10/31/2011 Seasons Beauty

I have been loving all the Fall color this yr. We have been on several outings to capture the color. I belong to a group called Meetup, our group is Women Learning Photography Together. It is really nice to have a group of women who are enthusiastic about going out and improving their skill and helping one another. We had an outing to the Portland OR Japanese Gardens. It is always so beautiful but this yr it seems the color is especially vibrant.  Hmmm, you are saying to yourself, this doesn't look vibrant at all it looks very pastel. Well, yes it does, but only because I wanted a very soft and romantic look for this one. I love the bold and bright colors of the leaves but there was something about Kim's texture "And Then Some" that was to be used this week, that just lended itself to softness. If I had mastered the technique of the mouse over I could show you the original but since I haven't you will have to trust me that this had bold color before I added the texture. I don't have the formula but I think I used it twice and masked the leaves to bring out some of the color. More Fall posts to come or check out my facebook page for two albums of beautiful color from the Pacific Northwest. Happy Texture Tuesday, check out all of our post using the textures so lovingly created and shared with us by Kim Klassen. 

Texture Tuesday

Season's End

I LOVE summer, and it is hard to transition to the chillier, wetter weather here in the Fall. Although I think Fall color is beautiful, it does not compare, for me, to the abundance of color in the Spring and Summer. I picked the last of the blooming daisies awhile back and set them in the garage to dry. I have seen lots of shots of dried dying flowers that I admire so I thought I would try my hand at it for a TT project. My layers are listed on the screenshot, as you can see I used 3 instead of 2 of Kim's textures. I set the daisies on the seat of the old white kitchen chair that I found at a barn sale this summer. Love that old thing. It is going to be used often.

My week spent with my mom was very draining, emotionally, physically and mentally. It is so hard to watch someone you love and who was such a strong woman all her life, lose touch with her world. She is in good health but mentally she is not understanding all the changes in her life. She doesn't understand why she has to have someone there to care for her since all this time she has been alone. Makes my heart sad, but yet I am so blessed that she is still here with us. I must tell myself to treasure each day because one day she will be gone and it will be very difficult to lose her. She has been a rock to all of us all our lives and now we have to be her rock.

Texture Tuesday
Please stop by TT and see all the beautiful art, created by all the beautiful people there.

Red

The theme this week at Texture Tuesday is "RED". I actually took this for Valentines Day but since it is certainly in the red category I decided to work on it for TT. I collect hearts of all kinds and forms, from ceramic to finding heart shaped rocks. This is an older Avon piece of Ruby glass I believe.  Here is a screenshot of what I did and the textures I used. The layer one texture is Kim's new one "And then some".






Not sure how much I will be able to comment this week, I am headed to my mom's to spend the next week taking care of her. She is 93 and though she is not in ill health she is very frail and needs someone with her to make sure she is eating and taking care of herself properly. I am sure that the "RED" eDition will be fabulous, head on over to the Cafe` and check out all the art.

Texture Tuesday

 Yesterday I participated in the Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk. All over the world groups of photographers gathered to walk around their city and shoot photos for a few hours. It is amazing to be able to see and share all this with one another. Our walk was a late afternoon stroll around the part of our town near Union Station called The Pearl. Taking the time to actually walk the blocks in a part of town I rarely visit was eye opening. There is so much to see and experience. It was a rainy day for most of the day but the time we spent out on the walk wasn't too bad. Some sprinkles but I never did have to use the umbrella. These are just a few of the shots that I took.

Condos by the park. This park in more of a natural area in the city, it has a pond with goldfish, reeds and water lilies. There is a small deck walk along the very unusual fence made of metal pieces with some colored glass art interspersed. Very pretty.

The photo on the left is of what is left of an old old building. There was no history on it but it has been preserved and left in place as a reminder of what once was. Lots of character in these old bricks and metal shutters.

This of course is self explanatory. It is Union Station. A glorious old train station. The outside is being renovated so I did not do any photos other than the tower. Next time I will take more time and go in and also go around on the grounds. There were some great shots posted from our group of outside shots.

Gratitude: The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.

 Texture Tuesday's challenge is to show something that gives us gratitude and to use two of Kim Klassen's textures. I thought for some time on this to pick a subject for this week. There are many many things to be grateful for in my life so I thought of doing a collage of several different things. I love the sea, I love watching the birds at the feeder I love the quietness of the forest on a hike, but most of all I LOVE my family. They are what make me grateful and thankful for each and every day. Life is a very short journey and the people we share it with are what give us the reasons to get up and move everyday. When you lose someone from that circle you instantly learn how short life really is. I have learned to live each day as if it were my last because we just never know. I love that I can do for my family and bring them small gifts of joy, a trip to the beach or a day spent together. Cooking a special meal and sharing time laughing and being in the company of one another. This is what brings GRATITUDE into my life. 

I used three of Kim's textures on this one and several other layers and masking and brushes to get the effect I was after. Be sure and check out the Cafe` for all the talented people and see what we are all grateful for in our lives. 

Texture Tuesday