three

another example of the moods you can create with ps elements

fall leaves in winter

it snowed today

and my mind was at peace with the colorless sky

january 26, 2010

As long as we are alive there is the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and try again.

growth requires movement

Will you get on the road set out before you? Without knowing the outcome? Without trying to preserve what you think you have now? Without care to the cost? Or will you just keep walking beside it?

"It's OK to be uncomfortable. If you are comfortable all the time, no growth is happening..." ~ wide wale ~

january 23, 2010

I pulled over on the way home today to watch the sunset. I found myself distracted by the silhouetted trees against the dusk light and blue sky. Moments like these are the "stuff" of life for me. Everything else just melts away and I feel energized by the natural beauty that surrounds us.

(un)still life

no matter how peaceful we may try to keep our own lives

the vibrations of others will eventually touch us

and cause us to be changed forever

everyday hero

rachel's "faj" rushed over with a printer to replace the one that wasn't working. we say 'i love you' in many small ways.

be mine

Cheesy self promotion plug:

I now have some Valentine's Day Cards available at RedBubble.

Go check them out...please.
(This is my first try at creating something for a specific purpose.)

solitude on ice - an abstract

he knew something about the peace of just being

light and shadow

shadows cannot exist without light to reveal them

character cannot exist without trials to shape it

snow on stump in snow

january 12, 2010

even though there are miles between us

the friendship sustains because

its roots were firmly planted in love

whose ties cannot be broken

January 11, 2010

My father's girlfriend's oldest son was home on leave recently. One night when we were all hanging out he and I sat for a while chatting and looking at the pictures I've posted on RedBubble and some I just had on my laptop... I tried to point out all the ones I thought I could be proud of...sunsets and really cool landscapes...artistic junk...but it was this one that he yelled STOP at! ??? LOL Of all the things I'd done...the one that drew his interest the most was a random photo of some Halloween dummies. It humbled me. I often think I need to make things grandiose to increase their value...but it was the common...the every day, that caused him to perk up.

beginnings

Gratefulness

"If the angel

deigns to come

it will be because

you have convinced

her, not by tears

but by your humble

resolve to be always

beginning; to be

a beginner."

~Rainer Maria Rilke~

january 5, 2010

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished.

If you're alive, it isn't."

~Richard Bach~

january 4, 2010

I processed this picture tonight while watching a movie...so that I wouldn't feel lazy. How telling is that of the sad influence of our fast paced society... Clearly the muted hughes and foggy portrayal of days gone by was my subconscious telling me to chill.

winter postcard

Hot chocolate.

Snow in my boots.

Wool mittens pretty to look at itch my skin.

Cold, fresh air clears my head.

the process

This post is in response to questions from several friends about what you can do in the digital age of photography. I have a copy of Photoshop Elements 5.0 and sometimes use it to enhance a photo to help the viewer see what I felt when I took the picture. Here is a process I used on this image.

This is the original photo. I used a Nikon d90 with a Nikkor VR 18-105mm lens, handheld. I was set on manual mode and the following; F-stop f/16, exposure time 1/80 sec, ISO speed 200, focal length 18mm. I tried to underexpose this as I am new at taking pictures in the snow and wasn't sure how they might be washed out. In Photoshop Elements 5.0 I did the following;

To correct the exposure I selected the Quick Fix Tab and next to Smart Fix hit the Auto button.

Next I selected the Full Edit tab. Under the Special Effects section and Layer Styles I picked Color Burn - and then selected Normal for the Mode and 50% for the Opacity. I wanted the red to stand out as much as it did to my human eye. It was this bright red against the white snow that caused me to pull over and take the picture in the first place.


Next I wanted to darken the corners of the photo so that your eye would be drawn into the picture more. I also just plain like the vignette and think it creates more mood. Under Filter on the top of the page I selected Correct Camera Distortion....under Vignette and Amount I changed the amount to -35 and then hit OK.

I wanted to add a texture to the image to add shadows of another color and create more depth so I opened this image of a blue texture which was used compliments of this group.

Next step was to copy and paste the blue texture on top of the original image and resize it. To resize I went to Image at the top of the page - then picked Resize and Scale. The copy and paste process created a new layer which I could then adjust. I choose Color Dodge with an Opacity of 60%.

Finally I did some adjustments on lighting and color - which I think are more noticeable when viewing the image large. On the tabs at the top of the page I chose Enhance - then Adjust Lighting - then Brightness/Contrast and adjusted the Brightness to -11 and the Contrast to +7. Once again I picked Enhance - then Adjust Color - then Adjust Color Curves. I picked Lighten Shadows....and was done.

Now you try. =)

new year

The sound of the birds flying overhead was silence.