Week 52/52 : Life is like a camera lens – focus only on what’s important and you will capture it perfectly

 

Another year done 🙂 Goodbye 2011! Hello 2012~

I wanted my final self portrait to show me at some scenic location, like my past 2 projects, but it just wasn’t possible this year.  Nevertheless, I still really like this shot of me.  This was taken by my sister’s boyfriend, Kurt, during our Christmas party.  I was reviewing some of the photos I took on my camera and was laughing at some of them when he shot this. It’s a candid photo, but I love how it turned out so I decided to use it as my last portrait this year. Thanks Kurt! 😀

Once again, I thank everyone who have supported me during this project of mine.  I appreciate every one of you.  Thanks to everyone to gave me critique and encouragement and shared their thoughts with me.

(For those who are asking if I plan to do *another* 52-week project next year, my answer is a definite YES! :D)

(EZRA) 52/52 : Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Congratulations to my sister on completing her 2nd round of the 52-week project 😀

This shot was taken by her boyfriend (Kurt) when we went to Pismo beach a few days ago. I did minimal editing (cropping, removing people in the background and color adjustment).

I wanted my last self portrait to be on the beach too, since my last 2 52-week projects ended with a picture of me posing next to a great view, but Ezra liked this shot so I decided to do something else.

(EZRA) 51/52 : All I want for Christmas is you

Sorry for the late upload.  This was Ezra’s portrait 2 weeks ago.  We really didn’t have that much time to take pictures during Christmas time.  It was crazy busy over here!

We took this right before we left to meet Kurt’s family for lunch on Christmas Eve day.  She just grabbed this huge Christmas ribbon that was decorating my aunt’s lamp and posed with it.  XD

Week 51/52 : Make your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile

One more week till the end of 2011~

It’s been pretty crazy over here at my aunt’s house. Since we don’t often come to California during the holidays, my aunt decided to hold a big party here yesterday (Christmas day). She invited all our relatives in the area (there’s a lot) so we’ve were all really busy decorating the house and planning the menu for the big day.   And now that the party’s over, we’re all busy cleaning up the huge mess that was left behind.

This picture was actually taken last week during our tour of Vegas, but lately I’ve been too busy to take a decent self portrait. Ezra took this shot for me near the entrance of Tropicana hotel, where our guide dropped us off to explore the city. I really love the red bamboo-like structures so I decided to edit it and submit it as my photo this week 🙂

Week 50/52 : It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Whoa, 2 more weeks till the end of this year? Time goes by so fast!!

Ezra took this shot of me the the other day at my aunt’s house. I really love her red walls! My very first self portrait for 2010 was shot at this exact same location 😀 (I’m even wearing the same boots in both pictures XD) I stole the little snowman from her coffee table for this shot. I’m so glad she decided to decorate for Christmas this year. Last time we spent Christmas with her (back in 2009) she was too busy to decorate so Christmas didn’t feel as complete as usual. This year she even bought a real Christmas tree for us to decorate. It was the first time I helped set up a real live Christmas tree 😀

(EZRA) 50/52 : Winter Wonderland

Earlier this week our family went on a 3-day tour to Vegas and the Grand Canyon (blog entry to follow).  We saw snow again after almost two years 😀  I took this quick shot of Ezra when we were at Grand Canyon National Park.  I wish we could have had more time to play, but we only had one hour before we had to go back to our tour bus.  But we still had a lot of fun frolicking in the snow while admiring the view during that short time 😀

(Trees and birds were added in Photoshop using brushes from redheadstock.deviantart.com)

Week 49/52 : Season of giving

This was taken the week that I had my thesis defense.  Since it was a success, I thought that it was the perfect Christmas present 🙂

(EZRA) 49/52 : The colder the winter the warmer the spring

Another quick shot taken just before we left for our vacation.   We were told that it was getting pretty cold in California so she bought a lot of scarves and jackets for our trip.   She loves cold weather because she enjoys layering clothes, which isn’t really something we can do in the Philippines (unless we want to torture ourselves).

(EZRA) 48/52 : Beauty is but a flower, which wrinkles will devour

Something simple because she’s so behind on her 52-week project.   I actually like this shot.  Even though it’s not that fancy, I liked how it turned out.  Not bad for something I edited in the middle of the night.  I  actually went to bed around 11 that evening, but I woke up around 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I hate it when that happens!  Anyway I decided to edit photos to pass the time and this was the result.

(EZRA) 47/52 : PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! (Itty-bitty living space…)

Disney fans would probably know where Ezra got her title from.

She found this jade teapot at our house and thought that it looked like a genie’s lamp so she asked me to draw a genie for her.  I think I did a good job, but she insists that it looks like a snake’s head because of the slanty eyes!  Hmph~  I told her that since she’s using a Chinese teapot, she got an Asian genie XD