Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss

Hurray, this is my first photo challenge!  I picked this picture because it shows the bond between a brother and sister. In the picture is my toddler Kellan and baby sister Maielle. Kellan is continually looking out for his sister. He has taken so well to the role of big brother and Maielle looks at him like he is really something special (and he is)!   I think they are going to be best pals and I can’t wait to see how their relationship unfolds in the months and years to come.

If you’ve been blessed with a sibling, I hope this image brings back fond memories. Remember to always let them know you LOVE them!

God Bless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**All images are copyright of Maibel Ziello, please do not use without authorization.**

Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

Splitting time between  kids, husband and home while trying to build a photography business is no easy task!  It is incredibly time-consuming but I think that anything great requires hard work, so that’s what I keep telling myself. The late nights processing photos (I often pull all nighters), the enormous amount of information you have to sift through to learn something new is all quite tedious, not to mention when you come across a site of a fellow photographer whose work is spectacular, suddenly become discouraged and wonder… “what makes me think I’m good enough…am I good enough?”

Then reason starts to set in and I start to remind myself of my goals (Rome wasn’t built-in a day).  My goal is to get there “eventually” not today. Everything is a process and my God says there is a “time for everything”.  My job is to put one foot in front of the other and trust that all things will come together for good. After all, that is his promise.  So today, I choose to trust. I will continue shooting, processing and changing diapers too!  I must see this through because only then will I get to see all that’s been planned for me.

I can see little bits and pieces here and there, “little opportunities” where I’m being led in the right direction. I recently had the privilege of attending a family member’s wedding and the photographer came over to snap a photo of my beautiful little girl.  I simply asked him “What are you shooting with?” (it was dark so I couldn’t tell).   A simple question opened the door for a conversation about photography and he presented the opportunity to work with him.  Despite all my reserves, I said yes because I know that learning hands on will be far better than any class I can take and let’s be honest, less expensive.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to be thrown into the pool and in the past I have risen to the challenge. There is no room for fear if you want to achieve success in anything you love..so go for it!

In my quest to get myself out there,  I recently found a pretty neat outlet for selling my artwork called Fine Art America. They are found in my portfolio under Gallery 2  if you have time to check it out.  I would love any feedback from my fellow artists/photographers so feel free to leave a comment about which ones you like the best and which ones maybe not so much.

God Bless!

The Holy Grail of Vintage Inspired, Photoshop Actions Is: Florabella Collection!

Do you want to turn your images in works of art?  I do!

I came to find out about Florabella through a fellow Photographer’s blog,  I admire tremendously, Skye Hardwick.  I saw her post mentioning Florabella and I decided to check them out and see what she was raving about.  I am completely blown away by what they’ve put together, so of course I have to show them some love and post it!

First, let me just say that there are a lot of Photoshop actions out there that you can find and download, some are even free but I dare you to find ones as scrumptious as the Florabella Collection!  They offer a myriad of options to help you carry out your artistic  vision. Click here to view the beautiful collections they offer:

         

*** Images courtesy of Florabella Collection and are protected under copyright law***

Whether you’re new to Photography or a seasoned Pro, Florabella has what you need to take your images to the next level.  Their collection will allow you to expedite your editing process and help you create beautiful works of Art!  In addition to Photoshop actions, they  have fabulous textures to give your images that dreamy, nostalgic or vintage feel we love so much. Use them for retouching portraits, landscapes, florals, graphics and just about any kind of image you can think of. The possibilities are limitless.

Their website also provides detailed tutorials to teach and guide you each step of the way so you don’t miss a thing. They certainly don’t skimp on anything folks! Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter to receive updates and get “discounts”.  You can also stay up to date on all things Florabella via their facebook page. If you’ve used Florabella Collection in your post processing, we’d love to hear what you think!  Leave a comment or show us some of your work.

By the way, here are some fun little snapshots (straight out of the camera, no editing done yet) that with a little Florabella, who knows what might happen..

Happy processing & God bless!

**All images are protected by copyright and are property of their respective owners**

Tip Jar ~ My New Favorite Photo!

Ok. so the name sounds simple but I really do think it suits the photograph.  I was looking forward to processing this one & wasn’t sure exactly which way my creative juices would flow but I am really happy with the over feel of the end result. I really love this photo & knew I would the minute I shot it.

Nothing says USA like the old dollar…che-ching!

We see tip jars just about everywhere right, and I never thought to photograph one until.. I saw this one.  I guess you could say it was “love at first sight”. Maybe it was the money, the jar, the man with the hole-y jeans (yeah, I know that’s really not a word but stick with me anyways) but as soon as I saw it, I didn’t think twice about it.

I love the shape of the jar and how it happens to fit perfectly on the little, old, yellow table. What else could a girl ask for?

It was a no brainer..I had to shoot it, especially with the man in the background wearing his ripped jeans.  God Bless the USA!

Tip Jar

Photography Equipment Used:  Nikon D5100 DSLR with a 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens

Post Production Software Used: Adobe Lightroom 4 and Nik® Software Color Effects Pro™ 4. 

**All images are copyrighted and are the sole property of Maibel Ziello & Ziello Photography. Please do not copy or otherwise use any images from this site without prior authorization from the owner.

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