Moving on, I hope the few (or none...probably none) of you who look at this blog had a happy holiday for whatever festive event you celebrate this time of year. Nowadays we all have to be "politically correct" and we can't just say "Merry Christmas" like we used to when we were younger in fear of 1st amendment lawsuits being thrown at you or whatever business/company employs you.
And yet you go into cities and towns and it looks like Santa Claus and his merry elves had a giant gang-bang up and down every block and splooged Christmas jizz all over the windows, street poles, and doors. So even if you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus (bro-fist if you got the reference) or what have you; you have to swallow that load of crap "happy holidays" every time you go to the store when all you have to do is look at the Santa hat the cashier/teller/etc wears on their head to know what they're really saying to you.
I'm not trying to bash other religious beliefs here; i'm not even practicing one myself. I was raised in a Catholic family, but I myself find no interest in any sort of religious belief. If you happen to sway towards any religion, i'm completely fine with it. Just don't make a point to shove said belief in my face.
However, Christmas today (or at least in the U.S.A) has become synonymous with Santa Claus, the Christmas Tree, gift-giving (and receiving), Egg-Nog, and Ugly Sweaters. There is quite more to it that i could go in depth about regarding corporations influencing the psyche of the people during this time of year, but even for a blog, i won't subjugate you to statistical facts/theories and the like. There is little to no hint of the original Catholic celebration of Jesus Christ being born on that day. And if it is there, it's always 2nd potato to the aforementioned gift-wrap and stocking stuffers.
And that's what I celebrate. Not because I was raised in a Catholic family, but because we all love to decorate the house and tree, wrap up presents and tear them open and stuff ourselves silly with good grub, and hum (or sing, if you're into that sort of thing) along with classic Christmas songs.
....
Okay, /religious talk. About these pictures. Surely you noticed them in between all the religious babble i was spouting. First one is of Pescadaro Beach. Foggy, wet, and yes, touched up. Very rarely will i ever publish a RAW file just because it looks so bland without some shooping (or at least in my eye).
Second on down is all Pebble Beach (no, not THAT Pebble Beach). The second is a panoramic stitch of an awesome wave crashing and the cliffs to the left make a nice contrast. Even had to put my watermark on the left side because it would get wiped out (no pun intended) on the right side. Light editing to all of these, if you haven't gotten that point drilled into your skull yet.
Third is a bit further down the trail on Pebble Beach. Wide-angle stitch. LOTS of Photoshop went into this one. Curves, vibrance, multiple uses of masks, layer modes, a vignette. Looks really pretty.
The fourth is a bridge that i actually shot the 3rd one from. A wide angle stitch, but not as wide as the third. Very gentle editing. One curve adjustment layer for the foreground and a vibrance adjustment layer for the sky. Oh, and a H/S adjustment layer for the blue in the itty bitty piece of ocean you see to the right.
And speaking of Christmas, (like i haven't done it enough already) lookie what i got (please excuse the sharpened up cell phone photo, my SD card was inside the gopro)!
i didn't even ask for anything this year because jobless lifeless burden to my folks and whatnot, but this truly shocked me. I've been entering that win everything we make contest of theirs for months now and lo and behold, my parents come out of nowhere and give this to me all wrapped up for x-mas. Really thankful for them giving this to me even though they've been putting up with the way i've been for so long. So plan on looking forward to bumper/dash cam videos of me driving through some pretty roads sometime in the near future.
Maybe when the weather isn't as cold or wet, so like in a few months lol.
okay, i'm out. going to get a new background set up tomorrow and a change in font color and stuff.
"Happy Holidays".
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