Vintage Findings

Another Beautiful Day ~

I can't think of anything better than Springtime. That, combined with Lensbaby :-)

"One can get just as much exultation on losing oneself in a little thing as in a big thing. It is nice to think how one can be recklessly lost in a daisy." 

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

. . . or in a tiny geranium

Best Weekend To You.

~Karen

Spring is Here ~

Spring is here in all it's glory.  Flowers are poking up and spreading out, but so are the weeds.

These calendula/pot marigolds come up every year, sometimes in unexpected places. But their warm colors are most welcome.  The same for the camomile, it self sows readily.

I'm quite fond of putting things in place and keeping everything neat and tidy, so I enjoyed tucking these into the box frames.

William and Jenny have announced their engagement.  I could not be happier for them. Jenny will be headed to law school in August and it seems that William may be leaving for Galveston for that teaching job he has been hoping for. Plans should firm up over the next few weeks.

Until then, a mini celebration | BBQ with Jenny's family and ours this weekend.

Hope your day is full of good news, too.

~K

Fading Fast

The dogwoods are almost finished for the Spring. How I hate to see them go. 

Hand painted background for this dancer. Background doubles nicely as a texture on other work. 

Till next year. . . 

~Karen

Reckless Blooming

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."  

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Sunny day here and I am still spending time in the orchard. I feel as if these fragile blossoms will be gone in moments ~ well in a day or two, anyway.

Lensbaby shot ~ impossible to do on a breezy day! I ended up cutting a few twigs and bringing them indoors to shoot. Lensbaby is hard enough to focus without a breeze moving the subject.

I'm pleased with the results ~ this was done using a macro converter for the Lensbaby.

This next image was taken on Barton Road with Lensbaby without the converter.

I am getting the hang of it, but still only get one good shot out of approximately ten!

Hope you were able to spend some time outdoors today. . . 

~K

The Orchard

We have a very small orchard, but it delights me each year when the blossoms appear. The cherry trees are not blooming yet, nor the apple trees, but the plums trees are just gorgeous right now.

A short slide show, but I was disappointed that the sharpness did not come through in this, so I've posted a couple stills at the bottom.

 

I do hope that spring is on it's way to you, too.

~K

The First Signs of Spring

The first signs of spring are here ~

The cherry plum trees are popping out all over town.  This one is on my street and I liked the bokeh in the background ~ the yellow house.  The lines are from a fence that stands behind the tree.  This is on the way to the mailbox where I walk almost every day.

Hope there are some signs of spring where you are, too.

~K

Just Hanging Around ~

From a quick walk around the yard last week.

Hope your week is going well.

~K

White Birch Trees ~ Version Two

Continued play with the same tree image, more paint, more texture, new look. I liked how the white paint could be painted under the sketched tree branches ~ a trick I learned from Marie Otero in a Journal Magic Class. 

Sunny and 60* today ~ just returned from a walk outdoors. Even if you are still burried under snow, I hope you had a bit of sun in your day.

~K

White Birch Trees

A little free-form abstract work based on an image I took while walking the other day.

Texture, layers, paintwork all done in PhotoShop. In the foreground is a sad, almost non-existent fence ~ that is what caught my eye at first. The rest appeared as I processed the image with colors I liked that day.

Have a wonderful weekend ~

Nancy, you are still in my thoughts and prayers.

~K

A Little Cheer for a Rainy Day

I am immersed in another on-line class ~ this time with  Kim Klassen ~ it is called Round Trip and is all about Adobe LightRoom. I am trying out this image processing software and also finding a path to better organizing my images (wish me luck).

It is a rainy day here and these pink tulips were calling me when I saw them in the grocery store ~ so glad I brought them home.  They made a great photoshoot this morning.  Even though the light was low I was able to pull out a lot of light with the sliders in LightRoom.  

I'll admit, I was not "getting" it at first, but it is starting to sink in. So I wanted to share these lovely pinks with you today.

I have a feeling that Spring is right around the corner. . . 

~Karen

PS  I am boot free and in a real shoe and can walk and drive ~ no running or jumping!