Contest Winner!!!

About a month ago, I entered a photo I took of my dog, Cohen, in a contest. I received an email on Monday that said I was a winner! In fact, we got FIRST PLACE! yay! Here's a link to check out the photo, what we won, and the other winners in the top ten!!!

http://www.pamperedpuppy.com/contest/200905/winners/index.php



yay for cohen!

The new face of photography by marika...

After months of grumbling, and sorting, and brainstorming... I have finally just done it! www.marakatti.com has a new concept to it. I have set up multiple galleries so that you can view the different portraiture work that I do in a more organized fashion. There are still a few changes to be made, and those will come soon. We're having the electrical rewired in the house over the next couple of days (so this miss doesn't start a fire with all her power usage in the one outlet in the room next to the office). :)

I'm planning for a busy summer full of portrait work, music documentation, and maybe, hopefully, a short tour with a band. (on-the-road-documentationa??!! yes, please!!!)

I have also just purchased a wonderful new lens (due to arrive tomorrow afternoon!). I will be sure to post the new images as soon as possible!


for a little treat, here is a sample of what I've been shooting lately... thank you to the loverly lady, tamsyn, for being my so faithful model... :) love you girlie!

thanks!


-marika

hoooray for website!

I spent most of the weekend updating my website... and my brain is mushy now. :)

www.marakatti.com


There is a link from my site to this blog now, so I will be updating much more regularly.

i heart faces hearts hats....

this week at i heart faces, images of people wearing hats is the subject...
This image of a musician friend is my entry for the adult category.
My passion is environmental music portraiture.... This is one of my favorite portraits, and I hope you all enjoy viewing it.

Thanks!

-marika
www.marakatti.com

HELP ME GET MY ZOOM BACK!!

Alright, so here's the deal. My only lens for my camera broke yesterday, so I need to sell some prints to earn enough money for a new one. I am offering some kickass pieces for kickass prices. If you find any you are interested in, please send me an email: marika@marakatti.com

Along with the name (gallery number) of which piece or pieces you would like to purchase, please include your name, address, and method of payment (check or cash).


To view the images available, just give a little click and zoom!





thank you thank you thank you!!


-marika

self portrait...

so i missed the last couple of weeks over at i heart faces mostly because i don't really have any children readily available for taking photos of... :)

i shoot a lot of self portraits... i have a few links for anyone who would like to check out my work...

http://justalittleblackbird.blogspot.com
and www.marakatti.com/soitgoes

most of my self portraits are done with the help of a tripod and a lot of running back and forth... but this one was all me and my heavy nikon... :) thank goodness for a little of the straightening tool.

thanks!

-marika

my puppers...

this is my baby girl, kerouac. best little husky ever.


check out all the other great pups at I Heart Faces this week...





thanks!

-marika

still "no flashin" at i heart faces (adults).. :)

hey hey... i made it into the top ten last week over at i heart faces for my adult entry into the "green" contest! fantastic!


This is my adult entry for this week's theme "no flash" at i heart faces...
i took this portrait of my mother with her dog Bingo (he has since passed away) in an abandoned home across the slew from her house. the cherry wallpaper is one of my favorite details.






thanks for stopping by!

-marika

No Flashin' @ I Heart Faces... :)

This week's theme at i heart faces is "no flash." I love window light just about as much as I love my puppies and lemonade... :) also, just about as much as I love this little blue eyed lady... my dear friend's baby girl, emri.








thanks!

-marika

Green for i heart faces!!

This is my entry for the I Heart Faces "GREEN" contest...
I live in the Skagit Valley in Washington State, and in a few weeks we have our annual Tulip Festival...

Today, I can't help but have tulips on my mind...






Thank you!!

i heart faces... creative crop...

This is my entry for the I Heart Faces adult category of "creative cropping." enjoy. :)

thanks!

-marika

Fix it Friday at I Heart Faces...

I am brand new to I Heart Faces. I came across it by using the "next blog" feature at the top of the blogger page while reviewing my own blog the other day. It is a wonderful site for photographers to participate in. So, today I am posting my edit to a beautiful photograph titled "contemplation."

I used Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom to create this gritty, moody, effect. Here are the steps I took...

1. after importing the image to Lightroom, I took it over to Photoshop for some editing.
2. Copy the background layer (Ctrl+J)
3. make sure to change the mode to 8 bit so that you can use the entire filter gallery.
4. under the "filter" menu, choose "texture"- "grain"
5. in the filter gallery under "grain type" choose "vertical"
6. play with the intensity and contrast sliders until you like what you see
7. click OK to return to the main screen.
8. select "screen" under the blending options in your layers palette
9. apply a mask to the layer and use a big soft brush to paint black to turn off the effect over the face and any other areas you want.
10. use the "curves" tool to create a new layer with a little contrast.
11. save and close the image to return to Lightroom
12. locate the new edited image and create a copy of it
13. with the copy in the "Develop" module, select "Direct Positive" in the creative Presets
14. play with the saturation tool to soften the color.
15. feel free to play with all of the sliders to create any sort of look you want. :)

Thank you!

-marika

just a taste...

welcome to the blog of photography by marika... I hope you'll enjoy my work.

-marika