Every Day is a New Miracle

That's about how I feel today.  With so much negative happening in the world, I think I'm just so lucky to live where I do.  I'm grateful for my good fortune.  Every morning when I wake up I remind myself how fortunate I am to be where I am.

  

I have been attempting to get a good shot of an object in back lighting.  I tried all sorts of things and didn't have any luck. Then, the other day, I just happened to walk by the bathroom and saw the light streaming in behind my beautiful Double Delight roses.  I ran and got my phone so I could snap them right at that moment.   These two SOOC images show the light beautifully,  but the images themselves are not great. I certainly didn't like the window crank showing in the background.  And….the countertop is not straight in the image.

 What to do…..  Using the top image I adjusted as much as possible in Lightroom and then took into Photoshop.  

I added a layer of Kim's "Cherish Scripted" on soft light 100% opacity and toned the texture down on the roses.  I then added a layer of Kim's "Word" on overlay 30%.  I went back into LR and added a hint of a vignette and a minimal border.

It's okay….just not a favorite.

Textures do make a difference and I tried several before I settled on these.  I had to stop though or I would have been linking to Texture Thursday instead of Texture Tuesday.

I think the second image shows the light better.  Adjustments in LR - no textures or presets on this one.  Actually I think I prefer it.

I wish you all a creative week!

Spring has Sprung in Southern CA

Last week I went with my friends from Eastside Art Group to visit San Juan Capistrano Mission.  My photos for the most part were not terribly good.  It was just about high noon and sun was directly overhead.  I tried adjusting exposure but need some practice with that on my iPhone. I did get this one image of beautiful spring tulips and decided to play with it for Texture Tuesday.

I first used an HDR preset from Trey Ratcliff, one of my favorite photographers.  You can see his work here. I think the HDR really made them pop. I haven't yet tried using HDR setting on my iPhone.  

I then used Kim's "Dark Mood" preset and got this totally 

different look….

Finally I added a layer of Kim's texture "Peeling Paint" and a layer of her "Warm Grunge" to get another altogether different look.

I'm linking up with Texture Tuesday and you can see more by clicking the button below.

See you soon.

~ Give ~

Week 9 of Be Still

This week's lesson was not a new lesson, rather we took a "breather". In these images I worked on composition a little more - also worked with light (from the side).  I need to figure out a place where I can photograph a still life with light from the back.  So I'll return to that lesson. In the first image I used Kim's "Like a Dream" preset but bumped up the contrast a bit.  I also used an impasto texture called "Rumba" from French Kiss Textures.  It gives the image a painterly look.

I used Kim's "Providence" preset on the image below and then added text in PS.

On the final image below I adjusted in Lightroom and then used a filter in Topaz Adjust.  

I took shots from different angles.  I like shooting from above.

If you want to learn how to do these various techniques, I highly recommend Kim's classes.  I've taken several and they are all outstanding with great videos, concise explanations and all the tools one could want for editing photos.  A friendly community of fellow photo editing artists await you too.

I'm submitting this for Texture Tuesday and Be Still.

See you soon.
~ 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 ~

Just Keep Shooting

When I visit others' blogs, I'm always impressed with how beautiful their presentations are….the photos….and how well written too.

I don't know about you, but there are just some weeks when I'm not terribly inspired to do a shoot.  The weather is cold and overcast or  it's just plain winter!!  I should not

complain knowing how a lot of the country is buried under snow and ice.  Here I sit in beautiful sunny (not always) California.

I took almost 50 shots of this subject and had only a couple maybe sort of worth working with.  I had to laugh at some of the shots.  The chocolate looked like little turds….nothing picturesque

at all.  This is the final result.  I know I just need to keep shooting. 

I applied Kim's "Grunged" preset.

After looking at my edit, I decided I wasn't happy with the blown out highlights and went back to Lightroom and used the radial filter.  A little better…. 

This mug is one of my favorites.  I got it at a restaurant in Chicago….called, oddly enough, "Scoozi".  The cup must be 25 or 30 years old.  I wonder if "Scoozi" is still there.  We had a delightful dinner there one evening.  It had one of the biggest bars I've ever seen.  

I'm linking up with Texture Tuesday over at Kim's and also with Be Still 52. I used Kim's "Distressed Wood" texture.  I liked the texture it added to the backdrop and the base under the composition (in first shot).  I think the radial filter did away with most of that 

wood texture in the second shot. 

Here's to lots of joy in your life!

~ Give ~

A Rose for Valentine's Day

My lesson in S2F was to make a diptych with colored background. I added Kim's texture "Gracie" for the background color.

I'm submitting it for Texture Tuesday as well.

I've enjoyed Kim's S2F (Start to Finish) so much.  I still have a couple weeks to finish.  Meanwhile I'll be starting her Be Still 52 class.  

Digital Fun

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I've posted.  Certainly not intentional.  Life just got in the way.

My low back has been giving me fits - arthritis says the doc.  Whatever, it was so painful to sit up in bed to get up in the morning I just dreaded it.  It has improved vastly and I'm starting physical therapy this upcoming week.   I sort of lost my muse during this time of physical stress plus the holidays, plus blah, blah, blah.  You know…..

I finally got back on the computer a couple days ago.  Tip toeing through some of my favorite blogs, I found this tip on Michelle Ward's site.  Layer one image over another (in this case I layered one painted background over a painting).  Select the eraser tool and pick a brush.  Use it as you would a regular brush.  It will erase the top layer in the shape of the brush.  I love it….so simple but has unlimited possibilities.

More playing around….

Then consider using a regular brush over the "eraser" images. The pink below is the regular brush.

Play with this and see what possibilities you can dream up.

~ Give ~

Everyday Life

I'm slowly getting back to "everyday life".  I visited my DIL and granddaughters for turkey.  I got to see all the family including a few on my side I haven't seen for a while.  Hard to imagine the  holiday season is upon us when the temperatures are in the 70's.  We finally had a little rain over the week-end and are due for a lot more tomorrow and Wednesday.  Oh, how we need it!!

Here are a couple of the ladies who participated in Gather

walking the beach.  Texture Tuesday is here again so I'm 

using this for my entry.  I used a layer of KK-Claires and a layer of KK-Hughes on this.  The text brush is Kim's also. 

My DH and I decided not to give gifts to each other this year.  We have enough "things", so we are taking ourselves out for dinners and lunches.  Of course we will have our get together and gifts for the grands.  What are you all doing this year for your holiday?  Any special traditions? 

Thinking of the Sea

I am so fortunate to live close to the ocean……about a mile as the crow flies.  It is ever changing, some days windblown and rough….some days smooth and clear as glass.  Depending on the clouds some days it's a deep dark indigo color…..other days it's a beautiful aquamarine.  I love shells and other artifacts from the sea.  This week I went for a dreamlike feel.

This little box was a project I did sometime ago.  I think I may have done a post about my grandmother's button jar.  I covered the box with a vintage paper, glued on buttons from her jar, and tied it all up with an organza ribbon. 

For Texture Tuesday I made adjustments in Lightroom and then added two layers of Kim's "Waterfront 7" texture, one on soft light at 15%, the second on linear dodge at 33%.  I masked and "erased" a bit of the texture from the starfish, sponge and box.  I love the font…..it's called "Lemon Chicken".

  

More Joys of Lightroom

Texture Tuesday seems to arrive before I know it.

This week has been heavy on the Lightroom learning curve.  Some days I seem to spend a lot of time figuring out why something doesn't go as I planned.  As my friend says, it's almost always a selection problem.

In Kim's Start2Finish class I've been working in the print module learning to make a contact sheet.  I edited one of my photos four ways and managed to create a contact sheet of them.

I did a still life photo shoot, something else we've been working on in S2F class.  My kingdom for some light in my house.  I discovered if I set everything up about 10:00 to 10:30AM I have a window of about an hour where I get some light in my bedroom sliding glass door (depending on the whim of the sun).  That time frame is going to get a lot shorter as daylight hours dwindle.  I uploaded 47 photos to Lightroom, culled them and then worked on a couple.  I really like working with LR presets.  Since LR and presets, it seems textures can almost be an overkill depending on the look I want.  Kim has some beautiful presets, and I've made a few of my own. A project I completed for S2F…... set up a plant or flower or? using a paper bag as a holder.

I used only a preset here, but for my Texture Tuesday entry below I used Kim's "Not Too Shabby" texture on the same image.

and…..one final image…clean and simple.

Is It Fall Yet??

I'm pretending it's fall, but it's really more like Indian summer…..hot enough to sizzle the best of us.

Here goes though.  I have been dabbling with Topaz's latest addition - Topaz Impression.  

This image of white pumpkins was edited in Impression "Impasto".   

I'm so delighted I don't need to buy Corel Paint (which I've been sort of lusting for after seeing the incredible work Karen Burns does.  I drool over her art.  I know she used Corel Paint at one time.  Whatever she uses, she's very adept at it.   

Another Impasto "painting".  

Have you noticed how many different colors and styles of pumpkins appear every year?  They just get more and more spectacular……even the blue are interesting.  Oh, and the warty ones..beautiful in all their quirkiness.

Enjoy the season with friends.  Also be sure to see all the Texture Tuesday entries at Kim's.  I used her "Autumn Burst" on the image below.

and finally, a montage.

Love Affair - Part 2

Another thing I love about Lightroom is the "Print Module".

It makes preparing layouts so fast and easy!!!

I put these images together in about two minutes.

What's even better is that I can save the template and use over and over without having to create a new template.

I do need practice because there is much to think of when creating the layout…things like do I want a border between images or an outside border or stroke,  do I want a color for that border, do I want to "lock to photo aspect ratio", etc.  I find new techniques only become second nature after I repeat the exercise a few times..  If I'm lazy and don't burn it into my memory, I have to go back and revisit how to do a particular technique.  It took me a few tries to get my blog header together. You may be seeing a few of these in the coming days while I practice!

~ Calm ~

Love Affair

Yes, I'm having a love affair with Lightroom.  I've learned that I can completely (well almost completely) edit an image in Lightroom.  As far as I can see, I can do everything in LR except add layers.  What that means is I have to go into Photoshop to add a texture or text.  Other than that, LR can almost do it all.

For Texture Tuesday, I cheated a bit.  I used Kim's LR preset "Touchadrama".

I liked it so much I never added the texture.  This pretty little bowl came from Anthropologie.  

Join me at Texture Tuesday for more beautiful images.

Kim is actually highlighting images from some of the contributors.     

~ Calm ~

  

Just for Fun

It's been a crazy busy week as I'm sure it has been for all of you.  

For Texture Tuesday, I picked an image I have worked with and posted previously.  This time I used Kim's "Dusty Rose" texture and edited for that soft look.

 
Then I took a turn and decided to have some fun with it.  If you haven't tried Pixlr.com, it's loaded with little fun effects.  I use Pixlr Express since I do most of my editing in PS.  I used Pixlr's "smashed" effect here.

The geometrical shapes give it a really different look.  I'm always looking for ways to add a twist to an edit.  

Enjoy the week and stop in to see more Texture Tuesday.