Little Scraps of Magic

Promise, and a Nod to the Undo Buttons in Life

Continuing to play with the macro lens, shooting a peony bud just beginning to unfurl. One of my assignments for the "Beyond Layers" class is to illustrate one word. So many possibilites...

In some senses, the bud is me, tightly furled. Technology frustrates me. Well, its learning curve certainly does. I really don't care much for spreadsheets and power points, since I don't find them much fun. So, like the bud, I wrap the protective layers around me; given a choice, I'd stay furled. I just want to make the magic happen without the accompanying headaches.

But, like the bud, I'm blossoming. I am beginning to open up, especially if the tech promises creative adventures. I'm even tackling the not so fun stuff, like blog redesign, and the educational powers that be declare that I will learn to use all the buttons on the active board. Talk about headaches - ugh! Again, thank you, God, for undo buttons and back arrow keys, and for knowing that the typepad help folks are standing by. Thank you for Heather at school, who has the patience of a saint. I'm not in it alone, although it sometimes feels that way as I stare at the screen.

For sure, I need that cable release and to set up the tripod, because the lens is heavy, and I always get a bit of shake. I know what this lens is capable of, and I'm aiming to get it!

So, maybe Wednesday for the cable? I've got "Bam Bam," aka Alex tomorrow evening.

I spent the better part of an hour playing with textures in photoshop. (I did something to the "brushes" and need to figure out how to fix it.) I get so lost in this, in a good way. Going back and forth among the textures and the blending modes, I'm content and happy. Not that there aren't some "ughs" and some "bleahs." There are plenty of those to be sure! But part of the beauty of digital is the undo button. I really do love that button!

Here's the before, beautiful in its own right:

My aim was to add just a bit of texture to the background, and I'm pretty pleased overall with what resulted. I think this will be a photo I go back to over and over.

 

 

Free Week!

Get ready...

Get set...

and go!

This learning to walk business has some real possibilities!

This week, over at Focus 52, it's week 19, and the theme happens to be: "Shoot Whatever You'd Like!" So, how could I resist?

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Playing with my new toy - a macro lens! So much fun, and oh, boy, an awful lot to learn. This lens is heavy! So, it's time to get serious about the tripod, and time to get a release cable. One new toy equals many new learning curves...but I love it!

Happy Mother's Day to anyone who mothers anyone else in any way!

Currently...

Outside my window...

I am thinking I'd much rather be at the beach enjoying some steamed clams.

I am thankful for my pansies. They make me smile.

From the kitchen the coffee pot waits for me to come downstairs and grab another cup.

I am wearing a well worn but oh so comfortable pjs.

I am creating a series of journal props using my photos.

I am going somewhere this weekend. I'm not sure where, but I'm itching to get out and indulge my gypsy like traits!

I am reading a series of very light mysteries, nothing that require any real sort of concentration. By the time I sit to down to read, my mind is long gone.

I am hoping to indulge myself in a really good macro lens in the near future.

I am hearing Who-Dey whimpering. He wants out of the back room, but then no one who is currently sleeping will still be sleeping. Sorry, Who-Dey.

Around the house winter clothes are waiting to be packed away, as are all the Easter goodies. I'd rather be playing with photoshop, so they'll probably wait just a bit more.

One of my favorite things is to go buy fresh flowers for the yard. I'm thinking some marigolds for Phil, who loves their colors, and some mint for me, since it reminds me of home.

A few plans for the week:

 - finish up grades for interims, the last set of interims for this year!

 - finish up my goals' material for the final goal session/evaluation meeting

 - work on my photo journal cards

 - figure out this Facebook bit; I bet the "welcome for newbies" would be helpful to read!

 - take lots of photos

 - buy fresh berries

 - continue to catch up on my "Beyond Layers" work

 - watch "Dancing with the Stars"

 - and, of course, see my grands!

 

 

 

Good Morning!

Still working on storyboards here for my Beyond Layers II with Kim Klassen. The web is an awesome thing - so may free goodies! The story board template here comes courtesy of Ginger Pixels.  It took me a bit of time to figure it all out, but figure it out I did!

From left to right...

...I'm out the door

...leaving the bed unmade (sorry, mom!)

...with my chauffer (otherwise known as my dh) at the wheel

...while I snap photos and read the paper!

...Check out all the traffic in the side door mirror.

...Arriving at work, right about 7am. My classroom is that window you just see to the right.

 

 

Tiny Things

A field of wildflowers edging the vineyards...

Lake Erie glistening in the distance...

And, if you had a really good pair of binoculars, Canada to be seen.

Laughing at Ginger's antics...

Taking shot after shot of red barns and glistening grapes.

Wine to be tasted and cheese to be nibbled...

Trying to take it all in, and if I hadn't been trying to grab some macro shots, I'd have missed this little guy in all his glorious orange.

I miss so many tiny things, but I'm learning to see.

Pure magic to be found!

Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday:

 - Warm grunge, soft light, 58%

 - Soft Palette, color burn, 21%

My challenge to myself? To use two new textures never before tried, and to use a different blending mode or two as well.

Find more photos here.

 

Morning Light

Early Saturday morning...

Everyone else is asleep, and one tiny fellow sings his heart out in my back yard.

I love these mornings; they're such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the workweek. I have time to pause and drink in the light.

Everything's new, freshly washed and rinsed by last night's showers. I can smell the green.

And, Who-Dey waits patiently to come back inside, watching and wondering why his crazy human stands outside in her nightgown photographing the back yard.

Connections

My father adored his family; over and over and over again, he remarked at how very blessed he was with his wonderful family. All through our lives, he created connections, each and every chance he could.

So, as I wandered through April's photos, searching for a photo-heart connection, this one simply grabbed at my heart, no questions, no hesitation. This one was it.

A great photo? No. Lighting, composition, etc. all need something. Dad looks positively disheveled, unkept in so many ways.

But, this precious hour and a half visit makes me smile, because for the first time in over a year, I saw and experienced the dad I knew  - the dad with a twinkle in his eyes, the dad whose sole mission was to make you laugh. A lost connection was  back.

You see, my dad has dementia, has had it for some time now. A stroke in March 2011 accelerated the dementia, and most visits, he has no idea who I might be; some days, he really doesn't even know I'm there. His words are incoherent, and he rarely makes any sort of sense.

On this Saturday, as we entered the room, his eyes lit up, he smiled, and called us each by name. Those few seconds alone made a 3 and a half hour drive worth it. We've all taken our parents for granted, never imagining that it would ever be our mom or dad felled by dementia, that it would be our mom or dad who wouldn't know us. After all, how could that ever be, when we were the light and center of their world for so long?

And, even when our brain tells us that this is happening, our hearts refuse to acknowledge it.

For whatever reason, dad was in fine form. He teased us, laughed, and cracked jokes until we were bent over double and wiping tears from our eyes. As the aides strolled by, he looked at them and announced that he could do nothing with us as we were all drunk.

For an hour and a half, there was magic. My dad knew me. I've missed that so much, I can't even begin to describe it.

I don't know if I'll be this blessed again; he may know me he next time, or he may never know me again. But this day? This day was a gift.

Storyboard Fun

Lesson 6: Storyboards!

With the help of Kim Klassen and my good friend, Google, I've created my first storyboard. It's not perfect; I don't have the color customiztion quite right. That's okay. It really is, because I "got her done!"

And, it involved just a smattering of muttering, a couple of "uh ohs" and "whoops, forgot a steps."

Kim's tutorials are simply beyond awesome. Technology and I are perpetually engaged in a running battle, with technology taking more than his fair share.

Let's put it this way. If we were the two contestants in the "Dance Off," (Dancing with the Stars) it would not be technology who was going home.

So, if Kim can get me to be able to do this, well, wow! I'm one happy camper.

I've a few lessons to catch up on, but I couldn't resist this one. Just couldn't.

 

If It's Tuesday,....

...it must be textures!

Kim challenged us this week to use 2 or more textures on our photo along with trying something "new."

Like many folks just beginning to play with textures, I tend to stay with a few tried and true ones. Ditto for the blending modes; I have a few that I consider "fail safe." This time, though, I pushed a bit in both areas.

My recipe:

Corrugated Cardboard, color burn at 80%

Magic Framed, soft light at 68%

Be Still, Color Burn at 62%

I removed a bit of texture from the lighthouse and bushes each time.

Corrugated Cardboard, Magic Framed, and color burn are all new territory, and I really do like what happened here. It seems to have a very "old" feel to it - and something well loved and well worn. (I think I've just described myself!)

Texture Tuesdays, past and present, can be found here.