Posted on March 4, 2010 in Architecture, Fall, Street, Topaz
I tend not to crop my images very often as I prefer to compose the scene as best I can in camera. This image is an exception and I felt that cropping brought the focus to what I really liked about the scene – the flower pots on the brick steps. What I cropped out of the top of the image is the rest of the door. The door had a wreath hanging on it that caused me to struggle to determine the focus … was it the wreath or the flower pots? Once I cropped away the distraction, I was much happier with the shot. I processed this one with a little Topaz Simplify.
Posted on February 11, 2010 in Animals, Lensbaby, Nature, Topaz, Wildlife, Winter
I was out briefly with my camera today but didn’t come back with many images that I liked. Getting around was difficult. Many areas that I wanted to visit in my neighborhood were inaccessible due to the depth of the snow and my unwillingness to get ridiculously wet. It seemed that the kids and birds were having the most fun. The rest of us “older folks” just deemed the results of the blizzard as a major nuisance. I may not see the grass in my yard until May……..
Posted on January 10, 2010 in Landscape, Topaz, Winter
I had to talk myself into going out to photograph today…it was bitterly cold! Since we had snow on Friday, I thought I’d head to a nearby lake that I photographed in the Fall. There were some folks ice fishing, and parents pulling children on sleds across the frozen water. I knew I wouldn’t be out long, so I photographed a few things and started to head back to the warmth of my house. On the way I spotted this nice red barn nestled in the valley. The above image was processed with Topaz Simplify. The one below is without Simplify.
Posted on January 8, 2010 in Topaz
Last night Mr. Weatherman told me that we would see “a dusting” to maybe an inch of snow overnight, then a few snow showers in the morning with maybe another inch tops. It was snowing when I left for work this morning…and still snowing on the way home at 6:00 PM. I scraped “a dusting” off of my car and windshield in the parking lot while the snow plows worked around me. I drove over a very slippery “dusting” on the way home, then proceeded to shovel the “dusting” from my entire driveway. My fingers became numb in the 22 degree temperatures, so I decided to wait until tomorrow morning to shovel the “dusting” off of the porch and sidewalk around the house. “The dusting” was up to about 4″-5″ last time I looked out the window! I hope I wake up tomorrow and “the dusting” has disappeared, but I don’t think that will happen! Phooey on Mr. Weatherman!
Posted on January 7, 2010 in Architecture, Topaz
St. Mark’s Church in Jim Thorpe, Pa. is a landmark and a very beautiful stone structure on historic Race Street. I love the red doors and arches above the stained glass windows. I originally photographed this with my soft focus filter on the camera and now when I processed it, decided that I didn’t want a soft look. So, I ran the image through Topaz Adjust using the “spicify” filter and after some fooling around in Photoshop, this is the result.