not quite texture tuesday - anything goes edition

Texture Tuesday has been switched up

over at Kim Klassen's Cafe !

Kim has designated the first Tuesday of the month as

"Not Necessarily Texture Tuesday" 

and this is the first 'edition'

in Kim's words

"Basically this allows you to link up any fav photo you like... 

textured or not, processed or not... anything goes...."

It is no secret that I am a lifelong quotaholic

(I have notebooks full of them from as far back as high school!)

I think it is also common knowledge that I watch the sunrise daily...

So for this first edition of Not Necessarily Texture Tuesday

I am posting a quotograph!

Though I did not use a texture 

I have used a technique that I learned from Kim in her Skinny Mini Photoshop course.

I used a photo from earlier this spring and added a duplicate layer 

using soft light blending mode at 10%,

to enhance the visibility of the 'ribbons' before adding the text...

The "ribbons" in the sky immediately made me think of this quote...

it took me until this weekend to find it in my notebooks!!

Sheesh!

Posting to (Not Necessarily) Texture Tuesday

macro monday 2.7.12

WOW

It is July already!

I am fortunate to live in a smallish town 

where a five minute drive in most directions

puts me on a country road and the peace of rural scenery.

I say "smallish" because my brother, who lives in the country near a much smaller town, 

laughs when I say I live in a small town...this is like the big city to him!

Having moved here from the BIG city four years ago,

I enjoy it as a small town...

Everything in life is relative...no?

But I digress....

The long Canada Day weekend afforded the mister and I with the opportunity 

to attend a few celebratory parties with friends in nearby smallish towns

so we allowed ourselves plenty of time for photo stops...

....because that's the way we roll...

This is where I gasp "what a great shot that would make"

STOP! 

and he stops and waits patiently for me to be distracted by every little thing 

between that 'great shot' and the car

Does anyone else do this?

This weekend the "STOP" was for a highway sign 

that I thought I might like to use in one of our wedding pictures.

The aforementioned distraction was the wonderful growth, along the side of the highway,

of pretty flowers weeds flowers

(I read somewhere recently that a weed is simply an unloved flower

so I believe these to be flowers, because I love them!!)

I will let you decide if they are flowers or weeds...

posting to Macro Monday

I have loved Queen Anne's Lace since childhood, 

when I used to bring posies of it home to my Mom

but I have always found the lacy bits underneath to be equally as intriguing as the tops

I don't know what these are but they grow everywhere... 

...beside sidewalks in town and the country roads 

I love them too!

If anyone knows what these are called, I'd love to hear from you!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Lisa, over at Lisa's Chaos
for holding this space for us every week, even while she was moving, packing and planting!

To see great macro shots from photographers all over the world, click over to her site! 

because I believe these to be flowers, not weeds, also posting for Leontien

photo art friday 29.6.12 - a painterly picture

Today, over at Pixel Dust Photo Art, 

Bonnie's is hosting a "Painterly" edition of Photo Art Friday.

For this I used a photo of a waterlily in my pond taken earlier this week.

After a slight adjustment to the brightness/contrast

I used two of Bonnie's  textures!

I first applied Bonnie's "Vintage Craquelure" texture using 

the screen blending mode at 100%.

With a soft brush at, 70% opacity, I removed the texture from the lily,

and at 20% opacity, from the lily pad leaves.

I then applied Bonnie's "Painterly"texture using the

overlay blending mode, again at 100%.

This time I lightly brushed only the centre of the lily at 20% opacity.

Et Voila!

I love the way the textures have enhanced the water rippling around the leaves and petals!

Happy Photo Art Friday!

Happy Weekend!!

Happy Canada Day!!!

Safe weekend to all!

Why not head over and check out the wonderful creations
at Pixel Dust Photo Art 

also posting to Flowers for Leontien

skywatch friday 29.6.12

Beautiful sunny day with lovely wispy clouds

Perfect for SkyWatch Friday

Have an awesome weekend!

It is a holiday weekend here 

Happy Canada Day!!

You can see some awesome sky photos

at

http://skyley.blogspot.ca/

{release} - 52 Photos yr2 wk10

Deb asks: 

What do you do to lighten up?

How do you let go of the stressors of your day?

So begins her guest post prompt at 52 Photos Project this week...

My first thought was:

"I don't really have any stressors in my day"

I wouldn't say I get stressed about much

All my life people have said how calm I am in stressful situations

...how I never get upset or worked up about anything

I know we all get stressed, and the more I thought about this prompt 

the more I began to wonder if I de-stress as I go through my day

and therefore rarely feel stressed...

Does that make sense?

I start my day with either Yoga or Tai Chi

depending on my mood and the weather...

and then enjoy the sunrise with a cup of coffee

followed by my morning pages a la "The Artist's Way"

I think all of these allow me to start the day in stress free mode...

Throughout the day I am always with Music -
and yes I dance and sing whenever the mood strikes!

and I laugh...a lot!
I think they all provide release from stress too!

In the summer, I find my gardens to be wonderful at keeping my self at peace...

my front porch, pictured below

and the garden shown in my header above are two of my favourite places

for taking a break from routine 

(too much routine is probably my biggest stressor and I avoid it at all costs! *lol*) 

My kitchen & cooking used to be one of my favourite de-stressors after a long day at work!

Now that I am 'retired' I still love to cook and I am thrilled to be able to do it at any time of day!

 I cook up a storm on a regular basis...

usually far more food than the mister and I can possibly consume 

but that's okay ...

I love to deliver a surprise lunch or dinner to one of my elderly neighbours 

just to see the smile on their faces!!

Believe it or not, I also find that doing dishes by hand to be very relaxing
I chose not to own a dishwasher!

and finally,
of course,
taking a walk with my camera is an activity
that has always brought serene moments into my day
and I do try to do it daily...


Yes!

I have discovered something new about myself...

I do believe that because the things I do to release stress

are scattered throughout my day

that I don't seem to ever feel stressed...

Thanks for that prompt Deb!

I love learning new things about me...

Check out 52 Photos Project to see Deb's fun & unique release mechanism
as well as how the other contributors release their daily stress!

this or that thursday 28.6.12

I've been working on clearing out the 'pond' a bit this week...

When my pump needs to be cleaned more often than usual 

I know it is time to go in and dredge...

Even though it is one of those little backyard types it can get pretty slimy!

The nice thing about a little pond is that I can stand in the middle and use my hands.

When I got out there I realized that the lilies are beginning to bloom!

So

of course

I had to get a picture!

I have also been working on another project.

My mother has a rocking chair that belonged to her Great Grandmother. 

It has been sitting unused because the cloth seat and supportive webbing has disintegrated.

Mom doesn't want it refinished but would like to be able to sit in it

so I brought it home to see if I could renew the webbing and find a nice cushion for it.

Just after I brought it home a friend posted a photo on Pinterest

(you know, that addictive site, right?)

and I loved the concept so much that I presented the idea to Mom and she loved it!

She took it a step further and asked me to use my late father's belts 

as a sort of memory project of my Dad and her Great Grandma.

Yesterday I began to put it together and it is coming together quite nicely, I think.

It required more belts than Dad had so I added a few that I...ahem...have outgrown

and though it isn't quite finished, just to be sure she still liked the idea,

 I sent her this photo to see what she thinks...

What do you think???

Posting to This or That Thursday

Why not pop over and see all the wonderful photos
and especially Deb's shots of horseback riding into Bryce Canyon!

texture tuesday - the posie edition 26.6.12

I am still getting philadelphus (mock orange) blossoms!

I think I may have photographed every single blossom over the past week

and, continuing with my texture experimentation, have tried a gazillion textures!

I love the many ways that adding texture can enhance a photo!

For Texture Tuesday, the Posie eDition, I chose a few of those photos..

For the first one, I duplicated the photo using the screen blending mode at 29%

added a mask and removed the second layer over the flowers and vase using a soft brush.

I then added Kim's 'Epiphany' texture using the multiply blending mode at 74% opacity

added a mask and removed the texture over the flowers only

For this second one, I again duplicated the photo using screen blending mode, this time at 59% opacity and added 2 layers of Kim's 'Let Go' texture both using multiply at 26% and 14% respectively

I brushed over the flowers and random parts of the mirror frame

I then added one of my favourite Kim Klassen textures ~ 

 'Music Lovin' using multiply blending mode at 67% for the final product (above)

For this final photo, I once again used Kim's 'Let Go' texture

this time using the multiply blending mode at 60% opacity

I also made both levels and brightness/contrast adjustments to this photo

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Kim for all the wonderful videos and textures 

that she so generously provides as well as the awesome courses she delivers!

The techniques I have used here were learned in her skinny mini photoshop e-course!