country weekend, part 1

once i hit the dirt roads

i realize that the sky is bigger

i have to stop
to take it in

looking back towards the city

looks like rain

i could take photos of clouds all day!!!!

blue skies ahead

less than an hour from home
and i'm already feeling the calm

relaxing by the fire

tomorrow a day in the forest!!
stay tuned.......

not too late

FYI
it's not to late to sign up for class
it starts monday august 2
i highly recommend it
marie is an excellent teacher
and in four weeks you will learn
tons of techniques to
sepia, vintage ,texture effects, frames
and layer and clipping masks
camera raw and actions
brushes, filters and layers
and fun projects to combine
all that you have learned
plus a bonus of goodies to use in your work
see some of our class work here

it's a great community of people

inspiring and having fun

the videos are wonderful

easy to follow and understand
i learned so many tip and tricks that i never knew about

playing around

with a little time today

i found a bunch of photos

taken a few weeks ago

all of telephone poles

they where just so grungy

above
a pole completely covered in tape

a few tweaks in ps and it looked

like a great background layer

then i found one of my statue photos from paris

some greek letters and a page form a math book

a few more texture layers

one from shadowhouse

lots of playing around

i must have tried every blending mode

and finally came up with this!

i wish i had time to play all day

new blooms

after the heavy rain last nite

and this morning

when i went out to access the damage

and discovered something new

i planted this hydrangea three years ago

this is the first time it has bloomed

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above, my photo with a mask from shodowhouse

using the difference blending mode

being inspired

after looking through carmi's

art girls guide to paris

i've been inspired to finish working on

my paris photos so i can make one myself

just as a keepsake to remember my trip

i'm on day 10 from my 12 day trip

and have over 5500 photos to go through


i'm hoping i'll finish this weekend
and then it will be the challenge on picking
my favorite 100 or maybe 200


all the photos above where taken
of the opera garnier

country grunge

everyone knows i love texture

grunge of any kind

so last weekend on our country road excursion

we spotted this tractor museum

it wasn't open for business

but the front was filled with old tractors and parts

i was in grunge heaven!!!

there was so much

i couldn't take the photos fast enough!!!


i take a lot of these types of photos
they make great texture layers in photoshop

here's one quick example

on the left part of a tractor and

on the right the roof of the museum

with the textured added

i used the overlay blending mode

set the opacity at 60%

and used the eraser to scrub away some areas

around the windmill
it just give the sky a little interest

my new favorite book

the next best thing to having your own personal

tour thought paris with carmi

is having a copy of her book

art girl's guide to paris
--------

i received my copy in the mail on my birthday

and have been enjoying it

each morning with my coffee

it is over a hundred pages of beautiful photos

a day to day guide through the neighbourhoods

trips and tricks on everything

places to stay, favorite shops,

flee markets and antiques, jewelry, fabric,

guided tours, attractions and the metro,

anything an artsy girl would need to know

with websites and phone numbers

it will definitely be in my bag for my next trip

but for now i can enjoy the memories

it is the perfect companion for anyone

traveling to paris