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

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: 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

weekend walk: just up the street

Most of us lead far more meaningful lives than we know.

Often finding meaning is not about doing things differently;

it is about seeing familiar things in new ways.

~Rachel Naomi Remen

There is an irrigation ditch at the top of our street,

and the path alongside it

is a popular destination for folks

in our little neighborhood

to go for a stroll.

Recently I took

my iPhone camera there

for a little spin

(funny how I think of my iPhone

primarily as a camera -

probably because that's the main reason

I got an iPhone in the first place)

No definite intentions

or real plans

for what I might

capture...

...just delighting

in the

serenity

and

simple beauty

of the place.

The dirt path is shaded by

many big old trees.

A couple of these

big trees

had been recently

cut down.

I mean

b i g.

Someone had

gathered some apples

...

and then left them

to rot.

I was of course

drawn to this rusty old

piece of machinery;

I think it controls

the water flow

somehow.

The entire ditch property is bordered by

several fenced-in back yards

with gated access

to the trail.

Lucky for me

the gates are weathered

and rather rickety.

One property

has this little old cottage

on the banks

of the ditch.

I like to imagine it

as an artist's studio.

October is a beautiful time of year,

with its contrasting colors

of early fall.

This was my favorite

wabi-sabi

fence/gate shot;

I am fascinated by the

tenacity of nature

as it overtakes

man's efforts.

Notes:

CAMERA

iPhone 5

ProCamera app

I love how I can control

focus and exposure

independently,

especially useful

on a hazy-bright day

with plenty of

dappled sun and shadows.

LIGHTROOM

I haven't yet figured out

how to efficiently

edit a batch of iphotos

(I'm sure there's an app for that)

so I just imported everything

into Lightroom.

Minimal editing:

just a bit of the basics

and minor cropping.

Then I auditioned several presets

and finally chose Kim's

kk_earthy.

PHOTOSHOP

No texture work needed;

I tried a few but found

that it interfered with

the clarity,

and literally

muddied the waters.

Linking up with

A Weekend Walk

Friday Finds

Be Still 52 (Week 22)

life's passing seasons: an organic still life

a quick assemblage

of some

organic treasures

I found in a box

right in my own studio:

sea shells

gathered on a Scottish beach

+

a sprig of dried heather

from the southwest coast of Ireland

+

an old wooden bowl I got

on eBay awhile back

...

reminiscent

perhaps

of

some

past

stage of life

...

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours.

- Irish toast -

***

Notes:

CAMERA

Here is what I started with:

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

no tripod

ISO 3200

f/4.5 1/160 sec

afternoon light

LIGHTROOM

I tried a couple different crops

to make the most of the pensive white space;

I wanted to de-saturate and cool the color a bit

so I played A LOT in the Develop Module

with HSL and Tone Curve panels

and fine-tuned Kim's Melancholy preset.

PHOTOSHOP

Lots of experimenting

with

textures, layers, layer masks

and adjustment layers

to get the feel

just right.

and with Kim's help

I've figured out how to

get my drawings

into my blog!

(I'll save that for another post)

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 18)

Friday Finds

Texture Tuesday

real-life still life: a quiet corner

I guess I'm just
looking for
a little
peace and calm.

Who'd a thought

I'd find it

in

my kitchen cupboard?

***

After several attempts

at capturing

a still life photograph

amongst my everyday

surroundings...

I
'discovered'
this scene.

Kinda feels
a bit
Vermeer-esque,
with its
interior shadowy
moody
everyday
unstaged
wabi-sabi
feel.

BTW
as much time as we spent
in art school
studying
the paintings
of
Johannes Vermeer
...
it was never enough
for me.

I hadn't really
thought of
Vermeer
in years
...
until I
captured
these bowls
in my
cupboard.

original photo SOOC
With a little bit of work
- or should I say
'play' -
I watched
something
almost magical
emerge
from humble
beginnings.

With
eye and heart,
camera and computer
...

I saw something.

***

Notes:
CAMERA

My camera
has an ISO capability of
up to
25,600,
but I still
crouch safely
near the bottom
of the scale,
ever cautious of
film grain.
ISO 3200 
is perilously high for me.

LIGHTROOM
I played in the Develop module
before trying out
several presets.
I finally settled on
Kim's
kk_darkday preset,
wanting to draw attention
to the amazing 
shadowplay.

I'm also following along in Kim's
31 Days of Lightroom class,
applying her lessons
to my workflow
process.

PHOTOSHOP
There was enough
dark to make one of
Kim's 'magic' textures work;
and a soft light touch
of texture gave it
a 'painterly' feel.

***

I promised Lillian I would

post these

'unposed' still life shots of her

with her new favorite pillow...

...my camera bag.

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (Weeks 14 & 15)

Texture Tuesday