Friday Finds - 30 May 2014

This week I have a new tea-towel, a new to me vase and the Allium was a nice find in the local Aldi.

I'm becoming quite a fan of Aldi as you never know what little treasures they may have.  This week they had bunches of Alliums, 8 stems for just £3, which I reckon is a bargain.  I'm hoping they will dry out nicely, but also that I get to enjoy them in flower.  The tea-towel was also from Aldi.  The vase was from a charity shop and the book in the picture just happened to be to hand.

To this I've added kk_rest at 71% soft light and kk_cora at 58% soft light and removed some of the texture from the the Allium.

Be Still 52 - Day 2

I'm already behind!  Day 3 is up and I'm just uploading my effort for Day 2.

To this is I've added kk_waterfront28 at 49% soft light and kk_waterfront4 also at 49% soft light.  The font is Scriptina.

I have every intention of keeping up to date and catching up on Beyond Layers and Beyond Beyond, as well as Picture Process and Round Trip, but somehow things happen.....guess many of you know how that goes.

Texture Tuesday - 27 May 2014

This week the theme was free and easy, so what to do, mmmmm.  I bet you know how it goes, walk around the house, pick something up, put it down, pick something else up and then there's the I wonder......

 

I picked up the bottle (bought in Sainsbury's a few weeks back), pulled 3 stems of Sweet William's out of a vase, placed a little table in front of a window with white linen tablecloth and a white reflector, and snapped away from all angles.

It's turned out with a bit of a sad feeling, so I call it "Bottled Memories".  In Lightroom I applied Kim's melancholy preset.  Then in Photoshop, 1 layer of kk_cherish at 58% soft light and 1 layer of kk_written at 45% soft light, removing some of both textures from over the flowers and bottle label.

Friday Finds - 23 May 2014

I'm a bit late with this weeks find and it is a little rainbow.

I haven't added any textures.  All I have done is have a little play with Nik software to bring out the colours in the rainbow.

Texture Tuesday - 20 May 2014

This week the theme was Black and White.

I've added kk_framed 64% soft light and kk_justatouch 100% soft light.  The font is Talking to the Moon.

We all rush about to much and forget we do need to settle down and let our bodies and minds rest and recharge, so we should all find time to switch off, and how better than with a cup of fruit tea.

Be Still 52 - Day 1

And so our journey to find inner peace begins.....week 1.

My main intention for the coming year is just to enjoy what is around me and take time to sit back and be still....be calm.....be quiet.....be peaceful.  This image was taken on a lovely sunny Sunday morning.  The yacht was far out on the horizon and there was quite a bit of heat hazy, hence why the yacht is faint.  But it was just what I was wanting to depict Calm.....well close enough....I guess it could have done with a totally flat sea, but this is the English Channel and the tide was coming in.

I have made some basic adjustments in Lightroom....can't remember what, as I just tweaked the sliders!  In Photoshop I added 1 layer of kk_dreamit at 19% multiply, removing all the texture from the water and some in an arc around the yacht.  The fonts are Living Together and Gabriola, and the background motive behind the text is from Nymphette.

Beyond Layers - Day 7

On Day 7, Kim encouraged us to think of things that make us happy.  She also gave us a link to a very moving real life story of a mother's fight for her disabled child, which stopped me in my tracks and made me realise how lucky I am.

My photo was taken in the morning with the light from an east facing window.  To it I've added kk_simple at 70% multiply, kk_musiclovin at 55% multiply and duplicated that layer at 40% multiply.  The fonts are Freebooter Script and Kleymissky.

I bought the rose in a bunch 5 days before and the whole bunch of 10 are a real delight and make me happy.....I think whenever I feel down, I should just buy myself a bunch of flowers.

Friday Find - 16 May 2014

Yesterday I had to take my Mum to the dentist, which gave me half an hour to have a wander around the charity shops, where I found this little pottery jug.  It's just 10.5cm tall, and so sweet.

I haven't done very much to this image....a few tweaks in Lightroom, over to Photoshop and 1 layer of kk_bend at 50% multiply and removed most of the texture from the table and jug.

Texturize - Day 6

The final day of Kim's Texturize class and there were many tips and techniques in the videos.....I shall have to watch them a few more times for everything to sink in.  The following is my variation on Kim's image of pale pink rose in a bottle by a window.  I've used the same words, but changed the textures and font.

Texturize - Day 5

For day 5, Kim demonstrated various techniques with an image of a mauvy coloured chrysantheum in a green bottle on a white chair.....this was my sort of copy of the image, only it's a rhododendron in a green bottle on a table with a white table cloth.

I loosely followed Kim's instructions and used the same words.  The fonts I used were Montez and Chantelli Antique.

Start 2 Finish - Day 2

On Day 2 we were encouraged to find the light in our homes, as well as considering blur in our images.

The front of our house faces east, doesn't have many windows and we have quite a few mature trees, which doesn't allow for much light.  But the back of the house is the complete opposite.....lots of big windows facing west and the afternoon sunshine floods in.  We don't have any windows that face north or south, or rather we do, but the north one faces a brick wall and the southerly one is tiny.

My picture was taken mid morning in the conservatory which faces west, so the sun wasn't shining directly in and the light was just what was there from a pleasantly sunny morning.  I did try bouncing light, but didn't think this shot needed it.

I started off in Lightroom and used Kim's kk_classicwarm preset and cropped to 4x5, then into photoshop.  There I added kk_chase texture at 47% soft light, a gradient fill (hex d6cc91) over the top left hand corner at 45% soft light, a slight hue/saturation adjustment, kk_2711 at 26% soft light, levels to dull down the book a little and finished with some text in "Across the Road" font.

Camera:  Nikon D90, 50mm f1.4mm lens, at ISO 200, f2.8, 1/125 sec.

Props:  Top of a very old picnic table (guessing from 1920's), old book, little pewter pot, some creamy coloured sheer organza (used by florists for wrapping bouquets) and a single stem of wild Columbine.

Texture Tuesday - 13 May 2014

Not long to go now.....Be Still 52 starts tomorrow.  Today for Texture Tuesday the theme was Yellow.  I had thought of arranging some yellow leaves I have in the garden, but this bunch of roses was only £2 in the local Aldi this morning, so who could resist them.

Our house is 101 years old and these floor boards are in a bedroom I'm decorating, so thought I'd make use of them before they are covered by carpet.  It would be too drafty to keep them uncovered, but think I shall have to replicate them somehow, although don't think the other half would be impressed if I asked him to take these up and replace with new!  But at the speed I'm going, they wont be seeing carpet for some time.

Anyways, my image......I had a tweak in Lightroom before moving to Photoshop, where I applied a solid colour fill (hex a4a363) at 100% soft light, followed by kk_simple at 66% soft light and then duplicated that to 17% hard light and lightly removed texture from the roses......sort of following along with Kim, as per the textures, but haven't yet downloaded kk_melancholy preset.  The font is "Bilbo Swash Caps"......I spent a whole evening downloading free fonts.....who would have thought there could be so many.

Texturize - Day 4

There were more techniques to learn on Day 4 and I went through the video lesson, took my photo, and then played through the video again to process my photo.  I used the same hex codes and textures as Kim, but varied the opacity slightly and the angle of the gradient.

Texturize - Day 3

Quite a lot to take in on Day 3, but I've used my own image and roughly followed Kim's adjustments to create the following......

.....I did have to change things slightly, but I did follow each step.  Might have to do this again.....or make a note of the recipe, as along the way it did look a little weird.

Friday Finds - 9 May 2014

This week I was so excited to find these litte butterflies in our local museum, as part of a WW1 exhibit.

They have been cut out of copies of old documents, letters, maps and some were of photographs.  Some were on card, whilst others on paper.  I thought they were absolutely delightful and came away saying I should make some of my own.....but it's that time thing!  These had been made by local school children.

The lighting in the museum was a little challenging.  Bright spots in places and nothing in others.  Then there were things in the background, either brightly coloured or shiny.  I used my 50mm with an ISO of 500, and aperture ranging from f1.4 to f2.8, but still had to fiddle in Lightroom to put some light into these images.  They aren't as sharp as I'd have like, but never mind :)

You can't normally take photos in the museum....signs up every where say you can't.....but the museum opened up after hours, so that a group of us from Bexhill Photographic Club could wander around taking pictures.

The following image is part of the same exhibit as the butterflies and is the "Tree of Tears".

 

Each little bottle represents the tears shed for a solider who didn't return from the fighting.

Texture Tuesday - 6 May 2014

This week the theme was Cuppa.

This morning I had to take my Dad shopping to Tesco....not my favourite store, but, this morning it surprised me.  The mug was in the sale and the Home catalogue was being given away.  I also bought some fruit teabags.

The catalogue is really very lovely to look through.  It's on matt paper with a bit of a chalky feel and some wonderfully inspiring photos.  I might just have to buy some of the items to add to my growing photo props collection :)

I already had the table cloth - inherited at least 20 years ago from I can't remember which relative...shame on me.

To this image I've added Kim's latest textures to us:  kk_0405 at 100% soft light and kk_0605 at 25% multiply with some of the latter texture removed from the centre.

Friday Finds - 2 May 2014

I have 2 lovely little finds this week.  The first is a flower made from a piece of hazel and the second a little hand-made bowl.  I would think both had been made with love.

I watched the chap who made the flower, make others by peeling a stem of hazel on a very sharp blade.  They start off as a natural creamy wood colour, but he had a bucket full of ones that had been dyed.  I bought 5 of different colours, and they will most probably figure in future photos.  The little bowl was for sale on a craft stall along with a few others....think I got there a bit late in the day as there weren't many left.....but I just loved the purple colour of this one.  It's very light and delicate.

To this image I've applied kk_word at 40% soft light and kk_2Bsafe at 80% multiply.  The font is Pea Step.