I can’t believe Christmas is right around the  corner.  Today we woke up to 40 degree temps (including one of the dogs halfway on the bed snuggling against me to keep warm)…now for most of the United States, this would be warm weather…but for us south Floridians, this is WINTER.  We wait all year long for this kind of weather.  I love it because the frogs, gnats, mosquitos and spiders go away, every day is a good hair day, and it’s just plain wonderful to be OUTSIDE!

We’ve got almost all of the holiday shopping done, all we need to do now is wrap up presents.  I’ve gotten quite a few images printed out as gifts for friends and family this year.  I used www.WHCC.com and www.colorinc.com and they both did phenomenal jobs!  I highly recommend either company if you need anything printed out.

And, I’ll leave you with a photo, of my Appaloosa mare Spotty taken with my new 50mm 1.4 lens.  I love this lens, it even makes the pesky little bugs into bokeh!

Most folks this time of year blog their wish-lists.  And usually, the items on those wish-lists will be under their Christmas tree on Christmas day.  But, I figured I’d blog about what is NOT going to be under my tree this year.  These are items that are on my personal wish-list, things I will buy for myself in the coming year.

First up, a new camera bag.  Ok, so I’ve already got a Lowepro backpack, a Canon backpack, two purse backpacks, and a messenger style camera bag.  But, what I want is something cute and small that can double as a purse and also hold what I bring on portrait shoots…the 50D, the 50mm 1.4 and my other odds and ends like wallet, lip gloss, memory cards, etc.  I always find myself stuffing the camera in my purse when I go to visit family also, and regular purses just don’t have the protection a bag made specifically for a camera does.  So…my solution?  A Jill-e bag!  I just love the Pink small patent leather bag they have…this is actually at the top of my list.

Second on the list is the 580exII Canon flash.  I already have a studio set up, where I use Alien Bees (and I did ask santa for a third strobe, and remote so I’m not tethered anymore…. which I desperately need in there).  I like the studio portraits, the family portraits, babies, on location work, but I’m trying to avoid weddings for now…although the weddings somehow find me.  And with a wedding you really do need a flash.  So, this is the next thing on the list.

Finally, a full frame camera is last on the list.  The Canon 5D Mark II.  I have the 50D which I love, but I really need full frame.  So, it may take me a little while longer to save up for this baby…but I will have it, hopefully in the ‘not so distant’ future

And to leave you with something…..hmmm…how about a little shot with the 50mm 1.4 of my favorite shoes…my chucks!

Last year On One sent me their Plug In Suite 4 with a coupon code for my blog readers to save when purchasing the program.  I’ve religiously used that program ever since.  I relied on that program a lot!  It’s jam packed with all types of ‘actions’ (kubota, etc!  I can’t be without ‘magic sharp’, seriously!) and it’s a super easy program to use.  Open your photo, launch the plug in, and just sit there and try out all the ‘actions’ you want on your photo before deciding which one you want to use.

Anyway…

I just recently had to re-install all of my stuff when I got Windows 7.  After CS4, Lightroom, and all my frequently used programs went in, the next thing was Plug in Suite 4.  But…it wasn’t working.  It wasn’t showing up in the filter menu OR in the automate menu.  I freaked.  I needed that program.  Seriously, there’s some black and white actions in there I loved and have yet to be able to replicate that look with anything else!  So, I emailed them.  I told them the problem and they sent me the NEW Plug In Suite 5!  Woohoo!   Let me tell you, this version of the program is 1000 times better than the previous version!  Both came with the frames, genuine fractals, photo tune, focal point, photo tools, etc…. but the new version has MORE.  I especially love the layouts that come in the frames program.  Check this one out I made in literally seconds (yes, my dog’s photo is in it…but it’s just what I grabbed at the time to test the layout).  The longest part was choosing which layout I wanted to use and which font I wanted to use for the dog’s name, lol.  (please note, there is something in CS4 that prevents it from showing in the filter menu, but it DOES show under automate).

What I really like about the layouts is….how quick and easy it goes.  I was into the digital scrapbooking and everything, and created similar layouts like the one above, but you literally have to place each individual piece of tape around the frame, etc.  This has some of the coolest layouts already created for you (senior, baby, holiday, etc), pick a layout and it puts your photo onto a layer beneath the frame for you.  All you need to do is resize it to fit in the frame.  Genius.  Simple.  Easy.  Great for albums for your clients, single photos that you want printed out and framed, anything.

But, Photo Tools is what I have always used the most.  In the new version they give you details as to what each action does, even before/afters, which helps a lot because there’s so many actions in this set that you can’t remember what they all do!  There’s even a search feature to find actions inside the program.  Like, if I want to find the vignette actions…I just start typing “vign….” and before I finish they’ve popped up.   There’s so much in this program, will talk more about it soon!

I’m going to email them and see if they can provide my readers with another coupon code for this program.  I’m also going to be posting a few before/afters to show you how neat this program is!

I hope everyone’s month is going great so far and that you’re making headway with your holiday shopping.  I’ve got several orders on the way from WHCC and ColorInc, and because they both have fast shipping, they all will arrive in time for me to frame them and wrap them up for Christmas.  The first order arrived yesterday….I can’t go into detail as to what images I got, because they are Christmas gifts…but I can say I got a couple images printed out on the metallic photo paper from WHCC and they look incredible.  Both my husband and I sat there and just stared at these prints, moving them around in the light…they’re just spectacular!  I tell you, if you’ve got any black and white images or some great color landscape shots (especially HDR)..they’d be PERFECT on the metallic paper!

Now, I’ve got an 8″x10″ holiday frame freebie for you today.  It’s 300dpi and in .png format.  Just drag your image onto a layer beneath the frame, resize, flatten and save as a jpg to print!  I’ve printed out many of the designs I’ve created and they all look beautiful.  Don’t miss out on this freebie, you’ll want to snag this one.

Download link is below the preview:

Download the 8″x10″ Holiday Frame HERE