The Last Rose of Summer?

Linking up with Texture Tuesday.

Used Kim Klassen’s latest “magic” texture, kk_magic0916.

Wabi-Sabi Roses

In the setting sun….

 

Almost perfect … makes perfect.

This photo was textured using “Rainy Days”, a texture by Kim Klassen.  Linking with Kim’s   Texture Tuesday.  Kim has a new site — and it is beautiful.   You should stop by for a visit.

Happy Thanksgiving

Linking up with Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.  This image uses 3 of Kim’s textures:  kk_1301, kk_2701, and kk_bb2.  

It’s still Tuesday somewhere: Texture Tuesday

It’s been awhile since I participated in Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.   Once I started to do a quick edit this image, I ended up playing around with it for a long time.  And then suddenly it wasn’t Tuesday, but Wednesday.   Although I didn’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight, I will wither soon if I don’t get some shuteye.  But, before I go, here’s an image I shot a few weeks ago.   Love how these beautiful flowers just seem to spring forth everywhere around here.   Driving down any street and seeing these in the ditches and beside the shoulder of the road, especially where they have not been planted — and they are planted in many, many gardens — makes me smile.  The little rebels!

Rudbeckia

Textured with the following textures by Kim Klassen:  July_2, Elevate, and Chalkmagic.   Added — and subtracted in parts — two color fill layers, one brown for background, one yellow for the flower to bring back some color lost with the textures.   As I went to post this, I saw that Kim had made 3 new textures available.    What could I do but use one of them — Culligan_scripted — to frame the shot.

Pink Dandelion?

I’m not sure what this is, but it looked like a dandelion to me.  Isn’t that pink pretty?  Not sure what others would call it, but I wouldn’t consider it a weed — even if it were yellow.

Pink Dandelions

Linking up with Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.  This week’s edition required using at least one of Kim’s new textures inspired by the television series Downtown Abbey.   I’m not a Downtown fan, but her new textures are nice.   I used Violet in this one, first with blending mode Color Burn, and a second layer as Screen.  For the frame, I used another of Kim’s textures — Sybil — first applied as a normal layer, then again with blending mode of Color Burn, then a third time as Multiply 100%.   I also used a light pink gradient, masked off the blooms, and a darker pink over the flower petals to bring back the color muted by the textures.

A few of my favorite things

Flowers and the beach are a winning combination for me.   I found this flower, an East-Coast Dune Sunflower,  blooming at the edge of the beach the other day, following a wind storm.  Love the sand in the center of the flower.

Linking up again with Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.

This image was created in Photoshop Elements 8, using 4 different textures by  Kim Klassen.  First, I used Unleashed (Opacity “Pin Light”, 40%), with the texture removed from the flower.   Then applied Sunkissed (Normal @ 100%) & MusicLoving (Overlay).  Merged both textures & deleted portion over the flower and changed Opacity to Hue reduced to 15%.  Copied Hue layer, and removed center, creating a lighter edge around image.  Added text, then merged all layers before appling texture Elevate (Opacity Darken at 25%),  copied this layer again, removing all of layer except the outside edge, creating a darker frame.  Flattened all layers.  Et Voila!

Peaceful Morning

Ingredients for a perfect breakfast:  A cup of java, a slice of orange, a book, served on the deck while listening to the gulls and the surf.   I could do this every morning.

Peaceful morning: All’s right with the world

But, if I didn’t have the beach, or the sun —  or even the fresh fruit — it would still be near perfect with a cup of coffee and a book.

A cuppa

These are my entries for Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday, Cuppa Love edition.

“Recipes” for images:

Beach Coffee:  Canon EF-S 55-250 lens, f/22, 1/200, ISO 400.  Applied Kim Klassen textures Return & Sunkissed.  Applied Elements 8 filter Rough Pastels, Copied layer with Blending of Multiply to burn out edges for vignette effect.  Applied Kim Klassen texture 1301, Added Photo filter “Underwater”, Darkened skies slightly using smart brush tool.

Cuppa:  Lensbaby Composer Pro, Soft Focus optic, F/8, 1/250, ISO 400;  Applied Kim Klassen textures:  1301, Sunkissed & Cherish

Texture Tuesday

I followed on link today on Naomi Wittlen’s lovely blog, Poetic Aperture.   The link referenced the source of the texture used in a photograph she posted.  That link lead me to Kim Klassen’s Cafe, where I spent far more time than I had to spend today.    Kim creates lovely textures for use in Photoshop.   She also sponsors a “Texture Tuesday” blog party.   Before I knew it, I had forgotten about my to-do list (which must be done tonight) and had downloaded some of Kim’s free textures and was experimenting with them.   I’m wondering if Santa would consider it too late to add something to my wishlist?

This seems a nice, bright image for a dreary, rainy day.

Stop. Sit. Watch. Wonder.

I changed the perspective a little bit on the original image.   Then, I applied Kim’s texture Wonderful Magic.  In the Layers palette, I set the mode to Screen and the opacity to 60%.   Then I added another of Kim’s textures, Providence, in another layer, with the mode set to Multiple.   I moved the opacity slider way down.   I added the text — one of my favorite quotes from Henry David Thoreau.   I copied the background, with mode set to Multiply to darken the image.   I then used the Rectangular Marquee tool on the top layer (the one with all the textures applied) to select a major portion of the image and hit the delete key, punching out a great big hole in the layers, revealing the darker image of the park bench.   Lastly, I applied Providence one more time, with a very low opacity. I should have kept note of what percentage I used, but I did not.  For the last steps, I used my signature brush to apply my name and oakleaf/acorn logo and flattened the image.  Voila!

There you go: my first (successful) use of a texture in Photoshop Elements.

I’ve posted this image, shot last June at Aullwood Audubon Center near Dayton Ohio.  You can see the version I posted originally here.

It is too late to join Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday blog party for the last Texture Tuesday of the year.  I would have joined the blog party if I had found this last week!  Although there is a brief break through the end of the year, Texture Tuesday will be back regularly on — you guessed it! — Tuesdays in 2013.  I suspect I’ll have one or two things to submit by the time it returns!