Experiments in Processing

Playing with light, shadows and selective color. Have a great week, everyone!

Having fun with PicMonkey. :-) Original photo in comment below... Thank you all so very much for your kind words and faves; I don't get creative with photoshop very often, so it is most encouraging that you like my work! :-)

Ducks and geese resting alongside the Promenade in Havre de Grace, Maryland. HFF to all my ipernity friends!

A tinted version of my black and white photo. Thankfully the ice is gone and spring is here! HFF and have a great weekend my friends!

Saturday Self-Challenge: History I always knew that my father-in-law Guy was a WWII veteran. What I didn't realize until after he died was that he participated in a piece of important American History: the Battle of Luzon, which took place on the northern end of the Philippine Islands. The battle resulted in a win for the Allied forces and the liberation of the Philippines. We all knew where he fought during WWII, but did not realize what he and his division accomplished over there. After Pop died, the family went through his belongings and found this letter he had written to his family in Connecticut, USA (we received a xerox copy). It is a first hand account of his time spent in Luzon. I will let the letter, written on September 8, 1945, speak for itself. It is abridged for the sake of time and space: Dear Mom and Helen, ...I'm still on Northern Luzon in the Cagayan valley, but I don't think I'll be here very long. According to the latest rumors around here the 37th Division may be going to Japan for occupation duty... This division is on sort of a rest now, after travelling practically all over this island since we landed here... ...Just as a little review for you, I landed here on "D-Day" (January 9th). From Lingayen Gulf we were the spearhead in the drive for Manila. When I entered Manila most of the city was burning - the Japs of course were acting like a bunch of maniacs. The whole city was lit up so bright that it was almost like daylight. That same night the Americans (and many other nationalities) who were held prisoners by the Japs for three years were rescued and I helped some of them get to the quarters we prepared for them. You can't imagine what a pitiful condition those people were in! About one third of them couldn't walk by themselves and the rest were in pretty bad condition, too. I talked to quite a few guys who fought on Bataan and Corregidor in 1941-42 and boy they really had some stories to tell about the Japs. Some of them were on the "Death March" that you've probably read about in the papers. When I saw those guys I understood a lot better why we were fighting this war. After the battle for Manila was over we had about a month rest and then were in the Battle for Baguio. That was very mountainous country. After Baguio, we came up through the Cagayan Valley and when we met the paratroopers from the north the fighting was almost over. It's really been quite an experience, although it was a lot of hard work, too. There were times when I thought my number was up but I came through without a scratch. I guess I can thank the good Lord for that. It sure feels good to know that it's all over now. Most of the time I've been on this Island I've been the personal Radio Operator for the Commanding General of this division, Major General Robert S. Beightler. Every time I went out with him he went up to the front lines to see what was going on and so we got into some pretty hot spots at times. At the present time I'm not operating anymore. I'm the Radio section Repair man now, and I like the job. A few days ago I was present at the surrender ceremonies of all Japanese forces on Northern Luzon which was held here at Division Headquarters. It sure did my heart good to see a Jap general sign the surrender papers. The biggest thrill of it all though was at the end of the ceremonies when our Band played the Star Spangled Banner and we all had to stand at attention and salute the flag (including the Japs). That was the biggest thrill I've had since I've been in the army. Those Japs didn't act so tough that day!... ...Well I guess I've said enough for now so I'll close, Hoping to be back with you soon. Love always, Guido For further information on the Battle of Luzon: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Luzon For more information on my father-in-law's division, the 37th Infantry Division: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

Macro of a peacock feather.

Saturday Self-Challenge: Animal Portrait This week's topic proved a bit more challenging than I thought it would. First of all, the weather was not so good this week, so I couldn't get a good outdoor image. Then I took several indoor shots of both my cats, but the lighting was rather poor, and they wouldn't coorperate on cue, so I decided to "take a lemon and make lemonade" with the situation. I took the best image of the lot and processed it to look high key in B&W. I was so relieved that it turned out halfway decent! :-)

I was on my back porch enjoying the view and warm summer day when I caught sight of my cat Flame looking at me, so relaxed and beautiful in the afternoon sunlight. It was one of those times when I actually had my camera closeby and ready to capture a beautiful spontaneous moment... ~Thank you so much for your kind words and faves, and for your compliments on my dear cat. He and his sibling are the most affectionate, loving cats we have ever lived with <3

The 50 Images-Project Experimenting with the DEEPART processing program on my antique bottle. deepart.io/page/about Thank you so much for your kind words/faves, my friends, so very appreciated! :-)

Saturday Self-Challenge: "Art in general...create an image inspired by one of the artists." My cat Rusty relaxing in the easy chair. Original image is in the note. I used the DEEPART Program to process this image. If you are interested in trying it out, here is the link: deepart.io/page/about

Saturday Self-Challenge: Suggested by Sami, use the edge of a photo to cut the main subject in half. Two items from my salt-glazed pottery collection. This week's topic was a challenge, but in a good way. It is difficult to photograph only half of the subject and make it look artistic rather than accidental. These two items of pottery looked so nice together that it gave me an idea I thought would make them great subjects for this challenge. The technique of cutting the subjects in half enabled me to focus on their complimentary shapes.

I never tried long exposure before, so this week was quite a learning curve! I played with many settings and took stationary photos. Then I remembered reading that you can create a double exposure effect if you move the camera while the shutter is open. I decided to try capturing a shot of our lighthouse covered in Christmas lights on the front lawn. After many tries and adjustments with my manual settings, I finally got a shot that made me happy. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas full of love and joy, and a Happy New Year!

From my Brooklyn Bridge series. This iconic tower is an architectural marvel! Thank you so much for your kind words and faves, friends and visitors, they are most appreciated! :-)

The 50 Images-Project : Exploring the results of placing prisms from an old chandelier in front of the antique bottle used for my project.

For The Fifty Images-Project.

One of the many types of beautiful orchids seen at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. **Thank you so very much for your visits and kind words, dear friends and visitors; they are most appreciated! Have a wonderful day :-)

The 50 Images-Project : Exploring the use of PicMonkey's poster effect on my project antique bottle.