities of life. Yet I still want them to need ME; to remain my little girls, looking to their mother for guidance and instruction.

I pray earnestly that they will find soul-mates, worthy of their love and respect, with whom they can sculpt a godly marriage. And yet, when I close my eyes and see them vulnerably entrusting their hearts and bodies to a stranger, I gasp in fear and dismay, wanting only to hold them close.

Christmas 2004

I hope they will have children and pour their hearts into raising and caring for those little ones, knowing the sacred calling it is to be a mother. I also want them to conquer the world; be doctors, scientists, explorers, letting nothing prevent them from following their dreams.

I want them to pursue their education with commitment, discipline and intensity, discovering their passions and developing a true love for learning. At the same time, I fear ungodly influences of higher education, voices chipping away at their faith.

December 2005

I yearn for us to be close friends, or, as Anne of Green Gables would say, kindred spirits, sharing hobbies and interests in an easy, comfortable fellowship. That said, I want them to develop their own gifts and pursuits, blossoming into the creative women God designed them to be.

What a terrible jumble of hopes, dreams and fears! Did my parents seek all these things for me? Do all parents face this push and pull of holding tight and letting go?

Time doesn’t slow down for a mother’s conflicting dreams. No matter how much I secretly want to keep the girls here under my protective wing, life pushes them slowly onward until they will surely fly.

And fly they will. I can choose: do I want to have a part in the path in which they will fly, the direction they will take, the people with whom they will fly? Or do I want to shut my eyes tight to their maturing and growth?

December 2006

Mount up on wings like eagles, my girls, and soar! May the Lord equip me to build in you strength, character and a listening ear, able to hear His still soft voice. I ask that He quiet my fears, gently gathering all the good in my hopes for you, and breathe His vision and spirit into your lives.

He will help me let you go.

January 2007

…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Jeremiah 40:31)

Kathy

This post is my entry for the Mothers and Daughters Blog Carnival, hosted on Sing For Him. Visit her site on Monday, to enjoy other posts on this theme.

Excuse me, we’d like to chat but sometimes a girl just has to swing.

We will, however, stop for food. Food and giggling are very important in the Girl Power world.

The big girls just sit around looking beautiful, but the rest of us have things to do.

Pick those flowers faster, girls!!

We had friends over for dinner and games this evening. The little girls were busy and a bit difficult to capture on film without quite the blur of action. Rachel, Hannah and Bethany, however, were more than willing to step outside for a few pictures. We are very blessed to have good friends in our life.

Tomorrow we’ll have three extra boys over. Yikes! Don’t you know we’ll have some fun moments to capture on blog while they are here.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 209

My theory is: as long as there is another present to be opened, then it’s still your birthday. My brother Thom’s birthday is on the 31st of July, so growing up there was a very definite end to my birthday celebrations. He did his best to arrive on the scene at the very end of July, but still, he was constantly encroaching on my birthday. These days, with Thom safely miles away, I am free to claim the entire month of July for my birthday.

Of course, I share one or two days with Sarah.

After all, I’m not greedy.

Timothy, Elizabeth and Mark are obviously also very excited about my birthday.

In all fairness, Sarah was the one who had a whole basket full of presents left to open. The week of camp was busy and wet, wet, wet. Did I already mention how it rained and rained every day but one? I don’t want to complain, but the middle of July is NOT the time it should be raining. Even in western Washington. Aren’t there rules about this sort of thing? Something about rain and birthdays and standards of summer weather? Somehow there wasn’t ever time to open the rest of the birthday presents. No doubt it was because of the rain.

Today we all gathered for one last party celebration. Yes, it was raining. Sarah and I did our best to ignore the lousy weather and concentrate on more important things, like presents and being spoiled rotten.

On Tuesday, the day after her birthday, Sarah told me, “I miss being four.”

When we got home this evening, there was a huge box on the porch addressed to me. More presents? See how a birthday can be stretched out to last and last.

And there are still cards to open on the mantle.

Life is good.

Now if it would just stop raining.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 202

Today is a big day in our home, as we celebrate the birth of our sweet Sarah, who turned five today. It is also a day of great celebration as we celebrate the birth of Kathy, who graciously shares this day with her daughter.

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (Psalm 103:17-18)

We opened one present for each of the birthday girls before the family headed off for a week at camp — a CD for Kathy, and a couple of little people for Sarah to play with on the drive.

Once we were all ensconced in the Duckabush house, we started to open presents in earnest. As the clock sliced away at the minutes before I had to get to bed (I have to work this week, and so am staying home while everyone else is at camp, sniff, sniff!) I began to run into some peculiar resistance. Kathy didn’t want to open her presents. She loves the anticipation of her birthday so much, that she can hardly stand to let it end. As we have tried to follow a budget this year, she knows this will be a sparser year than some, and I had to promise her that I had at least one present still in the mail before she would agree to open most of her gifts.

Sarah can always count on a brother or two hovering nearby to ‘help’ her with her gift-opening

Sarah had no such compunctions, but we did end up limiting her gift-opening so as not to overwhelm her with the generosity of her siblings and over-indulgent parents.

Rachel and Sarah bought their mama a new tea kettle, something she has wanted for a good while. Daniel and David went in on a fancy new frying pan, one with a handle that can stand the heat of the oven (in case she wants to make a frittata, I’m told). Joshua bought some music CDs, as we renew our efforts to satisfy Kathy’s love for variety in Christian music.

Some years ago I bought Kathy a colorful beach towel for her birthday, and eventually inherited it as my bath towel. The towel is starting to fade with age, and so …

I looked up ‘birthday’ on my favorite online Bible reference site and discovered that the only recorded scriptural accounts of people celebrating the day of their birth (apart from Jesus and the three Magi) seem to involve Pharoah (the good one, who was smart enough to hire Joseph) and a rather gruesome tale about Herod’s birthday party. Celebrating birthdays doesn’t seem to be much of a big deal in scripture, except for this rather graphic reference in the book of Ezekiel, when God reminds Israel that she was nothing before he chose her:

On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. (Ezekiel 16:4-7a)

My two birthday girls were not despised on the day of their births, but it is sobering to think that, except for God’s kindness toward each of us, we would be ‘thrown out into the open field’ to die, forever cut off from his glory because of our sin. Remembering our helplessness and God’s gracious salvation through His son, Jesus, it seems very fitting that we celebrate Jesus’ birth with such lavish display and outpouring of good will toward our fellow man. Kathy and Sarah’s birthdays are well-situated at the other end of the year, when our budget and shopping stamina is not so exhausted from Christmas.

This year the kids seemed to have definite ideas about what to buy their mother, which was a great relief to me.

For several months, Kathy has been hinting about her desire for Photoshop Elements, a software package that she hopes to use to enhance some of her digital camera pictures. In June, she stripped the veils off her hints and began making less guarded comments, perhaps fearing that I would somehow not realize what she wanted for her birthday. Spitefully, I maintained an air of insouciance and bland disinterest, desperately clutching at the hope that I could still give her the software as a surprise. I’ve never been very good at insouciance, as it turns out, so I’m sure she was not surprised to receive Photoshop Elements as her ‘big’ present. Smug and delighted: yes, surprised: no. At least I can spell ‘insouciance’, which is no small thing in this day and age.

Now she has to contain her glee until she gets home, since the software will probably not install on our old laptop. And she thought opening the gifts would end the anticipation!

As the household settled down, Kathy persuaded the passel of boys in the next room to brush their teeth, with some success. It should be a fun week of Camp and Cousins!

Teeth-brushing, tongue-brushing, what’s the difference, as long as you’re sincere?

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 18:22)

Thanks be to God for His abundant favor and blessing to me! Thanks, Mamie and Grand-dad, for raising such a godly and delightful daughter!