Sunset Chiaroscuro

The play of light and shadow reminded me of the term, chiaroscuro, that I learned in art classes in college. It’s not Renaissance art- just another shot from my driveway- but pretty light all the same. I added an oil paint filter at low opacity to complete the look.

 

Les Fleurs

Spring is here- so I’m continuing on with flowers today. Here is a lensbaby daisy photo in black and white. I recently updated Lightroom and decided to use one of the new “artistic profiles” for this image. I’m not thrilled with where they have placed these in the adjustment panel (or even that they are IN the panel. . .), but I do like the improved ability to preview changes- and also adding Dehaze to the basic panel (where it belongs!).

Winter’s End

I think our February snowstorm was likely the end of our (very mild) winter, although we did have some snow at the beginning of April last year. I have a few more snowy photos I am considering posting here, starting with this one of the rocks and snow at Willow Lake. I began with a straightforward edit, using Photoshop to bring out the detail of the Liesegang rings in the rocks. I have recently just started exploring Topaz Studio, so decided go there to see what I could use on this photo to give it an “extra something”. I played around until I created a softer, more painterly look in the image.

 

 

Pastel

A return to doing what I love- soft and dreamy flowers. For this one I used my Lensbaby Velvet 56, which I have never fully explored. When I joined my photo group, it seemed that there was such an emphasis on sharpness- that I started working on my landscape photography more and more- and I mostly left my lensbabies behind. It has been fun this week to once more embrace my love of BLUR!

Change of Season

Although the flower season is always comparatively late here (“Don’t plant until after Mother’s Day!), blossoms have started to appear on the trees- always a welcome sign of Spring. Our plum tree has just a few- just enough show us that Spring is on its way.

Our Descendants

Coming from a small family, I’ve always wanted MORE PEOPLE (hence my passion for genealogy and family history). This new baby, when we were already content with the adorable grandsons we have, is such an unexpected joy to have in our lives. We are so happy for Matt! And so I am thrilled to present this photo of our descendants!