Featured In The Knot Magazine

 

The summer issue of The Knot is out and I have a feature article in it! I had forgotten all about it till I walked past the magazine rack at Borders. I opened it, quickly flipped through the pages and there it was! My travel photography and our interview was lookin good. The editors probably could have picked a better profile shot but who's complaining right? Only two other groups were interviewed (California & New Zealand) and then there is us - México. It includes a summary of one of our trip and then some extra travel tips for those thinking about heading South. Anyways, woohoo! Onto the next magazine!

This Week's Obsession:

Tilt Shift Photography

I had seen this done on some videos a while back and didn't know what this effect was even called to research it. It made me go crazy with wonder! I just kept looking at the videos, that I knew were real, but everything looked like a miniature. But today I hit the jackpot and found my answers. What I thought would be a difficult process was actually very easy in photoshop. Just a little mask here, gradient blur there, a hue/saturation adjustment to top off the toy like character and you're there! Really nothing much is done to manipulate the photo at all. It's all just a trick of the eye. It's really about the narrow depth of field. With the foreground and background completely blurred out, you lose all sense of scale. It's an effect that works best when taken from above. And here are two samples I came up with. I love how this brings a whole new life to my photos!

Tilt Shift Maker : For those non photoshoppers.

Photoshop Tutorial: For the photoshop genius.

50 Beautiful Examples from around the world.

Photo locations: Guanajuato & Tulum, Mx

Inspiration #10

Peace begins with a smile. ~Mother Teresa

Christmas At Tulum- Part 2

Christmas At Tulum- Part 1

What better way to spend Christmas day then at one of the best beaches in Mexico. First thing we did, jumped on a boat to snorkel in front of the Tulum ruins. Snorkeling has quickly became J and I's favorite past-time.

Tips for Snorkeling at Tulum:

1. Bring your own gear if at all possible. The boat captions that take you out on their boats are not at all professional and only have a "take what fits and works" selection of snorkel gear on their boat. Plus, it could be your excuse to bargain and pay less.

2. Go on a day that isn't cloudy. Cloudy days make for cloudy water. Also bring a solution to apply to your mask so that it won't fog up and add to the mess.

3. Go ahead and bring the alcohol! Like I said, these boat caption are not professional and I'm sure will say "hell yeah" if you give them a taste of that sweet nectar.

4. Have a swim buddy. It's very easy to get disoriented as you're busy having that starring contest with that odd creature below the surface.

5. If you find yourself not seeing a whole lot of sea life in an area, go to a totally different area. Don't feel like you have to stay where you were dropped off. Tulum did have some less populated areas but other areas were awesome and included fish and coral of all shapes, colors and sizes. Just keep an eye out for other boats on the move.

6. Price wise - don't buy tickets at the entrance of Tulum. The person there will say a snorkel trip costs 600 pesos (approx $46) and if you are Mexican, 300 pesos. Instead, if you are comfortable, go straight to the snorkeling booth on the beach and make them a deal. We have gotten as low as 150 - 100 pesos ($11/$7)! Thats what I call a deal for a 2 hour trip.

Other snorkel trips: Belize, Las Marietas Islands 1, Las Marietas Islands 2,