photoshop

Color Washed Image

Colour My World

I’m back for another “Daily Gratitude!” Before I start, I have to say that my inner rebel is coming out today. I grew up with the American version—COLOR—and I always feel cheated when I spell it that way. It looks so boring!

Who would have thought that a simple little U could offer so much style and pizzazz? My pre-installed dictionary disagrees, however. It’s been fighting me tooth and nail—insisting I’ve committed some kind of crime—a naughty little typographical error.

So that is that. I’m going against everything I was taught, and I’m spelling it the COLOURFUL way.

So… back to gratitude. Today I am thankful for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com), and the fact that the college I’m attending has given students FREE access. For anyone stuck (and feeling bored) under the “stay at home” restriction, online tutorials are a great way to cure the blues and actually learn something.

It’s funny for me to say that because I usually NEVER have the patience to watch tutorials (or read instructions). But… in just a few 5 minute lessons so far, I’ve learned things that I can do in Photoshop that I was never aware of before. And I’ve been using it for years!

The featured image is a recycle; a black and white that I shared some years ago. I used it as my test subject and I’ve added some bold COLOUR to it, to make it more dramatic; dark sepia to blue. An added bonus to the LinkedIn Learning is that completion certificates can be loaded to your profile, and they add a little something to your resume—something many of us may be updating real soon.

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading!

Colour is like food for the spirit—Plus it’s not addictive or fattening.

Isaac Mizrahi

I thought that quote was perfect for everything I’m into at the moment. Give me some colour… but hold the sugar please!

Abstract-Hearts Intertwined

Hearts Intertwined

Forever & Ever Amen

I’m interrupting the Alphabet Game for a little abstract fun. A big thank you to Brashley Photography for the challenge, and for the extremely useful instructions on “How to Twirl in Photoshop.”

This is my submission for Photo of the Week-53-Abstract, and how fun it was to make!! These are a few of my favorite fuchsias, incognito, with a little country twang to help them twirl in rhythm.

Peace & Love… Keep on twirling on. 😉

Urban Oasis

Big Leaf Designs

This summer I went on an interesting hike with my son and daughter-in-law. My plan was to stroll through Ferndell Nature Trail which is basically flat, covered by shade trees, and brimming with plants from all over the world. I guess you could call it an urban oasis.

I shot this Elephant Ear there, and finally got around to working on it. I didn’t get as many photographs as I would have liked because my cohorts had other plans (unbeknownst to me), and my leisurely stroll turned into a 2 mile round trip hike up the hill to the Griffith Park Observatory and back.

Anyway, tomorrow I have a Biology exam. I’m learning about cells and photosynthesis (yawn), so plant leaves kind of fit into the mix today. After a full day of studying, I really needed a breather—so… I decided to add a little magic to the image and make the giant leaves look a little less real. What can I say, it’s Hollywood!

Peace and Love!

I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic. Andy Warhol

It’s a Beautiful Day

It’s been about 2 months since I’ve been online here in the blog world and I wanted to check in and say HELLO you beautiful people! 

I miss you all, and hope to browse around this weekend and see what all of you have been up to. School is AWESOME! Keeps me super busy but I just love every minute of it. I’m learning so much!!

Anyway, most of this piece is constructed out of appropriated images (from an image share site), but it was one of my latest Photoshop projects in my visual communication class… and I wanted to post something other than words this evening.

I’ve got 3 classes right now and in about a week I start my fourth: a digital photography class. So… as you might guess I will be posting more images once that gets going!

That’s about all. Miss you and love you all!! Hope you are all doing wonderful…

Life is good and God is great! OH, and I hit one year and seven months sober TODAY! Boy time is flying!!

Neighbors Part Two

It might be overkill, but I have been using the parrot shots to get in practice with more paint effects. I found some cool online tutorials, but they have no talking… just music. It’s fun to watch them but it can be hard to follow along and actually learn!

Anyway, I zoom in on some of the interesting pointers, and little odds and ends here and there… so I wanted to try one more version of the noisy neighbors.

Plus I liked “the parrot eating a walnut” shot. I think it came out pretty cool. Kind of like a watercolor, and I added lots of blur and smudge to it.

That’s all for now…

Noisy Neighbors

Well, I am killing two birds with one stone today…

…no pun intended! 😉

This colorful creature has woken me up at the crack of dawn two days in a row now.

He (or she) sits up in the next door neighbors walnut tree and yells out what I can only imagine is some sort of song of joy. Perhaps trying to notify his friends about the delicious tasting treats he has found.

Anyway, he was also out there last night- before the sun went down- which is when I managed to get a few shots of him. He’s farther than my zoom really allows, so I jazzed him up with a painterly look, plus got in some more practice on Photoshop, and tutorials.

This is my last week before I start school full time, so I am taking advantage of every second. Come next Monday I will be spending most of my days commuting and sitting in classrooms… and I have to say that I am SO looking forward to it!! Not to mention the fact that I’ll be soaking in the cool air from the A/C there, since we have none at the house!

That’s about all for now. Have a beautiful blessed week!! Peace and Love everyone!!

All Aboard!

If your train of thought is going nowhere, switch tracks.

This is the next image in my series featuring dual effects with windows, doors, reflections or views.

I’m happy with how this turned out. I shot the image some years ago while on the Georgetown Loop Railroad, one of Colorado’s first visitor attractions. I like the fact that the whole image has a slightly antique look, since this railroad was constructed in the 1800’s—back when a few people had incorrect thoughts about trains…

What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches? The Quarterly Review, March, 1825.

 

New Reflections

After working on my last image The View, I got an idea for a new series I want to try.

And I’m going to try and stick to my guns this time!

I’m going to focus on images that have views or reflections within the photograph, similar to when I set out to do that “frames within frames” project some months ago.

But I’m going to do varying effects on one image- like my featured image that retains the photograph in the window reflection, but a sketched effect for the building and trees. I’ve been wanting to jazz things up, and this will give me some great practice and a new approach to some old images as well.

I love change!

A Ton of Bricks

Devote yourself to an idea. Go make it happen. Struggle on it. Overcome your fears. Don’t you forget: this is your dream.

Read, read, read… I’ve been doing that a lot to learn new techniques in Photoshop.

And I’m back to my sketchy images. The featured image is Bricktown, Oklahoma City. I took this during the road trip with my son. I absolutely LOVE brick, so I must say that I really enjoyed this place!

Anyway, I thought this was a great photograph for a sketch. I really like the baby blues, and slightly turquoise tones that seem to pop out at you. I also thought it was a good day to share some positive thoughts. I enjoy anything that drowns out doubt, and reinforces positive thinking.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” -Winston Churchill

In a Haze

Sois belle à ta façon

“Be beautiful in your own way.”

I thought this french quote was a beautiful pick for today’s image. I believe I’ve shared the photograph before, but I did something different with it today. I’m usually determined to darken contrasts or shadows, and to increase saturation and vibrancy in my photographs of nature.

I learned how to increase haze in Photoshop this afternoon and I am really liking it on this lake!

It is beautiful in it’s own way. I like that.

I finished my homework this afternoon and tonight is my recovery class, so it’s business as usual today. BUT, I’m looking forward to a fun fourth of July celebration tomorrow, with some of my friends from church and recovery.

Nature Therapy

The mountains are calling and I must go. – John Muir

This one actually IS a photograph that I took, back when I lived in Colorado. I read a tutorial this weekend about various ways you can make a photo look more like a vivid painting, and I remembered this image that’s been sitting in my folder waiting for something fun. The original was pretty bland. Too gray. So… I thought I would give it a try.

The area where I shot this is beautiful though! This is a peek at the Arkansas River, running through a small town called Buena Vista. It was about 35 miles south of where we lived. I loved going there because it was at a lower elevation, so you could escape the cold and snow for a day, and have lunch on an outdoor patio.

I also forgot to mention something about my last post. I had to chuckle when I saw the colors I chose, because they reminded me of the old Pee Chee folders. I think I have back to school on the brain. I’ve actually been pretty anxious about it. Not stressed or scared, just more ready than ever… and the days seem to be moving as slow as molasses.

Anyway, I wanted to share the River photograph. I think it’s kind of soothing, so I am sending out peaceful vibes and tranquility.

I found that quote by John Muir and started thinking… YES, YES… I do believe it’s time for a short getaway to the mountains. I miss my travels! 😉

That’s about all for now. Have a beautiful evening! (or morning, or afternoon) ♥♥♥

Photography Fun

You don’t take a photograph. You make it. Ansel Adams

I’ve been going through some of the images I shot Saturday, trying to see how to make them look artsy, or more unique. I’m still teaching myself how to use Photoshop and Lightroom, so it’s always fun to see what you can do in the programs.

I shot this city image when we were around the halfway point—when we stopped to take photos of the view and some slightly close up shots of the sign. The gentleman in the photo was in our group and stepped into my shot just as I clicked the button.

I took more, but I actually thought his invasion made the image even cooler! I like the fact that he looks a bit like a giant. I added some motion blur to him so that it looks like he is moving a little faster than he really was.

The hazy sky in L.A. tends to distort any photos I take of skylines or distant landscapes. I’m sure it’s just me, but I just love underdogs, so I always try to bring my worst images to life—regardless of how bad they look.

It’s funny that I was so excited to take photographs of the Hollywood sign. Once I got home and started going through them, they really aren’t that exciting! It’s just a mountain and a sign! So… I added some dramatic color and a rainbow- just for the heck of it. Just above the “L” you can see some tiny people. That’s about where I was when I took the images of the backside.

Anyway, I think I’ve already had my fill of the hiking images.

Life is good, and God is GREAT!

Photography is a love affair with life. Burk Uzzle

Think Pink

Keep calm and pink on.

I had to do something light before I left because I’m really wanting to shoot for subtle lately. Not sure it’s exactly subtle, but it’s definitely pink!

It’s actually flowers from our backyard, taken today, with a background layer of snow and sky. I think it was a cool blend! Almost looks like some water reflection going on.

Have a beautiful rest of the day (or evening) everyone!

Peace and love…

Shattered Dreams

“And when he finished speakin’ He turned back toward the window. Crushed out his cigarette And faded off to sleep…” -The Gambler, Don Schlitz

Well this was certainly random. 😉

I’m trying to figure out ways to create unique collages. The main image (the casino town) and the cigar sign (taken off the side of a building) were shot in Central City, Colorado- which I visited once while I lived in the area. I love signs painted on brick!

The rainbow was imported from Phoenix. 🙂

Honestly… I don’t love it- but I like that I was able to combine images in a way that they somewhat blend. I think the town got a little distorted along the way… it looks off keel. The cigar sign is actually hiding a row of parked cars, so that worked out well.

I think it would be a fun way to do road trip collages, actually piecing the images together to make a complete scene. We shall see.

Anyway, I guess the end result of this experiment is a message: Gambling doesn’t pay.

Another thing I learned throughout my travels, adventures and experiences. 😉

Blessings!!

My Own Drum

“They can’t hear my drums, but they can see me dance!” -Anonymous

So… the drums were never in my head this morning- it actually happened by accident. I’m still experimenting with glass over images (and probably will for a long time), but I wasn’t feeling it this morning. The glass seemed to hide the image too much. Continue reading →

The Watcher

The wooden head here is actually part of a statue from that train museum. I believe it is Casey Jones, the railroad engineer- not to be confused with Teenage mutant ninja turtles.

This was a fun little project because I finally learned more about getting rid of edges after removing backgrounds, and the sky was brought in from somewhere else, as well, so I’m getting better at blending.

Of course, my mom walked by my computer and kind of freaked out when she saw it. “Why is there a head hanging from that tree?!??” So, to be clear—he is not hanging—he is looking down on the camera lens. I guess we see things differently.

Blessings!! Life is good and God is great!

Trudging Along

Yesterday I took a walk along the Los Angeles river again, and there wasn’t much out there. I got in some good exercise though, and it was really warm out!

Anyway, I took a photo of the path I walk, and today added some mountains and sky that I shot from my living room window, when I lived in Colorado. Otherwise, there was just a freeway to look at. I guess you could say that I imagined there was much more out there than an ugly old road. That’s where I found the divine yesterday- in my imagination.

Peace and love!!