TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY....

I got a new toy and had to try it out.  It's a Lens Baby.  Lens Babys give a nice blur effect to enhance your images.  Some people go nutz over them, some don't.  I'm thinking about doing some macro photography and thought the lens baby would give a nice effect.  Here are my first efforts.  Obviously, nothing to shout about, yet.  It was about 7:30 pm and the sun was down behind the trees, but I couldn't wait for morning.

The little yellow brushy thing is the only thing in focus.

All of the other stuff has a soft focus effect around it. 

When I get my macro lens, I'll do some Georgia O'Keefe flowers with it.

Last night I took this one of my neighbor's allium. 

These are in Butterbutt's yard.  

I had to pay my usual admission price of 2 biscuits to get into the yard.

FROGS CAN PRAY...

Dick called me at work and said, "You'll never guess what's on our deck."  Over the years, we have had all kinds of critters come through our yard:  deer, foxes, coyote, skunk, hawks, geese, racoons...  So I had no idea what the heck was there now.  Well, it was a big black snake.  I told Dick that it had better be gone in 20 minutes when I was to arrive home.  And it was.  It left all by itself.  Phew!

HOWEVER!!!! That Sunday morning, there were two of them.

That's right that little thing at the end of his tail is actually another head.  There were two holes and each had a snake coming out of it.

They appeared to be living between the deck and the house, a place impossible to get to.  After a day or two I was informed that the fat one was actually the female and probably pregnant, as this is that time of year.  So the panic set in.  I called CRITTER CONTROL and for the measly sum of $279.00, they would come out and remove the snakes.  Money well spent, as far as I was concerned.  They came, they shook all the bushes in the yard, they put down some snake-away (another name for snake oil), a glue trap, AAANNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDD!  

Nothing!

It's been a solid week and NO SNAKES!!!

They have either gone because of all the peeking we did, or they are nesting somewhere in the house.  Did I mention that they lay 30 eggs in a clutch?  

Since we still have Froggie, however, I'm thinking that they are gone (also, praying).  So is Froggie.

Froggie says"NO SNAKES!!"

FROGGIES PRAYER

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I close my eyes in water deep.

If snakes should come at night or day,

I pray my Dad used Snake-away.

Burma Shave!

GOOD NEWS!! 3rd Place Winner - The Parasol Project

The DELAWARE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY PHOTO SHOW was this evening and my Parasols took a 3rd place in the Print Division. While third place doesn't sound that great, it was up against some pretty amazing art.  There are so many talented people in our club.  I was thrilled to place.

 I love these pics and I'm so glad I was able to place them.  This was the most fun project I've ever done.  I took these shots as a lesson in seeing.  You take an object and photograph it in every way possible:  a Carol Leigh class.   I have always loved these pictures.  I'm so glad they placed.  It's like one of my children doing well.  Thanks, Carol Leigh.  Once again, you made me look good.

The Parasol Project

20" x  30"

3rd Place - Print Division

Delaware Photographic Society Photo Show

More Letters....

The letters class is on the last stretch.  just about another month to go. Here are the latest and greatest from Letterland...

This one is from the sign at the Mexican Post Restaurant.

Another Mexican Post letter.

In honor of Easter...

The letter is from the side of a train.  I blended it with a photo of some brown eggs and some sheet music and a watercolor painted by my 40 year old son when he was 5 yrs old.

Trip to the mall found this Q on the Clinique sign.  Very bookeh!!

Another trip to P.F. Chang's 

This has been a fun class.  And the best part is that when I have all 26 letters, I will be able to make wonderful signs spelling out names of short phrases.  They look really cool and I will post them as I make them.  Just have to think of something clever to say on them.  No pressure...

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Fooling Around with Photoshop CS5...

Trying to get more acquainted with Photoshop CS5, I was fooling around with a collage.

From clockwise:  Grand Canyon, Rehoboth Beach, Ring of Kerry, Ireland, New York City, Jim Thorpe, PA, The Vatican, Arizona, Wilmington, DE, Lewis, DE.

This is a neat way to keep memories alive without having a bunch of photos lying about.  Maybe I'll do a gallery wrap of this one for my office.

Hope you all have a Happy Easter!!

8 NEW PHOTOS? GRAPHICS?

Hi, Everyone.

I'm starting to look at my art in a different way.  I am a photographer, and I am a graphics artist.  So, does that make me a Graphics Photographer?  I think that better fits what I have been doing lately.  I am currently in two Photomontage classes.  When the classes are over, I will post more straight photography, but for now, I just barely have enough time to produce the class work that is due.  One of the classes ends this week, so there will be some relief, but I also have the Delaware Photographic Society competitions twice a month that I need to work on, and a couple of Photographic Society of Amrica entries due and then the spring always brings the seminars to town.  A busy, busy time.  I hope you will enjoy my postings, whatever you may call them, and stay tuned for more photography.

We have a trip to the southwest planned soon and I will have tons of new photos from that, hopefully.  So for those of you who love the photos, but the graphics arts not so much, please come back for more photos soon.

But for now...

A lesson in postcards!

Postcard from Kinsale, Ireland - 1999

Postcard of Cactus on Peralta Trail - 2006

Postcard from San Xavier Mission, Tucson, AZ - 1980

The lesson was to make old time postcards.  I went through old travel photos and came up with the three above.

 A lesson in Drop Shadow!

Butterbutt in Drop Shadow

Sunrise at the Grand Canyon in Drop Shadow

Our own Marlboro Man in Drop Shadow

I think this is the best one.

Good job, Har!

I took this photo in December 1983 while visiting friends on a Dude Ranch in Tucson, AZ.  Harry is a longtime friend.  We go back 40 some years.  Ouch!  But a nice ouch.

And from the 26 letters in 26 Days class...

I present to you, the letter "M"!

And... the Letter "N"!

Both were taken from the sign at the Mexican Post Restaurant.

So there you have it.  I've been busy going out to shoot some letters, but the others were taken from past photos.  I'm learning lots and having just the best time.

But I really do need to get out and shoot soon.

I promise to bring back the photos.  But isn't it fun to see what you can do with them?

Ta Ta for Now!!

NEW CLASS WORK

Hi, Everyone.

I have some new class work.  I'll post my letters first.
I have made photomontages out of all the letters and am really excited by how they came out.  But the best is to make a sign of the letters.  Boy, you can really get creative here.  I'll show you in a few.

"J"

From the Justice store sign at the Mall, I give you the letter "J"!!  It looked like a happy J, so I thought I'd give it a sparkly look.

"K"

And from Kithen Kapers..."K"

I needed to do something different, so I chose a bumpy tile background, then some peeling paint, went through the blending modes and found this.  I need to vary the colors and I've been getting some really dark letters lately, so I thought this one would do nicely.

"L"

This L is from the Lids store sign.  I put a chicken wire background with a leafy one and blended til I got something I liked.  

Now on to the Photomontage class.  The assignment was to take some letters and make a sign with them.  I really struggles mostly with coming up with something to put on the sign.  For those of you who know me well, "MAC" is my computer.  The one and only in my life (how sad).  Actually, I do have a laptop hidden under a shelf.  Don't mention it in front of Mac.  He does get jealous.

Once I had something to say, I had a blast getting the letters to behave and become a piece of art.  I am pleased with the way it came out and am looking forward to doing a series of these signs.

Now, here is my struggle.  A grid of roses.  I still have some work to do on it.  I' learning as I go.  I've passed my deadline, so I'm posting it , but will post the finished product later.

The classes are very rewarding and I'm learning lots and seeing what others in the class are posting.  

 we are planning a trip to the southwest again.  This time to Santa Fe for a photography class.  I can't wait to go at it again.  The southwest is the place to be for photography.  We will travel through New Mexico and Arizona and meet up with our neighbors for a blast.  We really miss seeing them.  It will be a hoot to get together again.  

I will post Southwest photos in a few months.  For now, enjoy!

Photomontage II Class

Scrapbook Page

Assignment 2:

Make a collage using clip art.  This can be blended with another photo by diminishing the opacity of the scrapbook page and putting another page on top.  As you can see, I haven't gotten there yet.  But almost.

A mixed bag...Some turn out better than others.  

Need more Photoshop instruction to do this better. 

But you get the gist...

When I learn more, I will repost.

More Alphas...

I've really been snowed, no pun intended, lately but have finally gotten my latest letter entries ready.

The letter "I" reminded me of a skyscraper, so I went for it.

Here is the Letter I again, on top of a skyscraper, which has another skyscraper reflected in it.

The famous Hallmark "H". This time I used a background photo of a lamp I have in the bedroom along with a photo of some writing.

Pure Grundge!  

Flammin' F

Neon E

Another take of E

And another grundgie D.

Behind in my photomontage class.  Hope to have more to post next weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

Carol

The Solieri Pears - Photomontage II

Hi, Everyone.

While the letter class is progressing nicely (I'm 3 letters behind due to snow/cold/sleet/rain/miserable weather, but soon to be current - spent Sunday morning at the Mall shooting letters - INDOORS!!), and since I didn't have enough to do, I'm taking another Advanced Photomontage class with Carol Leigh in Oregon.  She is the absolute best graphics artist/photographer who motivates me to go out there and create something.  So, I'm guessing that my blog will be more active in the future.  Thanks, Carol for your gift os seeing the world in so many different ways.

Our first assignment in this class was to shoot a pear, then take a background and move it along while creating 3 photomontages with the same background in 3 different positions.
So here is my first posting.  I love this stuff and will probably be doing a line of note cards from them if I get good ones.

I shot the pear in my pajamas, on Sunday.  What it was doing in my pajamas, I couldn't tell you.   Yuk,yuk, yuk.  (Young ones, just laugh here, I'll explain later.)  For my background I used a shot of a ceiling from Paul Solieri's studio (bell maker - no, I mean serious bells - big bronze ones) in Phoenix Arizona.

Hope you like them.

Solieri Pear 1

Solieri Pear 2

Solieri Pear 3

Some are making triptychs from their 3 pears and they are quite striking displayed that way.  As soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll post one.  It involves math so it will take me awhile.  Not that I can't do math, oh, I can.  However, as a young girl I was convinced that girls can't do math and therefore, I have a great fear of it that causes me to procrastinate until someone puts toothpicks under my fingernails to make me do it.  For now, just picture them side by side.  I have such faith in your imagination.

There will be other pears to come, I'm sure, but alas, this one has a lunch date with me tomorrow.  I will be posting new letters soon, as well.  So stay tuned and thanks for viewing my blog.  Please feel free to leave a comment.  It really does help me to see what works and what doesn't.

Thanks!

G'night!

Bs and Cs...

Still working on my new class "26 in 26",  26 alphabet letters in 26 weeks.

I've been working hard on my letters.  I can't tell you how much fun I'm having.

Here are my Cs...

The C is from the Chico's Sign.

This involved blending a chicken wire background, a bookeh background and an aqua background and going through blending modes after each addition.

This C is from a local restaurant.

I blended a photo of a ship with a photo of a mercury glass lamp and a photo of an oil painting background.  

C is for COOL!

This C is from the PF Chang's sign.

I blended it with a kindergarten watercolor from my 40 year old son.  (Who says I keep everything?)

  I really like this one.

Thanks, Jort.

And my Bs...

Only had one B to work with, so I had to make the best of it.  The weather isn't conducive to scouting for letters.  Hoping for an early spring, so I can get out there and get my gallery of letters going.

Not crazy for the plaid, but I loved the background.  It's a reflection of lattice fencing in a puddle on my patio  I'll probably use it again sometime but in a different manner.  Gotta lose the plaid.

I can't remember exactly how I did this one, but I know it involved a photo of hydrangea and some other backgrounds to produce the black background and going through the blending modes.

This one is a similar method to the one above, but used different backgrounds and blending modes.  

Gotta' run.  I'm off to find some Ds.

2011 - Happy New Year to All!

Ok, so the year didn't go out with a bag as I anticipated.  Still haven't gotten to do much with the new camera...HOWEVER...

I started a new class called "26 in 26"...26 letters of the alphabet in 26 weeks.  I really need to get motivated and if anyone can motivate me, it's Carol Leigh.  She's a wonderful instructor with tons of new techniques and kind critiques of your work.  I know this will get me going.  So here they are...after months of anticipation...

My A's

"Grundgy A" 

This is a photomontage of a red life preserver on a light ship.  I went in close to isolate the letter, then played with it with different backgrounds.  The honeycomb is actually a piece of dick tape that was on the preserver.  It took the texture from the life preserver.

 "Lichen A"

It reminds me of an A painted on the side of an old barn with the paint peeling, or a barn covered in lichen, hence the name.

The A came from a sign at the University where I work.  Then I played with different backgrounds and textures to get the effect.

OK, so now I'm looking for Beeeezzzzzzz! So if you see any interesting letters anywhere, shoot me an email.  I'm going to be on a scavenger hung for the next six months.  But I'm so up for it.

I wish you all the best New Year EVER!  Here's to new beginnings!

I Haven't Forgotten About You...

Hi, Everyone.  I haven't forgotten about you.  Just have lots going on right now.  I picked up a new camera last week...Nikon D7000...very impressive.  Unfortunately, there will be a learning curve.  Stay tuned.  I should get out to shoot some time this week.

What a wasted October!!

No postings for October, but is wasn't from lack of trying.

September 25th - SUGARLOAF ARTS FESTIVAL in Wilmington - got to Wilmington, Festival was cancelled.   - NO PHOTOS TAKEN.

October 2 - HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL - Gave up Newlin Grist Mill Harvest Festival to go.  got some Clydesdale photos, but nothing worth posting.

October 10 - TRIP TO NEW HOPE, PA - almost a 2 hour drive from our house.  We hadn't been there for about 1o years - always went on a weekday - Sunday - all the knuckleheads were out.  Paid $20 to park (never paid to park before) - had lunch - really bad - saw two guys dressed like Little Bo Peep (and couldn't get the nerve to snap a photo - that would be for another blog, anyway, not mine - bumper-to-bumper traffic all through town - a million motorcycles constantly droning - left after about 10 minutes of walking the streets.  NO PHOTOS TAKEN.

October 16 - Hagley Museum Craft Festival - Beautiful scenery at Hagley - hardly any fall color - Crafts festival held indoors - (Who'd a thunk it on a beautiful fall day?)  NO PHOTOS TAKEN

October 17 - Drove over to Ridley Creek State Park to the stables.  Horses all indoors - NO PHOTOS TAKEN

ARE you sensing a theme here?

October 24 - Then the ultimate trip - My friend sent me some photos she had taken at Lum's Pond in DE.  I so wanted to go take my own.  It's a lovely, lovely state park with beautiful trees turned all colors and beautiful reflections in the water of the pond.  We drove down and the magical hour of sunset.  We stopped at the information center to pick up a map and while standing outside reading the huge map on their bulletin board a man who was leaving came up to us and started a conversation. He had been at the park all day listening to live music in section 4.  We have to go there. As we left him, I jokingly said to my husband, "So do you think he's an axe murderer?" My husband answered that he thought he seemed like the kind of person who would lure into the woods and stab you to death. Well, we drove to section 4 to see what was going on and the party was breaking up.  Since it was near the water, we decided to stay in that section to get Beautiful fall color and reflection pictures.  Suddenly, I spotted our man across the parking lot, backed in and facing us.  We were very uncomfortable, since the park was emptying out and we were alone there with him.  Especially since I had already planted the idea that he was an axe murderer.  Since the park was closing at sundown and we had about 40 minutes, we decided to drive to another section.  Long story short we moved around quite a bit to avoid him, then finally left when we saw that he was going to follow us around and that the sun had already come down behind the trees.  We missed sundown...entirely!!! NO PHOTOS TAKEN...all because of an axe murderer!  You just can't be too careful today.

So the other night I set up a studio shoot for our club competition coming up this Monday night.  The assignment is "By Candlelight".

So here are some shots I entered.

Buttons By Candlelight

Mason Jars by Candlelight

Acorns by Candlelight

Paisley Scarf by Candlelight

Potpourri by Candlelight

So, it took me awhile to get something post-worthy, but I'm happy with these photos.  

I totally missed fall color, but I may have a chance to get what's left of it this weekend.  NO FESTIVALS!!  Just me outdoors with my little Nikon.

Incidentally, Santa is bringing me a new Nikon for Christmas...he just doesn't know it yet.  Shhhhh, don't tell him.  He loves to surprise me.

Hope to see you again real soon.

Ta Ta for now!!