Make your own kind of magic this holiday season.

(Click on image for a larger viewing window.)
I’m not fond of drama in real life but I do love a dramatic blended image… and high school sports.
Tried to make my own lightning at first, but decided that was too time consuming. Googled smoke and lightning brushes and downloaded some free brushes, installed them in Photoshop CC 2015. BOOM! …much easier.
Every image can use improvement and I think an action image would be a good candidate for a blend using these brushes.
Next time…
Foreground image was taken in the studio with accent lights on both sides of the face and one light to camera right. Background looked too dull and I wanted to “jazz it up” . Many hours of blood sweat and tears take place on and off the court so decided to try blending the subject with a background photo of the gym. Still too blah…
I tried a haze in the background, but not enough texture for me. What to do, what to do? Found some free smoke brushes and played around? Here is the link to the free brushes found at a site called ucreative.com. (Click on link) Made a transparency layer to apply the smoke to the background, erasing if necessary and another transparency layer on top of the image. Go Lancers!
Best wishes to the class of 2016… Slide show and images by Joyce Meyer
Following is the link to the same size YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=C0_Ru2v0Zow
Both Vimeo and YouTube slide shows are the 960 x 540 option. Both sites utilized the free plan option and were shared from IMovie.
So, what’s the difference between YouTube and Vimeo?
YouTube is owned by Google, and therefore by linking your YouTube content in with your Google My Business account is most likely to gain you some SEO points. YouTube and Google also give you the ability to stream videos live via Google Hangouts. On the other hand, your videos on YouTube will be subject to more ads and a more cluttered interface.
For businesses looking for higher quality video presentation there is Vimeo. Vimeo will allow you to upload your videos at a higher quality, and less distractions.
~ Symphony.3.com
Another interesting link comparing YouTube and Vimeo:
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/youtube-vs-vimeo-business/
Winters can be long and brutal in Minnesota, but that just makes spring all the sweeter. Optimism fills the air as the soil receives tender seeds and new life spring forth. Across the road, newborn baby calves are bouncing under the watchful eye of their mothers munching on fresh spring grass.
…and children play.