CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-22 01:51:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Love them or hate them, Apple can make some smart, beautiful commercials. This one catches my eye everytime I see it ... and, honestly, I get a little teary! (That's the sentimental photographer in me, I guess).

I think I like this ad so much because it's so true to what we're like as photographers ... no words required.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/videos/#tv-ads-photos-every-day

2013-05-21 23:24:36 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 43 +1s)

Introducing Snapsation

Amongst the greatest human needs is the need to tell stories, to record memories, and to share our moments with the people who matter the most to us.

When you need an awesome dating profile picture, a business portrait, photos of your family reunion or milestone events. You need an amazing local photographer to help you to capture all of  life’s moments.

As a local business you want to show off how amazing your restaurant is, the decor in your Bed and Breakfast, to show off your beautiful store or great new products, to record your industry happenings and events.

Finding a photographer is intimidating. And harder than it should be.

Photographers need customers. No matter how experienced a photographer is, there never seems to be enough time to focus on getting new customers. And for the many passionate andta... more »

2013-05-20 23:46:35 (15 comments, 4 reshares, 215 +1s)

Instant Hipster Presets ... aww yeah!

I just added a new Lightroom/Photoshop preset pack to my store, inspired by +Instagram :) Here are some examples, and you can see more over on my site: http://nicolesy.me/instant-hipster

2013-05-20 19:19:58 (47 comments, 56 reshares, 747 +1s)

Sunset in the Barossa Valley

In Feb/March +Brian Matiash and I visited +Australia and we were lucky to spend a few days in the Barossa Valley. We were (intentionally) late to dinner so we could photograph this beautiful scene at sunset, which was literally right out the back door of our room at The Louise (http://www.thelouise.com.au/).

I really wish we could have spent a few more days in that area, we saw so much but barely scratched the surface.

#Australia  

2013-05-19 06:08:40 (61 comments, 43 reshares, 497 +1s)

Happening now ...

#AutoAwesome  cc +Brian Matiash 

2013-05-21 06:28:02 (59 comments, 40 reshares, 633 +1s)

It's such a nice day today, I'm loving this sky! I'm out on my walk with Kodak right now...

2013-05-16 20:34:58 (63 comments, 44 reshares, 764 +1s)

A Kodak-moment on our walk today :)

2013-05-16 16:23:32 (19 comments, 11 reshares, 139 +1s)

New eBook: The Inspired Photographer

http://store.nicolesy.com/products/ebook-inspired-photographer

I just released my brand new eBook a few hours ago ... yippee! I'm super excited for this one, I hope you'll take a look.

It's my 7th published book, but my first-ever self-publish. I put a lot of hard work into it, from writing to design, and I think it turned out beautifully (of course, I am a little biased). :)

And, for a limited time, use the discount code INSPIRATION for 20% off this eBook! Discount code expires on May 23, 2013 at midnight (PST)

2013-05-17 11:41:25 (38 comments, 33 reshares, 607 +1s)

My favorite season...

This is an image from a trip I made to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill last year when the leaves were golden. I didn't get out much to photograph Autumn over the last few years (I was traveling in SE Asia both times), and now that I'm moving to California someone will have to show me where there are good spots to get color in the leaves (please tell me there are places near the SF Bay area with colorful leaves!). :)

And, I wanted to post a vertical to see how pretty it looked in the stream. Kinda digging the new features of the G+ UI :)

#waterfallwednesday  

2013-05-15 17:36:22 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 152 +1s)

So cool! Just saw the pic of me and my mom I on +Vic Gundotra's stream at the Google IO keynote :)

#herestothemoms   #IO13  

2013-05-14 20:45:22 (23 comments, 14 reshares, 258 +1s)

Join +Nicole S. Young in the new +onOne Perfect Inspiration, “How To Save Yourself Time Through An Organized Workflow” http://ow.ly/kZky2

2013-05-14 02:06:58 (28 comments, 17 reshares, 301 +1s)

This is Kodak in the park during today's walk ... he loves this place (Thousand Acres Dog Park) and we'll definitely miss it after we move.

Edited with +Snapseed #snapseed

2013-05-13 17:48:29 (0 comments, 20 reshares, 227 +1s)

The +Google+ Photos Cover Photo for the week of May 12th - +James Brandon

How does your jaw not just drop when you first see this image? When James shared his story of storm chasing along with this image, we knew it'd be a perfect fit for this week's Cover Photo of the Week. We're simply in awe of the amazing results of Mother Nature... and speaking of Mother Nature, Happy Mothers Day!

2013-05-09 21:29:36 (28 comments, 23 reshares, 361 +1s)

Garden Rose

It's t-minus 25 days until +Brian Matiash and I pack up and move to California (Bay Area), and since we've only lived in the house we just bought in December  I thought I'd enjoy some of the beautiful rose blossoms blooming in the garden. We only lived in the house five months and are just now starting to see them bloom ... I'm definitely no green-thumb, but I figured plucking a few flowers in the early morning wouldn't hurt :)

Processing Info: Left image is SOOC, right image has minor WB and tonal adjustments in Lightroom, along with the Rose preset from my Faded Floral preset pack: http://store.nicolesy.com/collections/frontpage/products/preset-faded-floral 

2013-05-08 21:09:35 (48 comments, 49 reshares, 473 +1s)

Free Preset for Lightroom & Photoshop!

Download it here: http://nicolesy.me/18uleu5

I just added a brand-new FREE preset to the Nicolesy Store! This preset works in both Lightroom and Photoshop ... instructions and more info is available over on the Nicolesy Store website (http://nicolesy.me/18uleu5). Enjoy!

2013-05-07 20:19:29 (11 comments, 7 reshares, 311 +1s)

Photawesomeness!

My favorite thing about Google+ is all the rad people I've got the chance to meet and call friends.  One in particular has been +Nicole S. Young!  She is an amazing friend and one of the best photographers I've had the pleasure of shooting with.  I'm super sad she's leaving the Portland area but am glad to have got to know her over the past year or so.  Last year I had the distinct pleasure of performing her and +Brian Matiash's marriage ceremony here at a local restaurant.  They both have been the best of friends and although there will be some distance between us I'm sure that our friendship will remain.

Here's a shot of Nicole from this past weekend during our shoot up near Rowena, OR in the Columbia River Gorge.

One thing that Nicole brings to the table, besides her amazing photography, is her breadth of knowledgeshe ... more »

2013-05-14 18:55:23 (109 comments, 9 reshares, 567 +1s)

#HeresToTheMoms

I love this photo of me and my mom ... I don't know the exact date, but I'm guessing somewhere around October of 1979. :) She was so happy to have a little girl! I think I was garbed in pink dresses the first three years of my life.

I love you, Mom!

2013-05-07 22:45:30 (90 comments, 70 reshares, 840 +1s)

Lupine Sunset

I had a fantastic evening watching the sun set alongside +Brian Matiash and +Brian Bonham last night. We went up to Rowena to photograph the wildflowers ... many of the sunflowers had started to wither and just looked icky, so I found a nice patch of purple as my foreground instead.

(Also, a quick shout-out to +Rick LePage for the inspiration and location info.) :)

Processing Info: 
- 7-shot HDR, processed in Nik's HDR Efex Pro
- Final touches in Lightroom 4

2013-05-04 03:06:49 (69 comments, 49 reshares, 755 +1s)

No better way to spend a Friday night...

... than out photographing the sunset with my favorite people. :) I'm out with +Brian Bonham & +Brian Matiash at Rowena in Oregon along the Columbia Rover Gorge. So pretty here ... and so peaceful!

Edited with +Snapseed #snapseed

2013-05-03 02:14:11 (34 comments, 4 reshares, 265 +1s)

This is Why I Love +Google+

Just a quick photo of me, +Brian Matiash and some of our very good friends before we went out shooting in the CRG early last month.

+Brian Bonham (center) is one of our PDX buddies who we'll have to say good-bye to ... and +Joe Dolister & +Karen Hutton are two great friends who we'll be much closer to when we move down to California next month.

Even though we're saying "goodbye", it won't be so bad. We all met each other through +Google+, and through the awesomeness of Hangouts we'll all be able to keep in touch. Yay Google! :)

2013-05-02 20:11:57 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 138 +1s)

Welcome to the new Google+ Photos page!

The photo community here on Google+ keeps inspiring us every day. Your passion for sharing beautiful photography drives us to keep thinking of new ways to make your images shine. This doesn’t just mean building new features you can use to share and discuss those important photos in your life -- we also want to help this vibrant community of Google+ photographers grow. 

So, say hello to the new Google+ Photos page! Here’s what you can expect:

You’ll get inspired. We’ll share beautiful and thought-provoking photographs, and shine a spotlight on the photographers who created them. 

You’ll meet great new people. Through Google+ Photographer Spotlights, the Google+ Photos Chat Series, and good-natured conversations within the community, you’ll be able to connect with people around the world wholove photos a... more »

2013-05-02 18:23:59 (13 comments, 1 reshares, 85 +1s)

Give me some "Like!" (...please) :)

If you're over on +Facebook+ come check out my "Nicolesy Store" page! I thought it would be a good place to share store-specific photos, products and exclusive discounts.

http://facebook.com/NicolesyStore

2013-05-01 02:15:18 (52 comments, 50 reshares, 728 +1s)

The Oregon Coast

I needed to take a break from eBook layout-ing, so I thought I'd process a photo I took when my friend +David Daniels was in town visiting  We took a trip out to the coast, and while we didn't have much of a sunset, we did have some good texture in the sky.

Processing Info: This is a combination of two photos (one for the water, other for the sky and rocks), and I did all of my stylization inside of Lightroom using one of my "Nicolesy Presets", as well as a few tweaks here and there. (This was the Golden Spiral preset from the "Down Under" preset pack: http://store.nicolesy.com/products-page/all-products/down-under/)

2013-04-25 20:28:49 (16 comments, 8 reshares, 123 +1s)

Knowledge is Power

http://store.nicolesy.com/videos/

Many of you know that I have a store where I sell Lightroom Presets, Photoshop Actions, and now Texture sets ... but did you also know that I have an entire video tutorials section on how to install and apply these products to your images using? I wouldn't offer you a fine collection of post-processing tools and just leave you hanging! So head over to my site (http://store.nicolesy.com) and click on the Video Tutorails link at the top, or go to my YouTube channel and view them there. :)

2013-04-25 18:40:12 (19 comments, 17 reshares, 199 +1s)

Textures!

I've just added some brand-new products in my store (http://store.nicolesy.com) ... this time in the form of two beautiful Texture Sets! There's a lot more detail on them over on the website, and if you'd like to take a look at some of the example photos, go ahead and scroll through this image gallery. :)

http://store.nicolesy.com/products-page/textures/

2013-04-23 20:52:19 (29 comments, 34 reshares, 160 +1s)

Free Lightroom Presets!

Did you know that I have a "Freebies" section in the Nicolesy Store? So far I have four Lightroom Presets available ... and, there are more free products on the way! Here's the link:

http://store.nicolesy.com/products-page/freebies/

2013-04-23 18:39:22 (30 comments, 8 reshares, 222 +1s)

Texture Teaser

I've been working on some new post-processing products for my store (http://store.nicolesy.com) and should have some new ones going live later this week! Here's a quick teaser of what's to come ...

#TextureTuesday  

2013-04-23 03:26:20 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 62 +1s)

There's some cool stuff happening over at +500px ... new portfolios and new pricing structure (don't worry, there's still a "free" option, too). And, it looks like you can extend your current "Awesome" or "Plus" account before the prices change and have it locked-in until you need to renew.

Can't wait to see the new portfolio designs when they officially launch! :)

2013-05-05 16:06:17 (75 comments, 83 reshares, 871 +1s)

Return to Panther Creek

One of the first waterfalls I visited up here in Oregon was at Panther Creek Falls with +Brian Matiash, +Varina Patel, +Jay Patel, +Michael Riffle and +Patricia Davidson. I was instantly taken in by this place ... a beautiful stream dropping off to a massive waterfall ... it is certainly a sight. So on
+David Daniels's last full day in Portland I decided to head out there with him and +Jeffrey Yen to squeeze in some last bits of waterfall goodness. Then, while we were there +Michael Riffle randomly happened to show up with his family! I thought that was pretty cool :)

I was also happy to have found a few compositions I didn't photograph on my previous trips out to the falls; it's definitely one of those places where there is a lot of potential for different types of photographs.

Prints of thisimage:... more »

2013-04-22 04:59:40 (70 comments, 18 reshares, 555 +1s)

I found this K1000 at an antique store today (actually, it was +David Daniels who made the discovery) and got it for only $15. It seems to work so far ... I'll know once I get the film processed. I think they typically go for around $100 so I figured it was a pretty decent find :)

2013-04-21 16:54:49 (42 comments, 14 reshares, 592 +1s)

At the Beach

Here's a quickie from yesterday's adventures. I think I had more fun playing fetch with Kodak on the beach for the first hour ... but I got a few keepers once I finally went and got my camera.

We're off today to photograph a waterfall! Should be fun :) cc +David Daniels 

2013-04-21 08:57:38 (51 comments, 34 reshares, 667 +1s)

I had a pretty awesome day at the beach with +David Daniels and Kodak. It was Kodak's first beach adventure! I think he had a blast :)

2013-04-22 03:16:46 (135 comments, 141 reshares, 1238 +1s)

The ones you don't expect...

Sometimes when you're out with your camera you have to be vigilant of those unexpected moments ... the times when you see a beautiful scene, gorgeous light, or just a perfect spot altogether. I've had too many times in my life where I was driving and saw something beautiful but just didn't stop to photograph it, so when I was out with +David Daniels yesterday I made certain that we stopped when one of these moments was staring me in the face.

And I'm so glad I did :)

(Purchase a print of this image: http://nicolesy.me/17BLyPK)

2013-04-22 19:37:18 (50 comments, 42 reshares, 555 +1s)

Into the Mist

This is one of the beautiful scenes I witnessed yesterday with +David Daniels while making our way through Silver Falls State Park. This place is SO BEAUTIFUL! I'm going to have to try and come back at least once before I move to Cali in June. I'm sure I could convince +Brian Bonham and/or +Jeffrey Yen to come along :)

(Check out this image on +SmugMug! http://nicolesy.me/XWSeZO)

2013-04-20 23:09:16 (56 comments, 38 reshares, 516 +1s)

The weekend has just begun...

Friday was a fun-filled day hanging out with my very good friend +David Daniels! He's in town for a few days, so we're doing what any good photographers would do and went on an adventure!

This is a glimpse of our trip out to Silver Falls ... looks like my camera had a good time, too, no? :)

2013-04-19 00:12:05 (26 comments, 24 reshares, 239 +1s)

The FX Photo Studio app for iOS is free for a limited time (as in ... right now!!). Hurry up and get it before time runs out. :)

Link to iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/fx-photo-studio/id312506856?mt=8

(And, if you missed it, you can go here and sign up to find out about the next "free-day":  http://fxphotostudioapp.com/onedayfree)

2013-04-17 21:05:56 (78 comments, 52 reshares, 543 +1s)

Enchilada: Behind the Scenes

I photographed my leftovers yesterday, with a little added styling for some color and texture. And yes, this was my dinner ... had to reheat it after the photo-shoot, but it was all fully edible. :)

#foodphotography   #foodporn   #food   #photography   #bts   #behindthescenes   #blog  

2013-04-16 21:49:05 (29 comments, 14 reshares, 359 +1s)

Kangaroo Island, Australia

Go here to read more: http://nicolesyblog.com/2013/04/15/kangaroo-island-australia/

I just posted an in-depth blog post post on my website about our experiences on Kangaroo Island. It is a beautiful place and so much fun! The photos may speak for themselves ... but if not, head over to my blog (link is above) to read more.

+Australia  #seeaustralia  

2013-04-17 13:44:59 (42 comments, 31 reshares, 554 +1s)

From the Cloud Collection

Go here to my blog to view the before/after photo: http://nicolesy.me/176aUVK

After the unimpressive sunrise on the first day of the tulip farm, +Brian Bonham and I went out the next morning, hoping for some beautiful color in the sky. Again, we were underwhelmed by the overcast and gray skies, so I took matters into my own hands using +Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and +onOne Software's Perfect Photo Suite 7.

I used a completely different sky for this image, and set things up to make it look as if it is a never-ending field of tulips going off into the sunset. When, in fact, it was a blah white sky and some out-of-focus trees and building stuff that was just, well, boring. (I'll post a photo of the "before" image in a second and edit my post with the link to it.)

#blog  

2013-04-11 18:37:57 (173 comments, 170 reshares, 1264 +1s)

Sunrise, Sunset

I met up with +Brian Bonham at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm this morning to photograph the sunrise which was, unfortunately, quite uneventful. The weather was cold and windy, and the sunrise went from dark to grey. 

I know what you're thinking ... there's a goregous sky in the photo! Well that, my friends, was made possible with the power of +Adobe Photoshop (and a sunset sky I photographed in Australia.) :) I took the tulip fields and added a more interesting sky to show what I wished we could have seen.

#blog  

2013-04-11 01:43:21 (29 comments, 16 reshares, 324 +1s)

The Tulip Ninja

I got up nice and early to photograph the tulips with +Brian Bonham. Sunrise was pretty uneventful, and it was cold and windy, but we still managed to get some good stuff (and will likely go back again with hopes that the sun shines for us next time).

Here he is getting close-ups ... and collecting flower photos for +Gilmar Smith. ;)

2013-04-10 15:30:32 (74 comments, 89 reshares, 709 +1s)

The Great Blue Ocean

I just love bright, blue water for long exposures ... it adds so much to the photo. I photographed this along the Great Ocean Road in +Australia last month; +Brian Matiash and I couldn't help but find some flowing water to plop our cameras next to. :) (I used an ND filter to block a bunch of the light through my lens and blur the water in the bright Aussie sun.)

#seeaustralia  

2013-04-09 18:31:21 (77 comments, 66 reshares, 803 +1s)

Falling Sideways

The moss is glowing and the leaves are green ... it's spring in the CRG! This month will be filled with photographing as much of Oregon as I can fit in-between "normal" work and trying to get our house sold before moving to Cali with my man,
+Brian Matiash. He just got a job at +Google so we're headed there to make it our new home :)

I had an excellent day at the Gorge with +Karen Hutton, +Joe Dolister & +Brian Matiash. We even brought little Kodak along and he was my little assistant for the day (http://nicolesy.me/Y5I6sw) ;)

Purchase a print of this image: http://nicolesy.me/Y7D5E8

2013-04-06 23:27:30 (34 comments, 6 reshares, 268 +1s)

I'm out to hike the trails and soak up as much waterfall mist from the Columbia River Gorge as possible before moving to Cali with +Brian Matiash. And Kodak here is a good helper, don't you think? :)

(Edited with +Snapseed)

2013-04-05 04:01:55 (37 comments, 25 reshares, 304 +1s)

A Pod of Seals

(I'd like to squish my way into this pod of seals. Bet it is comfortable!)
With +piper mackay 

#seals   #wildlifephotography   #animalphotography   #potd   #colorefexpro4   

2013-04-07 09:12:55 (14 comments, 8 reshares, 197 +1s)

Tasmanian Jelly

Gotta love these little bits of jellyfish when they reach the shore ... kinda icky, but the detail inside the back-lit blob is really spectacular.

Processing Info: This image was edited in Lightroom 4 using the  "Color Burst" preset from my Retro Film Lightroom 4 preset pack. (http://nicolesy.me/LRretrofilm)

2013-04-04 02:22:00 (25 comments, 12 reshares, 249 +1s)

Kodak's Got Flare!

(Scroll to the bottom of the post to find out how I processed this photo!)

Nothin' beats a good puppy portrait, and our dog Kodak is definitely a good subject :) After photographing +Brian Matiash's new profile pic yesterday, I snuck a few in of Kodak when he was looking cute (but when is he not!?).

Processing Info:

To edit the photo, I started out in Lightroom 4 and first added my "Color Burst" preset from my Retro Film Lightroom 4 preset pack (http://nicolesy.me/LRretrofilm). Then, I made a few adjustments, such as removing the film grain, slightly adjusting the white balance and then removing some of the contrast from the Tone Curve.

Next, I brought the photo into Photoshop CS6 and applied one of my brand new Sun Flare actions, "Glowing Fields"... more »

2013-04-03 18:20:23 (30 comments, 2 reshares, 138 +1s)

Such good-lookin' Glass ... I mean guy... ;)

I did a quick photo of +Brian Matiash yesterday wearin' his fancy Google Glass. Such a great smile!

2013-04-09 16:02:32 (9 comments, 4 reshares, 93 +1s)

Lighting Setup for Stillwater Café & Restaurant Photos

Yesterday I posted a blog post about my dining experience at the Stillwater Café & Restaurant in Tasmania, +Australia, and I got a few questiosn about my lighting setup so I thought I'd share a diagram of my setup. If you'd like to view the photos from this setup and read more about it, the details are over on my blog :)

http://nicolesyblog.com/2013/04/02/behind-the-scenes-stillwater-cafe-and-restaurant/

2013-04-04 21:02:37 (13 comments, 6 reshares, 120 +1s)

My Experience using +Google Glass

Last year I was selected, along with a handful of photographers, to try out Google's brand-new (and still unreleased) Glass on a photowalk during the +Google+ Photographer's Conference. It was an amazing experience ... we really only played with the photo and video functionality of the glasses, and when they're finally out I have a bunch of ways I plan on using them. As an educator, author, photographer and online socialite, the possibilities are endless!

I'm also looking forward to the "prescription" versions ... I need a new pair of glasses anyways! :)

To read more about my experience, head on over on my blog post (http://nicolesyblog.com/2012/05/25/glass/). I also have an album here on G+ with some of my best photos I took with Glass from the photowalk: ht... more »