Photos of the Week - Week 31

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 31, Hands

Photo by Barbara Larsen

Click to view a larger image 

Barbara says: 

Hands holding a cup of coffee on a reflective kitchen counter.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 31- UpClose/Macro

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 31, UpClose/Macro

Photo by Carrie La Barge

Click to view a larger image.

Carrie  says:  

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 31 - Silhouette 

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 31, Silhouette

Photo by Linda Rowberry

Click to view a larger image.

Linda says: 

The weather this week was not the best for getting an outdoor silhouette so I did an indoor one. I placed this angel figurine in front of the window and I hung a piece of crinkled sheer fabric to disguise the light coming in from the window and the background. I edited the photo in the Distressed FX app to make the background a little better.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 31, Silhouette

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

Golden Gate nearing sunset.

\

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 31, Hands

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

This is a Mayan figurine estimated to be about 500 CE. I attempted to avoid the face so that the hands would dominate. This was taken at the DeYoung museum in San Francisco

Photos of the Week - Week 30

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 30, Automotive Abstract

Photo by Cindy Neville

Click to view a larger image 

Cindy says: 

My 2007 ice blue Honda Civic - playing with light.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 30 - The Story

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 30, The Story

Photo by Alda Vidrich

Click to view a larger image.

Alda  says:  

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 30 - Broken

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 30, Broken

Photo by Kathryn Zentner

Click to view a larger image.

Kathryn says: 

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 30, Automotive Abstract

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says: 

This started as rain drops on a red tail light on a red car. I then duplicated the image, enlarged the copy and rotated the copy 90°. The two were then blended. The final step was edited in Prisma app with Blossom

Photos of the Week - Week 29

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 29, In The Moment

Photo by Francisco Valladares

Click to view a larger image 

Francisco says: 

I’ve been on vacation for a couple of weeks so I have not had much time to post or work on my photos. we are on our way back to Texas as I write. My contribution this week is the damage I did after my salad in a very nice restaurant in Telluride, I call it “Abstract After Salad”. I took this photo with my IPhone, i did some editing in PS.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 29- BW-Color Dreamscape

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 29, BW-Color Dreamscape

Photo by Gabor Kovacs

Click to view a larger image.

Gabor  says:  

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 29 - Rainbow Colors 

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 29, Rainbow Colors

Photo by Sandy Low

Click to view a larger image.

Sandy says: 

The Pipe Dream sculpture, designed by Tim Bavington,is across from the Smith Center, the performing arts center in Las Vegas. It was inspired by “Fanfare For the Common Man “ composed by Aaron Copland.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 29, Rainbow Colors

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

We had a wonderful trip to San Antonio. Coming up from the river walk to the main street level this illuminated carriage was just approaching. The lights on the building added extra impact. Because it was dark, the image was a bit fuzzy - so I used the filter to just give it a painterly vibe. It was the most color photo I found all week.

\

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 29, In The Moment

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

In San Antonio I was hoping for some new sights - other than what I'm typicially presented with at home on the mountain. The River Walk was glorious, naturally, but it was the visit to the Alamo that gave me my photo for this week. There were a few characters dressed in period clothing. I was fascinated by the authenticity (or what appeared to be authenitic) and this image shows those details. In the late stages of editing I took this to sepia hoping to continue that authenitc ipact. I was struck by how the belt is wraped over and curios about some things..like the little brush.

Photos of the Week - Week 28

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 28, Year Word Revisited

Photo by Rocky Wells

Click to view a larger image 

Rocky says: 

On the Fence circa 1956
I was about 8 when my dad brought home a Polaroid Land camera model 95. He was a marshal in a small town in north eastern Colorado he needed the latest technology in crime scene documentation. All Polaroid pictures were black and white until 1963. The photography developing process, invented by Polaroid founder Edwin Land, employs diffusion transfer to move the dyes from the negative to the positive via a reagent. A negative sheet was exposed inside the camera, then lined up with a positive sheet and squeezed through a set of rollers which spread a reagent between the two layers, creating a developing film "sandwich". The negative developed quickly, after which some of the unexposed silver halide grains (and the latent image it contained) were solubilized by the reagent and transferred by diffusion from the negative to the positive. After a minute, the back of the camera was opened and the negative peeled away to reveal the print. Every pack of film came with a small black tube of fixative that had to be wiped on the positive before the image stated to fade. The fixer had a vinegar odor that was unmistakable. I kept the black tubes for many years and occasionally run across one in box of junk.
It’s easy in this day and age to take a perfectly sharp and well-focused color image and turn it into a vintage looking relic from a time when the world was a much better place. At this year’s July 4th parade, this little girl was eagerly anticipating the start of the procession. We were only about a half a block from the staging area and it was easy to see the horses and floats preparing to delight the crowd. She was across the street and her parents were just to her left. I removed some background distractions and a tree she was standing under. Happy 247th America!

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 28 - Distort/Liquify

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 28, Distort/Liquify

Photo by Kim Upshaw

Click to view a larger image.

Kim  says:  

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 28 - Year Word Revisited

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 28, Year Word Revisited

Photo by Sarah Carpenter

Click to view a larger image.

Sarah says: 

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 28, Year Word Revisited

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says: 

My year word is a point of view. The first week I was looking up. Here I’m shooting down. My goal has been to listen before speaking and hear what views others have. To open my mind and learn how to appreciate viewpoints that differ from mine. The image may not be a winner, but it’s not a view I see often.

Photos of the Week - Week 27

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 27, On The Fence

Photo by Bruce Hinde

Click to view a larger image 

Bruce says: 

On the Fence circa 1956
I was about 8 when my dad brought home a Polaroid Land camera model 95. He was a marshal in a small town in north eastern Colorado he needed the latest technology in crime scene documentation. All Polaroid pictures were black and white until 1963. The photography developing process, invented by Polaroid founder Edwin Land, employs diffusion transfer to move the dyes from the negative to the positive via a reagent. A negative sheet was exposed inside the camera, then lined up with a positive sheet and squeezed through a set of rollers which spread a reagent between the two layers, creating a developing film "sandwich". The negative developed quickly, after which some of the unexposed silver halide grains (and the latent image it contained) were solubilized by the reagent and transferred by diffusion from the negative to the positive. After a minute, the back of the camera was opened and the negative peeled away to reveal the print. Every pack of film came with a small black tube of fixative that had to be wiped on the positive before the image stated to fade. The fixer had a vinegar odor that was unmistakable. I kept the black tubes for many years and occasionally run across one in box of junk.
It’s easy in this day and age to take a perfectly sharp and well-focused color image and turn it into a vintage looking relic from a time when the world was a much better place. At this year’s July 4th parade, this little girl was eagerly anticipating the start of the procession. We were only about a half a block from the staging area and it was easy to see the horses and floats preparing to delight the crowd. She was across the street and her parents were just to her left. I removed some background distractions and a tree she was standing under. Happy 247th America!

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 27- Portrait Editing

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 27, Portrait Editing

Photo by Tammy Baumel

Click to view a larger image.

Tammy  says:  

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 27 - Reflection 

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 27, Reflection

Photo by Susy Boyer

Click to view a larger image.

Susy says: 

Cropping only. My granddaughter Georgia. Something about this photo was mesmerizing to me. The calmness and how she is under the glistening water but still looking at me.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 27, Reflection

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

We are re-doing our fish pond and today while filling with just the liner only, the light was dancing creating these amazing reflections. Prisma added a bit of excitment, but I reduced the effect so it wasn't overkill.

\

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 27, On The Fence

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

I had to find a way to 'make-do' with a Fence this week - at least one that had something on it. I didn't want to go sideways with 'indecision'. So this is my "fence" made from a shipping pallet and some wire. My attempt at growing Sweet Peas on the mountain. I made the fence for them to climb last summer but planted seeds far too late. This year I started them inside (March) and I'm having some mearsure of success getting them to climb. The big question is...will they bloom before frost? A colorful little fence in my garden.