Spanish honeymoon

Posted on June 10, 2010 by pearlsandprose

As I’ve posted before, my husband and I went to Spain on our honeymoon last year. Neither of us had been there before and it was his first trip to the Continent. We traveled to Madrid, Seville and Barcelona. I wish we’d had time to visit the Basque country too.

This is one of my favorite buildings in Madrid–the Metropolis. I took a shot of the top too:

Isn’t the workmanship gorgeous? I just can’t get over it.

This is an entrance to Plaça Mayor, one of our favorite squares. Lots of open-air restaurants and shops with street musicians to serenade under starry skies.

Here’s the square:

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Well, I’ve just discovered something. If I upload a photo from my files, I can choose the large size. If it’s from Flickr, the largest I can go is medium. I thought I had to pay for the larger size, no matter the source. This changes things a bit! I’ll have to compare the quality….bigger is not always better.

OK, I just viewed the photo and it’s weirdly compressed. It’s probably constrained by the column on the right side of the page.

Here’s the “medium-sized” version:

Sheesh, the small size must look like a thumbnail on here! I’ll stick to Flickr versions as much as possible.

Here’s a sweet fountain in the Parque el Retiro, another favorite place. There’s a lake and plenty of places to stroll or sit on benches.

The metro stop near the Prado. The subway in Madrid is very easy to navigate and will save you tons of walking. Much cheaper than taxis too.

Just more gorgeous architecture in Madrid. How I love it.

Adios!

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L’heure bleue

Posted on June 10, 2010 by pearlsandprose

I just learned something interesting. There’s a phenomenon called “l’heure bleue” or “blue hour” where the sky turns a gorgeous blue just before sunrise and after sunset. What’s amazing is that you can’t see this color with the naked eye–it just shows up in photos, according to the site bluehoursite.com. I might disagree with that after seeing the azure skies of Provence.

At any rate, the photo above was taken in Madrid at dusk and I have to admit I didn’t notice the color of the sky. I just liked the way the steeple looked all lit up. I should Photoshop that power line out of the photo, but it really doesn’t bother me that much.

This shot was also taken at dusk, last winter after one of our bad snowstorms. I’ve probably already posted this (sorry if I did) but wanted to illustrate the phenomenon.

The website will calculate when you can take the best photos during “blue hour.” I’m intrigued.

Thanks for stopping!

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More fun with texture

Posted on June 8, 2010 by pearlsandprose

In case you’re worrying that I’m going to do nothing but textures, have no fear. I’m just playing around with my new toy, Photoshop Elements 8. I’m pretty much a purist and not sure how I feel about altering a photo so drastically. It is very creative, but I love pure photography. At any rate, here’s an original of some potted hydrangeas I posted a while back.

As I said in a previous post, it’s fun to look for textures that are completely different from the original. Here I used an image of bright yellow crumpled paper. I think I used a soft linen texture too. I really need to keep a notebook on my process, but maybe not. I kind of like the idea of creating something once and only once.

Here’s the finished product:

I’m too new to this to give many tips, but here’s a good one: after you apply the texture and adjust the opacity, use the eraser tool to remove texture from something like the flowers so they show up better.

It’s a gorgeous day outside, so I’m off to shoot some (hopefully good) photos. I was indoors most of yesterday and need some fresh air.

Cheers….

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Wacky textures

Posted on June 7, 2010 by pearlsandprose

More experimenting with textures, especially unusual ones. I never know what I’m going to get when I add textures to my photos, but that’s half the fun. One thing I’ve learned: when selecting a texture, try the wackiest-looking one you can find, or the most different from the photo. Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails. Big time.

Here’s the original photo of some azaleas I shot at the National Arboretum. They are a sweet candy-pink and white.

Here’s the same photo with a couple different textures. One of them looks a bit like snow and the other is like leather with blue highlights.

Painting with textures
I think it looks kind of “painterly.”

This is a shot of flame azaleas I took awhile back.

Here’s the “textured” version:

azalea painting
Generally, I remove about half the color in the image, then apply the texture. It so much fun to play with the blending! The difference between “soft light” and “hard light” can be huge.

 I got both of these textures from a Flickr user named JoesSistah. She has like 1200 free textures on Flickr! Can you imagine how many possibilities there are? And that’s using just ONE texture. I tend to use two so far….

All post-processing done with Photshop Elements 8. It’s a safe bet to say I’ll probably be buying this when the free testing is over.

Thanks so  much for stopping by. I love comments, so feel free to leave one.

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Audiovisual treats

Posted on June 6, 2010 by pearlsandprose

I’m listening to classical music–Rachmaninoff to be exact–with my dog at my feet, looking at beautiful photos on Flickr. Heaven!

Here are some faves….

by Dorothée via Flickr

by Flipped Out via Flickr

by Giovanni88ant via Flickr

Edward Dullard via Flickr

Elloree Creations via Flickr

Such great inspiration for me. Hope you enjoyed the show….

Oh, the Rachmaninoff piece is “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto.” You can watch it here.

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Fun with texture

Posted on June 4, 2010 by pearlsandprose

I think I’m finally getting the hang of this texture thing. It can get addictive downloading free textures, but I need to stop or I’ll get so overwhelmed I won’t do anything. The possibilities are literally endless if you have too many of them.

First, a picture of some store-bought peonies in a vase near the dining room window. I cropped it down for some interest:

The glass is looking kind of pretty in this, I think. It’s a very simple, but lovely vase from my mom.

Here’s a full-view version done with two different textures:

Quite the contrast, hmmm?

I need to get out and take some photos…have been doing so much experimenting and reading tutorials lately, I haven’t been shooting much. The weather has also been ghastly. It’s a bit early for dog days, but we’re in them, alas.

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The Connectivity of it all

Posted on June 3, 2010 by pearlsandprose

This morning, I looked at Flickr photos and clicked on one that was really beautiful. It took me to a blog, which led to another blog with a link for a truly motivating video. It dawned on me that we are living in an era that is marked with connectivity. Just by clicking on a link, we can be in touch with some really exceptional people and ideas and images. Oh sure, the cynics will say there’s a lot of garbage on the Net, but there’s so much good too.

I am now in touch with people all over the world, just by uploading my photos. I’ve made some truly memorable connections I wouldn’t have made otherwise. I am…thankful.

Since it’s almost summer, how about some pictures of that quintessential summer place, Cape Cod? I went for the first time last year and fell in love with it. Martha’s Vineyard too. We’ll probably go again this year, and this time I want to see Nantucket.

This is a shop window on Martha’s Vineyard. I’ll take a lot more photos this year–the architecture and beach vibe are wonderful.

Lots of beautiful old Victorians on Martha’s Vineyard…this is a detail from the Oak Bluffs Inn. I want to stay there!

Pretty whimsical, yeah?

Have a great one….

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Making friends & textures

Posted on June 1, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Hello there! Hope everyone had a very nice and safe Memorial Day weekend. We were quite busy with parties and such, but had a great weekend overall.

I think the best part was making a new friend. Have you ever met someone and just taken to them immediately? To the point where you could have talked to them for hours? That happened to me at a party the other night. Now that I’m older, I find it harder to make friends, so this was a very nice surprise.

I had another lovely surprise when I looked through my photos just now. I’d forgotten about the rhododendron buds I shot earlier this spring. Here’s one au naturel….

And here’s one with some “soft focus”added.

OK, so I’ve been playing around with Photoshop Elements 8 for about a week now and am finally getting the hang of textures (I think!). Here’s a flower photo with Kim Klassen textures. I think it turned out pretty nicely….

Kim Klassen has a great blog where she offers instruction on textures and free downloads. I’ve learned a lot from her and am very grateful. If I ever get to the point where I can create my own textures, I will offer them for free too.

Thanks for stopping!

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Niki de Saint Phalle

Posted on May 30, 2010 by pearlsandprose

abandon

My friend Fran invited me to see the Niki de Saint Phalle sculptures outside the Museum of Women in the Arts and I accepted immediately. I love her stuff. We first saw her works outside the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris around 1990. I’d never seen anything like them before. Gorgeous glass mosaics applied to giant whimsical sculptures of things like red lips or oversized angels and fish.

This is supposedly Michael Jordan:

And this is one of “Three Graces”:

one of the three graces
Isn’t she wild?

This one is called “Arbre de Serpents” or Serpent Tree. I like the juxtaposition of the sculpture with the bored-looking drivers on the street. Just another day on New York Avenue in D.C.

If you want to see more of Saint Phalle’s creations, there’s the sculpture garden in Escondido, CA, that houses nine of her sculptures plus a serpent “wall.” It’s supposedly the only sculpture garden in the U.S.

Finally, we had a decent lunch inside the museum and this was the view from where I sat. Oh, they knew how to embellish back in the old days, didn’t they?

This is one of many chandeliers. Oh, to have the space for them.

There were a couple Frida Kahlos in the museum, but othewise the collections weren’t that great.  If you want to see fantastic art in Wash D.C., run to the National Gallery, one of the best art museums in the world. And it’s free. I must spend a day there soon. The Italians, the Dutch and the Impressionists will make you swoon.

Thanks for stopping!

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Claus Porto soaps are da bomb

Posted on May 25, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Photo from amazon.com

Ever heard of Claus Porto soaps from Portugal? I don’t remember how I found out about them, but I’ve been a fan for about 15 years now. They are amaaaaaazing. Really big bars, but with indentations for your hand so you don’t drop them.

Incredible range of fragrances. My favorites are Banho/Citron Verbena (clean, fresh, citrus-y) Lysia/Mimosa (a hint of orange blossoms) and Ilyria/Honeysuckle. They are never overpowering–just a faint hint of fragrance.

And the large size lasts for months. The reason for this is that the soap bars are milled SEVEN TIMES. No triple-milled nonsense here.  When you see how long they last, you’re not as put off by the price. Right now you can get three 12-oz. bars for $54 at http://www.lafcony.com/clausporto/

Photo from amazon.com

If you want to sample the fragrances, amazon.com has an offer of  five guest-size soaps for $50 here.

[I’m seriously regretting not buying Amazon stock at this point.]

The best part is that the soap is made from shea butter, which is a fantastic moisturizer. I have sensitive skin and it has never bothered me like other scented soaps.

A little bonus is that the packaging is beautiful. I almost hate to unwrap them, so I stick them in my lingerie drawer for the scent.

I looked at the Claus Porto web site just a minute ago, and they’ve been in business since 1887! They also have liquid soaps now. I’ve never used them, but they’re probably fantastic. Now that we can’t take many liquids on flights, I need the solid form.

Enjoy….

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