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Showing posts from August, 2010

Ruby Tuesday: Carousel

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I'm strongly attracted to carousels : the tinny music,  the lights flashing in the mirrors, the rotation (do they all go counterclockwise?). I love to see the children make a beeline for their favorites, only to change their minds. And of course, I love the imaginative carousel animals. For more Ruby Tuesday, click HERE . 

Mosaic Monday: Zoo Day

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There's a zoo at Pt. Defiance in Tacoma. The zoo has a pair of baby Siberian Tiger cubs. A few days ago, I went to the zoo without children in tow for the first time since I was a teenager. It was just me and my friend Adrienne and our cameras. On a photo field trip. Zoos are fun when no one's whining.     p.s. To see the tigers, click HERE . For MOSAIC MONDAY participants, click HERE .

Sepia Saturday: The Nez Perce

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My grandfather, whose childhood years were spent in Wallowa County, Oregon, recalled that when he was a child, he used to see members of the Nez Percé tribe in the area, their summer hunting grounds. You may or may not know that the Nez Percé   had been granted reservation lands in 1855  by the Washington Territory's  territorial governor, Isaac Stevens.  The land reserved for the tribe encompassed  their traditional hunting lands,  including the Wallowa Valley.  But as settlement by whites continued and gold was found,  the incentive to honor that treaty diminished. The Nez Percé were offered a much smaller reservation centered around Lapwai, Idaho with schools,  a hospital and financial rewards.  In exchange, they had to cede their hunting lands.  Some of the tribal chiefs agreed,  but Chief Joseph (1840 - 1904) refused.  Unable come to an agreement with the U.S. government,  the non-treaty bands were threatened with forcible removal  if they did not voluntarily reloca

Favorite Photo Friday: Joy

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Every once in a while, I get lucky with my camera. This little girl was the epitome of joy. Image details Nikon D5000 camera, with an 18 -200 mm lens 200 ISO Aperture f6.3 Shutter Speed 1/100 lens length 130 mm shot in RAW. Post processing: put in a little fill light because it was a tiny bit underexposed. In Photoshop, used a watercolor filter, then lightened it a bit using the Exposure sliders on the Image menu. Open it in Camera Bag and used the Colorcross option to make the colors a bit more old-fashioned and soft. Then gave it a bit more "glow" by opening it in Picasa. choosing the EFFECTS option, then the Tint menu and colorizing it with a hint of very pale gold. Please play along by finding a favorite photo in your collection, checking the photo specs to find out your settings and tell what you might have done in post-processing. This meme is about learning and it would be even better if more people got on the bandwagon. Click HERE to parti

Lens Day: Softness

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When I think of softness, I think of the spot reserved in my heart for little ones. Like Logan. And Serenity.  And Jonna.

Theme Thursday: Creativity

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The Theme Thursday for this week is CREATIVITY. This piece is an original altered digital image. It's called "No Butts About It." I used to do a lot of these to frame and sell, but I've been concentrating more on "pure" photography lately. This reminds me of how fun it can be to experiment.

Ruby Tuesday: Irresistable

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Every time I see this guy, I just can't resist joining him in a smile.

Mosaic Monday: Amalfi Coast

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It's always good to fall in love. Amalfi Coast, Italy. So picturesque. Such winding roads. Such pricey real estate. For more MOSAIC MONDAY click on the icon  on the right.

Sepia Saturday: My Grandmother's Life and Times

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I often think of them, my paternal grandparents. Especially my grandmother and her life and times. Loren Lloyd Arnett and Mafie Marie Arnett nee Rosencrans She was born in 1899 in Iowa, on the cusp of a new century. During her  early childhood, Orville and Wilbur Wright made history in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  She was a young woman at the time of the first World War.  By that time, she had moved from Iowa to Snohomish County, Washington, then on to the Portland Area. From there, she lived for a time in Puyallup, Washington with an older married sibling, and in her early 20s took a position as a nanny for the minister's family of the Christian Church in Wenatchee, Washington.  There she met and married Lloyd.  As a young mother, she and her husband weathered the Depression while rearing three children, a son and two daughters. All three of those children attended college and my father earned a graduate degree and has been granted at least one honorary degree. My grandf

Favorite Photo Friday: From Here to Mandala

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I thought that I'd show you the process behind my mandala "photos." First, you start with a regular shot. This one happens to be a close-up of one tiny piece of a very large installation of glass by artist Dale Chihuly. Here are the details on this shot: I used my Nikon D200 with the 18 - 200 mm lens. ISO set at 400.    f/stop was 6.3    Shutter speed  1/160 second Focal length was 170 mm 255 mm if compared to 35 mm I used the center weighted average  metering mode (in camera) The flash was disabled. I didn't alter the shot in Photoshop. The image above is right out of the camera. BUT THEN I couldn't help myself. I just had to play. 1. first I opened the original photo   in Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 (haven't upgraded to the new version). 2. Using one of the drop-down menus, I created a kaleidoscope effect. There are all sorts of creative choices in this menu and I manipulate them while seeing the effect on screen, so I can't tell

Lens Day Wednesday: Inspiration

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For more Lens Day Wednesday, click the icon on my sidebar.

Ruby Tuesday: Red Parasol

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Despite everything, I still believe in the power of love.

Mosaic Monday: The Place I Call Home

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This is the little town I call home. I may be biased,  but I think it's beyond beautiful. My favorite walking route is from the north end of the Harbor to the 3-way stop  right in the middle  of the little shopping district. I can always grab a chai before I start back when it's cold outside, or get a cold drink on days like today. But winter or summer, the views always take my breath away.

Sepia Saturday: Baseball Cards

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Well, these really aren't sepia, they're soft faded colors of times gone by. Baseball cards. Cy Young. Whose real name, I learned, is Denton Young. Famous pitcher from the early 1900's, major league baseball. An award carrying his name is still coveted by major league pitchers a hundred years later.  I can imagine that he appreciated receiving the "receipts of the game" but how keen was a baseball pitcher on silverware and floral designs? Images courtesy of the Library of Congress Photo Collection. Who doesn't wish they had pristine originals?

Thursday Challenge: Beverage

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The Thursday Photo Challenge this week is BEVERAGE. Oh my, shall I use beer bottles or frou-frou coffee drinks? And then there's always You choose. I kind of like the blue-rimmed glass.