Digital Fun

When you work regularly, inspiration strikes regularly. ~Gretchen Rubin

It always frustrates me that when life gets busy and I feel stressed, creative time is the first thing to go. I need to work on that. I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last posted on my blog...my schedule has been hectic and today is the first free day I've had in awhile. I thought I'd check in with the blog world and wave hello!

Before things got crazy, I did have fun with some digital editing. I wanted to share a couple edits I worked on with a very quick drawing I did of two flowers on a book page. I put them in PSE and played around with layers, textures, etc. and came up with two very different looks. So much fun, and very therapeutic to just get lost in the process! I don't know what I'd do with these two images, but the end results were very satisfying.

I hope to start processing some photos I've taken in recent weeks very soon...I have a month's worth to look through and will post some favorites. I hope all my fellow blog friends are doing well...thank you for stopping by!

Original Drawing:

iPhoneography Love

I have things in my head that are not like what anyone taught me—shapes and ideas so near to me, so natural to my way of being and thinking. ~Georgia O’Keeffe

I've been hard on myself lately because I haven't been taking photos with my "real" camera...but when I think about it, I AM taking photos, and I'm also being very creative. I'm finding that my iPhone is as satisfying to me as taking photos and processing them in Photoshop Elements. The apps available for iPhones can do such amazing things! And as you play and experiment, you find your own "style" and preferences just like with any other art medium.

With my summer so busy, it's harder to find time to go on photo outings with my real camera, but I always have my iPhone with me and can snap shots anywhere, even while out running errands. Later in the evening, I can sit and have fun processing them while watching TV. It has become a relaxing routine I am loving quite a lot. Even the most basic shots can be turned into artistic images with the incredible apps that are available. A lot of my images are taken in parking lots, or while sitting in my car at stop lights!

Do you find yourself in this same predicament with your iPhone versus your "real" camera? Here are a few favorites from the past week. Two new apps I'm completely smitten with are Mextures and Mystic. Mextures has fantastic textures that add so much character/mood to your images. Mystic has hundreds of quotes, beautiful frames, and lovely filters. I'm addicted! :)

The Cicadas Keep Coming

It's been over two weeks now and I keep waiting for the sheer volume of cicadas to start winding down...it hasn't happened yet! They just keep multiplying. At first I was patient and curious about these red-eyed insects, but now my patience is wearing thin and I'm ready for them to be gone! They are literally everywhere and I can't walk outside without hearing the "crunch" as I step on their exoskeletons. They are perched on every available leaf of every tree, flower, and bush. My dog ferociously eats them like they're candy. And the noise...I wish I could capture the noise with these photos! It gets louder every day. The worst is at night when I take the dog out and the cicadas are literally everywhere, including perched all over our yard's gate and latch. *shudder* Our local paper has been getting inquiries in our community about the "constant alarm sound that sounds like alien spaceships landing". That's a pretty good description of what we're hearing all day long! Thankfully, they stop "singing" at night.

We have at least several more weeks to go...once very seventeen years is most definitely enough.

Blue + Green = Serene

My days have been busy...a blur of errands and to do lists. But always, in the midst of it all, I have my trusty iPhone to capture some snapshot moments of my day. There have been lots of blues and greens in my photos lately: beautiful blue skies and spring trees evolving into their summer greens. Plus, a cute yogurt shop with apple green walls! I love the picture I captured while in their store (and their yogurt was delicious).

Blue and green are my two favorite colors - my closet is filled with them, or some combination of the two. It's interesting that we're each drawn to certain colors depending on who we are. Blue and green are "calming" colors - with my anxious temperament it makes sense to me that I'd want to surround myself with these soothing tones! Are you drawn to certain colors?

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Iphoneography Fun: Percolator Stars

Flowers open every night
across the sky, a breathing peace
and sudden flame catching. ~Rumi

The warm temperatures have arrived, and as always I find myself super busy in these summer months. I'm giving myself permission to post more sporadically this summer...you'll still see me but my posts might be spread out a little more! I think I'll feature my iphoneography a little more because I'm always taking iPhone photos and there are so many I'd love to share. That's one thing I love about my iPhone - no matter how busy I get, it's always with me and I get new photos to play with almost every day.

Above is a recent image I took and processed with my iPhone using several of my favorite apps. I put the original photo in Glaze first to give it a painterly feel, and then I also put the original into Percolator and used the "full of stars" filter to create a second image. I combined these two images in Blender - I was very pleased with the starry results!

Have a wonderful weekend - thank you for stopping by! I'm @sherribrannon on Instagram if you'd like to follow me.

The Cicadas are Here

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade a grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~Eleanora Duse

The cicadas showed up in Virginia this past Friday...suddenly they were perched on tree trunks and bushes everywhere. So far they've remained very quiet - no singing yet. I'm wondering if it's because of the unseasonably cold temperatures that have showed up for the last few days? This morning we're breaking records with low temps and I hope it won't hurt them. Meanwhile, I've been taking lots of photos of these strange looking insects...they won't be here again for seventeen years! I'm normally very skittish around insects, but cicadas fascinate me despite their beady, red eyes. And they've been very willing subjects so far - they're very low key, and no flying into my hair yet!

I'm linking up today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday - today's prompt is black and white with a touch of color (and one of Kim's textures). What a great prompt! I used Kim's "Reentry" texture for my first image, Soft Light/30%, and a reverse layer mask to bring back the cicada color.

Have a wonderful Tuesday and thank you for stopping by - if you're in the U.S., do you have cicadas in your area? I'm curious if they're everywhere or only in certain states.

Copper Poems

A wonderful thing about poetry is that it lets you say (via your imaginary friends) things that you would never dare say in real life. ~Michael Lipsey

The poetry is really flowing lately. I wrote this poem in response to the prompt from Poets United this week: we are to write about a personal experience. Writing poetry is one of the most personal things I do. It's where I'm at my most vulnerable and able to express emotions I might not otherwise. I find it to be incredibly therapeutic when I'm stressing or feeling turmoil about something. And also when I'm feeling really grateful about life!

In "real life" I tend to keep emotions to myself, but when the poetry writing starts it all spills out. I also find that I do my best writing in the morning with my cup of coffee. I'm alert and well rested...this is usually when my muse hits me. It also means that there are many mornings when my to do list gets cast aside for a couple of hours! After every poem, I always feel as if these words I've written have been resting inside of me the whole time, waiting for the "write moment" to come to life. Honestly, it feels like a spiritual collaboration.

My image is an iPhone photo I took awhile back. It's not actually a fallen star but it sure looks like one. :)

COPPER POEMS

A walled heart is
Smoother and smart
So much safer
Than an open gate
But then a blank
Page blossoms

Winged thoughts
So feather soft
Opal-throated words
Joys expressed
Pure and white
Like falling stars

Lessons humming
Like gospel hymns
Secret polls and
Holy roads
Fears that morph
Into midnight mountains

Copper poems with
Patinaed flaws
Stitched scars
That come undone
In the clarity
Of early morning.

© Sherri Brannon