I’m done with blossoms- I promise! This is it!
More Blossoms
The above is another view of a plum blossom- converted to black and white.
And below is a macro of a blossom on the verge of blooming! I textured this one with two layers of Daisy and just a touch of Anna, whom I added because I like her so much better than Daisy 🙂 ( from the Downton Collection by Kim Klassen)!
Blooming
Last Friday, I photographed this blossom- one of the few on my flowering plum that day. Today the tree is covered with blossoms.
I used 3 layers of texture in my edit- more than usual for me- because I was attempting to tone down the pinks (the blossoms) and the blues (the sky) in the background. Much as I appreciate the springtime colors in my otherwise drab garden, the effect in the photo was giving me flashbacks of the wallpaper in my childhood bedroom. I loved it when it was put up, but as I grew older I found the pink and blue flowers babyish and frilly and girly. Daisy and Sybil from Kim Klassen’s Downton textures muted the background, while Cora kept the blossom pink. 🙂
I’m still reeling after Sunday’s Downton Abbey finale! I knew something major was going to happen- and I’m still getting over the earlier tragedy (not specifying in case you aren’t caught up). Too much action for one season= but I do think this opens up lots of plot possibilities!
Follow the link at the bottom of the page to see more photos using textures from Kim’s Downton collection. Happy Texture Tuesday!
P.S. I removed the footprints from yesterday’s beach photo- the incompleteness of them bugged me. Next task: add MORE footprints to the black and white version- MAYBE! Check out yesterday’s post for the update.
Hope
Our plum tree has its first blossom- a hopeful sign Spring is on its way.
This photo was layered with two layers of Kim Klassen’s minus 43, one with soft light, one with multiply blend mode.
Good Day Sunshine
Photography reminds me to be grateful for small things. Despite fog and dreariness for most of the day, the late afternoon sun provided some cheerful bokeh as background for my favorite windchime.
Through the Branches
I am a creature of habit. I start the day looking out the window for photo opportunities as soon as I get up. I had already decided to not post anything today, so I just wandered outside with my camera to take photos to perhaps use on another day. I was struck by how the light was hitting some water drops on the branches I could see through the lower branches, so took a few shots. I was pretty unsuccessful in capturing the water drops, but ended up really liking the images that I did get. I discovered my Flickr group’s theme today is gray, so I took this photo into Perfect Effects and used one of the presets (Daguerrotype) as a starting point. It did add some grain to this already noisy photo, but I like the result. It is reminding me somehow of a book cover- but I can’t figure out which book.
And then- I just can’t help myself- I am posting this today instead of waiting for another day.
Day 364- Birch Bark Redux
Here we go again- more birch bark. . .
I am two days shy of completing my second year of Project 365/6- and am resorting to shooting the subject of Day 2 of my first year! And I know I’ve photographed birch bark at least once in between. Today, however, there was a method to my madness. I was looking for a spiral, one of the topics from my Daily Challenge group. Since the birch trees are right out my kitchen window, I thought of birch bark.
Here are a couple more images for good measure:
Day 347- Morning Light
Good morning! I was out bright and early with my camera looking for some pretty light. I didn’t even have to venture off my front porch, which was a good thing- it was COLD!
Day 344- Backyard Clicks
A crunchy, brittle leaf caught my eye on the steps leading up to the deck today. OK- I can use that for the steps topic from earlier in the week. I used a coffee toned black and white conversion for this one.
As I was going in, I noticed this little guy watching me from a tree limb. He sat patiently, posing for me, until he heard my husband cheer as he watched football on TV- then off he flew.
Day 335- On the other side. . .
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.
Day 334- The Amazing, Magical, Floating Berry!
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.
Day 311- Tuesday- Textured and Not
I am linking up with Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday again- one of my favorite photography/artsy things to do! The theme today was to choose a favorite photo, textured or not. A couple days ago I ordered a 16X20 metallic print of one of my photos of the Point Arena lighthouse, which I took on our trip to Mendocino last month. I would never have ordered anything so huge normally, but the print came as a freebie with Matt Kloskowski’s Lightroom 4 Kelby Training seminar, which I’m attending next month with my photo buddy, Carol. I did not add a texture for the print- especially because of it being printed on metallic paper and not being sure of how that would do with the texture. I haven’t had many photos printed and feel a little out of my element making printing decisions.
But for today, I did add a texture, Kim’s dusty rose at 40% and masked off the lighthouse. I really like what the subtle texture does to the photo. Pay a visit to Kim Klassen’s Cafe to see some beautiful textured photos by other photographers!
I also took some photos for the topic, circles, for my Daily Challenge Flickr group. I was uninspired, but decided I liked the bokeh circles best.
Day 292- Rule of Thirds
Probably the most basic rule of composition in photography is the rule of thirds (imagine your photo divided into a 3X3 grid- objects should line up to one of those lines and/or intersections). I consciously and unconsciously use this rule when framing and/or cropping my photos, so I thought this challenge would be an easy one for me. Hmmmm- not so.
Our deck has just been stained, and I wanted to capture its new look. Of course it is already littered with leaves, which make a natural subject for my macro lens. This photo was so hard for me to frame using the rule of thirds- maybe one of the other rules of composition (triangle, golden ratio, golden spiral?) applies…
Here is a more easy to see example of the rule of thirds.
Day 289- Ten Minutes to Find Lines
Lines is the challenge today. It’s a busy day, so I gave myself ten minutes to find some lines on our front porch and in the yard. Some have more obvious lines than other (am I cheating with the camellia?). The tree image is the one I will post to the group.
Day 277- Minimally Autumn
Although the weather is warm, the leaves are starting to litter our deck. The leaves on the glass table seem like a good response to today’s theme for Our Daily Challenge, minimalism. I used my 50mm1.4 (at 1.8 and 2.0) for a shallow depth of field- and did a bit of split toning on the first image. The last photo is my favorite- I think it looks like the leaves are floating in water- and is probably the most minimalist.
melinda anderson photography 