Dazed and Confused

This week has been a bit of a blur.  We have cleaned up most of the trees and big leaf debris that came down on our property from Hurricane Irene, now there are just piles of things everywhere.  And my sister, brother, and brother in law have cleaned up the trees down at my parents.  It's been a daunting job and there is still more to do, like removing the other half of our big dead tree.  But after driving around our county and seeing the utter devastation to people's homes and property, our tree can wait so that the tree folks can get to the people who really need their help.  Besides, the dogs are liking the obstacle course of huge branches which still litter our backyard.

Besides work stuff, I have also been going a little nutty trying to decide what to do on our upcoming trip to Germany.  I'm not a big planner when it comea to travel, often not even knowing where we will stay or go until we get somewhere, but I would at least like to have some idea so that we can make the most of our trip.

We will spend 4 days in Heidelberg, Germany where Mr. Tide has some training, but the last 4 days will be ours to do with however we like.  I would love to venture south into northern France in the Alsace region, but trying to decide where exactly to go has become a bit overwhelming.  The wonderful thing about Europe is that there is so much, so close by, that you can literally lose your mind trying to figure out where to go!  We could go to Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, or stay right in Germany!  I've been looking at the TGV train routes and the world is our oyster, which is both good and bad!  I finally sent Mr. Tide an email this morning telling him my head is spinning and I just might wait until we get there and can talk to the locals to decide where to go.

That's exactly what my daughter and I did a few years ago on a trip to England, and we got to see some of the most beautiful and out of the way places that way.  France appeals to me because we loved our time in the south of France and Paris a few years ago, and I would love a taste of that magical french bread again!  Mr. Tide suggested taking the train back to Paris, which is less than a 4 hour trip.  But I am torn, I know you can never visit Paris too many times, but we've been there, and the thought of going someplace else is weighing on me and sparking my sense of adventure and discovery.

I also looked in to going to Strasbourg, France, which looks amazing, like it fell out of a medieval fairytale book!  But it also looks a bit touristy, which isn't really our style...sigh, so many choices!  A few friends have also made suggestions...thank you Traci, but I am still dazed and confused about where to go.  I know, poor pitiful me right?!

And to top it all off, the budget this month is shot because of college tuition for our son, books, meal plans, and now tree removal!  But I still plan to enjoy myself while I'm over there.

So I will leave the comments open for this post in hopes that one of you, any of you, can tell me where to go...including hell if you like!

I am slowly working through my emails, I have hundreds to return, but made it through about 30 yesterday, so by the end of the year I should be caught up! ;-) 

Sunday Sanctuary

With Spring just around the corner for some of us, I think the thought of flowers is on everyone's minds.  I've visited several blogs this weekend where talk of flowers and gardens was top on their list.  Brenda from Cozy Little House posted about a beautiful bouquet of flowers she picked up to help boost her spirits while she waits for her own garden to be in bloom.

When I read Brenda's post, I could relate.  After having been sick with the flu this past week, which was the weirdest flu virus I've ever had by the way, I ventured out yesterday and ran errands.  The usual suspects...the grocery store, the post office, the pet store, etc., and while I was at the grocery store I picked up some flowers.  I was going to be a good girl and walk right past the flowers to help save money, but Mr. Tide was with me and he insisted...who was I to argue?!

They actually had a lovely assortment to choose from, and I was really torn between buying an orchid, which I knew would last a while, or picking up some cut flowers that I knew would only be around for a week or so.  In the end price won out, and I grabbed a small bunch of Dutch Iris.  I love iris, they are so delicate and have an Asian feel to them, and at only $4.50 I thought they were very reasonable.  They are also a nice departure from the tulips and roses I have purchased recently.

When I purchased them, they were all furled up and barely showing much color.  I cut the stems and arranged them in a cream colored vase and set them on my bucket bench where I can enjoy them while I'm working or surfing the net.  This morning when I woke up bright and early, the iris had also begun to open and come out of a deep sleep.

I grabbed my camera and began snapping away.  I think it's my way of preserving them well beyond their life span.  Then I played around with actions and textures, and I was so busy that I don't even remember what I used on these.  I know I used a few Flora Bella actions and textures plus a few Kim Klassen Textures, but I honestly was so in to what I was doing that I forgot to write them down.  I love how these turned out, they are all the same flowers, but by playing around in PS Elements you can completely change the look from photo to photo, my favorites are the 2nd picture from the top and then the one above.

I hope each of you had a good weekend and that you are enjoying a bit of rest and personal sanctuary if it's still Sunday where you live.  I also had a visitor show up on my doorstep on Friday...a roaming Gnome who has been quite the house guest.  I'll be posting about his adventures in the near future so stay tuned!

Spread the Love... (oops sorry I forgot to add this before)


Isabella and Max Rooms

Relatively Unique

In The Country

Texturize Me

(Kim Klassen Create Edges Texture)

This past weekend, when I should have been vacuuming and dusting, I was busy doing fun things instead.  We took little Misty Belle out to a local boardwalk and her favorite pet store to get some treats.  We wanted to make sure she is getting continued socialization, which isn't easy to do during the cold winter months!  There were a few other brave souls roaming the boardwalk who ooh'd and ahh'd over her and we even saw another darling puppy, a boxer and I thought of Di, The Blue Ridge Gal and her sweet boy Rowdy.

(Kim Klassen Coffee Tea or Me Texture)

On Saturday I opened an email from Kim Klassen that had links to 2 free textures.  Mr. Tide had taken the dogs out very early on Saturday morning, so when I showed him the new textures he said he had taken some pictures at sunrise if I wanted to try and add a texture to them.  Of course, when given the choice between cleaning or playing around in Photoshop, y'all know which one will win every time!!!

(Florabella Worn Linen Texture Warm)

Here's another one of Mr. Tide's sunrise photos overlooking our icy creek.  I applied a Florabella action called Worn Linen, which gives the photo a nice canvas texture. 

It seems that everyone has been in a bit of a texture mode these days in blogland.  If you pop over to the beautiful blog Dear Lillie, you'll see some gorgeous shots using textures, not to mention a slipcovered ottoman that I covet!!!

 (Old Paper Lizzie_Anne)

Kate was also feeling the texture love this weekend and created some beautiful photos of her own, using free textures she found on Flickr.  I did a bit of hunting around on Flickr too, and found this gorgeous Old Paper Texture for free and applied it to my pear photo.

 (Postcard 3 Sophie G*)

I love the beautiful french script from Sophie G*'s Postcard 3 texture which I found thanks to Kate.  And the best part is most of these lovely textures are available for free and with limited restrictions on personal or commercial use.  You should always check the terms of use when creating things using someone else's textures though, as there can be restrictions on how you can use them or if you can use them on things you intend to sell, such as prints or note cards.

(Kat W. Vintage Lace)

Some of you have asked what a texture is, and in actuality the answer is really quite simple, they are jpeg photos.  These jpeg photos can then be applied as a layer to your existing photo giving it a whole new look and feel.  They can be created through the use of photo editing programs from scratch or you can simply create one by taking a photograph or scanning something like a piece of fabric or an old postcard and turning it into a jpeg.  The possibilities are really limitless when it comes to creating textures, the sky's the limit!

I decided to play around with creating some of my own, because once you create the jpeg you can then apply it to your photos and play around with the lighting, color burn, etc. to make it just the way you want it.  In the photo above I scanned an old lace handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother and created two different textures using the same photo, one with a very cool color cast, and one with warmer tones.  You can download them both for free and use them however you want by clicking HERE.

 (Kat W. Vintage Lace Cool and Kim Klassen Random Inspiration)

You can also apply more than one texture to a photo in order to create something really special if you want.  Above I used my Vintage Lace Cool Texture with Kim Klassen's Random Inspiration's Texture, in order to create an almost watercolor like effect.  I love this one!

(Kat W. Vintage Lace and Sophie G* Postcard 2)

On this last photo I again used the Vintage Lace Texture I created along with the same beautiful Postcard 2 texture that Kate had used on her photo, which you can see by clicking here.

I love that people create and share their textures, whether they are free or for a small fee, because they really do change the whole look and feel of any photograph.  I also hope that some of you will try downloading  these various textures and play around with this yourself to create whatever your heart desires!

One last thing.  Over the weekend I received  Stylish Blogger Award from the very talented Cathy at Stitchfork Designs.  If you've never popped by her blog, be sure to stop by because Cathy does beautiful monogram and embroidery work!!!

With this award I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then pass it along to 10 other bloggers I admire, but you all know there are WAY more than 10 bloggers I admire.  So if you want to play along, please consider this an open invitation to do so...I'm sending this award out to all of you talented bloggers out there in blogland!  All you have to do is create a post telling us 7 things about yourself.  Of course if you're one of those organized people who can narrow it down to 10 other bloggers, be sure to create links to their blogs and then let them know you've sent them the award.

So here are 7 Things you may, or may not know about me.

1.  I often blog or write stories while in my PJs or sweats...it helps get the creative juices flowing!

2.  I was voted class clown by my high school's graduating class.

3.  I was a political science major in college and planned to go to law school after graduation.  During my summers I worked for lawyers and realized that the really successful attorneys had nice homes, boats, and cars, but were rarely ever home to enjoy those things or their families.

4.  Even though I studied politics in college, I hate discussing politics with anyone other than my immediate family.

5.  Throughout my life I've had more male friends than female.  I could talk cars, I played sports, and I hung out mostly with guys...and still do.

6.  If I could have a superhero talent it would be the ability to fly...wouldn't that be so cool?

7.  If I won the lottery I would give to various charities, I would pay off my house, put some in a trust for my children, and use the rest to travel all over the world.   I would not use it to build a big huge house or buy an expensive car.

Happy Monday my friends!

The Eyes Have It

For my last post I'm sure many of you wondered just how much Photoshopping I did to make me comfortable posting my picture.  It's true there was some shopping of the photo, and I'll explain with this picture exactly what I did with the other one.  I would show you the before of the other one, but I didn't bother to save the original file.

The photo above was taken in my guest bathroom at 11:30 PM last night...or there abouts, let's just say it was late and I should have been in bed.  It was the only mirror in my house that had decent lighting, and bathroom lighting is also normally flattering...which for me is a good place to start.

The photo is straight out of camera or SOOC, and it's slightly overexposed so everything appears a little washed out.  My eyes are a very light brown, and the later it gets in the day, the more golden they appear but...

Here is the Photoshopped picture, and here's what I did to it.  Bear in mind that these are the same actions/textures I used on the photo in my last post.

First I used Pioneer Womans "bring out the eyes" action which highlights and brightens the color of your eyes.  It really makes my eye become a focal point and brings out the gold tones.  I didn't use anything else on the eye except that action and I lowered the action's opacity to 70%  (I did not lower the opacity in the photo from my last post because it wasn't as alien looking as this picture).

Second, I used Flora Bella's Dreaminess overlay.  I used soft light and increased the opacity slightly to give me a more even skin tone and to soften fine lines (trust me I do have fines lines and wrinkles!).  And I used color burn, which darkens and enriches colors.  I also increased the opacity on the color burn to get my hair color and fleece color to more closely resemble their actual colors in real life.

So there you have it!  Photoshop can do so many things, but I never want my photos to be too far from the truth, just a nicer version of it.  But I also didn't want people to think that I had altered my photos so much that they didn't even resemble me.  Soft light and dreaminess are my friends, but you should still be able to tell it's me in the end.

The lovely Lindsey from Better After posted this great post (click HERE to read it) on how celebrities use Photoshop to get that perfect photo.  Although I wouldn't mind looking years younger (we can't all live in our bathrooms all day!) and pounds thinner, I think I'll stick with just using the simple actions and textures that will maybe make me willing to post my picture every now and then...or as I like to call it...once in a blue moon!

My New Addiction

Remember a few posts back when I said something about not knowing if I would like using actions and textures...umm well I had a nice breakfast this morning as I ate those words!  It's only been a week since I've been using actions and textures and I'm completely addicted!

It's not that I don't like the photos I take straight out of the camera (or in photography lingo SOOC), it's just that actions and textures can enhance a photo and take it to a whole new level.

Take the photo above for example.  SOOC it was great, good color, nice contrast and I focused the image on the tiny patch of fog through the trees in the field beyond the woods.  Then I applied Pioneer Woman's free action called Boost (lowering the opacity by quite a bit) and then used another one of her actions called Soft Faded just to make it a little more ethereal.  Finally I used Edge Burn and again, lowered it considerably to help darken the edges and draw the eye toward the center of the photo even more.

If I had tried to do this by myself, and with my limited PS knowledge it would have taken awhile.  I would have figured it out eventually, but let's just say that this is WAY faster and much easier!

Actions can make life for people like me who haven't studied photography, or taken a class in how to use Photo Shop, so much nicer.  So to the people or peoples who thought these things up...Thank You!...you're a genius and if you're ever in my neck of the woods I'll make you dinner, take your picture, and make you look fabulous! ;-)

This photo looks almost exactly like the SOOC version, except the lowered Boost action gave it just a hint more light, and the Soft Faded action made it a tiny bit softer.  It was foggy here this morning, so even the SOOC shots had a soft feel to them, but I liked how Soft Faded accentuated that quality in the photo above.

Now, I'm no expert on any of this, I've been feeling my way around in the dark and just trying whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

The photo of my vinca above benefited from Flora Bella's Vintage Summer action and a Flora Bella Texture...I forgot to write down what it was called...but it began with an "A"!

The picture above is such a great example of how actions and textures can take a photo and give it almost any look you want.  This is SOOC.  The sun was hitting my front yard so that hardly any color showed up in this photo, something I didn't really notice while I was taking the shot, because the camera sometimes sees things I don't...smart camera, since I love this picture!  I love the way the lack of color really gives you a sense of what it was like here this morning...misty and foggy.

But look at it here after applying the Vintage Summer action and a texture with color burn...be still my heart!  

So, see what a decent night's sleep, some wonderful actions and textures, plus getting a new puppy can do for you?!  

For those of you who already have textures or plan to get them, here is a nifty free little tool Mr. Tide found that makes applying a texture SO much easier.  It's a texture applicator action...I'm telling you, these people are geniuses, well that and Mr. Tide was tired of me buying things I didn't know how to use...hehe!

Until next time my friends.

Brownies and Ice Cream

Ever since I started taking pictures earlier this year I have completely fallen in love with photography!  I think it's funny that it took me until my mid 40's to find something besides my family and pets to be so passionate about.  Better late than never I suppose!

In all honesty, I don't think I could have been a photographer prior to the digital age.  I would have been too impatient to see the results, and too frustrated that I had destroyed a whole role of film by using the wrong settings.  The beauty of using digital is that you can take lots of pictures for free and play around with the manual settings as much as you like until you learn what works and what doesn't.   Plus you get almost instant feedback on what works and what doesn't...I love that!

My hat is off to the Ansel Adams of the world who could do this long before digital cameras existed!

 (check out the view in the viewfinder on this one, it was completely accidental)

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, then you know that we've begun the painstaking process of selling my childhood home. 

My mother was an only child so she inherited a large amount of "stuff" over the years, plus my parents acquired even more stuff in their 50+ years of marriage.


 

Lucky for me, one of the things they had never thrown out were old cameras.  When we went through the attic there were several old cameras that called to me.  None of them are particularly valuable, and thankfully no one else wanted them, but because of my new found love, I just had to have them!

Sarah, from the wonderful blog A Beach Cottage, has a passion for vintage, well loved cameras too, and had done several posts on using her new camera to shoot through the lens of these old beauties.

I had Mr. Tide hold this old Kodak camera as I shot a picture of the brightly colored maple tree in our yard.  I love how the scene becomes reversed or upside down sometimes in these old viewfinders!

I have no idea who these belonged to, except for the Argus, which was my parent's camera.

But I love imagining where these cameras have been and what wonderful bits of history they recorded for someone in my family.  Just think if they could talk...I wonder what tales they would tell of  war, or foreign lands, and family gatherings?

Shooting through the viewfinder on the Brownie I captured this pint of Breyer's Ice Cream...you can't have a brownie without ice cream right?!  Is a pint really a good size for ice cream?   I think not!

Here is the Argus.  I'm pretty sure this one produced a few embarrassing photos of myself when I was very little!

My father was the official family photographer.  He had a wonderful knack for snapping photos of you looking like a puffer fish as you blew out the candles on your birthday cake each year. 

My mother was particularly fond of the photos he took after she had stayed up all night being Santa, or the Easter Bunny.  There all 4 of us kids were lined up looking bright, happy, and perfectly dressed, while my mother was still in her nightgown, or a slip waiting to finally get herself pulled together for the day!

Although I know photography would not have been for me when film was your only option, I still love the way these cameras look and feel.  All the fancy dials and knobs must have been the height of technology in their day.

And on the old ones, I love the simplicity of it all.  How wonderful and exciting it must have been when cameras became available and easy to use for the general public.

The Argus was the most difficult to shoot through the lens with my own camera.  See that tiny speck in the middle of the photo of our table and umbrella?

Even though the photo isn't great, I still love the way that tiny spot of table looks...so 50's/60's with the colors and the haziness.  All those things we now try and recapture with our fancy textures and actions!  Our grandparents and great grandparents would get a kick out of that I'm sure!

And here is that same scene just shot with my Canon Rebel.  Amazing how far we've come isn't it?!  My great grandfather on my mother's side was a professional photographer, and actually met my great grandmother when he came to take her picture.  Maybe that's where my love of photography stems from...

And to answer Jo's question about how I downloaded and installed all of my new actions onto PS Elements 9, I simply followed the step by step instructions that came with my Flora Bella textures and Actions.  They came as part of the download so you have to open them up and read the file.

For the Pioneer Woman actions, I simply clicked on the actions on her download page (HERE), and then followed the link to the Texas Chicks website where they give you step by step instructions on how to install them, click HERE to read those instructions.   

NOTE:  

The Flora Bella Actions installation differs from the instructions for installing Pioneer Woman's actions, and be sure to "unzip" the files after you download them.

I use a PC so the install for a Mac will differ as well.  And there is also an updated version for installing PW Actions which I've linked HERE.

I hope you each have a happy Wednesday!

Simple Kindness

Thank you everyone for your kind words and insightful comments about my last post.  When I took the photos of our farm I thought I would do a little post about childhood memories, but sometimes my typing fingers have a mind of their own.  And after I hit the send button I often think...did I really just do that, put that out there for everyone to read?  Yet each time you all raise me up with your unending support and kindness...which is so greatly appreciated.

I do know that over the last few years others have shared their stories with me, sometimes just out of the clear blue, like they were sent there to help me understand things I wouldn't have otherwise.  I once met a couple at a small Italian restaurant in Brighton, England and out of the clear blue the woman began the tale of how her son and she hadn't spoken for a long time and how deeply hurt she was...he was her only child.  Her story helped me at a time when I was so very hurt myself, and her tale was a gift in a way.

So maybe by bearing my soul, sounding crazy, and sharing something so very personal it will help someone out there who is struggling as well.  And your emails and comments let me know that we all have struggles, but we all make it through...through the triumph of our spirit.

On Monday I spent the day having lunch with an old friend, and then we went back to her house to see her two new Rottweiler puppies...can you say adorable?!!  Oh my, I will take some pictures to share with you, if I could sway Mr. Tide to my camp I would have another puppy tomorrow...hmm something to put on my "to do" list...convince Mr. Tide that 3 dogs are better than 2!

I don't tend to dwell on things. It's one of life's important lessons, and one I've embraced wholeheartedly.   So today is a new day, there are new things to see, new places to visit, new ideas to bring to fruition! 

And lots more textures and actions to apply!  Flora Bella...I think I love you! ;-)  Have a wonderful day everyone!

Unplugged, Watermarking and A Winner

Thanks everyone for all of the lovely comments you left about the house I posted yesterday, it truly is a very special house!

This weekend, I plan to be unplugged, no blogging or computers, and just enjoy some beautiful fall weather and get some things done around here.  I've been so busy working on stories that I haven't had time to come up for air lately so I need a break.  But I promise I'll be back and I will reply to the great comments you left, at least those that will allow me to...sadly for some of you I still get the dreaded no-reply thing when I try and email you back so I have no way to respond.. :-(

I was recently asked to explain how I watermark my photos.  I use Photoshop Elements 9 currently but have used PS Elements 8, and PS Elements 2 (yes I was a little behind the times) prior to that.  In each of them you are able to click on "File" then click "Process Multiple Files" and a screen will come up that will allow you to pick a font, the opacity of that font, the size, what color you want it to be, and where on the photo you want it to appear.  There will also be a blank box on the right side which will allow you to type in what you want your watermark to say...ie. mine is Low Tide High Style.

I import fonts by downloading them from free sites such as 1001 Free Fonts, and several other sites.  If you do a Google search, you will find lots of free fonts on the web to use.  Once you download them and install them, they will automatically appear in Photoshop Elements (PSE) the next time you start it up.  If you download them while the program is running you will have to shut down PSE before they will show up in your fonts list.  

Because PSE lists the fonts alphabetically, it's good to try and remember the names of the fonts you've downloaded so that you can easily find them when you want them.  There are other ways to create really cool watermarks, or place them in different areas on a photo, but I'm still learning that technique...so I'll have to get back to you that one, maybe in a few years! ;-)

I was pretty proud of myself today though.  I actually learned how to download and install a few free actions from The Pioneer Woman's site!

Actions are things that allow you to do lots of photo editing techniques in one fell swoop.  Like sharpen, soften, boost color, you name it.  There are plenty of actions on the web, some are free and some cost money.  The two sets from The Pioneer Woman were free, so I thought what the heck!

I have to say that I'm an old dog who doesn't really like new tricks sometimes, so I'm not sure if I love this idea or if I will actually use them a lot.

The first photo of the old pier piling has several actions applied to soften it and to give it that vintage 70's feel.  I think it turned out nicely, so maybe I would use it on certain types of photos.

The water photos above show the differences between a photo with nothing applied and one which uses actions.  The top one is straight out of the camera at dusk, the one below of almost the same thing, just a little tighter shot also has several actions applied.  I used Boost, Slight Sharp, and Edge Burn.  I also like the way this one turned out.

I think I will need a lot more practice using actions, and maybe I'll even go crazy and try a few textures just for fun.  I know lots of other bloggers use these tools with great success.  Kate from Chronicles of a Country Girl always wows me with the photos she applies actions and textures to, so there is hope for me!  And Maria from Dreamy Whites showed us how beautiful her photos can be with Flora Bella Actions today on her blog...click here to see more.

For me the jury is still out.  I will have to see if I like actions or if I just enjoy tweaking each and every photo I take on my own.  Sometimes I'm weird like that!

And now on to the winner of the wonderful towel Giveaway from Lyla at Old Spool Embroidery!

It was lucky #124, Carolyn from Fab Shabby Roses!  Congrats Carolyn, just drop me a line and send me your mailing address and I'll pop them in the mail to you!

I hope each of you have a wonderful weekend and find your own way to unwind and unplug for a few days!