texture tuesday: free and easy edition

One of my favorite subjects--dandelion seeds. Textured with a couple of Kim's lovely textures.

Texture Tuesday: Simple Edition

Spring is coming late to central Indiana this year. My Grape Hyacinths are finally blooming--probably two weeks later than most years. I am glad to see them. Many more flowers are soon to come.

This was textured with Kim's brand new 'Simple1' texture.

Happy Spring!

Texture Tuesday--Spring Break

I am on a very welcome Spring Break in Florida. The weather is not hot, exactly, but it is lovely and very sunny which is a nice change from the cold Spring we have been having in Indiana this year.

Textured with Kim's 'frosted' and 'boutique'.

Texture Tuesday: Color Edition

I have been into creating these forest abstracts these days. I guess maybe I am looking for something a little different to do with all the bare, brown trees. Although some color was there in the originals, there is also added color through cross-processing and split toning in some cases. 

I don't mind bare trees nor do I mind winter, but I always welcome the change of seasons, too, so I am looking forward to spring. This year, spring seems to be coming later to central Indiana than in recent years. It's okay because it is worth the wait and it will come as it always does.

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All of the below images were textured with various of Kim's textures that I have collected over time. 

Texture Tuesday: Free and Easy

An abstract of the winter woods, textured with three layers of Kim's 'hsh3' texture. Also processed in Lightroom and PS CS5 and RadLab.

Texture Tuesday--Still Edition

For this week's Texture Tuesday, I have a couple of heavily textured dried hydrangea. I love hydrangea when they are fresh and new as well, but I tend to prefer when then are withered and dry. I don't know why that is, but it just is. 

On the top picture, I used Kim's 'Simple' and for the bottom one I used a couple of layers of Kim's 'rest-magic'. 

Texture Tuesday: Light Edition

It was very cold on the morning this shot was captured (about five degrees below zero with colder wind chill factors), but the sun was shining brightly and it was wonderfully quiet and still--a beautiful morning, in my opinion.

I processed this with some 'vintage' type presets in Lightroom and some more with Radlab. I used Kim's new freebie texture 'play'.

Texture Tuesday: Love Edition

This may not look like it fits this week's Texture Tuesday theme of "love", but I do really love winter and frost (and, yes, even cold. I know I am a little strange). Seeing shapes like this on my window is one of the reasons I love it. I thought it looked like an evergreen tree on a snowy hillside. I also love trees . . . especially evergreen trees.

Textured with a few layers of 'anne' from Kim's cloth and paper collection.

Texture Tuesday: Free and Easy

Textured with a couple of layers of Kim's 'hsh' texture--one layer at softlight and one layer at multiple.

Texture Tuesday; Snow Edition

This winter in central Indiana has been quite a snowy one so far. We had one snow storm that left behind about a foot of snow. Now, having grown up in New York State, I know that is not really a lot of snow, but it is a lot for central Indiana. In fact, the schools were closed for an entire week (my kids were quite happy because they ended up with a 3-week-long winter break). I still maintain that that was quite overboard and that they could have had school at least on Thursday and Friday, but no matter, because the missed days have to be made up at the end of the school year.

Of course, that snow melted away in the following warm, rainy days, but just when things were getting ugly and muddy and gloomy, we got a little more . . . 5 inches . . . not so bad. 

Anyway, I know that snow and cold is not for everyone, but it suits me just fine. I think that it makes everything look so much better in winter.

The photo above was textured with Kim's '1216' texture.

Below are a couple more winter scenery images that I chose to add some of Kim's textures to as well.

Happy winter!

Fourteen in 2014

Kim Klassen has started up a list of fourteen in 2014 and invited her followers to participate as well. Sometimes I like these sorts of things and sometimes I don't, but one thing that I do know is if I write down some of my intentions, I often feel more motivated--or obligated--to follow through and do them, so here is my list:

1. Create more family time, including going on small day trips, having more family game nights, etc.
2. Get together with friends more often.
3. Volunteer more. Sign up to be a butterfly monitor as well as volunteer or chaperone in the schools at least one time this year.
4. Work a little harder at being inspired and motivated in my day job. Get something big(ish) done this year that makes a difference.
5. Read more. I make a lot of excuses that I do not have time to read these day. Stop making excuses.
6. Display photography publicly. Stop being a chicken about this.
7. Explore more--especially spots I think are familiar. Find what else there is to find.
8. Find a photography project or collaboration and participate fully. (This one is a stretch so it is okay if I don't find anything to do right away).
9. Get more organized--just slightly.
10. Stop sweating the small stuff.
11. Finish some online classes that I started (at the very least, look at all the material and take in what is interesting and useful for me).
12. Go on at least one trip without my family (this will be a yearly goal because it is very refreshing and important).
13.  Submit photography (and writing) to publications (either online or print) . . . just see what happens. It's okay if I do not get anything accepted.

For my fourteenth item, I am listing my word for 2014. I have chosen a word and used it in a halfhearted way in the past, but I have to admit that even using the word halfheartedly yielded some results, so here is my word for 2014:

    14. DARE . . . .