Hovering UFOs!!!

I was trying to get out of the sun and approached a few sunshade umbrellas. As I looked up, I noticed the 2 umbrellas converging. I immediately thought of UFOs and decided that the left one was the mother ship as she had a glow surrounding her "entry point"! I also enjoy the negative space between the 2 shades...sort of like space itself!

(iPhone...Snapseed, Touch Retouch)

Last Bloom

Fall is here and the yard is beginning to look a bit disheveled with leaves on the ground, floral stems empty of blooms and leaves, gardens void of flowers and color...just a few blooms left on my hydrangea bushes. Fairly well desaturated blooms and yucky greens at that....hanging on by a thread and waiting to fall to the ground and be chewed up by the mower for mulch!

(iPhone...Snapseed and Topaz)

Child's Tree

My first memories of being a child at school were from kindergarten. I remember playing with paints and brushes. I also remember painting with sponges. When I shot this tree with the Avg Cam app, the result reminded me of my childhood. I would take the sponge and dab it into the paints and then blot on the paper with the sponge. I always thought that was so cool. So, I think this image is kind of cool!

(iPhone...Avg Cam 3.0 version, Snapseed, Iris)

Tenacious Footing

These fabulous old pines in the Southwest are known for aging gracefully and clinging to the red rock for as long as possible. The pines are tenacious, unrelenting, persistent and beautiful in their old age. When I saw this, it reminded me of a foot, clinging to the surface, holding fast, displaying a delicate balance of life. Perhaps we should learn from these timeworn trees.

I am posting a B&W version as well of this image. I felt that the B&W displays a different mood. The pine and rock come together in a more cohesive balance, namely age and timelessness. Any thoughts on which one you prefer?

(Sony..Snapseed, Filterstorm and PSE 10)

Autumn Impressions

Leaves are falling down furiously in the last few days and the weather is drastically changing. Yesterday our temps dropped 30 degrees in 2 hours. As I walked down my driveway to get the mail, I was bombarded with leaves and immediately I got my iPhone out. I have a new app, Avg Cam Pro and thought I would try it out. LOVE it! Instead of panning or using slow shutter cams, this app sets up the shot and then takes anywhere from 1 to 128 individual shots and combines them for the final image. What fun! This image was produced with 8 shoots. Hope you like it!

(iPhone...Avg Cam Pro 3.0, Snapseed and Filterstorm)

Palms

So, I'm trying some new software and this is another experiment. I was in Arizona last week and at our hotel there was alot of opportunity for images like these palms. They were all perfectly spaced apart to provide a grandiose march down a path to the pool. Glorious and it reminded me of the Hollywood palms down the streets with the grand parades of yore. Thus, I wanted to create the olden Hollywood effect that was in my mind.

(iPhone...Snapseed, Filterstorm)

Experiment

Sharp or not? Trying some new software...I'll be trying some more photos with this so bear with me!!! And thanks for viewing...

Road Trip

I just came back from visiting Arizona with my husband for a conference trip. One afternoon we were headed to a Jeep tour of the desert and we were being carted like sheep on a huge tour bus. I had the window seat and kept hoping that some cool car would come along for me to shoot with the mountatin BG and make it look like an old postcard! And voila! Along came the car! I know...the car isn't really vintage but it will have to do! It just felt right!

(iPhone...Snapseed, Filterstorm, Iris and Topaz)

Lines

Every year I shoot alot of Autumn images. Autumn is always so alive with vibrant reds, greens, golds, magentas...beckoning me to spend time out in the yard taking photographs. When I shot this maple leaf on my pine tree, the red, golds and greens were beautiful but I soon noticed the lines of the needles with the stem and the outline of the leaf. I decided to convert the image to B&W and add some diffusion. The emphasis is on the lines, not colors and I like how the nestled leaf becomes more subtle with the pine needles. And the more I stare at the leaf, the more prominent it becomes and the needles dissipate. Weird!!!

(iPhone...Snapseed and Topaz)

Floating

Floating along Salt River and the rafts were making beautiful abstract paintings in the water. Reflections are some of my favorite images to make. The sun is a powerful tool for reflections. I wish I could paint freely as I feel that I could take a large paintbrush and just whisk it around on a blank canvas but alas, I am not a painter so this image will have to suffice for my blank canvas.

This is being sent via my iPad so I'm not sure how the presentation will look yet. I'm still working on how to get the optimum image from the iPad instead of the PC.

(Sony...Snapseed)

PS...I have updated this frmo my PC. Looks MUCH better!

Urban Facets

Skyscrapers loom in the sky. People come and go in the structures, thoughts and memories,work and relationships. I like the interaction of the structures and the mirrored effect....similar to our own selves.

More to follow....

(iPhone ....Snapseed)

End of My Haven



The days are getting shorter with cooler nights and my time sitting in My Haven is nearing to an end. I've put away most of my pots but I hung on to the calladium in this one pot but alas, it too is nearing to an end. Autumn is definitely my fav season but I do not like what's coming after fall so I will lament the passing of My Haven for another season and prepare myself for the coming months.

(iPhone...Snapseed)

Mannahatta...Walt Whitman

"High growths of iron, slender, strong, light, splendidly uprising toward clear skies"... Walt Whitman

Across the East river viewing Freedom Tower...."straight lines and sharply defined forms predominate where people ride daily in metal cars on parallel rails to buildings made with steel skeletons" ...Louis Dienes

For some reason, this view touches me in a way that I don't really understand as I'm normally a "nature" person but Manhattan has a way of getting under my skin whenever I visit the city. I just want to sit, take in the view....

(iPhone...Snapseed and Filterstorm)

Dahlias

Dahlias...one of the fav flowers of most people. Autumn has arrived and I must put away my pots and flowers for the year BUT a few more images won't hurt before the flowers are discarded and thrown to the recycled mulch bin! Dahlias project many moods...romantic, dynamic, bouyant, flourishing, whimiscal, and many other auras. I went with romantic and a little bit of dramatic...any thoughts?

(iPhone...Snapseed, Photo FX and Filterstorm)

Hibiscus

Having some fun with this one! One of the last blooms of the season, I took the image and began to fool around some with various filters. This is a combination of several. I love Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers and I wanted to emulate her work but just a touch. I don't think I got there but instead ended up with this image which I rather like. I'll keep trying! Thanks for viewing.

(iPhone...Snapseed and PSE 10)

Beauty and The Beast

So...which is the beauty and which is the beast???!!! For me the flowers and the rusted car are both beauties!!! Again, another image similar to "Dilapidated" where the beauty of the flowers set against the bg of the weathered car seems to come to life, to join in harmony in an unorthdox way.

(Nikon D80...PSE 10, Nik and Topaz)

Keep Your Dream In Drive

I was killing time in an airport a few weeks ago reading a magazine when I came across this ad. I thought it might make an interesting image with the Brooks Brothers shop in the background if the right person came along. I liked the juxtaposition of the janitor driving his cart with the magazine and shop. Always keep your dreams in drive...you never know what might occur.

(iPhone...Snapseed and Topz)

Red Roof Inn

Mid afternoon bright sun on the church with an approaching storm in the BG really caught my eye as I was driving home yesterday. With the impending storm, I felt the church with its red roof reminded me of a haven from the elements of the weather, a safe place to go, like the Red Roof Inn.

(iPhone...Snapseed and Topaz)

Dilapidated

What is about autumn and run down barns? I just love to shoot the old barns as they begin to rot beyond repair. It's getting harder to find the old wooden barns as the farmers put up the aluminum ones that last longer and are maintenance free. The old barns are just another reminder of years past, of a time gone by and left for memories, of the sunlight beating down on the weathered barn, slowly turning to disrepair.

(iPhone-Snapseed and Topaz)

Hallowed Halls

These hallowed halls ...nothing can touch me, I am safe and warm. If the halls could somehow speak, some would be remembered and some would be forgotten but always, the halls would protect through light and shadow, a well trodden path.

(iPhone...Snapseed and Vintage)

Fireworks

On my walk to get the mail the other day, I spotted the setting sunlight on some pine needles and I thought of fireworks! Sparkling in the evening sky...this was a fun image for me to fool around with. I have some other versions which I might present at a further date but for now, I want to jsut enjoy the fireworks display!

(iPhone...Snapseed, Filterstorm and Topaz)

Ducks in a Row

Or I should say "Grain Bins in a Row" :) Early morning drive and loved how the sunlight caressed each grain bin in a row so perfectly. I find that grain bins are not very appealing during most of the day to shoot but when the light hits just right, I have a nostalgic feeling for farms, of yore, of what used to be. Not sure why...just is.

(iPhone...Snapseed and Filterstorm)

Dark and Light

 I didn't realize that it had been 4 days since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun and I was having fun!!! Early morning rain brought the leaves tumbling down...a few landed on my car windshield. I liked how the leaves were surrounded by light and dark reflections. It fit the mood of the day...dark yet light...coming through as the rain slowly ceased and the clouds began to retreat.

(iPhone....Snapseed, Topaz)