Happy Spring

Hello all.  Hope you are having a great week.  I want to share with you some of the images I worked on the last few days.  I'm backtracking to Week 5 of Be Still…"Be Still and Look for the Light".  I managed to capture some morning light in my bedroom, and  I took advantage of it for side lighting a few images.  I was thrilled with the light shining through the flowers.

To begin, the image below was edited in LR and then taken into PS to add Kim's "Cool Grunge" texture.  I metered for the geraniums in front.  

I processed this in LR and used one of LR's black/white presets, then Topaz Adjust 5 for the fun silvery look, then into PS for addition of text.

I did nothing with this photo except adjust exposure and crop and add Kim's brush in Photoshop.  

I'll be linking this to 

and

~ Give ~

As Promised

Before I get to my promised face and story, I want to share with you my entry for Texture Tuesday.  I did two different images from this shoot, and two different edits.  The first one I edited as Kim did in Week 7 of our Be Still class.

After some minor adjustments in Lightroom and using her "Breeze" preset I added quote and her "Simple" texture in Photoshop.  

The second image is a bit more dramatic.  I used Kim's "Darkmood" preset in Lightroom.

and now for that face and story…..

Face #16

I told you I would have a story related to my word for the year…. "Give".

Last week I stopped at Mother's Market for some produce.  In  the parking lot I saw a  young man in a wheelchair.  
One of his legs had been 

amputated at the knee.  I figured he might be a veteran, maybe even without a home.  He asked me if I had a dollar I could spare.

I opened my wallet and discovered I had no singles.  I thought to myself, "Don't be cheap", and then pulled out a $10 bill.

He was most thankful and did an immediate U-turn right there in front of me, and as fast as his wheels would take him, sped to the liquor store at the back of the parking lot! 

I started to laugh, but thinking of what Wayne Dyer said when he was laughed at for giving money to a panhandler on the street corner….."It's not between me and him, it's between me and God", I realized that it is truly between myself and God.
Have a great week!

~ Give ~

Long Way to Go

Finally here is face #15

You may recall some time ago I started my "100 Faces" project.  I certainly got sidetracked.  Nothing new about that.  Happens all the time.  This is only #15!  I wasn't going to post her because…..guess why?  She's not good enough?  How am I ever going to be good if I don't practice?  So, I'm forcing myself to post the not so good with what I consider good.  Her eyes are a bit wonky, but my eyes are a bit wonky too!  In fact I bet everyone's eyes are a little wonky.  Don't we all have one foot that's just a tad larger than the other?  The great thing about the way Dina Wakley does her faces….she always uses Gesso on her pages….for more than one reason.  It's a great foundation for acrylic paint.  But it also is great for drawing with the Stabilo All #8046 pencil.   I usually just scribble over lines if they're not in the right place, 

but I can use a baby wipe to remove the pencil.  No gesso, no 

"erase".  I promise to try another face today or tomorrow.  And if I remember, I'll tell a funny on myself in relation to my word for the year - give.

~ Give ~

Glorious Imperfection

I love the term "Wabi-Sabi" - perfect imperfection.  According to Wikepedia, "The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is imperfect. impermanent and incomplete".  Life is so 

wabi-sabi, so it makes sense that we would see the beauty of imperfection.

In week 4 of Be Still, Kim edited a photo similar to this one, and I have followed her lead as far as the edit..a bit different but with a similar effect.  I started in Lightroom with some adjustments to clarity, contrast, saturation.  I tried many presets but in the end I did not use one.  I shifted over to Photoshop and added three layers of Kim's "Dusty Rose" on soft light blend at 72% brushing it off the cut glass vase and a bit off the rose.  I think it would be fun to do a whole series of wabi-sabi flower photos.

For the image  below I did edit in Lightroom as well and used a preset "Touchof Drama".  I took it into Photoshop and added a layer of Kim's "Daisy" from the Downton collection and one layer of "Sweettart".  I added a slight faded vignette. 

~ A beautiful thing is never perfect ~

A proverb quote

Linking to:

And to Be Still
~ Give ~

Anatomy of the Bouquet

A special friend sent these to me for my birthday…..so pretty and in colors I love.  Thank you, Shelley.

I kept looking at the bouquet all week.  What I noticed was that the vase was just crammed with flowers, each vying for attention.  The  dozen long stemmed pink roses would have been more than sufficient.  But then I do love hydrangea and stargazer lilies.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the importance each flower plays.  The roses, hydrangeas and stargazers are the stars, like the kids in school who were the most popular.  Then there were some type of Asiatic  lilies in the group too…..those wanna be's from school….not as spectacular but nice too.  The lemon leaves and wax flowers were there to fill out the bouquet, but they are just as important ….. they were the ones with the spectacular grades.  Then there were the tiny white carnations….they were the ones I made friends with….they were loyal and steadfast friends.  They are still here when the rest of the bouquet has been tossed.  They smile at me every morning.  They give me a peaceful, easy feeling. 

So….for Texture Tuesday and Be Still I did a little photo shoot with my good friends, the carnations.  I used Kim's "Hazey" preset,  took it into PS and added the text.  

and the top down shot

and with Kim's postcard texture

They are my good friends.

Live a beautiful life this week.
~ Give ~