A Winter Wonderland

Hubby had cabin fever bad by Sunday so I made him drive me around town to look at the frosted over trees and let me take photos. We actually had hoar frost on Sunday, something I'd never seen up close and personal. (I'll post them later.)

I love how these look with some of Kim's presets applied.

 kk_dreamlike with extra clarity.

kk_hazyday

kk_hazyday

kk_moodswing

kk_breeze

kk_darklight

kk_darkday

my edits

It was starting to just get warm enough that the frost started to fall.

iPhone shot edited with kk_today.

We ended up having a snowball fight and I think I lost.

This was a 'captured frame' from a movie clip. kk_toucha

kk_breeze

I plan to put a video together since I'm in the Time Capsules Class. It's a lot of work. I could spend a couple full days just on one video.

Linking up for Texture Tuesday at kimklassen.com.

So Many Options

With winter hanging around so long it's kept me in the mood to process my winter shots. I'm still playing in Stackables and have several versions of this photo. It's just too fun to play. I even saved some 'strange' renditions that I hope to use in a collage.

These were my two favorites.

 The formula for this more wintery version is: 

Layer One- Glacial Ice, Overlay 50%

Layer Two- Caldera Dust, Screen 70%

Layer Three- Filter Blue Moon, Overlay 83%

Layer Four- Filter St Louis, Normal 61%

This is the original with a slight drama filter in Snapseed.

There's still time to leave a comment for a free code to Stackables at the iTunes store, on Mobile Art Monday. Winners notified tomorrow!

Join us for a link up at Keeping With the Times today for App Happy Wednesday.

Officially Winter in Texas

Winter arrived in Lubbock Texas as we arrived home from a last minute Christmas trip to the Dakotas. It was a winter wonderland ready for the capture.

I noticed a few things I wouldn't have a year or two ago.

The poor pecan trees in the neighbor's yard with pecans still heavy and getting heavier with the ice. Hundreds of dollars worth of pecans, probably not worth 2 cents now. I would have shaken his trees and picked them up myself. It would have been a bumper crop. But I reaped the benefit of photos.

Our gas is probably the lowest in the country. I guess we saved around $200 this trip compared with last year's prices.

This shot was right by the gas price sign. If you noticed the previous photo, I can't imagine why a handicapped person would ever want to park there.

We had freezing rain today, then fluffy snow flakes, then more rain. I pulled out my 100 Macro lens for this. What I love about it, is the background.

We stopped at work to check on things last night and I was glad I had more than my iPhone with me. It was a challenge to hand hold this also. It's not the sharpest, but compared to the rest…. ISO 3200 18mm f/4 1/8 sec. I'm grateful for this shot because after all the ice today, half of the branches broke off. Very sad. It's a Desert Willow, too fragile for ice storms.

My favorite shot of all. Dove in Pecan Tree. Textured with kk_postale and a texture from 2 Lil Owls.

The skies were so white with low clouds that the geese flew low today and came in swarm after swarm. The near by golf course and lakes were just covered in geese.

Linking up with Kim for Texture Tuesday.

50 MM Play

Happy February everyone!
I looked around the house to see how my 'one room' per month was going and I got distracted. Maybe this weekend I'll do a little more organizing and cleaning out and catch up.
In the mean time...
After a little frustrating time with my Lens Baby, I pulled out the 50 again.

Lightroom

I really do like dead plants!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Texture Tuesday Jan 7

It is already the seventh day of January and I haven't taken one photo with my Canon. (Not many with my phone either.) Until this morning. I see the light glisten off the tree tips out my kitchen window. It's a challenge to sit backwards on the kitchen cabinet to get close enough to the window with out the dirty window making the texture.
One of my photography goals this year is to chase the light.
Kim's 0212 texture on both.

Join us for Texture Tuesday at the cafe with Kim Klassen.

Last of Winter

Remnants of our once in a blue moon blizzard. Right out the front door sits this planter of volunteers. Johnny Jump-ups (violas) and an asparagus (it will get pulled). It was totally buried in snow until the middle of the afternoon when it warmed up so fast there was none left on the porch.

I took this through the window. I was actually surprised to have caught little bokeh lights.

A few icicles forming in the midst of the storm.

While we're on the subject of white things, here is a 'shot from above' with 2 of my 'usual' props. I rather liked the out of focusness of it. Textured with Sybil by Kim Klassen and I used all 3 brushes from Beyond Beyond Class Day 7 white, 100% set at soft light. Must say I love it. Especially with the brushes added.

All edits in Lightroom.

Walk and Click, Our Yard

Linking up with Walk and Click Wednesdays with Lissa. Come join us.

After our little January snow I had to take inventory around the garden. The rising sun was beautiful that morning but didn't shine for long.

I edited this in Lightroom and used the preset, Colorful HDR Effect.  Colorful is the last thing I'd call it, however there was not much color in my images to start with. Speaking of Lightroom, there is a new magazine available only on the iPad and the first issue is free. Check it out on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips.

Walk and Click -First Snow

We had a nice dusting of snow which can be very rare here. So I took advantage and went for a drive. Less than a mile brings me to sorghum fields and cotton fields with some semblance of stubble to attract the geese. We have bazillions winter over here in the north part of Texas. Armed with my iPhone and 70/300 lens, this is what I captured. (All DSLR photos processed in RadLab.

This lone tree is where I stopped. (iPhone, forgot what I processed this with. Must take better notes)

70-300mm, at 300mm

1/500 sec;   f/10;   ISO 800

As I scoped in my view, I discovered a few interesting things.

70-300mm, at 200mm

1/350 sec;   f/5.6;   ISO 320

iPhone, Picfx, Snapseed, I actually prefer this one.

70-300mm, at 90mm

1/350 sec;   f/4.0;   ISO 320

70-300mm, at 235.0 mm

1/350 sec;   f/5.6;   ISO 250

And right before I left I noticed the tree was full of birds. 

Calamity texture by Kim Klassen.

70-300mm, at 100mm

1/500 sec;   f/4.0;   ISO 100

Yes I most definitely took the blue bottles home with me. (But not because I'm a trash picker-upper)

Can't wait for some more snow!

Linking up with Walk & Click Wednesdays.

Zip up Your Boots

Kim Klassen Nested texture.

A foot of thick fluffy white snow rested atop each and everything possible. Sparkles glistened where running water exposed itself near a bridge. After a 15 hour drive around a blizzard and a delay for an avalanche, we were finally there in Colorado celebrating the stark beauty of the blinding white-ness.