i have an obsession.

it’s not something i’m particularly proud of.

mainly because this obsession centers around possibly the most unhealthy food on the planet.  And i strived (or is it “strove”?), oh how i strived (strove) to wait to post this until Easter… because really, that’s where my obsession is grounded.  But i couldn’t.  because dammit i’m at the drugstore yesterday buying toothbrushes (which have mysteriously all, at the same time, taken on the form of a hawaiian skirt in full luau form) and friggin’ a, there, in front of my face, they were.

Peeps.

peepspeepspeepspeepspeesps.

goddamnit i love them.

now, i know they are made from the grossest stuff on earth (ok, not on EARTH, cause that would mean they were made out of scorpion assholes or something), but let’s just all admit right now that they are, well, the “opposite of natural.”

they possibly have the highest amount of preservatives than any other candy (is it candy?) EVER.  ok, if the world came to total f*&king annihilation tomorrow, i’m pretty sure the cockroaches would be sucking on Peeps cause they would survive TOO.

By now you should realize that i ain’t goin’ too deep on this blog.  oh no.  i’ve waited 13 or so (who’s counting… hell, you’ve read even ONE of my blogs and i love you) posts to do this ONE.  And i have the patience of a 3 year old, so of course there was no waiting until Easter the second i saw that the aforementioned drug store had VALENTINES DAY PEEPS.

So, for this weeks dedication to showing the ONE person you love that they are the most special person on Earth, as opposed to the other 364 days where you can treat them like crap, i’m going to highlight a trick on your camera called Color Accent.

This editing trick rocked my world.  My good friend Louise taught it to me at a Portland Micro Brewery one night.  OK, i just have to tangent here for onequicksecond.

i HATE micro brews.

i think they taste like dirty socks, which i have never tasted, but i have smelled, so the correct statement would be, “they taste like the smell of dirty socks.”

For me, it’s Coors Light or bust.  I’ve got standards.  If i’m going super high brow (which i’ve been known to do… i mean i can REALLY step it up a notch under pressure), i’ll go Stella.  I like Stella.  but that’s it.  none of this “Maiden’s Smock IPA” or “Oxtail Organic Stout” crap for me.  i made those up.  but they all have names like that.  I love Oregon, but enough with the beer, already.

aaaaanyway, i digress.  super bad.

Color Select.

Best trick ever.

Bad news.  I can only coach you if you have a Canon G10 or higher.  Sorry.  i told you in my “about” page that i’m an amateur.  i don’t know other cameras because i’m a Canon GEEK and it’s all i know.

Good news.  i’m pretty sure that if you have a digital camera that you bought in the last 15 months or so there is an option to do this, and you’ll be so excited to learn the setting that you’ll figure it out.  Cause that’s all it is… a quick setting and you’re golden.  or red.  or blue.  or whatever color you want to call out in your photo.

So let’s start with Peeps.  it would be lame if i didn’t, after declaring them the best food ever, and all.  And i’d love to start with the Valentine’s ones, but it wouldn’t be fair to the Peeps People, because their roots are in the Easter Peeps.  it would kinda be like trying to get a Martian to understand NIKE, and not showing them a running shoe first… you know? (Well, that and you’d have to speak Martian).

So here’s the deal.

IF you’re on a Canon… let’s just see if you have the setting.

1) turn on your goddamn camera.

2) keep the “big wheel” on AUTO, and the “little wheel” on SCN.

super shitty photo, but gets the point across.

3) now turn the wheel next to the big viewing screen (the one with the flower, lightening bolt, etc) until you see the “Color Accent” option on the screen:

another super shitty photo… just wait, ok?  the good ones are coming…

NOW.

4) find something that has a lot of different colors.  I’m gonna pick… ummm… let’s see… what could work here..  oh, i know… PEEPS!!!!  check it:

(love them so much, could eat the photo).

5) ok, now hit the “DISP” button under your wheel.  A little box comes up on the bottom of your viewing screen.  That’s the box that is critical.

6) A little square will also come up in the middle of your viewing screen.  place that square OVER the color that you want to pull out of the image, let’s say it’s blue, and hit the little TULIP figure on your wheel. The bottom square should turn that color, indicating that you only want the blue from your photo called out.

this is for steps 5 & 6 combined.

7) aim at your subject, and shoot.

voila.

Now try another color:

boom.

if you select, say, yellow, but you have other colors close to yellow, like orange, something like this may happen:

ok, so let’s say i’m lying… that this only works with Peeps.  That this couldn’t possibly work with anything else and Peeps have a magical power that allows them to be photographed like this.  Well…

YOU’RE WRONG AND YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.  (i say that when i get defensive).

Watch, doubters.

Here is a piece of a piece of art (no, i did not repeat myself, this is truly a piece of a piece… keep reading) that a friend of mine did for my house.  His name is Felipe Motta, and he’s an extraordinarily talented artist from Brasil (Rio, of course) and he graciously flew to Portland to do a graffiti wall for my staircase that tells the story of my family.  Now this wall is 39 feet high and made up of 11 panels, so i couldn’t show it all, but i’ll pick one of the panels to show you all the insane color:

(bonjour, petit pois!!!)

ok, now.  to demonstrate the Color Accent.  Let’s just say i want to pull out the Pink lava flow, THEN the teal background, THEN the yellows and oranges from Kermit & Petit Pois (le chien):

check it out!  so cool, right!  and i promise… just do it once, and you’ll get the hang of it and it will be such a breeze you’ll be drinkin’ a six pack of Golden, Colorado’s finest by the end and still come out with amazing photos.

OK, back to Peeps.  and more importantly, back to my drugstore find of the century.

Color accent is amazing when also combined with Camera Bag (you’ll have to get to my “ass in the bag” post to get up to speed, but it will only hurt for a second).

I HEART YOU:

i heart you, lolo.

i heart you, colorcross

i heart you, colorcross + silver

i just, well, damn it.

i heart you.

so really when i’m supposed to be my most gushy and lovey dovey and cheezy, i’m really all about being marshmellowy and sugary and telling you that i think Valentine’s Day is kind of a crock because shouldn’t you love the ones you love every day?  who needs a day?  maybe you do.  that’s cool.  maybe i do too and i just don’t know it yet.

i do know one thing.

i’d be lost without love.

Happy Valentines Day, Peeps.

AC