Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Provence

(+11 insets!) (Please view large, you won't regret it!) Today we're all stirred up! Steve's sister is coming to stay with us for the next few days so we've been cleaning up and getting ready. It's been a while since I've seen her so it will be nice to catch up. The weather isn't going to be super but we'll get to take her to the Pear Blossom Festival and Parade this weekend which should be fun! I don't know how busy I'll be so my commenting is likely going to be spotty at best...my apologies in advance! Today is also the day when I post my Happy Fence Friday picture! Lately it's actually turned into my own Happy FRENCH Fence Friday! Along with a fence picture, it's been a perfect opportunity to share another set of pictures from our trip to Provence, France last year! If you've been following along with my trip so far, you may be amused that I've only shared pictures from our very first stop--Nice! We arrived late one night, spent a full day and left the next morning. However, in that time I got so many useable pictures that so far I've posted 41 and today I'll be posting another 11! I'm not quite finished processing the last of them but I have about 25 more ready to go--which will be two more sets at this point…I expect there will be another set at least, if you can believe it! As I've mentioned before, it's been really fun exploring my France photography because it's such a different style than I'm used to. I'd like to say thanks for all of your enthusiasm--I know it's not my usual type of photography but the positive response I've gotten leaves me glowing and so appreciative! :) Ok, let's go to Nice, shall we?! My main picture today was captured along Nice' famous Promenade des Anglais, a busy avenue and wide walkway that hugs the coastline of Nice. This particular spot featured a sweeping turn and heavy-duty guard rail, along with a pair of fellows who sat conveniently on one end! The picture cried out to be a very wide panorama in strong silhouette--I hope you like how it turned out! :) The insets cover a lot of the time that we spent walking along the waterfront but includes a couple of others as well. Here are details about the insets! :) PiP #1: Near where I took the guard rail picture there is a pull-out and this enormous sign to promote Nice. Kids were attracted like bees to honey and crawled all over it incessantly! The fellow in the bicycle taxi tried very hard to solicit our business long before we arrived at this spot to find him here, watching the kitlings play on the sign. He was listening to very loud music but it was really fun and it added to the enjoyment we were having this late afternoon. :) PiP #2: There was a rocky beach which ran along below the road and Steve and I enjoyed looking down to see the various clusters seated here and there or walking at the water's edge. This group was having a wonderful conversation and I got several pictures of them laughing and having fun. PiP #3: At the bend there was also a nice view in both directions. This picture shows Old Town Nice as it reaches out to the edge of the sea. PiP #4: As luck would have it, we arrived as the sun was beginning to set and we got some very dramatic images of the sun sinking below the far hills. What a view! :) PiP #5: We also saw lots of fishermen along the way, and many of them set up their poles on this point. Great people-watching here with folks looking at things on the ground and chumming around with one another. Good times! PiP #6 : Walking along the popular Promenade, this picture is an artistic, blurry impression of the people enjoying an early evening stroll--or run--with colorful lights beginning to show themselves in the background. I think the runners on the left might have noticed me…do you think?! :D PiP #7: I found this old man, down on his luck, snoozing on his bike to keep it safe from thieves. You can't deny his great style with his bright red sarape and sombrero hat. Entering the frame from the right is a pigeon who I distinctly heard say, "OLE!" :D PiP #8: Everywhere you go in Nice you will find inviting restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating. This nicely-furnished business had just opened up for the evening…pizza anyone?! PiP #9: Nearby a very busy café vibrated with great energy as friends and family enjoyed delicious food and drink a-plenty. I took this picture without even noticing the star of the show. When I took a closer look on my computer I burst out laughing…would you just LOOK at that dog?! Its master is clueless and deep in a conversation with his friend (who thinks I'm taking a picture of him, lol) but his dog is at the leash limit and in seventh heaven from two-scoops of love from a pair of joyful ladies who love this darling pooch! PiP #10: A close-up of the belly-up pup, showing her delirious state of happiness…"DON'T STOP!!!" :D PiP #11: And finally, as the evening grew darker, a beautiful cobbled alley, bedecked in pretty light prompted my eager attention. What a cool sight! Pam, I expect you've seen plenty of places similar to this in your caravan days, no? I have been so surprised to discover the wonderful seaside scenery in England. Of course I shouldn't be surprised but for some reason I didn't think England would have pretty views, isn't that odd? Ipernity has certainly opened my eyes to the splendor of England. As well, seeing all of the amazing pictures you shared in the book version of your 2011 Snowdrops Anglo-Saxon Chronicles I especially loved the sunset at the Valley of the Rocks at Lynton , what a gorgeous picture! :) Here's hoping you're doing well today! MANY HUGS from southern Oregon! Explored on 4/12/19, highest placement, #1.

(+5 insets!) Sorry so long! :D It rained and snowed all night long and this morning it's sloppy and positively yucky outside. What snow remains has been melting and it's been muddy and icky all day. You know, I forget that when snow melts, it makes slush and that's just bad news. I was going to say that there are no pictures to take but it occurs to me that I've never actually thought about trying to find an interesting slushy picture. That could actually be really neat! If you've taken one, link it in the comments, I bet it's pretty dreamy! As I type, there is an Acorn Woodpecker on one of our window sills, pecking at the surfaces and yelling about it. *shakes head* Our house is not a storage facility for your nuts, you crazy bird! :D I spent a lot of time today playing with pictures from France. So much fun! Street and city shots give me the opportunity to try out different photography than my specialty of macro and the change is both refreshing and invigorating. Plus, this sort of photography really lends itself to using filters to enhance the interest. Yay, time to play In the sandbox!! Do you guys know about Topaz Labs filter suites? They work for both Windows and Mac and they have stand-alone applications as well as plug-ins for Photoshop. (I am a Photoshop user from allllll the way back, but you don't need this program to work on your pictures!) I depend on their tools for a variety of my needs. Here's my workflow: 1) At the least, I use their Topaz Denoise filter which has enormous control for both RAW and JPEG. 2) Next, I usually place the subject on its own layer in Photoshop. I use Topaz Remask for this step, though I sometimes opt for using the polygonal lasso or magic wand for selecting the subject. 3) When my subject is on its own layer, I usually apply one or more detailing filters, taking the opacity down to about 50% usually. (Opacity means that I make the layer less and less visible and allow the original layer to show through more and more. At 50%, the effect of a filter is much more natural and allows the original details to show through the filtered layer) The look I'm aiming for is enhancement, not blatant garishness! Topaz Labs has several detailing filter suites but I usually use Detail (this is no longer available as a separate plugin but part of their stand-alone application, which has all of their tools in one convenient place.). Previous to Detail I used Adjust but I like the filters in Detail better, they are more sophisticated and less coarse. 4) Finally, I often add a vignette to my image to direct more attention to my subject. I do this with the Lens Correction feature in Photoshop but I also use Topaz Lens Effects and Texture Effects for this. (Other filter sets I adore, but not usually for final processing are B/W Effects and Restyle.) B/W Effects is full of fantastic monochrome and duo-tone options as well as interesting vignetting ideas. Restyle will eat your life. It changes the colors of everything in your image to varying degrees and can change the mood completely from drab to outlandish, for example. If you have an image with blah colors and you want to add pizazz, Restyle will do this for you. The only problem is that it takes forever to look through the universe of choices. It's really fun though and I love to allow myself the time to play in this suite from time to time. Lens Effects has very interesting vignetting options but also helps with recreating background blur or changing the lighting in your image. It's very powerful! Texture Effects gives you access to a world of textures and interesting filtering choices, as well as wonderful vignetting and border ideas. If your image is interesting but it's not quite enough by itself, Texture Effects will save the day! There you have it. The only other Topaz filters I sometimes use is Topaz Impression, which turns your photo into artwork with a zillion paint styles. It's really neat but I am more about enhancing my photography than changing it into something completely artificial. Still, what a fantastic tool! (I've also enjoyed Dynamic Auto Painter, a wonderful program you may like to explore) One other point: There are LOTS of filter suites out there which are outstanding—I just happened to latch onto Topaz and they give me the high-quality, adjustable filters I insist on. If you take pictures with your phone, you'll know what I'm talking about in this regard. Zillions of options! FRANCE TRIP, CONTINUED! Note: if you want to read my first and second France posts, they are here: The first entry: www.ipernity.com/doc/290645/48132924 The second entry is this: www.ipernity.com/doc/290645/48136884 Since I was playing with my France pictures today, that's the feature of today! If you may recall from the other day, Steve and I landed in Nice and got into our apartment late that night. The next morning was gorgeous and we were so excited to see the town. To continue on our fresh new adventure, Steve and I had a mission to find a grocery store for provisions. Once we located one we grabbed our cameras and headed out. Right away there were pictures to be had everywhere! A very colorfully painted car...a cool artistic sculpture featuring arrows going up and down...store signs, rows of motorcycles outside a shop and even the door handles leading into the store were cool! I tried out our sneaky way to take pictures of people, by holding my camera at my hip and pointing it up towards people but not looking at them. Lots of garbage but sometimes you nail it! However, at one point I was looking through my viewfinder and noticed a group of teenagers...I couldn't help aiming at them...and you'll see that the beauty who caught my eye most certainly saw my admiring aim and click! :D Pam, have you ever done city photography and pictures of people? The only images I found on your stream were of San Francisco, so maybe not? Or perhaps you just don't bother with them? I find city photography to be refreshing and interesting but you really do have to be in the right mood for it. People do NOT like their picture taken so you must be crafty...or ask their permission, but then it's no longer candid so forget it! I love architecture too...it's all really neat. Do you enjoy that sort of thing? Well, time to send more delicious soup your way...it's a cold and miserable mess outside, wouldn't be surprised to hear the same on your side! *BIG HUGS...AND SOUP!* :D Explored on 2/28/19, highest placement, #7.