“It would make a good greeting card.”
The above comment is code for corny, schmaltzy, trite- however you interpret it- in my photo group. I, however, like making images that look like greeting cards; one of my childhood ambitions was to work for Hallmark. I envisioned a room of artists painting pretty cards or drawing cartoons.
So, with no apologies, here is one of my flower photos that, in my opinion, would make a good greeting card. 🙂
Here’s another view of San Francisco’s Ferry Building- looking up at the roof from the inside:
Here’s another view of the harbor at Pier 39- with Alcatraz in the background.
Here’s a view of Market Street- one of the busiest streets in the city.
When we were in San Francisco, I found the little water taxis very appealing and cartoon-like, so I made some adjustments in Photoshop and Topaz Simplify to accentuate these qualities.
I have no memory of this little lighthouse at Pier 39 the last few times we were there- but it was daytime, so I guess we didn’t notice it. It turns out that it’s actually a restaurant!
Yup- it’s Alcatraz, almost obscured in the late afternoon haze, and a flock of pelicans flying low over the waves.
One of the most iconic sights in San Francisco- Coit Tower:
One of the many fishermen on the pier near the Ferry Building:
When the grandboys were here, I decided I wanted to pick some wild desert poppies I had noticed blooming down the street in a vacant lot. Caitlin, Miles, and I braved the heat wave and walked to the bottom of the hill where we could see a few in bloom. As we walked through the weeds, zillions of burrs attached to our clothes and shoes, so I ended up with just one poppy. When we got home, I brought out the lightbox and spent a few minutes taking photos with the camera on the tripod. The boys were intrigued, so I had each take photos with the iPhone.
Miles was interested in editing his photo, so that evening, I introduced him to Snapseed! He especially liked the “glamorous glow” (glamour glow) adjustment, after trying all sorts of filters. He didn’t like the tiny rips in the petals, so he made me promise to fix them in Photoshop on my computer, which I did.
Here is his photo, edited by Miles with Snapseed (with rips fixed by Gramma):
Good focus, wouldn’t you say? And I like that glamour glow!
Henry wanted a turn as well and managed to take about 10 photos with one long click- all with perfect focus! I took the liberty of editing this one in Photoshop with On 1 and Impression software.
And here’s the one taken by Gramma- a side view with texture added:
THEN:
The beautiful and ornate Southern Pacific Building (completed in 1916) was right across from our hotel at the corner of Market and Embarcadero. This was taken through the window in Carol’s room.
NOW:
This reflections in this skyscraper seemed to create a column of Japanese Kanji running down the side of the building- fascinating!
My husband had a meeting in downtown San Francisco last week, so I accompanied him for a (very) quick getaway, which consisted of one day and two nights. My friend and photo buddy, Carol met us there, and she and I had a great time visiting and walking around the Embarcadero area with our cameras.
Lonnie went to get ice shortly after we arrived, and informed me that he had found THE shot- and it was right down the hall.
THIS is what he found when he looked out the window at the end of the hall:
We were on the sixteenth floor, right across from the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge! Yes- a great view indeed! Carol had mentioned that she wanted to do some night photography, so I was happy that the perfect view had been found- right down the hall- even though it meant shooting through glass.
Carol had brought an extra tripod for me (one of her old ones, which is exactly like mine), so we set up at the window the next night for some fun night photography. Trying to lean the tripod with camera attached flat against the glass and keep it there without slipping, in order to prevent reflections of the hallway lights during long exposures, was a challenge for me! I managed to take a dozen or so shots- and most had reflections and less than tack sharp focus. The above photo is one of the better ones (but I did have to clone out some reflections).
A beautiful city by day- and equally beautiful at night!
Just the Jerome fire station- decorated with the American flag.
Happy Fourth of July!
I spotted this tree by a hotel where we were staying in Phoenix and was fascinated by the twisty branches. Although I would normally edit a paloverde in color to emphasize the green bark, I thought a black and white treatment better showed off the gnarled quality of the branches.
The Grand Canyon
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