Mirror ball and disco lights a go, until dad came home and the three Vivians - Glamor Gal, Smoking Flame & VaVoom - were told to tone down the slumber party ...

Thanks to Tanakawho and JoesSistah for their beautiful textures, which created the illusion of party atmosphere

Rowdier On Black

Barbie Silkstone #4

For this week's Pretty Pink Tuesday's theme a Tint of Pink

and Pretty Pinkisms theme Pink Toys

Thanks to borealnz for her beautiful texture.

For even more identity confusion: View Large on White!

website

Born with a silver spoon in her mouth:

Born into wealth

For this week's Whispery White Wednesday's theme: Shabby Chic, some of my grandmother's linen and a silver spoon that she gave to my daughter, Toby, when Toby was born.

Grandma joked: So Toby can say she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

This is another idiomatic saying that I couldn't understand when I was a child: How could anyone be born with a spoon - of any kind - in their mouth?

Thanks to les brumes for his beautiful texture.

Besides the birdhouses we have created and distributed around the woods, we have some bird pairs who do not care for prebuilt homes and who never give up. At the edge of our cleared land, we put together what we call a "Garage in a Box". It has metal poles for structure, but is covered in a strong, green on the outside and white on the inside, tarp with roll down doors on both ends. We keep the tractor and some of my gardening items in there. For the past three years, a pair of Eastern Phoebes have begun building a nest inside, only to have my husband chase them away so he would not disturb them later in the season. They have returned this year. They chose the side of the structure to build their lovely nest on for this spring, and my husband did not have the will this year to chase them away since they seem determined to use this tarp garage as their home. I love the way they use mud to build the base and attach it to the pole and the tarp, and I'm crazy for the moss they have left hanging as a decoration! We see that they have used lots of the coconut grass we leave around the yard from old hanging planters. What an amazing structure within the "Garage in a Box".

Read more about Eastern Phoebes here:

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/overview

All this time I was wasting

Hoping you would come around

I’ve been giving out chances everytime

And all you do is let me down

You're Not Sorry - Taylor Swift

FREE texture from Clive Sax

OK - So this started out as a simple "Down to Earth" go out in the back yard and take a picture of the horse fence. Now, I know it's not Sunday but somtimes I just don't know what happens and then I find a smile and that's that. I've debated for the last four hours to post or file and move on. I decided to post for Fence Friday - Hope everyone has a great weekend/Holiday!

Happy Fence Friday!!

Taken on Kodak Gold 200 with Minolta X-300 MD 50mm f/1.7.

Postprocessed with The GIMP.

postprocessed

The latest installment of my "Process with Me" eBook is now available.

In this edition we look at re-processing old files with new skills and new software. We'll be removing noise from a really noisy file using Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpening an out of focus shot using Topaz AI, and re-processing a really old file to get the most of it.

You can find more information here - www.glennbartley.com/ProcessWithMe8Ebook.html

YSSY SYDNEY KINGSFORD SMITH

This Pink Sorrel was planted last year and did nothing. This spring, it has delighted me with beautiful purple flowers.

mmmmmm tasty brains up there....

China Airlines Cargo B747-400F 181208 KJFK

Toyama, Japan.

Tuesday 9th June 2009

♫♪♫

For this week's Pretty Pink Tuesday theme: Pinktopia, this is a photo I took when I got home from work yesterday. The colour of the sky was amazing but I didn't have a clear view of it what with all the power lines in the street. I was twisting myself in knots to get a clear view until I recalled recent photos I've admired by the very talented and lovely mistybliss, and then I decided to focus on the power pole rather than try to avoid it.

The pink of the sky is pretty much as it was, but I overlaid a photo of silvery flare and bokeh that I took yesterday morning [blend mode: overlay, 50% opacity] to add to the textural and tonal interest.

Then, in search of inspiration for a title or a song, I googled 'Pinktopia' and found this entry in Urban Dictionary

A secret society currently under construction. A popular tourist destination. Has a superior military force and advanced nuclear technology. Lead by esteemed dictator and expected to conquer the universe at some point in the near future. The quote fitted my rather Orwellian vision of Suburban Pinktopia. So I added it as text in Picnik.

More Pinktopian On Black

Double treat: I have seen many F16s, F15s do side by side landing but this was unusual. MX A320 descended on glideslope from 3500 AGL for Rwy 24R while CX 744 did same from 2200 AGL for Left side. Cathay 744 was told to hold 170 kts steady so MX can land just a bit ahead. And the result was perfect approach with spectacular results.

And in a flash........ she is gone!!

www.flickr.com/photos/152008224@N08/36524605490/in/dateta...

Digitally altered female model with Werewoman makeup.

Follow me on Instagram. www.instagram.com/allanjonesphotographer/

. . . “Postprocessing overkill.’

Dead Roses by Ollie:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Vmx3EBYsk

"Hair Force One"

FREE textures from

Clive Sax

and

Gabi Butcher

..

Une météo, une abbaye | A meteo, an abbay

[EN below]

Jeudi de l’Ascension, un regard par la fenêtre, la météo est menaçante. Après une lourde semaine intense, l’envie est là de prendre l’air et aussi de m’exercer dans la photo … Réfléchissons … Pourquoi pas une balade dans l’une de nos plus belles abbayes de Belgique, l’abbaye d’Aulne, sur les terres de Thuin.

J’aime particulièrement les monastères et les abbayes, ces lieux de recentrement sur soi et de silence.

L'ancienne abbaye d'Aulne est une abbaye cistercienne située à Gozée en Belgique qui a son origine dans le monastère bénédictin fondé par saint Landelin en 657. Largement reconstruite au xv siècle et de nouveau au XVIIIe siècle elle est détruite et incendiée (y compris sa bibliothèque) en 1794 par les troupes révolutionnaires françaises après que les moines en aient été expulsés. Les ruines et vestiges des bâtiments sont classés au Patrimoine majeur de Wallonie.

Une abbaye à l’histoire chargée, que vous pourrez apprécier au lien suivant de wikipedia fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_d'Aulne

J’y suis arrivé un peu tôt avant l’ouverture. Profitant du temps d’attente, je pars explorer le tour du domaine. Je me retrouve au fin fond du pré voisin, en forte pente, avec une vue de plus en plus formidable au fur et à mesure que je grimpe.

Je prends quelques clichés, et puis je me tente à tester mon nouvel objectif et ma nouvelle rotule 3D, pour essayer de mettre en relief ce panorama, que je trouve tellement spacieux et majestueux.

Vous pourrez prochainement aussi apprécier une de mes visions de ce panorama en Noir et Blanc. Restez donc connectés …

______

Ascension, a look out of the window, the weather is threatening. After a heavy intense week, the desire is there to take a breath outsider and to go for some photo shoot ... Let's think ... Why not a walk in one of our most beautiful abbeys in Belgium, the abbey of Aulnes on the land of Thuin / Lobbes.

I particularly like the monasteries and abbeys, these places of silence, allowing some refocusing on ourselves.

The former abbey of Aulnes is a Cistercian abbey located at Gozée Belgium, which has its origin in the Benedictine monastery founded by St. Landelin in 657. Largely rebuilt in the fifteenth century and again in the eighteenth century it was destroyed and burned (including library) in 1794 by the French revolutionary troops after the monks were expelled. Ruins and remains of buildings are classified today the most important heritage of Wallonia.

For the Abbey tradition and history , you can enjoy the following Wikipedia link fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_d alder

I arrived a little early before the opening. Taking advantage of this waiting time, I go exploring around the area. I find myself deep in the nearby meadow, steep, with a view increasingly more beautiful as I climb the meadow.

I take a few shots, and then I tried to test my new lens and my new 3D head, trying to highlight this panorama , which I find so spacious and majestic.

You will enjoy soon one of my Black and White vision of, stay tune.

Technical Info

Appareil | Camera: Nikon D5100 ; Tamron 24.0 - 70.0 mm f/2.8 ; Trépied | Tripod ; Rotule 3D ;

Prise de vue | Shoot : Panorama 3 vues ; 30 mm ; f/16; 1/80s ; Priorité(y) ouverture | Aperture ; ISO 200 ;

Logiciel | Post processing Software: LightRoom 5.4; Panorama PS; Nik Color Efex Pro 4; Nik Sharpener;

_______________________________

© Didier Hannot - #DH526 30.05.2014 (25-22)

Retrouvez-moi sur | Find me on

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DidierHannotPhotography

Postprocessed in DPP. Original size.

We have been "hosting" eleven Monarchs from egg stage to caterpillar to chrysalis to emergence. This is the first one to leave the "nest", they grow so fast...

Info photo:

Piani di Bobbio

Postprocessing: --

Not retouching

PIANI DI BOBBIO

I Piani di Bobbio sono una nota stazione sciistica della Valsassina, in provincia di Lecco.

Situati nel territorio del comune di Barzio, si trovano al confine con la provincia di Bergamo; le piste da sci dei Piani di Bobbio e quelle di Valtorta fanno infatti parte di un unico comprensorio sciistico. La zona è inoltre rinomata per i numerosi sentieri, che comprendono anche le vie ferrate sul Gruppo dei Campelli.

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PIANI DI BOBBIO

Plans Bobbio is a famous ski resort of Valsassina, near Lecco.

Located in the village area of Barzio, are on the border with the province

Bergamo, the ski slopes of the plans and those of Bobbio Valtorta do it

part of one ski resort. The area is also renowned for the many

pathways, which include climbing routes on the Group of Campello.

Andrea Costa Photography - Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

TWITTER: twitter.com/AC_TheArt

From my first strobist shoot.

Strobist: Canon 430EX on both sides, triggered with ST-E2. There's also 580EX II in front of model with small softbox, but it didn't fire for some reason. Let's call this happy accident.

I'm still searching my pp-style.

Flickr sharpening seems to be too much for this.

surfeit fly hovers near flower. The fly disguises itself as a bee for evolutionary contingencies................

Original photo processed with Photoshop CS2 .......for effect.

"very cute bee with very brave temper" - Olyia Dehaven www.flickr.com/photos/50181507@N08/

Well said , Olyia !!!!!!!!!!!!!

This image is not mine, it was taken by SeaMowse and put up on one of the Critque groups where I downloaded it and did some post-processing. Original belongs to SeaMowse who took the picture. This is the original:

www.flickr.com/photos/10016860@N02/9735172811/

I liked SeaMowse's original for composition but there were issues. First the background was dominating and second, the lighting on the cat was somewhat flat. In PP I darkened the background and cloned out the bright lights there. This was pretty fast and sloppy and you can see some of the original background brightness above the cat's head as a halo. Anyway, the next step was to add lighting effects. Here I dup'ed the image and darken it using gamma curves (in GIMP). The right (bright) side of the curve was simply reduced by 20% and then an exponedial curve was made to increase constrast in the middle tones. A layer mask was placed on the original and using a large soft brush I darkened the right side of the face (assumed a light source at 10:00) and darkened along the bottom except the paw and progressive darking of the rear of the cat. The goal was to focus attention on the face. Using smaller brush I dab'ed in darkness in the pockets of the curls. I darkened in some areas under the chin and along the inside left part of the ears as well to help with 3D effect. I cloned out reflections in the eyes. Made the tip of nose a bit more orange and brighter. Finally I adjusted final image using s-curve for gamma and reduced the color sat by about 15% (to match the lower overall luminance) and warmed the image up a bit by increasing the red channel and reducing the blue a bit. I knew the result was stunning (well I had a good image to start with!) but didn't think it would go Explored!

in an antique shop in Maine - extreme post processing

This was taken on a brutally cold day in January 2008. I was checking out my friend, Steve's, Canon XT before buying my own XTi.

The David C. Culham Trail is one of over 20 in Mississauga devoted to cycling and other outdoor activity in an urban environment. Many of the trails are reported on in travelogues and publications.

Freelance photographer, Karen Zabawa writes on "The David J. Culham Trail, named for a one-time, then sitting, City of Mississauga council member for this area, begins in Erindale Park, at Dundas Street West, just east of Mississauga Road."

Further she notes - "The Trail continues along the Credit River, except for a short portion that winds through the Village of Streetsville, north to the Brampton border. 'No Fishing' signs are posted here, though fisherman can be seen from time to time, as they were this day, until trail walkers, indignant, shooed them away."

This 18 km trail is nearing completion. It is designed to provide pedestrians and cyclists with a route from Erindale Park up the Credit River Valley to the City of Brampton and offers them the chance to enjoy the area's natural and human history.

The trail passes by remnants of old homesteads, orchards, dams, rail and mill sites, and connects many green spaces in the City of Mississauga.

This site is supported by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion Active 2010 Recreation Program, The Ministry of Natural Resources, The Ontario Trillium Foundation and trail users like you!

www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/david-j-culham-trail/

Links:

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=...

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=...

www.metrolinx.com/en/bioDavidCulham.aspx

www.creditvalleycons.com/recandleisure/canoeing.htm

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=...

Post Processing:

This one was processed a while back. He is what I likely did:

PhotoShop Elements 5: sharpen, crop, posterize, rough pastels

Large On Black

Playing, again, with LuminarAI and a photo of hyacinths in my garden.

HSS all.

In this version everything to the right of the monument has been rotated clockwise by 4 degrees, because the angle of the sunset and horizon was bugging me in the previous version.