G-Photos

iPhone Madness

2011-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

I just started taking an online iPhone photography course; much needed, not only for the fun value but I needed a challenge to wake up the dormant creative cells.

I don't remember which apps I used for any of these; maybe I need to take notes, but that usually stops the flow of just taking photos. I think I'll just take the serendipitous approach and simply enjoy the process.

The perfect model, Mr. Handsome, aka, Spencer.

Another iPhone filter with a border.

Digital Expressions projects #13 & 14

2010-09-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't think that I would enjoy doing this project, it's focus is more scrapbook in nature than I like, but once I started using my own scans I had a blast.

This one, #14, however I thought I would have fun with and instead found it to be very problematic. Images are meant to be behind the self-portrait with a brush layer on top. I did have fun with the brush, but I think this one is a bust, the only part I like is my dark glasses. No matter what though, I keep learning new ways of layering so nothing has been a waste of time.

Digital Expressions - project #12

2010-09-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

This one took hours and hours. I got so lost that I had to start over twice. Layers upon layers and multiple filters; perhaps starting over was a good thing. I gleaned more from this project than the last one.

Both of these images, a crackled background and a Villa on Lake Como, are from my own archives. They're two of the four layers. The first two layers are an abstract painting that I'm not ready to share with the world yet and a photo of me.

This one just didn't work out, but it's the way I feel today; dark and heavy, but hopeful.

Project #11

2010-08-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

"Digital Expressions Project #11, sort of that is. I did all of the layers including inverting the bottom one, but I used different subject matter. The toad, it's brown so that's a toad right? has posed many numerous times over the last month or so but it's always dark outside. Okay, so use a flash! I flashed this fella six times and hoped that I got one decent shot. I got two. Photographed on the cement driveway the photo was about as interesting as a lump of coal. The only great thing about the photo was the shadow that the flash provided.

The bottom layer is from Morguefile.com. If I hadn't been so lazy I would have searched my texture files on the external drive of which I might go and do now. This project was fast and fun!

Vintage or Fake?

2010-08-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's a fake from an original of one of my photos. Try this generator to make your own vintage photo.

Cactus Blooms

2010-08-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more beautiful than nature? Or how the environment ages and decays something? The cactus that greeted me this morning were in full bloom, but a few hours later the 106 degree heat had robbed the blooms of their joy. When I saw this image in the viewfinder I had an one of those spine tingling moments, a serious of still life images. I gathered a few of the fallen blooms and started playing with them on a black background.

The lighting on this one is problematic, but I like if anyway.

The problematic image gave me the idea for this one. The texture on these blooms is amazing.

In the evening the lighting on the roof next door often glows and creates its own set of photographic problems. I've shot it numerous times over the last few years but when this insect posed for hours in the same spot I finally got the message and shot the roof line again. I have no idea

what the insect is but if it was in the house I'd gladly move out! The crack on the house to the left of the creature is from one of many recent earthquakes that have rumbled through the desert.

Bottle Tree

2010-08-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

I used to believe that I was too old to plant a tree and watch it grow to maturity; that was before I moved to the desert nearly four years ago. Everything planted here seems to be in speed-mode and one needs a machete or someone to arrive monthly to tame the yard. I love this tree aka as Brachychiton populneus. This particular tree was foreign to me and once I saw the leaves I had to have one, after all I had to give up the maple trees that I had the privilege of tending to for a decade. Not only were the pots too heavy to cart here, but the delicate maple trees wouldn't have survived the brutal temps.

Last week brown crispy leaves dropped from the tree at an alarming rate, we're talking covering the ground. I was so distraught that a dear friend googled possible reasons that calmed my worries to a low roar. This is the tree that has blown over when the winds hit 60mph and has been re-staked so many times that I had the gardener on speed dial. We finally felt confident that we had solved the problem with a guy-line literally anchored into the earth. And now the fast-growing tree was losing leaves, how dare the tree be so temperamental and ungrateful about all of the attention I've give it.

Yesterday I noticed new growth sprouting at the ends of the branches. Okay, so the old was making room for the new, but in the middle of summer when the temps haven't fallen below 100 in months I did think that perhaps the tree had decided to surrender.

Project #10

2010-07-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Nope, you didn't miss #8 or 9, they just didn't interest me, maybe later. Bird-man of Alcatraz came to mind while working on this 3 layered collage. If my memory is correct I was on Alcatraz Island waaaay back in the early 70's with my ex-husband and two little girls. The flaws in the this collage are evident to me, but I don't have the skills yet to rememdy them.

San Francisco Evening

2010-07-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

A week ago I had a notable gastronomic feast of mesquite grilled Halibut, roasted potatoes, and green beans at the Pier Market on Pier 39. Sometimes the tourist spots have the best food, at least I've found that to be true. I sat at the bar, alone, and sipped wine and watched the dynamics of families and couples crowded together at tables. Nope, I didn't mind being alone, in fact for over a week I had envisioned having dinner on the wharf so I was thrilled to find a spot at the bar.

After dinner I wandered around the wharf area and sat on a bench to listen to a street performer whose voice was worthy of attention. He sang songs from the 60's and of course I knew them all. I love birds, I don't care how ordinary or exotic they are so when Jonathan Livingston Seagull sat on a pillar directly next to me, checking to see if I had a handout for him, I was thrilled that he stayed long enough for me to get two shots of him. Over the years all of the photographs I've taken of seagulls have been shot from above while they're scrambling on the ground begging for food, or if I was lucky enough to catch them in flight they were blurry; this fella seemed to be giving me a gift of a shot of him slightly above my eye level. Grand!

Project #7

2010-07-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

I rather liked playing with brushes to make create a piece. Dragon fly wings on top of palm fronds that have left faint markings on the bottom layer. The final effect is adding a drop shadow.

Project #6

2010-07-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

This project took two filters to achieve this effect. Pencil followed by dry brush which improved it immensely. Though, I might go back in and tweak the butterfly. Or, I might print it out and then play with it using real colored pencils or pastels. It has possibilities.

Project #5

2010-07-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Not my favorite filters, the set that includes pencil, dry brush, water color etc, but thought I'd give them a try again. Hm, still not crazy about them. I ended up using the dry brush one for the photo taken almost 9 years ago of my first grandson.

He's so angelic in this one and the painted effect isn't bad. I'm trying to not skip any of the projects so we'll call this one done.

Project #4

2010-07-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

The first black and white photo was shot back in the 80's in Aptos, CA. I always felt that it could be more dramatic. Susan Tuttle used a a pier image for her tutorial which is available on a CD but I preferred to use this image, after all, I own it!

These palm trees are in the parking lot of a fast food place in Loma Linda and were shot against a boring blue sky.

Simply changing the hue on the background and Voila!

This one is the winner, at least for me.On a side road there is a dead tree that we often pass. One day on an impulse I had to stop to photograph it, but then what to do with it? The sky was flat that day. Layered with a scan of a rock in my backyard it became this.

Project #3

2010-07-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

I thought this project was going to be my least favorite. For one thing it required that I download some images from http://www.morquefile.com/ and Susan Tuttle, the author of "Digital Expressions" had already used the winning ones. (I have some mannequin images taken in the 80's somewhere, but who knows where?) So, I chose the background one just as Susan had but went with one image of a blue guy and followed Susan's tutorial and I must say that I learned quite a bit. Who knew that if you stamp a grunge brush over lettering it will result in a faded effect? The letters were just too bold and perfect for this image.

I'm looking forward to the next project where an image of a pier is used from the book CD. But I have my own image.

Lily Pond, Hotel Villa Stanley, Italy

2010-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

The water lily was pink, I wanted blue to go with another image that is mostly blues. So, believing that PSE8 has the ability to do anything that I can dream up I found this tutorial, and Viola! A blue and pink water lily.

Two days after I photographed the palm with its plumes, they were gone. Boring!

The Garden

2010-06-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

A Gazania always seems to bloom in the perfect spot near the agave. A rose that burnt in the heat before it was picked, and the last of the red flame grapes peaking out between the house and a cactus that has grown two feet in five months. This cactus was meant to be planted in the yard but by the time I got around to redoing areas of the yard this one was too large for me to handle so it will have to reside in a pot.

Project #2 in "Digital Expressions." Color isolation. While this rose may be sunburned it's still regal.

Digital Expressions

2010-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Susan Tuttle has written a marvelous book, "Digital Expressions" for Photoshop Elements and it is my intent to go through each of the 25 projects. The first on is vignettes, in case you couldn't tell. The grapes were cut off of the red flame vine yesterday. If you look closely you might spot a raisin or two; I need to get the grapes off of the vine ASAP.

Leg cramps rudely woke me up early this morning and while walking them off outdoors on the patio I happened to notice how the palm tree a block over was glistening. I love it when they "plume" but the gardeners are making the rounds chopping them off along with a lot of the fronds, nothing can be left as nature intended.

Same image with some vignetting done in the center of the plumes. I hope that this vignette is subtle, it's the edges of the tree that are now blurred so that the plumes are the highlight. Hm, looks like it needs more work.

My neighbor has a new bird feeder and at 7:30am it was hectic around it. Some vignetting and manipulation.

"Oh mom, don't you have enough photos of me?"

Well loved Crocs! They're so broken down that I've added padded inserts that are in much need of replacement. Vignette with gradient lines added plus a little manipulation. (Tip: google for PSE tutorials)

Obsessed

2010-06-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

The cactus plants continue to bloom in multiples and I'm obsessed about photographing them. Just thought I'd mention that in case you haven't noticed.

A First

2010-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've had this cactus for about a decade and it's never had double blooms before; actually, it had three blooms but the other flower was shy. The flower only lasts for one day. Since moving to the desert I've separated the plant about a dozen times; this cactus has definitely thrived here.

In The Garden

2010-04-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

"Do you think she's ever going to go inside?"
"Doesn't look promising."
"We can't keep building our nest when she's sitting on her butt in that chair."
"Maybe we can give her the eye."

This is where the precious nest is being built. I kept trying to get a photo of one of them flying in with twigs etc. but alas, they outfoxed me. This view was taken from my bed.

The grapes continue to grow. At the top center is where the nest is being built.

In route to Greenbrae

2010-04-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

March 22, alone in a rental car in route to visit my Guy who is still in a nursing home; he had two strokes last Oct. This is my second trip to Greenbrae and the first time I recorded some of the route.

If I could have stopped and bought some roses for my Guy I would have. The trip starts out by flying out of LAX to SFO, renting a car, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and about 15 minutes later checking into the Marin Suites where I toss all of the unnecessary baggage I feel I must take with me and take a few deep breaths to prepare me. I need to prepare my mind for what awaits me at the nursing home. My Guy isn't who he was once was so my job is to enter his world and connect with him there.

The first sighting of the Grand Golden Gate Bridge which always makes me nervous, the bridge that is. Getting to her isn't as easy as one might think. But with my trusty GPS I was prepared to locate her. Driving in the city isn't my favorite thing to do, especially when I'm alone. I feel very vulnerable.

Phew, made it onto her again! The roads are narrow and confusing leading up to the entrance onto her Golden majesty. I wanted a photo of her while I was driving, not a good idea I know, but a necessary one. She's a symbol to me that I've conquered my fears about traveling alone. Being courageous isn't something that comes easy for me.

A reflection for my Guy. He's taken many photographs of reflections in San Francisco the city of his birth

The return to SFO is a sad one; I don't enjoy saying goodbye plus I don't have a clue when and if I'll see my Guy again. A distraction of taking photos while stopped in traffic helped me deal with the pain of separation.

The photo on left is more typical of San Francisco, in my mind at least than the one of trees near Golden Gate Park.

This photo is typical of the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are houseboats on the bottom left side of the bay; I know that they're there and for some reason they always delight me when I drive past them. (This photo was taken in route to Greenbrae.)

Digital land

2009-10-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to sit out on the patio today! The temp dropped from 107 to 80 degrees. But the yard paid a price for that drop; wind blasted us and one tree broke loose from its stakes and is leaning against the back wall. At least it can't go anywhere until I have help bracing it back up.

So, there I was sitting out in the fresh air, too many months of AC air!, and it occurred to me that I used to use the camera in the same way an artist sketches; I sketch with the camera. With that in mind I started working on manipulating some recent photos. Of course I forgot how to layer photos on top of each other. It took me awhile to remember "copy and paste." It helps if the photos are the same size, though, but I don't mind stretching them to fit or allowing them to overlap, that's what opacity is for, right?

Yes, the hibiscus is distored/stretched but so is the background page. It works for me.

Ah, the magic of Las Vegas! A mere 5 hour drive from the Coachella Valley, desert, over to the Mojave Desert and we're there. The Grand Lady Liberty, can we really call her the Statue of Liberty if she's in Vegas? The clouds behind her were amazing, but none behind the NY skyline. or maybe it was the other way around. Lots of screens, color filters, and contrast enhancing were used to achieve this effect. One of the things I love about manipulating photos is that no one will have the same image even if they stood next you and shot the same scene. There are so many variables; I can't even copy what I've done.

Caesar's Palace has amazing sculptures that beg to be photographed, especially when the crowds are gone for the day. I have no idea why we were lucky to get past the barriers blocking the avenues to the shops, but we were able to photograph for a good hour. Another couple had the same idea and were already photographing when we reached the fountains. We silently and reverently photographed until we had exhausted almost every angle of the faux statues. When we walked back out past the barriers two security guards talked into their mikes, "All clear," and nodded to us. Yep, they knew we had walked past the barriers when they weren't looking. There are security cameras everywhere so we were pretty sure that we were being observed but as the other couple said, "They sometimes leave photographers alone." We did have serious looking cameras . . . It gave us great satisfaction to see a young couple turned away from going through the barriers to sightsee. Yes, they did glower at us.

I imagine that the photo of the hand and apple will show up in a lot of my work. This time I simply used a watercolor filter.

RAIN!!!

2009-09-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

We've been promised rain often and on for months and today the miracle finally happened. Thunder clouds crashing overhead and a good pouring of rain for 30 minutes, a slow down, and another 20 minutes of light rain, then the sun came out, but it's still sprinkling! Its marvelous to have the dust washed off of everything. The air smells delicious. I sat on the under cover on the patio and enjoyed the event enough to record it.

The resident hummingbird took advantage of the rain to take a really good bath. A lizard ran across the yard, taking a shower or finding a dryer place?

And more than an hour after the rain started thunder is still echoing off of the mountains. Maybe a little faster shutter speed would have frozen the rain streaming off of the roof, or did I move the camera? No matter, it's a fun photo.

Monsoonal Conditions

2009-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this photo has been manipulated, but this is the way it's felt for most of the day; dark, heavy and humid. The mountain can be seen from the middle of our backyard.

This was photographed just minutes before the dark grey clouds covered the area. One can never have too many cloud photos. Thunder can be heard in the distance.

Desert Regional Medical Center

2009-09-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

Waiting! I've done my share of waiting in doctor offices, hospitals, labs etc. and have learned to take magazines to read; I have a hard time just sitting. This time I stuck the Canon into my purse and wandered around the area in the 110 degree heat until I couldn't take one more minute of it. These simple photos prove that adage that subject matter can be found anywhere. Lots of texutres and colors to choose from.

Photography Workshop

2009-08-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

I love my Canon Powershot SX10IS! Especially when I learn something new. This morning I was lamenting the fact that I can't get good whites on the fabric quilties when I photograph them and then I read this weeks assignment about white balance. Back in the 80's I learned how to use a spot meter for the particular black and white film I was using. Then along came digital cameras and everything I knew seemed to go into a storage locker that might just remain there for the rest of my life.. Four digital cameras later I finally have the zoom and macro lenses that I require but all of the modes and functions were pretty much a mystery. Custom white balance is a good thing! The top photo was taken on the patio in the shade set on Auto. The bottom one was photographed in the same spot with the white balance feature set to custom. I also tried the sunny day setting, but this one nailed the colors. No tweaking required.

Photography class

2009-08-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'm taking another online class, this time it's a digital camera one. Being that I've forgotten more than I probably ever knew about SLR film cameras a refresher course seems like a good idea. So, the first assignment was to photograph things in our yards with composition as the objective. Every time I passed by this glove that I stuck under a container on a shelf I would think, "get a photograph." I finally did. I never would have planned this still life; who knew that when water needed to be drained from a glove this would become a fun photograph? Look around you for ordinary objects that when isolated become interesting.

June 6th - part 2

2009-06-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you sneezed you might miss Portofino and that would be tragic! The tiny village is photogenic. The high tide flooded the walkway leading to some of the trendier shops and restaurants and people just took it in stride by removing their shoes.

I forgot to photograph my feet at the edge of this manhole cover, one of too many missed opportunities.

(More posted on my other blog, date, June 29)

June 6th Daily Photos

2009-06-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

My feet in front of the cathedral next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You bet I took lots of photos of the textured stones!

Shot from the car, thus the fun reflections, while searching for a parking lot. Oops, not on this street in Pisa.

Detail shot of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I think that I was going for a magazine shot of our lunch! Tomato, mozzarella, basil with dollops of olive oil and one of the best Margherita Pizzas we've ever had.

View from our table.

More Pisa on my other blog, date June 28th.

(note, comments are now enabled, sorry that I didn't do that before!)

Daily photos from Italy

2009-06-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

We've been back a week today and photos like this remind us that we did indeed see the Sistine Chapel! This is the foot that is still in pain! But well worth it. It's impossible to photograph in the Sistine, poor lighting and guards "telling" you that can't photograph the famous Michelangelo barrel vaulted ceiling. One can sit, if one can find room on a bench, I did, and stare in awe at the ceiling but just try aiming a camera. Well, who could blame us? Go here to see La Creazione di Adamo, aka, God breathing life into Adam. We shared a table at lunch with a gal, traveling alone, from Florida who "got it." The morning crowds hid her and others taking the shot. It made her day.

This is the same area I photographed our feet in. We sat on two benches facing each other in front of this window. Boy do I look fatigued! We people watched from our seats. I think that most were thinking, "were is the chapel?"

One of the few images I was able to get in the Sistine Chapel; a portion of a Fleur de lis on the floor. Gorgeous!

This Fleur, or coat-of-arms, was on a wall in Florence above a door on our way to dinner the last night in Italy. We had waited and waited for a bus near the hotel (the driver was tired of the Lancia so we left it behind) that didn't drop us off as close as I would have liked it to. (my feet were a disaster by then!) The destination was the Piazza del Duoma an iconic Renaissance wonderland. (On the link the duomo is the building on the upper right.) We got there at dusk so photographing wasn't as successful as one would have liked. I did get some lousy photos of the two copies of David in the Piazza della Signoria as well as some decent ones of the Palazzo in this link. Outstanding dinner in a restaurant just to the left of the Palazzo tower that was lit up! Our table mates were from England. The waiter was hysterical and put on quite a show for us; tried to convince us we all wanted shell fish, none of us did. We ordered a white wine, spectacular as all of the wine we had in Italy was, so he insisted that the English foursome had to have to the same wine, "makes it easier on poor me." We had the outside corner table and the view of the piazza was the perfect ending to our trip. Ristorante Il Cavallino reigns supreme!

Parting shots - daily photos

2009-06-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't expect the melon vines to grow so fast and take over the back yard! I'll be gone 10 days and I fear that by the time I get home they will have invaded the house. This is the melon that I posted a photo of a couple of days ago. It's loving the heat.

Another melon in the making. I'll be back on the 15th.

Is that a? daily photo

2009-05-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

yep, it's a melon. First one, I wonder if it will survive the heat?

Dyed fabric - daily photo

2009-05-29T21:50:00.001-07:00

Hand dyed abstract.

Dyed fabric - daily photo

2009-05-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

The dye will lead you into unknown territories.

Screen print - daily photo

2009-05-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

More deconstructed printing.

Black and white - daily photos

2009-05-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Deconstructed printing.

More texture - daily photos

2009-05-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

More deconstructed printing.

Texture - daily photo

2009-05-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

My mind has already left for Italy where I know I'll find textures everywhere like I did 9 years ago. De-constructed screen printed.

Looking up - daily photo

2009-05-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

Once-in-awhile it's good to look up.

Dried flowers - Daily photo

2009-05-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

When I opened a travel book of Italy, the 2000 edition, these dried flowers took me right back to Lake Como. We had stopped at a view point of the lake and these were at our feet. Why did I open the book? Two weeks from today we'll be in Florence, Italy. Nine years ago I said goodbye to the Eiffel Tower in Paris; I knew that Stacy was beginning a decline into kidney failure. No way did I believe that I'd once again have the opportunity to travel. Life is full of surprises! Seven months after the kidney transplant Stacy is well enough to stay with her sister, my youngest daughter, and family so that R. and I can fly off on an adventure. June 4th-14th. Italy here we come!!!!

Tile - daily photo

2009-05-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Residing at the foot of the pergola post is this decorative tile.

More shadow play - daily photos

2009-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Good thing that it's a shadow, I know that I need to lose some pounds, but!Outdoor umbrella. (more moire)

View from the Bedroom - daily photo

2009-05-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

just an ordinary shot but I love looking through the glass door from bedroom onto the patio! Looks like it's cool doesn't it? 106 degrees. Ouch!

Brick wall - Daily photo

2009-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

The brick wall is finally almost covered by vines and hedges. White Bougainvillea just outside of the bedroom.

Plumeria at its best - Daily Photos

2009-05-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

Zooming in on Plumeria with the new Powershot SX10. A little photoshopping . . .

Reflection - Daily photo

2009-05-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Reflections: About the only way I can stand photos of myself these days is in reflections, shadows or behind a camera. I don't recognize my aging self, or this short haircut! What was I thinking? I was thinking that it would be so much nicer to not comb out tangles, air-dry wet hair for at least

an hour before blow-drying and I might feel lighter with pounds of hair cut off. While that's true I'm having hair-cut remorse.

Jewelers - daily photos

2009-05-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

A glimpse of the new me. Whacked off my hair that has been long for over 20 years. Much easier to take care of, but, oh dear! Where did I go?

On the way to dinner at Pacifica on El Paseo I finally snapped a photo of this sign. Who knew that I have a jewelry store? Seafood at Pacifica was outstanding! I love our weekly dinners out.

Monroe - Daily photos

2009-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

On May 7th I posted photos of the preferred street we take when going into town. On the way home today I took these photos to prove my point. On the left is a derelict small community of shacks. On the right, the palm trees off in the distance, is the backside of million dollar homes. Talk about opposite sides of the dollar.

Also, the paving is awful with new potholes to be on the lookout for every time we take this road. And we drove it three times a week for two years in route to dialysis for Stacy. On the right we're passing the back side of the million dollar homes.

On the next corner is the side entrance to the complex we live in, not the million dollar one, obviously. This is entrance #2 but we choose to continue on past the palm trees on the right to the third entrance. On the left is what is supposed to be a KB development that Martha Stewart is designing. I've been here 2.5 years and ground hasn't broken yet, just another sign of the economy. The range of mountains is to the south of us and what we see from our windows, that is if the neighbors trees weren't blocking the majority of the view . . .

Sreen Print - Daily photo

2009-05-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Screened fabric detail.

Stripes - Daily photos

2009-05-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Stripes galore! In the yard created by shadows from the pergola lattice on the gravel and on Spencer who wonders why mom plays with her new camera instead of him.

Forest in the desert - Daily photo

2009-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

A bit of forest in our desert backyard; reminds me of the 30+ years I lived on the Monterey Peninsula. Who says you can't bring your past life with you?

Daily photo

2009-05-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Close-up of fabric surface design. Screened leaf print.

Grids - Daily photo

2009-05-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Close-up detail of fabric surface design.

Daily photos

2009-05-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

A good way to get to know a camera is obviously to use it a lot. I'm stuck at home, often for days, but I believe that there is always something worthy of a photograph. The backyard is full of photographic opportunities; these are just a few. A shabby chic candle stick holder.

A grape vine that we hope covers the trellis-style roof of the pergola.

The beginnings of melons. All of these were taken with the macro setting on the Canon. Note: the backyard was planted two years ago in March.

La Quinta - Desert

2009-05-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Reminds me of an impressionist painting. In the 80's my partner and I organized photography workshops and one of the instructors loved taking photos from cars, or he'd zoom the lens in and out fast to get photos like this. I just aimed out of the side window. He taught many students his tricks with SLR cameras, I wonder if he now uses digital cameras.

Yep, it's a blurry photo. Leaving the complex I live in one can take a scenic road, this one, or one that is so ugly one wonders why anyone would want to live in the desert. When we can this street is definitely our choice. A new camera, Canon Powershot SX10 IS needed a car trip. In the distance are mountains that surround the Coachella Valley. La Quinta is about 50 minutes east of Palm Springs. Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage are close enough for our Thursday night dinners. Last night was Trattoria Tiramisu in Palm Desert. Yes, the Tiramisu was divine!

Endless Palm Trees. Again photographed from the car.

This mangled looking grove of palms was quite a distance away. Never could have gotten this shot with my pocket camera.

Cactus

2009-05-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

I'm always blown away when this cactus blooms. It only lasts from sunrise to just before sunset so once a spike starts to form I keep a close watch for the magic. This time the deep blue lobelia created an amazing backdrop. Sometimes the garden poses for us.

Trio

2009-05-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

Agave spikes/blooms. Plumeria blossoms on the stone path. Backyard shots.

Disintegration Project

2009-05-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

The unveiling is today. My bundles were mostly disappointing except for the photographs. Printed on photo paper from an Epson DuraBrite printer. What I hoped would occur happened. Love the decay! This photo was taken near where I live after a fire, intentionally set, destroyed some palm trees.

Outside of Arles, France. Sunflowers, if you can't tell, with the farmhouse in the background.

France.

Aspen, CO. Looks like snow but it's decay!

Aspens. More about the project can be found on my other blog.

The furkids

2009-04-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, they were little but they grew and they grew and they grew. They still love chairs and probably miss this rocking chair as much as I do.

MizRiley doing what she does best, keeping an eye on things from the back of the couch.

Spencer acting blase about not being allowed into the cat bed. Actually, it's a small dog bed. These two don't fit into cat size anything.

"I got here first!" "No, I did!"

MizRiley is thinking, "If I didn't love my brother I'd kick him out."

Plumeria?

2009-04-24T00:59:00.000-07:00

An out of focus, unusable photo transformed. The blossoms are the same color as they are in the photo below, truly, they started out that way but this photo wanted to become something else. Not the best composition in the world, but I learned quite a bit by experimenting with layers and filters. The question is, when to stop?

Wine?

2009-04-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Wine? I very much doubt it, but the 3 grape vines are rapidly making their way up the wall and posts of the pergola. The goal is to have them cover the pergola.

Plumeria! A little bit of tropical under cover of the pergola. The heat has already been so intense that we've had to cover up some newly planted fragile plants. At least the temps are falling to a pleasant 80+, down from 108 on Sat - Tuesday.

I don't remember where I read it but I thought I'd try the telephoto/zoom lens on the pocket size Coolpix to take some shots of the plumeria. I love it when the background blurs, so while this isn't the greatest of photos it was successful; the glow of evening light was a bonus.

I can never get enough photos of shadows, plus, the grape leaves are pristine at the moment; they'll soon be chewed up by the wind and insects.

Spring has Sprung

2009-03-27T01:21:00.000-07:00

Photos shot in my backyard. Spring has sprung in the desert. Poster edged PSE daisies. Absolutely no tweaking of the cacti photo. The sun was so intense that I couldn't use the viewing screen on the camera and to my amazement the blooms were captured.

Color on Fabric

2009-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Interesting that the pic on the left shows a swirly texture that doesn't really exist. I love dye-na-flow fabric paint. It's quick, not too messy and I seem to understand it. The swirly pattern is moire. Info about it and photo tips can be found here:

Presently, I don't understand procion dye. Though, I gotta say that this screen print is very interesting. The pre-print on the screen was a design created with rubber bands that was screen printed with a golden yellow. The screen lasted for 4 prints two of which are great, and two are begging to be worked on. The first print is usually light and the last print usually doesn't have as much detail as the middle prints do. I've worked on 4 series of prints so far and have 2 screens ready for the next session. Dyeing is both messy and time-consuming so I'm not yet convinced that this is something I should spend a lot of time learning.

More Jackalope

2009-03-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Continued from March 17 & 19th.

I have a thing for trees, especially at the base of there trunk. This is Palm Tree country, much to my dismay, so when I find a tree of interest I have photograph it. Sadly, the parking lot was also photographed at the top of this image which might not have happened if I had a through-the-lens viewfinder. I tried cropping a lot off from the left, but decided that the shadow and tree needed some breathing space. This was taken in the parking lot as we were leaving.

Manipulated in PSE with numerous filters until this abstract appeared. I might print it out to use as a base for a painting. I like the shape, but the color palette is a bit limited. This is a portion of the tree image above.

It wasn't until our server brought a clear ice bucket to put the bottle of wine in that this marvelous glow happened! With just a little color tweaking and straightening of the bottle, viola!

Lots of PSE filters were used to create this abstract. This started out as the wine bottle in the above image.

I think that I've exhausted the images from Jackalope. Next?

Jackalope Ranch Continued

2009-03-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Continued from March 17.

The gardens. Waterfalls, sculptures, citrus trees, palms, and lush foliage. Could it get any better than this? This entire areas surrounds the outdoor dining area.

Only one photo has been filter manipulated, poster edges again, while the others received some color correction.

(To be continued)

Tagged!

2009-03-18T21:15:00.001-07:00

Oh dear, I've been tagged! At least it's an easy one. I loathe answering questions, maybe it reminds me of taking tests. Anyway, this one involves clicking on your 6Th photo folder and then the 6Th photo, posting and adding some details. Did I mention that Darlene tagged me? My 6Th folder turned out to be Cape Cod and the 6Th photo is the one above. Lucky me, mine turned out to be a great memory! My youngest daughter, her husband, and my 3-year-old grandson invited me to join them in 2005 for a vacation to Cape Cod.

The lighthouse building wasn't exactly the most picturesque in the area but it was available. Available is good. The top photo is tweaked a little, the sky wasn't that blue. I couldn't resist manipulating the photo in PSE which to my way of thinking is G-Photography, for Gail or maybe Guerrilla. I think that I did some threshold stuff and?

Removed the color in the top photo and played with threshold.
The bottom photo was a revelation. I used a warming filter that makes me think of the glow at sunset.

The 7th photo was of the top of the lighthouse on the building in the above photos. Yep, darkened it to get that blue sky. Right photo: poster edges that I seem to be in love with.

Back in the day, when I developed film and printed images in the darkroom I loved sepia tones and often used a brand of printing paper that was known for its warm tones. This photo reminds me those times. I used a warming filter again.

This sign caught our fancy. It was near the lighthouse on the edge of a golf course. Golf carts were stopped, and of course golfers were

standing around waiting their turn.

Consider yourself tagged! The guidelines are:

Go to your photo folder on your computer.

Go to your 6th folder

Go to your 6th picture

Put the picture on your blog along with a description

Invite 6 friends to join the challenge

Link to them

Introducing Jackalope Ranch

2009-03-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

The Jackalope Ranch is the latest grand restaurant in the Coachella Valley and nearly didn't open when the owner became ill just after it was completed. Sadly, Mr. Callendar, of Marie Callendar's restaurants, died. His dream went up for sale and was saved by a group of restaurant investors who opened the much anticipated venue for nightly dining in January. Just this month they added daily lunch and Sunday brunch. We were able to get reservations last month for dinner and couldn't wait to see the outdoor area in the daylight. Last Wednesday was the perfect time to eat outdoors and we weren't disappointed. This is the second restaurant that Mr. Callendar built with Babe as the mascot, thus the huge statue greets one in the parking lot. Babe's Barbeque is in Rancho Mirage while Jackalope is in Indio.

Guerrilla photography to the rescue! The background behind Babe is ugly! To save the image I deleted the background, painted the sky and then manipulated the image even more with a poster edge filter.

The top photos in this montage were taken from just inside the front door looking out to the parking area, thus, the name is backwards in one image. The bottom photos, click to enlarge, are from the parking lot; the one on the left is untouched while the photo on the right is manipulated in PSE using the poster edge filter.

The front door where I stood inside and took the photo in the montage.

The outdoor eating area with one of the exceptional gardens in the background. Beyond this garden is an area for private parties. Nice! Did I mention it was a late lunch? When we arrived the tables in the photo were full.

Path to the private party area.

The table tops are copper so of course I had to create an abstract in PSE

Lunch. Salmon and hamburger sliders. I couldn't decide which one so I traded a salmon for a hamburger. (To be continued)

New Shelves

2009-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

There was once black narrow ledge shelves on this wall with a collection of arty horses such as hand carved wood ones. After a trip to Ikea the wall now boasts real bookshelves and and a newly painted ancient desk. Mom might not agree about the ancient part, but it was hers then mine, then my youngest daughter carted it off to UCLA and when she married it ended up in her attic. The resident male in the household needed a place for his laptop so the desk has now come back full circle, so to speak. Mom is thrilled that it's now in use again. Her father had three of them built for his kids around 1930 something for $5 a piece. He was the bookkeeper for a lumber yard. Mom's desk is walnut and the only surviving one. Re-purposing at it's best.

The version on the right is Guerrilla style, maybe over-filtered is more accurate. The top part of the mini-blinds photographed bright white, oddly enough. Happily, a vine has taken over the ugly brick wall just outside of the window and nearly blocks the view of the neighboring house as well. Very nice especially when the vine is in bloom like it presently is.

Junk Jewelry

2009-03-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

What is Guerrilla Photography? My take on it is that it's the opposite of fine art photography where one studies the scene and makes decisions about which lens to use, composition, f-stops, and a myriad of other variables before attempting to create the "perfect photograph." Guerrilla photography on the other hand utilizes phone or pocket cameras where one simply records something for a journal, blog or fun; in another words, not serious photography. This kind of photography works well for the Nikon Coolpix S550 that I made the mistake of purchasing last year. I need a viewfinder in order to assist me when composing a shot rather than a viewing screen that is impossible to use in bright sunlight!!! The camera is great for taking quick shots and I'm learning to use it for what it is, handy.

I mentioned on my other blog that a sizable collection of junk jewelry that I've been collecting for years is MIA which is hard for me to believe. It's like the pieces just walked out of the house, maybe they did. Ebay to the rescue! I had plans for the MIA pieces and perhaps it's a good thing to acquire new ones because I now have even more ideas brewing including photo-shopping some of the designs like I did on the right side of the examples above. The pic, above (click to enlarge), is the first lot that I won/purchased with a few more in route, I hope! One seller assumed that I would have received the package she sent to me a few days ago. Sheesh! Is the universe working against me, or the other way around?

Guerrilla photography also includes manipulations using photoshop or similar software; a serious photographer would never stoop to using tricks to fix a photograph other than a few in the darkroom such as burning or dodging, aka darkening or lightening, an image. I was trained well during my years of studying black and white photography and imagine that the masters of photography are turning over in their graves due to the photo editing practices that are now the norm. The times are a changing. . . .

Shadow play

2009-03-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

The top portion of an Australian Willow, planted in a pot, against the house. The dark shadow has got to go!

Some manipulating and tweaking in PSE resulting in a calligraphy-like effect. There are some additional leaves on the top of the tree. I've been fascinated by this particular shadow for quite some time but hadn't photographed it.

Agave

2009-02-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

Such a subtle difference between these two that it might not even be evident.

This is the same potted plant that was posted in the first entry, minus the shape of the pot and with the addition of wood carved hearts. (The heart motif is my current passion. See my other blog.)

The top photo is the PSE tweaked one. Something new! Who knew that a shadow of the image could be created and added to the original? In this example the shadow of the original is on the right of the original shadow thus changing a flat image to one with depth. Very cool!

Lots and lots of shadows added to the original one of the crane, third from the left. The background texture is simply the concrete patio that the crane shadow appears on every afternoon.

Cranes

2009-02-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

More shadow play. This crane is metal and resides on the patio. Lots of tweaking in PSE to achieve this double shadow image. The mate of this crane is this blogs heading.

Basically, the photo of a shadow was duplicated, rotated, lightened, and spliced to the top image. It was taking too much time and effort in PSE to do what I had in mind so I cheated some and used the ever trusty Picture It program that I've had for years. The line between the two was done in PSE using a brush tool.

Agave Shadow

2009-02-22T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm taking an online photography class, Guerrilla photography with Jessica Wesolek and while I can't provide details about the class I can share some of the photos I've been taking. Shadows are something that I often aim my camera at. While moving a potted agave around on the patio this image came to life. It reminds me of hand shadows. The only thing that I did with this image was to darken the shadow in PSE, otherwise it's a straight shot.