I love these enamel utensils. Same D.C. area boutique. Same iPhone.
Pastels
How sweet is this display? I shot this at a boutique in the D.C. area with my iPhone. Since I’m on vacation, I’ll be posting random iPhone shots this week.
Posted in photography
Tagged books, display, lamp, pajamas, pastel colors, sweaters, yellow nightstand
Leave a comment
iFun
I know, I’m supposed to be packing for vacation. But I had to share these before they got buried in the digital heap. Those who follow on twitter have already seen the first one:
As I’ve said before, I took this with my new iPhone. I then used a very cool app called ColorSplash which removes the color, then allows you to restore hues wherever you “paint” with your finger. Kind of like finger painting without the mess! Too much fun. It’s not perfect, because even if you zoom in, it’s hard to be precise with your fingers. I have a little bleedout around the lemon, but it doesn’t bother me. Oh, you can see the original here.
The photo below is a slightly different shot. The waitress just happened to be standing there, adding a nice checkerboard effect. On this one I used an app called “Polarize.” It turns your photo into a faux Polaroid, complete with white border and a place to add a caption. I put a space between “lemon” and “water,” but the program ran them together. Have a look:
The only things I don’t like about this app are that you can’t choose where to crop, (I’m not normally framing a shot with thoughts of a large caption area at the bottom) and it’s a bit darker than the original. But that’s part of the whole lo-fi, Polaroid vibe.
Here’s the original for anyone who’s interested:
Enjoy your weekend….
Posted in photography
Tagged booth, Coke glass, ColorSplash, diner, ice water, iPhone apps, lemon, Polarize
Leave a comment
A pitcher of roses
A shot of some pink roses I bought last week. Kind of “meh,” so I played around with LightRoom presets:
and Florabella actions:
Which one do you prefer?
OK, I’m going on vacation next week–yay!–but I’ll try to post an occasional photo along the way. I’ll be back on Tuesday, the 24th. Ciao!
Parting shots
No, your monitor’s not messed up. The water really looks that green. It’s a limestone pool at Dumbarton Oaks, and the cherub or putto is made of lead. I imagine there’s a bit of algae in there too.
This is called the “Terrior column” in the brochure and on the website, but I’ve never heard of the word. It’s modeled after a “19th century terrier’s tomb that the landscape architect, Beatrice Farrand, saw in Naples, Italy.” Monument to a dog?
I love the lines in this simple garden chair.
This lovely path leads to a statue….
None other than Pan, who points the way to Lovers’ Lane Pool and a Roman-style amphitheater:
Mildred Bliss and Beatrix Farrand collaborated for thirty years on the garden’s design. I’d say they got it right, wouldn’t you?
Posted in photography
Tagged amphitheater, Beatrix Farrand, cherub, Dumbarton Oaks, fountain, Georgetown, limestone pool, Mildred Bliss, Pan, Wash DC, wrought-iron chair
2 Comments
Random shots
SOOC,* with a bit of cropping all around. I’m not sure what to make of the sharpening that’s around the outline of the flower. Could be a Nikon D90 thing or the VIVID mode. I believe Flickr does some sharpening too. I shot this at a local nursery, right after the workers had sprayed everything with water. I like the effect on the petals.
I finally got around to uploading some actions I ordered over a month ago. This particular one is from the Florabella collection called Spring I. If you’re interested, visit the Florabella site for some fantastic inspiration. Shana Rae is a master of actions and textures. If you’d like to see the original photo, it can be found here. (Scroll down to the last photo.) I did almost nothing to the photo before adding the action. They’re that good.
Again, SOOC. I was still learning my around the new Nikon and was befuddled by the focusing system. So the part I want to be in focus isn’t and the other parts are. That’s OK, the colors are nice. Who knew zinnias were so photogenic? I’ll admit I’ve ignored annuals when it came to gardening. Perennials are more my thing–why plant something year after year when you can do it just once?
So, I found a cool blog that WordPress suggested to me at the bottom of my “dashboard”: Indulgent Daydreams.com. There you’ll find a daily, original haiku like the following….
INEVITABLY
inevitably–
things will get better or worse…
voting for better
Indulgentdaydreams.com
Enjoy….
* straight out of camera
Posted in photography, writing
Tagged haiku, IndulgentDaydream.com, train station, vintage cart, zinnias
7 Comments
Diner
It’s probably a flaw in my personality, but I have a weakness for diners. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a medium-sized city in the Midwest, and had never been to one, but I love them. The comfort food, the kitschy decor, the old-fashioned dishes and Coke glasses; the incredibly well-preserved waitresses who call you “hon.”
Not too long ago, Mr. Prose and I frequented two different diners in the D.C. area. (But not in the same weekend!) One is older than dirt and the other is part of a chain called “Silver Diner.” I like them both, but prefer the latter. The former is just too old, too…”authentic.” I don’t like actually seeing the cooks and the greasy grill. I want to keep that diner mystique intact. It’s part of the experience!
Anyway, this is what they brought me at the older establishment:
Easy, now. I only eat this about once a year! And I scraped the gravy off the meatloaf and ate only half of everything, OK? I love meatloaf!
The decor was decidedly campy:
Counter action
Our lovely booth
So then we went to a Silver Diner, but I didn’t have either of my cameras with me, so I whipped out my new iPhone and took my first “serious” photo:
Not bad, eh? I’d love to show you a very cool closeup of the lemon and ice, but I accidentally hit the wrong button and ended up taking a movie of it. A very brief film of ice touching lemons with 50’s music playing in the background. If that’s not campy, then I don’t know what is. Mr. Prose got a good laugh out of it. Hey, that iPhone manual is 243 pages and who has time for that?
Finally, for the record I had the Caesar salad with chicken. Nothing great to look at, but tasty.
Have a great Monday, everyone.
Posted in food
Tagged barstool, booth, Coke glass, ice, lemon, mashed potatioes & gravy, meatloaf, Silver Diner
5 Comments
I heart serendipity
Yesterday morning I found two wonderful things on line. The first one was a random tweet from Just Wanna Say It :
“Morning time: a cup of hot hello, a plate of crispy wishes, a spoon of sweet smiles, & a slice of great success especially 4 u.”
The second (and best): An email from a blogger I found recently and greatly admire, “36×37,” saying she’d given me the “Versatile Blogger Award“! How nice is that? My first blogging award, unless you count “Freshly Pressed.” Immediately, I was beset with angst and feelings of unworthiness because I’m just an amateur photographer who writes occasionally. Not a serious writer like 36×37. But then I remembered to kick my constant companion named Self-Doubt to the curb and say “Thank you!”
I came across 36×37 by sheer happenstance. I decided on a whim to see which blogs made “Freshly Pressed” that day and was struck by the image and title on her blog. The post was about fate and random happenings and contained this gem:
“So I’m thinking: If we’re driven to do something, then we really just need to do it. Even if that means clawing at something raw, announcing our imperfections and emabarrassing ourselves in a very public way. Even if that means sticking with it until we fail miserably. Because at least then we can say we tried.”
I think of that whenever Self-Doubt comes back to life just like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.
I also can’t get over how on my worst days, I find something like a truly inspirational post or quote that changes everything. I heart that.
So, part of winning the Versatile Blogger Award is listing seven surprising things about yourself, but I think I prefer to let those emerge gradually, through the blog. Instead I’ll list seven places I’ve been to and what I loved about them.
1) Greece–everything
2) Turkey–the ruins, the food, the Mediterranean, Istanbul, Ephesus, etc. etc.
3) France–everything, but mostly Provence and Paris
4) England–London and the Cotswolds; Bath and Oxford; the people
5) Czech Republic–Prague, one of the most photogenic cities in the world
6) Bavaria–the people, the food, the Alps
7) Lebanon–the ruins, the Mediterranean, the food
Now I’ll pass the award on to seven bloggers I think are stellar (in no particular order):
Enjoy….and don’t forget to check out 36×37!
Posted in writing
Tagged 36x37, blogging, fate, inspiration, serendipity, Versatile Blogger Award
11 Comments
“Vintage” photos
This is a shot of a vintage sailor shirt in an old store in Lititz, PA. They specialize in old military garb and materiel. I like the stripes in the background–very World War II Americana.
Just for fun, I turned it into a vintage photo in sepia:
This is so easy to do with Photoscape. Just click on “Filter” and choose the “antique photo” you want. (There are seven choices, but I’m not real crazy about the big inkblots.)
Here I added a little “Bloom” and “Blur” for a softer look:
Lastly, an old Coke sign:
Kind of blah, because I shot in full sun, because I liked the sign and I might not be back there again, ever! I darkened it a bit, then added some cross processing and a little “Agfa” for this:
More of a vintage feel. I love old signs.
Tomorrow, some writing for a change.
Posted in photography
Tagged American flag, black-and-white photo, Lititz, Navy, PA, sailor shirt, sepia, vintage, window display
2 Comments
Dumbarton Oaks, part III
Hey, welcome back. I apologize for the poor lighting, as the gardens are only open from 2-6 p.m. in the summer. The worst time for photographers. I’ll probably go back in the fall when the sun’s not so high.
This little allée is called “Prunus Walk” for the flowering plum trees. In the spring they’re covered with blossoms. Those unusual ogee rooflines belong to tool sheds in the cutting gardens. Here’s a look at one of the sheds in entirety:
Garden wall detail
And now we’re in the cutting gardens. Enjoy….
I love the way the Western sun is hitting this flower. I believe it’s some kind of hibiscus, but nothing like the ones I saw in California.
Buddleia or butterfly bush
This is an example of how having the sun behind your subject can work for you. I am liking this sunflower glow a lot.
Probably a gazania, maybe a zinnia.
There is just something so sweet about lantana surrounded by lots of green.
Well, it’s closing time, so we’re back at the gates. There wasn’t time for the rose gardens, so that’s another post. I wouldn’t mind living in the place across the street…how about you?
Posted in architecture, flowers, gardening, photography
Tagged blackeyed Susan, buddleia, Dumbarton Oaks, garden shed, garden wall, gazania, Georgetown, lantana, sunflower, Washington D.C.
7 Comments
Pearls & Prose 