Act of Randomness

Last month, I finally had the courage to try something new (because I was bored)!

Guess what I did?!

No?

Well, I tried signing up to an online dating website. lol~

At first, it was all just a random act of boring-ness so I thought “Why the hell not?”

I checked several profiles. Joined the other active members in the forum by posting random videos and gifs, and welcoming newbies like me. Sending out simple “Hi’s” and “Hello’s” to people who are only looking for friendships.

After a week of doing so, I finally MADE some friends online which is kind of revitalizing to me because I know I’ve been working too hard, “alone” in my own room and personal bubble.

It was so nice to hear stories from different people around the world. I got to know cultures, places, some plans, some types of people, perspectives, etc.

This made me realize that I am missing a lot of things in this life. And a little part of me still can’t believe that something so random will turn into something wonderful and englightening.

If you asked me several months to join an online dating website, I would surely be offended and give you a big “NO!” But if you will ask me now if I will recommend someone to try online [personal] forums, I will encourage them to give it a go.

You will never know why something exists until you try it for yourself.

I’m glad I did this.

Photoshop: Why am I trying to learn?

Colors are very special to me. They could make me feel alive, make me feel lonely, make me feel confused, make me feel bored… make me feel almost everything. That’s how, I believe, important color is to our lives.

Once too many times, I have battled within my inner self if I should get a new phone with better camera specs or invest in those tiny, costly cameras with super duper long-and-chubby sparkling lenses that cost almost as much as the camera itself but every time I did, I always failed. If I would visualize myself with this dilemma several years ago, I would definitely feel envy running through my bloodstream every time I would see the majestic selfies, groufies, and wallpapers of my friends and other individuals that are available in the internet.

How my phone’s camera sees the world or rather my backyard.

But now, everything seems just like a phase. Or, maybe that’s because I’m just too cheap. Cheap in a manner that I don’t want to spend money on “stuffs” that I won’t really need in the long run.

Phones are almost a necessity now more than ever, yes, but I don’t use it even an eight of how much I use the internet (definitely a necessity now) to interact with people I’m connected with. Sometimes, I even miss the days when telephones were the only way I can contact someone who is too far away from me.

Anyway, I’m getting out of the main story here, so I’ll just resume…

I simply know it within me that what I want and need are “stuffs” that can’t be directly bought by any currency. So, with this realization, which I very much long ago realized, I decided to put colors into my life by entertaining the idea of learning Photoshop because not only it would benefit my skills but it would also make my cheap shots a bit lively and expressive. I know that even professional photographers uses this program because, heck, it’s actually made for them!

How I see the world.

Photoshop: Selective Color

So, this week I had the chance to watch the short tutorial on how to change eye color from my Udemy classes. During the whole session, the author focuses on using Selective Color on how to select and manipulate colors on a photo section. As I am not good with explaining stuffs, especially the technical ones, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Selective color is a post-processing technique where most of a photo is converted to black and white, but some parts are left in color. This is usually achieved by using layers and masks in photo editing software (Photoshop, SilverFast, Adobe Fireworks or The GIMP for example).

You will also probably get better understanding on how to use this function with a photo editor by watching some tutorial videos from Youtube or other online sources.

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Ok. So, I immediately applied my new learnings from a photo I got from Google. And here it is:

Original Image – Dry Eye

Dry Eye Modified – Golden

Dry Eye Modified – Green

I really like the last image. It’s like there’s a flower inside her eye and the field is so fresh and green. Or, too green? What do you think?

Photoshop: Pen Tool

Hey, I’m back! It has been a while and I haven’t done much except work, work, and work. What else can you expect from a work-a-holic like me, eh? Besides, it is already ~ber month!

Anyway, I feel like I need to refresh my soul by learning something new (very unrelated to my job which is manipulating data in Excel) so I have signed up to this free course for Photoshop from Udemy.

I already had some background regarding the mechanics of this program but it was nice to know more details regarding one tool and the techniques that could be applied to make editing easier.

Currently, I’m at the Pen Tool tutorial and am having a blast using this function. I want to keep an entry of this session to keep the memory alive. 😀

Subject: Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time

In the process of removing the background with the use of Pen Tool

Hopefully I could learn more from the tutorial but knowing myself, I’m quite sure I won’t be able to finish it. Well, anyway, at least I get the chance to play with the Pen Tool.