Thanksgiving….

Q: If April showers bring May flowers what do Mayflowers bring?
A: Pilgrims!

Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?
A: It was the chicken’s day off.
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Q: Why do turkeys always go, “gobble, gobble”?

A: Because they never learned good table manners!

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Sorry about the silly attempt at Thanksgiving humor.  My wishes for a happy, festive, and blessed  Thanksgiving are sincere, however.

My posts and blog visits will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks.  I’ll check in as I have time and opportunity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friendship

“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.” ~Aristotle

Texture credit: Flickr user Jaiel

Any Excuse I Can Get

The phone rang and my daughter-in-law said she needed a “Granny Nurse.”  It seems my younger grandson had a 103 temp and he wasn’t acting like himself.

I quickly grabbed my overnight bag and headed to the “rescue.”

Whatever it was, it quickly passed and I had two days of FUN with “B.”  We played cars, sang, read….well, you know how it is.  And, of course, took photos!

This one is my newest favorite!  Enjoy!

Fall Is Almost Over

Simply sharing the last few glimpses of the beauty of Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky in the fall…..

No Limits

“The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.” ~Paul Strand

Edit:  Repost of image.  Second try! 

I’ve Been Tagged!

Susanne, of Sue’s Daily Photography, tagged me! I’m a little new to the “tagging” game and am a little unsure of how to respond.

The rules, as “lifted” from her blog, are as follows:

“Let’s play:
The rules in this game are: You get tagged and you will tag (5) others – it’s that easy! Or maybe not that easy….O.k. then… the exact rules of this meme are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 (or more) random things about yourself.
4. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

But in between you also have to write something about yourself, something most people think, they don’t know about you. If you don’t want to expose your darkest sides – show only the sunny side of you, maybe they ever find out the other stuff.”

OK, being a good sport, here goes –

1. Link to the person who tagged you. That one is easy! Sue’s Daily Photography

2. Post the rules on your blog. Check. Did that.

3. Write 6 (or more) random things about yourself. Oh dear. Now it’s starting to get a little more challenging. I’ll try.

• Retired. Hmmm. I think you probably already knew that. If you read “About Sue Henry” I’ve shared the basic information about me. Music Educator. Professional Accompanist. Organist. Choral director. Handbell director. Following retirement from teaching, I worked with a couple of non-profits, to include serving as Assistant Director of The Salvation Army Youth Center and serving as Executive Director of The American Red Cross, Paducah Area Chapter.
• Family. Married. One married son. Two grandsons (with a granddaughter due the first of December.) Through reading my blog, you’ve seen photos of the grandsons and you know that I devote a lot of time to my elderly father.
• Passionate. When I do something, I become passionate and nearly obsessed about that activity. It consumes my life. Type “A” personality perhaps?
• Photography. Upon retirement, I decided that I wanted to take watercolor classes, but alas, no classes were available at the time in our area. So, I bought a camera instead. The rest is history. (Remember the passionate comment?)
• Future. We have plans to move closer to our son. We thought we would be moving literally within a week or so, but the downturn in the economy has affected our plans. (We have buyers for our condo, but the buyers of our condo can’t close until the buyers of their home closes……..well, you get the idea.)
• Blessed. I consider myself very blessed with family, friends, and health. Also, I am blessed with time — time to read, explore, learn, and discover all that I choose, especially relating to the beautiful world that surrounds us. I love to continue to learn.
• Favorite Place. Outdoors, surrounded by the beauty of nature. OR….in my office with my computer. Or….anyplace my grandchildren are!

4. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and link to them. Now this little game is getting really tricky. Some of my blog readers have already been tagged by others – I’ve read about them on their blogs. Other readers of my blog are really, really busy with work and family and responding to the tagging game does take some time. Some of you I don’t know well enough to know if you would be willing to join in the game! So, here are some of the folks I would really, really like to learn more about. Maybe, just maybe, they will volunteer to accept a tag and join in this little game. (I won’t make a formal invitation…..just a little tug on your shirttail.)

• Toma Moisii — I love the quote this young photographer has on his home page. “If you try you may fail. If you don’t try you’re guaranteed to fail.” (You know how I am with quotes!) I wish I could remember where he lives — Poland, I think. Tom, would you like to join this game and help us learn more about you?
• Collin Butterworth — Col is from Australia and has some wonderful, wonderful landscape images. Wouldn’t it be fun to have Col join this game so we can learn more about his life “down under!” Let me know if you accept the game!
• Brian Walter — Now talk about interesting work. Brian’s blog is a wonderful combination of prose and photography. Brian, now that you’re back from your “vacation” you should have some interesting things to share in the game. Wanna play?
• Julie Lawson – I’ll bet Julie will be the first to accept the “invitation” to play the game. She’s fun loving; lots of stories to tell, I’ll bet! Her portrait photography business is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s exciting to read of her progress. I’m so happy for her!
• Heather McCullah — When I think of “glam,” I think of Heather. Do they just make people “prettier” in sunny California? You’ll see what I mean when you visit her blog. Heather’s another good sport that I think will join in the game with us. (edit: AND….when you visit Heather’s blog, make sure you check out her FIRST FREE GIVE AWAY! How cool is that! This is the start of something good, I can tell.)

5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. Here’s where I’m going to take a few liberties with the rules. The five people I’ve listed are regular blog readers of mine. I also visit their blogs regularly and frequently comment on their work. I’m choosing to operate on the honor system — If they choose to play, they’ll play. They don’t need me to bug them to play! And, if any of my other regular readers want to jump in and play the game…..go for it. I’d be happy to “tag” you too!

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up. Hey Susanne! My blog entry is posted!

Alrighty then…..that was fun!

Tag. You’re it!

Art

“Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.”  ~Amy Lowell

Goals

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.”
~Elbert Hubbard

Sunday Afternoon Drive

Ironically, rural America has become viewed by a growing number of Americans as having a higher quality of life not because of what it has, but rather because of what it does not have!  ~Don A. Dillman

God made the country, and man made the town.  ~William Cowper, The Task

Adding a Little “LOVE”

Susanne, a regular blog reader and fellow photographer, asked for information on how to apply textures to photos. I am MOST happy to share because I learned from Heather, of One Shot Beyond Photography, and Jen, of Jen Rinaldi Photography, who were kind enough to share with me!

When I add texture to images, I feel like I am adding a little “LOVE.” BAM! Adding texture frequently will give a piece a unique flavor or personality; personality that sets an image apart from the expected. And, being honest, sometimes texture will save a “ho hum” image by adding new life. I will, however, be quick to add that texture use is NOT for every piece.

As is the case with most art, opinions can vary greatly regarding the use of texture — some in favor, others strongly opposed. However, I find opinions can vary regarding use of Photoshop editing, certain processing techniques, choice of depth of field, film or digital, Canon or Nikon…..well, you get the idea. Ultimately, the artist must make the decision for the presentation of an image.

A little before and after example:

BAM! A little “LOVE” added……

Visit here for more examples of pieces to which I’ve added texture during the creative process. And, please visit Heather and Jen’s blogs for examples of texture added to portraits. Just look for their texture categories and you will see TONS of examples filled with great work!

Directions for using textures may be found here. (Easy! If I can learn, anyone can learn!)

Free textures are EVERYWHERE — flickr, Texture King, etc. Simply do a Google search for free textures for photos and you will find more than you need!

The most difficult part of this texture ‘thing’ is making up one’s mind regarding which texture to use on which image. Usually I know rather quickly what works and what doesn’t. However, sometimes I spend a lot of time on an image — only to scrap it in the end because I’m not satisfied.

Also, I compare applying texture to watercolors. If you have ever painted with watercolors you know how quickly the colors can get “muddied.” The same is true with applying texture. Often, less is more.

Another challenge with adding textures is remembering your resources for the free textures to insure proper credit being given to the person creating the original texture layer. I attempt to keep textures sorted in folders with the artists’ names for reference and I try to properly credit my resources.

It’s fun to shoot your own textures! One day I shot the kitchen floor tile, a multicolored candle, the clouds in the sky, the concrete driveway, the pebble patio….you get the idea! The cemetery is a wonderful place to shoot textures. You can look for crumbled brick, weathered stone, moss, tree bark……….

So, add a little “LOVE” to your photos! I can’t wait to see your creations.

Texture credit: Flickr users ArtByChrysti, Liek