mary's boy child

Long time ago in Bethlehem

So the Holy Bible say

Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ

Was born on Christmas day.

Hark, now hear the angels sing

A new King born today

And man will live forever more

Because of Christmas day.

music and lyrics

by

Jester Hairston

sung

by

Harry Belefonte

***

LR preset: kk_litely

Textures: kk_waterfront30 and kk_myrtle

Drawing: newborn Fen (from my own photo files that day)

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 29)

Texture Tuesday

***

Merry Christmas!

in this place

...and I knew it not.

Genesis 28:16 

Sometimes it is hard to believe

that God is

present

in our lives,

especially

in

trying times.

If He seems distant

we have only to

reach out

to

Him.

I remind myself of this on a regular basis.

***

LR preset: darkmood

Textures: kk1 and kk-magic0916

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 27)

My Still Sunday (via Instagram)

Texture Tuesday

an american-italian thanksgiving

These things

say

'Thanksgiving'

to me:

Canon 6D + Tamron 24-70 lens
LR preset: kk_earthywgrain

PS textures: kk_waterfront1 and kk_waterfront21

as seen on Instagram
iPhone 6 captured with Camera+ app
edited with Leonardo and Stackables apps

family heirlooms

now in my keep:

ravioli rolling pin,

collander,

macaroni pot,

Italian embroidered linen tablecloth
and matching napkins

(a wedding gift for my folks in 1953)

***

This is what

Thanksgiving dinner

looked like

in our family:

homemade ravioli

with

homemade ricotta filling

and

the best ragu

you ever tasted.

We kids never had a traditional

Thanksgiving turkey dinner

until we were

grown

and living on our own.

For the record,

none of us

ever objected.

Also for the record,
we considered ourselves
Americans
of
Italian/Irish/Swedish
descent.

Greg, Cindy, Mom, Grandpa,

'Dudie,' Adrienne, Lissa

(Dad was behind the camera)

Thanksgiving 1966

at Dudie & Grandpa's house

Dudie wisely got out her best

plastic faux lace tablecloth

for us kids

(tomato sauce stains quite reliably)

Greg, Cindy, Adrienne, Lissa

making ravioli with Grandpa

in our kitchen

November 1969

See the rolling pin?

The tradition continued

- in a way -

when we kids

had kids,

only now it's

Christmas Eve

dinner...

Linking up with

Texture Tuesday

Be Still 52 (week 25)

Happy Thanksgiving!

humble of heart

There's something about

dried flowers

that speaks

to me

so

eloquently

of

life.

LR preset: kk_pause
Textures: kk_anne and kk_bamboo

I gathered several of these
'daisy heads'
from my garden
this fall.
I found them
to be
infinitely more
captivating
than their
showy summertime
incarnation,
the black-eyed susan

I set up
this little still life
and captured it
with my iPhone 5
just so I could
experiment
with some apps.

as seen on Instagram

It is a mystery that unless unless the seed falls to the ground and unless it dies, it remains alone. I realize that there are many things in me that must die before He can live: my pride, my ambition, my impatience, my anger. The difficulty in loving my neighbor, or listening to the problems of another. There is much that I must die to. But unless these things are conquered, He cannot live in me.

 Mother Angelica

***

Linking up with

Friday Finds

i'm never really ready for this...

...but after an unusually warm October

(I was just on my bike the other day - in shorts!)

near-zero temperatures

and blizzard-like conditions

are indeed a

shock to the system.

***

Yesterday I watched

out the window

as it began

to snow.

I felt compelled

to draw.

Soon the white stuff

began to collect

on the few remaining leaves

still clinging to

the aspen trees

in our back yard.

As my eyes saw

my hand drew...

and

in my heart

I sensed

their plight.

I felt

their fear.

I knew

how it would end.

***

Early this morning

I felt compelled

to capture

this unfolding drama

with my camera.

It was so cold

I didn't want to risk

damaging condensation

in my 'big' camera,

so I made a few quick captures

with my iPhone 5.

Version 1

Editing done on my iPad

with the following apps:

LEONARDO - adjust exposure, contrast, brightness

PHOTOGRID- create layout

STACKABLES - add textures:

Winter Frost (Multiply 20%)

Glacial Ice (Color 25%)

Bleached (Soft Light 75%)

Worn Canvas (Hard Light 25%)

Version 2

Editing done on my iMac with

LIGHTROOM (preset: kk_truecolor)

and

PHOTOSHOP

The 'platinum' Gradient Map adjustment layer

(Lighten Blend Mode 32%)

toned down the bright

yellows and greens

just a bit.

***

For everything there is a season

and a time for every matter

under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

***

Linking up with

Friday Finds

Texture Tuesday

Thank you Roxi and Julie
for getting me hooked

with your

30 Day Scrap with Apps Challenge.

This is seriously

too much fun!

still life: unwrapped

NOTES:

INSPIRATION

This week's Be Still 52 challenge:

Start with just two things.

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Aperture Priority Mode

on tripod

ISO 400

f/5.0 1/200 sec

original photo SOOC

LIGHTROOM

Preset: kk_truecolor

PHOTOSHOP

I've been revisiting Kim's

Photoshop Recipe Book

which, BTW, is now

included in a subscription to her

Photoshop Test Kitchen

There is so much goodness here,

you gotta check it out.

I experimented with

a few recipes

and ended up with my own.

Playing with filters is fun too!

'distress'

is one of Kim Klassen's classic textures

from her

Texture Collection 1

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 24)

Texture Tuesday

Friday Finds

still life: mountain bike shoes

This week's Be Still 52 challenge
was to
"create a still life photo
inspired by a still life painting."

After a little bit of research

and

a lot of thought

I captured this

still life

of

my beloved

mountain bike shoes.

***

And once I had

'seen'

through my lens

I felt compelled to

see/draw

with pencil on paper.

When, at last, while seeing/drawing,

you see for the first time

what all your life

you have only looked at and recognized,

it reveals itself to be of inconceivable intricacy.

The commonplace becomes uncommon.

~

Frederick Franck

The Awakened Eye

***

I have been biking the trails in these shoes

for years,

from the foothills west of Denver

to the steep summertime slopes of

Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Crested Butte

to the rugged cliffs overlooking

the Colorado River.

 

You might say

these are my favorite shoes.

Period.

They securely fasten me

to my trusty

Specialized Stump Jumper

and are

comfortable enough

for hiking long distances

in all terrain.

(I once walked over a mile in them

with my flat-tired bike.)

***

NOTES:

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

on tripod

ISO 400

f/5.0 0.6 sec

incandescent light

I purposely chose to shoot in the laundry room

as that is where we store our bike gear

and I wanted to capture

an authentic

real-life

still-life.

original capture SOOC

Staging in a cramped space,

my back against the wall

(literally)

Lillian doesn't like the laundry room

LIGHTROOM

I experimented a lot with

color saturation, vibrancy, clarity, exposure

because - face it - bike gear can be gaudy;

and the basement laundry room

is not the most flattering setting.

Then I applied

Kim's kk_walnut preset

and further adjusted

a bit more.

PHOTOSHOP

I auditioned a number

of textures and combinations

before settling

on this one

Font: Carbon Credit

I was inspired by these still life paintings

pinned from http://cargocollective.com/creativesyrup/Still-life-painting

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (Week 23)

Texture Tuesday

comic relief

Lately I've been exploring

iPhoneography

thanks to my friends

Roxie, Sarah, and Viv

who have been tempting me

for months

with its

myriad of

creative possibilities.

So much to learn!

I have only just

scratched the surface.

Spontaneity

was not exactly at the top

of my list;

however, one day last week

as I was sitting down to

draw this little dried rose petal

- in a quiet, contemplative, Zen-like state of mind -

who should happen along

and plant herself

right in the middle

of things?

Lillian
couldn't resist
this set-up.
Immediately,

my plans were

up-ended.

Literally.

I am always fascinated

by the dexterity of her

comma-shaped paw

as she daintily
sweeps small objects

hither and yon.

And then she glanced back at me,

as if to say,

'Well, what did you expect?'

God bless

Lillian

for her

gift of

comic relief!

Good thing I had

my iPhone

handy.

***

Notes:

CAMERA

iPhone 5

APPS

ProCamera

initial capture

(rapid fire mode)

Snapseed

Details: Sharpening ~25-30%

Drama: Bright 2 - default filter strength

which nicely lightened

Lillian's 'darker side'

and oh-so-subtly

brought out just enough

detail in

the sketchbook.

Image Blender

Second layer: kk_tuesday texture

Blend Mode: Soft Light 20%

I wasn't really after any

'dramatic' texturizing,

but rather to see how

subtle texturizing could enhance

an image.

***

Linking up with

30 Day Scrap With Apps Challenge (Day 6)

Texture Tuesday

Friday Finds