more from the cemetery

for as far as the eye can see

there are

mausoleums, crypts and graves

at first you might think they are all similar

but each one unique

every door, handle, window,

architectural feature

have their own little details

the paths winds up and down hills

in all directions

every turn something more amazing awaits

one of my favorites

at first glace you think

"this ones really different"

as you walk a little closer

you realize how much detail there is

the bottom half of the door
is a grid of owls and flowers
---------
even the patina was a work of art





the folds of the robe look like they move with the shadows

the mystery to see who it is under the hood

------

even as we peaked inside

we where amazed to find a staircase

going down

--------

all the photos taken this spring at

the cemetiere du pere-lachaise

see more from my paris trip here on my flickr page

i love texture

i'm on day seven of my paris photos

which was one of my favorite days

we wondered for at least 6 hours through

the cimetiere du pere-lachaise

i could have spent at least another day


it was very overwhelming
so many details

i took over 800 photos
mostly of the rust!!!

working in RAW

that's camera raw

i'm on week two of

marie otero's

digital magic

on line class

(loving it!)

i don't shoot in raw

so i've never been exposed to it

or did i know that i could use my jpegs

marie has shown us the difference

and how to clean up an otherwise

disappointing photo

when i'm out taking photographs

first i take a lot and second i don't

like to think about it too much

my camera is usually set on automatic

(except when indoors or wheni have the patience)

and i work on them when i get home

what i do think about is

"that's a great shape", or

" that will make a great frame"

or cool grunge

"i can make a great overlap in ps"

or just " i like that"

so needless to say when i get home

i spend alot of time organizing and

cleaning up my favorite shots

------

above a shot from my paris trip

we where on the shady side of the

opera garnier

working in raw makes it so easy to

improve any photo

another before and after
the day before we went to the
cimetiere du pere-lachaise
i took a photo class with sophie pasquet
as we wondered around montmartre
it was a very hazy day
we played with my camera settings
to get some really great shots
so the next morning when we got to the
cemetery my camera was still on manual
and i took about 20 photos before i noticed
(not enough coffee)
i did try to fix them while on my trip with not much luck
and now that i know about raw......
it's a whole new world !!!
thanks marie!!
-------
if you missed out on taking this class or
would like to sign up for the next one
space is limited
so you better e-mail marie
and reserve a spot

encaustic class

today was my last class until the fall

i've been wanting to do something with

my paris photos

finally i got my printer working

(thanks lennie)

so i could enlarge the image

-------

the background was a mix of

taupe, white, cream and beige

i used the iron to smooth it out

so i could do a photo transfer

after the transfer was in place

i used a stencil to add the letters

and with a little red mixed with the taupe

i added more wax around the edges and

some burnt umber oil paint to

bring out the texture on the background

it needs a little more work

but i'm happy so far

-------

this summer i will set up a table in my garden

and see what fun i can have using

the blow torch on the wax

saturday nite iphone

when my friends said they were taking me to

see the lunacy cabaret on saturday nite

i wasn't sure what to expect

we arrived at zero gravity around 8 pm

luckily it wasn't sold out

the theme

disco

the first perosn i notice was

anthony, seen above

or should i say i noticed

his 2 and a half foot afro first

"these boots where made for walking"

size 14 at malabar
or so i was told

-----

i spent the hour before the show

taking shots of the audience

loved paula's peacock eyelashes

the silk show was amazing
there was also
a fire act
comedian
magic act
singers and dancers
you name it!!!!

angel wings meets gadiator girl



"sock it to me baby"
sorry i can't remember her name but
she reminded me of goldie hawn
------
all the photos were taken on my iphone
using the camera bag app
there are 12 different applications
i had fun trying them all
above are just a few of my favorites
i can't wait to go again!!!

digital magic and paris

it's hard to believe its been 8 weeks

since returning home from paris

i've been busy going through

the 5507 photos taken there

i'm about half way

(i'm working on a slide show

so far ....167 photos)

---------

i started my on-line class with

marie otero

called digital magic

the first weeks projects have been amazing

marie is an excellent teacher

i've gotten my moneys worth with

just the tips and tricks

above, one one the projects for class

using a clipping mask and tape texture

created by marie

photo needs no explanation

for this photo taken in montmartre

we learned how to desaturate

and to use a layer mask to hide/ reveal color

for this project, photo taken at versailles

we used several texture layers

a gradient map and the dodge tool

the sky was a little empty so i added the map
-------

i'm so looking forward to week two

rainy dayz and photoshop

usually i post my encaustic class on wednesday

but it was cancelled

which is ok because next week we will make it up

by having a 6 hour class!

i had already planned to meet leslie

in the distillery before class

so off i went in the pouring rain

-----

before i entered balzacs

i snapped the above photo with my i-phone

we have been saying

"we should get together"

for at least a year!!

it was so nice to have a

one on one

chat and coffee

next time

we won't let so much time pass!!

--------

above my decaf lait

using the camera bag app

set on holga

this one for you leslie

"beanie" is as cute as ever

and had emptied out the toilet paper

cabinet while i was out

but who could get mad at this face???

after my morning coffee with leslie

i had lunch with lugera

sushi.....yummm
(thanks lu)

it had stopped raining long enough

for me to get this shot of the puddle

in her driveway

once i got home i spent some time

working on my on-line lessons

and came up with the above project

using marie's layer mask and some text
it needs some more work

but my eyes are getting tired

tomorrow's another day

time flies

i've been so busy

with my garden, encaustic

and on-line classes
that i just noticed its been 2 years

since i started my blog

i've never been one to journal

so it is interesting to go back and

re-read my thoughts

and to have a record of so many things

------------

the blog world is a wonderful place!!!

i've met so many wonderful people

have been inspired and have learned

so much about this world and

can't image my life without it

a special thank you to all my friends

for taking the time to visit me

and all your encouraging and thoughtful comments

---------

above, a shot on my i-phone

while wondering through

leslieville

-----------

a few of my favorite postings from the past

a day of sharing words

been there, done that

my paris trip

beanie baby

street art

one of my favorite things to photograph

is street grunge

(they make great background and overlays in ps)

bulletin boards, mailboxes,

cracked and peeling anything

stone, wood, metal

rusted objects and telephone

poles

like the one above

it caught my from across the street

it was the blue base

as i was taking photos

moving up the pole

i noticed a photo of a telephone pole and an another

so i read it

bearing witness:

totems of communications
pat dumas-hudecki

what a cool idea

as i wondered around the pole taking shots
i wondered what was part of the art and what
could have been already there


now i must be on the hunt for more!!!

encaustic class

today i was playing around

experimenting with texture

my color palette-- ochre, green and browns

using the iron to move the colors on the canvas

a coat of white--too much--scrape it back down

adding drips in cream-- better

not sure exactly what this would evolve into

maybe a landscape??

the brown seemed too heavy so

i scraped most of it off

revealing the original base color

now what?

well, once my teacher turned it upside down

thank you!!

it became more interesting

more ironing to blend the top with the bottom

just a little raw umber to highlight the drips

and class was finished

-----------

when i was playing with the photos in ps

i decided to add a some text and trees

after a few layers and blending modes

----------

i love using my encaustics as backgrounds in ps

waiting patiently

after watching everyone post their wonderful blooms
mine finally opened today

maybe it was the lucky ladybug
but by dinner they were in full bloom!!
------------
peonies in my garden

blooming now!

things are really starting to happen in the garden

the honeysuckle is smelling so sweet

and both the weigelas are bigger than ever

even the spiderwort is out early

one of my favorites

columbine

-----------

layer mask found at shadowhouse

encaustic class

as i was removing wax from my canvas board

(it wasn't what i though i wanted for my next project)

my teacher, heather, said i should save the strips

and used them in another project

maybe a collage or something abstract

setting it aside to work on another background

i was overwhelmed with all the red on this one

so i decided to scrap it down

i thought it was another one gone bad

to my surprise i really liked

what it was reveling below

it was starting to look like a landscape

well before you knew it the

strips from the last project landed on top

and a forest was born

what amazes me most

is that after 2 years of classes

and working with wax

that the possibilities seem endless!!!

once i had the idea and concept

i found 3 boards that fit nicely together

i simply added clear wax and ironed it

added more wax and then scrapped it

adding some green and brown oil paint

the too end pieces looked like tree bark

so i added a coat of white paint over the strips

little more oil paint here and there

and before i knew it

another wonderful day in class!