BOAT SHADE COVERS

Day 16: After falling into a pattern of taking photos of things in and around the house, I was determined to make today's shot something outdoors. Since Sunday is the day my coed recreational softball team plays, I took my camera to the field looking for something to capture. After the softball game, we stayed at the park to test out a friend's new portable commercial grill. We had tacos with three types of meat (carne asada, al pastor, and chicken) and several varieties of salsa. Luckily for me, as we were enjoying our tacos just before sunset, the skies over our field turned a pretty reddish-orange shade. Unfortunately, I took dozens of shots but was not quite able to capture the real-life beauty of the sky. After initially failing to get the shot right in post-processing, I uploaded an SOOC shot. After doing so, I couldn't shake my unsatisfied feeling, so I spent a couple of hours with Lightroom 3 tutorials and getting to know the software better. This updated photo represents my best attempt to salvage my shot.

P.S. I've only been using Lightroom 3 for a month. I'm a total newbie to serious photo-editing software. In that sense, this project is allowing me the opportunity to develop my almost nonexistent post-processing and photo-editing skills.

According to the EVHA judges, "Energy efficiency is clearly very important to this builder - it's a constant theme in all aspects of the process. From design to construction, there are elements of sustainability. The company only works within a small radius to minimize its carbon footprint, uses a portable solar power generator for construction site electricity, and builds very efficient houses." This house, with a HERS Index of 25, demonstrates "solid performance." Yet the builder is clearly committed to ongoing education or improving the performance of future homes. The company also did an "admirable job" of maintaining and taking advantage of the site's natural features, especially in keeping existing trees for shading.