Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: sparkle

(+5 insets!) (Please view large!) Today I'm taking a break from my San Anselmo photography because it's Macro Monday and the theme didn't happen down there: frost! I was really excited when I saw the theme because I am so crazy about this subject! I could see a potential problem though. We aren't having a usual frigid winter and our days are often too warm for frost. With that in mind I figured I'd be using an image from my last frosty photo adventure. I crossed my fingers though and hoped it would be frosty during the weekend when I usually do my Macro Monday photography. Saturday was a bust--it turned out to be a low of about 40 and even though it wasn't frosty, it was a genuinely beautiful day. It was super for Steve because he was working on our deck and it was very comfortable working conditions. Sunday rolled around and I was encouraged by the chilly temperature of about 35 degrees on our porch. Walking down our road, I could see there was the slightest dusting of frost in some shady areas but that was about all. I was discouraged and thought I'd be wasting my time trying to find reasonable frosty images. Then I realized how silly I was being. Hello? I have a macro lens! And that means frosted sugar on everything! I marched up the hill, into the house, grabbed my camera and flash setup, popped on my knee pads and out I went, making a beeline towards a frosty spot I saw in our meadow. Silly me indeed! It took about two seconds to find a frosty leaf…then another…and ok, well I went completely crazy. About 45 minutes later and some 350 pictures, I finally stopped and went back into the house to copy my pictures over. So many interesting and pretty frosty things! Droplets from melted frost…cool shadows on frosty leaves…thorny leaves with frost…acorns and caps and wasp galls with frost…oh my, how do I pick? Oh, and I couldn't resist pictures of light shining through leaves…they are just so pretty. I ended up processing 6 for today, you'll see 5 insets to view as well! The moral of the day: Don't be a defeatist! Open your eyes and you will find what you are looking for…and perhaps too much of what you're looking for! :D Pam, I looked to see what frosty images you had in your photo stream and I was delighted that you have taken some very pretty shots! I especially liked your Jack Frost picture! It's fun to look at frost on cooler or warmed days because the frost can sometimes appear quite different. The feathery frost in your picture is so pretty and something I admire on the windows and roofs of our cars whenever it's cold enough! Here's hoping that you're staying warm and comfy today my dear! *BIG HUGS!!!!!* Explored on 1/15/19, highest placement, #1.

I use RAW image format when I take pictures, and to process them, I use Canon's RAW image tool. There is an option called "Auto", which adjusts the image the way the program thinks it should look. It's usually wrong but I like to see what it comes up with, since I will sometimes start my processing there and if its close and then adjust various sliders. In this case, the image you see is exactly what the software thought was right. I instantly had two reactions: "OMG this is nothing like what it really looks like!!!" and then, "But you know... hmm... wow... I actually really like it!" I decided to process it this way and the only thing I did was remove noise that was added to the image with this appearance. (By the way, in reality, the pink is actually a medium BROWN with just a hint in the direction of orange. :D I think the RAW tool has been eating mushrooms! :D :D :D

We have a heated bird bath, and all around the edge of it was this amazing formation of frosty trees! Isn't this cool?! :D I am totally fascinated by the way that frost forms!

This isn't the most exciting picture in the world, but the reason I think it's special is the wonderfully detailed frost! Almost like snow flakes, I think this was so cool I needed to share this image! What's also interesting is that the detail in this frost is so small that you cannot see it with your naked eye. I could tell there were "teeth" and sharp edges, but I couldn't see the details. I did know that the frost was going to be very special to look at, and I was right! :)

6 more pictures in notes above! :) I feel SO MUCH BETTER today!! Yesterday I thought I might be getting sick because I was so run down from my bike ride the day before. But I took Airborne last night and this morning and I was feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed very soon after I got my day started!! :D What better way to celebrate a close shave with a bad cold than a beautiful photo walk along our ridge line with Moosie and Zoe to help supervise?! :) Such a lovely morning, it promised to get warm by the afternoon, but the temperature was perfect for our walk! Wandering along, I found myself stopping in front of a very tall Ponderosa Pine tree that had dried sap crusted all over one side. I think that Acorn Woodpeckers may have drilled holes to store nuts and caused the sap to run, but it was dry now and very interesting to look at. Studying the crystalized resin, I hoped to spot some droplets, and as you can see, I found one!! As I began taking pictures, I slowly moved my angle and saw that the sun was at the right angle to cause a star burst, so I took a set of images with the hopes that one would have a brilliant burst. I got lots of pictures that would have worked fine, but the second I saw this one, I burst out with a big, happy, "YES!!!" :D Henri Frédéric Amiel (27 September 1821 – 11 May 1881) was a Swiss philosopher, poet and critic. Wikipedia: Henri Frederic Amiel Explored on October 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

1 more picture in a note above! :) This morning I went to check the seedlings and instead of 22, there are now 28 little seedlings stretching their arms to the sun! :D When I looked closely, I saw that the tiny leaves were covered with droplets from the rain and even though I shared a picture just yesterday, I just HAD to take pictures of the droplets with sun flares!

I thought it would be raining this morning so I was overjoyed when I saw the sun shining between the clouds, and I ran out to get my pictures! When I saw this image this on my computer, I couldn't help myself and said outloud in my most dramatic voice, "I'd like to thank the Academy!" LOL, doesn't this bejeweled moss sporophyte look like it's addressing an enchanted crowd?! So much fun!! The Academy Awards, informally known as The Oscars, are a set of awards given annually for excellence of cinematic achievements. The Oscar statuette is officially named the Academy Award of Merit and is one of nine types of Academy Awards. Organized and overseen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are given each year at a formal ceremony. The AMPAS was originally conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio executive Louis B. Mayer in 1929 as a professional honorary organization to help improve the film industry’s image and help mediate labor disputes. The awards themselves were later initiated by the Academy as awards "of merit for distinctive achievement" in the industry. Wikipedia: Academy Award

This was my other pick this morning, another sporophyte speaking to an enraptured audience! The Gettysburg Address is a speech by the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, considered one of the best-known in American history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. Wikipedia: Gettysburg Address

This morning I went down to our seasonal pond to take pictures of the ice that's forming on the water. However, I started going crazy taking pictures of frosty things poking through the ice, and then I found this grass topped with frost, the sun sparkling on the ice and making this incredible bokeh! Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, also called Sakyamuni, was a sage from the ancient Shakya republic, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is also referred to as "the Buddha" or simply as "Buddha." Wikipedia: Buddha

From the archives, I took this picture just a few days ago. I was down at the front gate and noticed this leaf laying on the cement, covered with silvery droplets. I was going to turn this image into a textured piece, but after fooling around with it for a while, I decided that it looked best without a texture. I hope you like it! :)

I discovered that our juniper bush is covered with berries and the needles repel water beautifully, holding droplets of water like countless crystal balls. I am looking for visions of bright and dazzling future for all of us! :) Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and the most influential physicist of the 20th century. While best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"), he received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory. Wikipedia: Albert Einstein

We are now having crazy weather days, when it rains hard for 15 minutes and then the sun comes out. Just when you think the day will be beautiful, the skies close in and the rain pours down again! The air changes from still and quiet to a gale-force wind within moments. The sky can be dark and ominous one hour, and bright blue with puffy clouds rolling by the next! I didn't know if I'd be able to get out between the storms, but every time I looked out our downstairs bathroom window, I kept looking at the window screens we have leaning against the house. Some of them have been blown over from the wind and are laying on the ground. It is not possible to resist staring at the droplets of water resting there, shimmering when puffs of wind make them tremble and shake, glimmering brightly whenever the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. I have been waiting for the perfect day to take pictures of these screens, and today was it! :D The one thing I did was to carefully pick up one of the screens and bring it over to rest on the cover of our spa so that I could take pictures from underneath. I'd taken test pictures a couple of weeks ago and decided that it would be nice if I could take some from below as well as from above. This is the picture I liked from underneath, capturing a droplet complete with a starburst. If you look, you can see a partial yin-yang symbol in the droplet!! There is also a heart in the background, do you see it?! :) John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political economy. His writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. Ruskin penned essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art was later superseded by a preference for plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, and architectural structures and ornamentation. Wikipedia: John Ruskin Explored on Flickr on February 23, 2013. Highest position: #435.

Here is another picture from today, and if you can believe it, I did NOT create that dazzling starburst!! I took a lot of pictures trying to focus on the little glinting spots of the droplets, and this one was pretty much dead-on! What a starburst!!! For those of you who cannot seem to get this kind of shot, the way to get them is to find a shiny subject--it could be droplets or a shiny surface--and move around the subject until you find it gleaming the brightest. Try to set your focus at where you think the center of that glimmer is, and then take a bunch of pictures from slightly different angles and many different apertures. Hopefully when you look at the pictures on your computer, you'll find a dazzling star shining back at you! :D I would love to know if you are able to get those pictures you're hoping for! :) GOOD LUCK!

Here is a close up showing the wonderful stained-glass effect that happens when a film of water fills a tiny square of mesh! I added a bit of saturation to give this image more color, I hope you like it! :)