Photo Art Friday - I Spy

For this week's Photo Art Friday, we're supposed to hide something in our photo art submission...I added two "sets" of things. One is very obvious, and the other is a little more subtle. I was amazed, as always, that I was able to take a picture of a log and some leaves and turn it into something as wild looking as this! I used Bonnie's "statement frames" texture at Difference/100% and also a couple of public domain images. I'll be spending time with family through Monday, so won't be posting on my blog again till Tuesday...have a lovely weekend!

Original photo:

Sunset Sky

The sunsets lately have been so beautiful...I've found myself multiple times looking out the window with a gasp and running for my camera. Here are four different sunsets I've captured in the last week or two - it's amazing how the sky can look so different from one night to the next. Excuse all the trees - they're unavoidable in my back yard!

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. ~Rabindranath Tagore

Subtle Colors

I was trying to think of something new to photograph and remembered this old volt meter that belonged to my husband's grandfather. I tried to create an arrangement that was pleasing to the eye and also added these two old books and a little sprig of dried flowers to soften the hard lines. These old books are wonderful to look through - I especially got a kick out of the one titled "Useful Household Helps Hints and Receipts". It was published in 1910 and some of their hints and helps are hilarious. For example, on p. 26 it tells the reader that "excessive wiping, sniffing and blowing of the nose deforms it in time, and should be practiced only when cleanliness demands it." It also states that "large, fleshy noses are reduced by wearing occasionally at night a contrivance which compresses the artery that supplies the nose." lol! This is my contribution for Texture Tuesday - I used Kim's "happy heart" and "grunged up" textures at Soft Light, each at about 36%. I also used the Gradient tool and then brought back about half of the color to make it subtle.

You Can Never Have TuTu Much Light and Shadow

This past weekend I took some pictures of my daughter for a prompt, and at first I thought there would be too much sun/shadow in them. I was taking them near our large kitchen window and the sunlight was casting brightly into the shots. But I was pleasantly surprised when I uploaded them at how they looked, and I had fun editing them to make the shadows/light even more dramatic. The tulle on the tutu is a great fabric to photograph - the texture of it captures so much light and shadow. I also love how worn the pointe shoes are...it shows the reality of a dancer's shoes: lots of wear and tear. I'm sharing these two completely different effects I achieved today at The Creative Exchange...click on the button at the bottom of this post to see more wonderful images!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's that time again...please click on the button at the bottom of this post if you want to know more about Scavenger Hunt Sunday (and participate!).

1. Routine - A part of my routine that I'm very happy about these days is going in search of photos with my camera. I do it every day...it's hard to believe that a year ago I hadn't even begun my camera hobby yet. This is a daffodil shot I captured this past week in our yard.


2. Music - I love music and it's a big part of my life...even more so because of my daughter who danced throughout her childhood and into college. I have many memories of hearing beautiful music of all genres blasting from her dance studio in the basement. I've discovered so many artists because of her! She was home from college this weekend and put on one of her tutus and her pointe shoes so I could capture this photo of her with her ipod.


3. Technology - this was tough and I couldn't think of anything else but my iphone. It's the most tech savvy thing I have...it's a very boring photo. lol.


4. Show Me Your Style - I'm a casual person and rarely dress up, but I love soft, velvety clothes and also jewel toned colors. I went to my closet and found a couple of my favorites.


5. Mismatch - I was stumped with this one until I opened my kitchen cupboard and saw these bowls stacked inside exactly like this. Voila! :)

Nature Speaks

My contribution for Photo Art Friday is much more subtle this week, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I took this picture of a leaf caught in our fence last week, and the ship is from an old, public domain illustration I found from peacay on Flickr. I used Bonnie's "Drops of Jupiter" texture at Darker Color/76%. I also put it in Radlab and used the Maple filter.

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough to pay attention to the story. ~Linda Hogan

Bowl Me Over

I recently spent some time photographing a white bowl for this week's Texture Tuesday prompt of "white". After getting my mostly white shot, I placed my bowl in lots of other places and got quite a few shots I was happy with. I thought I'd share my favorite ones for This or That Thursday. I can't believe it's March 1st - our winter (if you can call it that) is almost over!