Oh happy day! The topic is aged, and I have no need to leave the house- I am surrounded by family heirlooms.
I guess this one isn’t a family heirloom yet, but it was my cereal dish and pitcher for milk when I was a very little girl. It says Italy on the bottom of the bowl, and I have no idea where my parents got it, since they never traveled to Europe. It hasn’t been used in years, because of the fear of lead in the paint- but I am sentimental about it.
Texture: Patina by Florabella
The Meditation Garden at Unity of Tustin was one of the highlights of my visit with Nevin. She and Darrell have found a spiritual home there, and she was eager to show me around the amazing grounds today. I was especially drawn to the labyrinth, which I find such a deeply beautiful spiritual symbol and practice. This labyrinth was outlined with stones, and a magnificent angel was placed near the entrance.
I have many more photos, but exhaustion is starting to set in. It was a whirlwind of a visit- 3 appointments for my husband, hours of wonderful conversation, the meditation gardens, driving adventures, a lunch with a view of the ocean, and my husband’s iPhone being left in the rental car- and mysteriously disappearing within ten minutes of turning in the car to the company. But this last event hardly put a damper on a wonderful two days- iPhones can be replaced, friends can’t!
Look who we’re visiting today!
We’re down in SoCal for business, so we took the opportunity to visit Nevin (and Darrell too) in their new home in Irvine. They are so happy to be living close to family and are making new friends (but she misses our Rapunzels!). We’re leaving in a moment to go out to dinner with them and catch up on all the news.It’s good to see them so happy- but it confirms for me that they aren’t moving back. 😦
Another Kelby Training seminar today! This time it was Matt Kloskowski at the Sacramento Convention Center teaching the ins and outs of Lightroom 4. I have been studying and using this program intensely for the last few months, but still learned some good tips- and had a great time seeing one of my favorite photo-editing teachers in person. And it was even more fun, because my friend, Carol was there too.
We sat in the FRONT ROW!
Probably the most interesting part of the day was when we arrived and saw this:
Yup, those trees have blue trunks! The trunks have been painted with a supposedly non-harmful paint which will wash off within 6 months (some has evidently washed off already in this week’s rain)- all to call attention to global deforestation. Don’t try this at home, kids!
It’s been my intention for awhile to learn to use my iPhone camera in a better way- and to become better acquainted with Instagram. I joined Instagram a year or so ago and only have ten or so photos in my feed (and only two followers). I just am not clear on the concept- and the workflow.
So today, I decided that, since I was downtown without a camera, I would use my iPhone to take a shot of the First Street sign (today’s topic is first), post it to Instagram and the blog and be done with it for the day. I think the problem started when I underexposed the photo, making it grainy. I edited it in Snapseed, exported to Squaready, and then sent it to Instagram. I didn’t like my crop, so I repeated the process. But then I couldn’t figure out how to get it from Instagram to my computer. I e-mailed it, but it just showed me a preview with no way to save it.
I then went back to my iPhone camera roll, re-edited the photo in Snapseed and e-mailed it to myself, saved it, opened it in Lightroom, where it looked so awful that I had to tinker more, eventually turning it into a black and white. I don’t know if I will re-upload it to Instagram, because there are already two versions of it there- and I don’t know how to delete them.
The process was not quick.
So- if any of you blog readers love Instagram, please let me know why- and how you manage it (especially how you upload it to your blog).
And the deal is, I am having to stop myself from taking another photo for today with my REAL camera- I still may go out later!
As I get older, I sometimes find myself thinking about the years ahead and what I will be like as my body (and mind. . .) age. My father was always my role model for living well in the later years. Like me, he was a photographer in his retirement years- but he was also a woodworker and stained glass artist. He was always the oldest in his classes at Butte Community College, where he studied photography and stained glass after he retired from dentistry at age seventy. So I think I’ve got the hobby thing figured out.
A few years ago, I started looking for some additional role models to inspire me- and one of them turned ninety-three today!
I have known Viola for about three years and have been amazed at how active and involved she is at church. She had a physical setback this last year, but has come back with determination and verve! She inspires me with her intelligence, enthusiasm, and optimism- and her SPUNKINESS! The black and white image above gives you a hint of her personality. She is never without glitz- whether its her hat or a scarf, she is someone you can’t miss. But most of all, Vi is an example to me of someone who truly lives from her heart.
Happy Birthday, Vi!
Our office is getting dismantled a bit today as we prepare for the big switch from one internet company to another later in the day. Before I start unplugging everything, I need to get the blog posted- so there isn’t much time for a photo this morning. It is raining, so I opened the back door, stuck the lens out, focused on the tree and fence on the side, and clicked. I’m posting this in response to on the other side, and, since it is Fence Friday, on the other side of the fence seemed like a good subject. Hope the neighbors don’t mind.
Suspended by an invisible part of a spider web, this shriveled berry swings in the wind, floating magically over our deck.
Slightly desaturated in LR4, with some split toning.
In response to the prompt: individual for Our Daily Challenge group in Flickr.
These images are from two different times today- early-ish this morning, when the rain was falling and just a few minutes ago, when it started getting dark outside.
Rain on the window:
The color in this photo was already pretty monochrome in the RAW image- so I did a very straightforward black and white conversion, using one of the CM Paparazzi presets- and tweaked the clarity a bit to emphasize the raindrops. I used this shot for one of the Daily Challenges- pieces. Raindrops are pieces of rain, aren’t they? Aren’t they???
The second photo I actually planned out last night, when I noticed this Christmas tree as I drove up the hill. Christmas tree? Isn’t it still November? I am already behind as usual. I thought the lone tree sparkling on the hill above made a nice image for at the top, another challenge.
I took a short walk today and captured this view of the strait looking toward the state park. Because it is Texture Tuesday, I added a layer of Kim Klassen’s kk_xanthe texture.
Check out some beautiful textured photos by following the links on Kim’s page: www.kimklassencafe.com.
I think noticing my surroundings has been the biggest gift I’ve gotten from being a photographer. I actually made my husband stop the car as we were headed down to the water yesterday, because these leaves were so gorgeous- and ORANGE (a Daily Challenge theme). They are also red and gold and yellow- and all shades in between. I brought some home to photograph today for Macro Monday.
And here are some shots from yesterday.
Armed with a list of undone daily challenges from my Flickr group, we took a drive downtown through the fog to see what would fit the bill. Today’s challenge was orange– easy with the mass of leaves littering the sidewalks. I haven’t edited any of those photos yet and may post some later. But what caught my eye were the boats and cars in the junk boatyard downtown- perfect for the challenge, ravaged by time.
This detail of an old Fageol truck is the one I will use for the challenge. Not sure what the Christmas lights are all about.
Love these old boats- and have photographed them many times.
We’re in that weird in between place where one has just crossed 3 or 4 states in two hours, is getting unpacked, washing clothes, and confronting all the things that must be done after a vacation. The snow clothes are put away- and I just changed into capris to celebrate the California sunshine. We sure are missing those little boys- and their parents too. . .
My camera gear seems to have made the trip unscathed- no thanks to me! I wasn’t paying attention when the security folks somehow flipped my think tank over to put it through the scanner. Yikes! Since I had taken the laptop out, the camera, lenses, speedlight etc. were free to bounce around when turned upside down. The camera is working; I haven’t had a chance to check out the other gear.
Here are a couple bonus photos from our drive yesterday. Yes, that is the coyote I wrote about yesterday!
Our son-in-law took us on our traditional drive through the park today. The snow isn’t deep yet, and the contrast between the rich hues of the willows and grasses and the white snow created beautiful scenes for our excursion. We saw lots of bison and three coyotes (the kids’ favorite moment was when the coyote pooped on the hill beside the car. . .).
I took many photos; this one is my favorite so far.
melinda anderson photography 