For the those of us in the Middle of Summer...

Something to Cool You Off

Thoughts on why technology should disappear when Enjoying

When I used PC and Microsoft products, I was always aware of the technology or the DOS underneath the pretty Windows skin. I could fix a PC laptop and save it from death for at least two years. I can replace a broken screen, keyboard, hard drive, DVD drive, A drive (in the olden days), almost anything (hadn't tried a mother board yet). I knew almost all the fixes the tech guys in India knew, from all the time I have spent with them over these years.

But now, I am trying Apple products, and the need to know seems to be disappearing, allowing me to just ENJOY. Enjoy writing while listening to online radio, without worrying the computer will freeze even with a quad core processor. Enjoy using photo editing programs to their full potential. Reading web articles without all the extra Magoo (ads, sidebars) using Safari 5's new Reader (great item, you should try it). I like all my calendars, contacts and bookmarks to sync together. If I add an appointment to my iPhone, it appears on my MacBook.

Reading my Kindle on the big, gorgeous screens of the MacBook or the iPad, is a different reading experience. Perfect for cookbooks with beautiful photos of the cuisine, or for what I would call a Coffee Table book (the Kindle is perfect for a bedtime reader, or for taking outside, or to the beach).

Being able to not worry about the tech, not having my fingers ready to 'control-alt-delete' , makes my online experiences more relaxing, more flowing, more personal.

Thank you Apple.

First attempt at painting with Photoshop

This is a photo of Ballston beach down the Cape (Cape Cod) that I practised painting with Photoshop CS5 using the new Mixer brush and some other brushes.

It was fun to do, but I am not brave enough yet to try without a photo.

I did it

I bought the upgrade: Photoshop CS5. I have been playing with it, and learning the new features. I do believe some of them will change the way some photographers can work with their shots.

Here is the before shot. I want to remove the car in the background and remove the people playing on the rocks. I also wanted to make the shot less 'snapshot' like by cropping, and boost up the color a bit. This original shot is a film photo, scanned onto my computer using Photoshop CS5.

Using the cropping tool, which has a great grid feature, content aware fill (new), the spot healing brush tool with content aware (new) and the clone stamp tool, I was able to get rid of the car and those pesky tourists. Great new features I think I will use alot of since I like to do photo retouching.

Blogger in Draft

I have been playing with the Blogger in Draft ( http://draft.blogger.com/)  Bloggers can customize everything on the page and use some of the templates available there and not on regular Blogger. I am just beginnning with it, and don't understand all the ins and outs yet. If anyone else is using this, let me know how you like it.

New Direction of Blog

I have a 700 dollar elephant on my computer, named Photoshop CS4. It is a wonderful program for those of us who want to be creative, but can't draw. My aim is to learn how to use this program to its fullest. Some of my blog entries will be Photoshop centric, others will just be photos. I do use Camera RAW for all my photos, so I do use Photoshop for all of my photos, although my husband shoots in JPEG, so if you see a photo with his name on the bottom, that is straight from the camera.

I think I will stick with Open Salon for writing. I do have a blog there, but have not started it yet. I am in love with my KINDLE and haven't had the time for blogging.

Back to photography. I belong to NAPP, or the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. I joined it two years ago, to take advantage of its discounts, and for the online tutorials which are both video and text. I like the video, because I can see what the creator is doing.

Today I learned about Smart Filters and making a creative blur. See if you like it.... The left one is before, the right one is after. I also cropped, fixed the white balance, removed spots (this was from a film photo, scanned), and did a little dental work. Any thoughts? (also, can anyone help me with moving photos around and putting words under them?? This is driving me nutss)

What Baron teaches me

Baron is my 12 year old, epileptic schipperke. He almost died about 3 years ago from liver failure brought on by taking phenobarbital for his seizures. Now, he is recovering, happy, energetic and a PIA, just like healthy schipperkes.

Getting to this point was not easy for him, or for us. We spent thousands of dollars on medicine and doctors visits. With the help of our wonderful vet, Dr. Raab, we came up with a regimen that seems to keep our dog happy and healthy.

He gets fresh, home cooked meals twice a day: free range chicken, sweet potatoes, white potato, peas with a little shredded cheddar cheese and vitamins all mashed and heated up for him. My husband makes his fresh food about three times a week. He also gets organic, low fat dog food that the "Whole Dog Journal" recommended. He doesn't get any treats, except maybe extra chicken or a piece of his dog food. He takes human Keppra now for his seizures and SAM-E, a human liver medication.

What have I learned from caring for Baron? First and most important: patience. He tries my patience every day. He is food centric, always snuffling around for more chow. He drinks my coffee and paces around the house licking ?? off the carpet.

I learned conservative medicine, and natural remedies sometimes work as well as expensive surgery and meds. Baron tore both ACL's a while back and we opted to conservatively manage it (no surgery: he wouldn't have tolerated it with his liver issues).

He makes me laugh. He keeps me warm at night. Simple things amuse him: leaves blowing off the windshield, chasing an airplane across the sky.

I know all of you with a beloved pet can add to these thoughts. I just wanted to put them down on paper, while he is staring at me from across the room. I know what he is thinking: "When are we going for a walk?"

Patience, Baron, patience.

Promises

We will remember this year as the year of the big snow. Everyone in this area will, since this was the most snow ever, for the month of December in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As much as we complained about the snow, it was beautiful, and the days after were picture postcards of deep blue sky nestled in pure thick waddings of snow.

For the next year, I am making promises, instead of resolutions. I promise to work on my patience (double entendre intended). I promise to eat healthier, and less of it, and drink more water. I promise to write more and look in to opportunities to write for pay. (My book reviewing job has been cut from the magazine I wrote for.) I promise to use my camera more often and learn to train my eye for the beauty beneath the surface. I promise to delve into my spiritual side.

What will 2010 be known for?

The Holiday Punch

It is day four of "The Holiday Punch" as my local TV weathermen called  this weather event. This is the view from my front door the morning of the second day of the storm. All the snow has fallen off the trees: however, the two and three feet of snow on the road is still there.

And we are stuck in the house. Or to the driveway which took us 6 hours to dig out. The road committee we pay yearly dues to has not produced a plow in sight to get our whole neighborhood to a main road. What to do?

We did the obvious, use your imaginations. Thankfully, we have electricity and heat. And the internet, our cameras, our video, our dog, and our new Christmas toys: dual Blackberries. As virgin Blackberry users, we have loads of time to download and play with our new tools.We are a little sore in  muscles we had forgotten about but it was a good excuse to eat the Ben and Jerry ice cream in the refrigerator. I watched a neat silent movie on Netflix  instant movie on the internet called, " The Cat and the Canary", a haunted house movie from 1927. I wonder if they got snowed in then? I leave you with one more shot of the storm..

First Snow

The first snow of the season came early this year, December 4. Usually, it doesn't snow here (at least accumulate) until January or February. It was pretty, enjoyable to see, since we didn't have to go anywhere, or be anywhere. Good thing, too, since they haven't figured out how to plow or treat roads. Even though it snows every year. And since this is the oldest state (or close to it) in the country, I guess that means the Highway Dept. is a little slow on the uptake. There were four accidents, three fatalities, mostly because the roads weren't plowed correctly and large spots of slushy snow, and later ice plagued the roads. Idiots who drive too fast were also at fault. We couldn't walk our dog except along the road, but he didn't mind. He is too full of energy today, though.

Some oldies but goodies

I made this olive bread awhile back and it photographed better than it tasted. It was a beautiful loaf, made from a recipe from a breadmaker in France, using black olives and honey. It should have been good, but this was back in my beginner bread making days; when I didn't know how to critique a recipe. The inside of this bread was not cooked enough, and the purple color of the greek olives turned some of the dough inside a weird shade of purple. But it was a thing of beauty.

This is a shot of snow on the new buds of a Judas Tree in my front yard. It happened one spring when it snowed here in April, something that very rarely happens. The snow was gone by the afternoon.

For a While...

For awhile, I will not have the ability to use my photoshop and photos and post on the internet. We have a new computer with Windows 7, but no modem to connect the laptop with the photos and the new computer with the internet! I just figured out how to burn some photos onto a disc and transfer them to the new computer/internet to share some older photos with you.  The purple flower is a Gladiator Allium. The bear is a black bear who raided my bird feeders one or two years ago. We took this photo out the kitchen window, so sorry if it is blurry. We really didn't want to get too close to our visitor. The blue flowers are irises. We used to have a large bed of these beautiful flowers. Alas, they are spent now, and no longer produce flowers. If I am not too lazy, I will have to pick and plant new bulbs this fall.

Textures

This is a shot taken in the early morning at Cape Cod Canal, and the end, looking toward the ocean. The power plant is on your right.  I like looking at the textures of the calm water, the rocky New England shore and the hanging clouds.

The next shot is taken of textures/colors of the pier. Large oil tankers dock along the Canal and off load the oil.

This is a shot of beach rose and other sea plants along the Canal. The beach roses are a type of hardy rose that can tolerate the sun and the wind and the salt air near the ocean. Locals make a jelly out of the berries, tasting similar to cranberries, another native berry to the Cape Cod area.

Monotone Creatures

I know Gretal looks fierce here (maybe she has watched too much Tyra Banks on Next Top American Model) but she actually is just begging for a treat. Very vocally.

Here is Baron with his ears held back in Mercury position. He talks with his ears. This position means he is not sure how to react. He doesn't really like the camera. This is probably him right before he runs away from it.

A Walk Remembered

We enjoy our walks in Webb Park. These shots were taken in September of this year. I enjoy looking at them on cold, rainy days like today, when I can't get out and take new shots. We loved the sky on that day, and the early fall colors of the beach and meadows.

Various old gravestones

This guy hangs around my Mother's house during Halloween. He greets the trick or treaters with a big smile. I thought I would post some of the gravestones from the Old North Burying Ground in Weymouth, MA. They are fascinating, and most from the 1600 and 1700's.This is the Captain's stone. He seems a little creepy to me. I think the stone cutter was trying to capture his death bead portrait.

Mr. Torrey has a scary looking flying skull to decorate his grave. Why did the colonists like such gruesome carvings, I don't know.

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Jane's stone at least has a flying smiling skull...

This is a sibling stone. This depicts a brother and sister who died within a couple of days of each other. You can see the children tucked into their beds (or is it their coffins?)

Anyone else have photos of interesting gravestones to share for Halloween?

Late Fall in VA

This is one of the many times I wish I had a longer lens, like a 200 or a 300mm. My puny kit lens happened to be on my camera when these three balloons floating away in the distance showed up. This was the best I could do with what I have. This is also my street. I have a photo somewhere of this street with the fog rising from the bottom of the hill, but I can't find it.

Because this is somewhat of a tourist destination, balloon tours operate year round, and a few take a trip over my house and down the road to the Blue Ridge Mountains. I live on a mountain right before the National Park. I love looking at the balloons with their bright colors and the sound of the flames whooshing up to send them away. My dog doesn't like the sound but thinks he can catch them. Silly dog.

The dogwoods are turning red, and the berries are being eaten by squirrels, deer and my resident mockingbird. The mockingbird perches at the top of the tree and scolds anything else who dares approach his source of berry. I liked the way the sun hit the middle leaf in this shot.

My winter birds are returning. Oh I really could use the long lens to capture those beauties. We have yellow throats, junkos, fox sparrows and purple finches here in the cold months. They make up for our gorgeous hummingbirds who have left for Mexico.

Items around my house in Black and White

I had a nice cup of green tea this morning. I was trying to be able to capture the steam as it curled around in the shaft of sunlight and strips of shade but couldn't do it. I did enjoy how the reflection of the window blinds is mirrored on the cup, and how black and white shows the geometrical lines of the cup and the shadow of the tea bag.

This one was a little more creepy. This is the side of an antique peanut jar with Mr. Peanut in glass. It came from my husband's grandmother's house and dates from the 1920's. I find Mr. Peanut to look a little scary.

This is a shot of the end of a conch shell we found on the beach in NE when we first met in the 1980's. I love the texture of the shell, and was pleased how black and white show off the lines and shades of the shell.   Photography can be great therapy when you are under the weather!

Playing with Photoshop

This shot is a collection of perfumes sitting on my marble table, posterized in Photoshop. I love Photoshop. I love to play with it, design and create with it, and see what I can do with it. Some people think Photoshop is cheating. I do try to get everything right in the camera: I shoot in RAW, I am careful of my exposure and my white balance, I try to use a tripod or at least a sturdy surface ( I shake a lot from years of taking asthma meds.) But then there is the pleasure of editing with Photoshop.

I learn everytime I use the program. I have about six books about how to use/create and design with it, but I still need to practice. What is important to me may not be what is covered in the books. Photoshop is such a huge program, no one book can cover it all.

Plus, every photographer uses Photoshop differently. I guess they call it their workflow. I don't follow anyone else's flow, I try and do it myself. I also use the internet for online learning about photoshop.

I started with Photoshop Elements, a great program. I took two online classes on how to use it. Then, my husband surprised me and bought the latest edition of Photoshop for me to use. It is a whole new learning curve (but that is what I wanted to do, right? Expand my brain cells). Currently I am teaching myself about layers, adjustment layers, masks, and portrait editing.

Do you think a photo editing software is cheating?

The Old North Cemetery, Weymouth MA

My husband and I have always loved to walk in old cemeteries: the kind you can find in New England, some dating back to the 1600's.

These shots were taken at the North Weymouth, or "The Old North Cemetery" in Massachusetts. It is the second oldest cemetery in Massachusetts. The web site states it may be the oldest cemetery still in use in the USA.

This cemetery is beautiful to walk around in the fall. Huge old colorful trees dot the landscape, and shady paths wind around the ancient stones. The stones are wonderfully carved, and some tell a story. Look at Elizabeth Cotton's grave about. It says, "Here lyes the body of Elizabeth Cotton...who died upon this road for reason of a fall from her horse, October 31, 1710 aged 45 years..." What was this middle aged woman doing riding her horse through a graveyard on Halloween? Why did she fall off her horse? The grave also states she was from Hampton, Ma, no where near Weymouth. She was married, too. This stone alone could be the source of a good historical fiction novel.  There is a Civil War memorial in the front of the area, as seen below. You can read the names of the men who fought and died and then find their family plots.

I love the old trees in the cemetary. They are wide trees, big enough to hug and admire the colorful leaves. I have more stone shots, if anyone is interested in seeing them. Maybe I will include more closer to Halloween. Here is a link to the Cemetery: Old North Cemetery. Enjoy the photos there, also. You can take your dog also, which is unusual for a public cemetery. I guess they figure the folks who have been dead 400 years won't mind!