Alvin and his mates may be cute - but the real guys have me snorting fire! It’s one thing to fight and struggle to grow a garden in zone 3 at nearly 9000 ft. elevation, but it’s even worse when the chipmunks and voles destroy all my progress and I watch all the money I spent on plants go into their bellies. 

Photos of the Week - Week 18

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 18, Light Painting

Photo by Lynn Watkins

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Lynn says:

So much fun this week. I tried wands and light writers and brushes, etc. I ran out of time to edit the one I wanted to use but looking forward to coming back to it when I get home. I had a lot of nice smooth ribbons with wands that I liked but I decided to post this one because of the unusual texture. I wish that I had noticed to avoid the light on the wall behind!!

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 18 - Red

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 18, Red

Photo by Laurie Lee

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Laurie says: 

First, this is a cell phone photo. I went to a local high school's annual play the other night but didn't bring my "formal" camera with me, which I regard still. When I saw this scene on the stage, I knew I had to give it a shot. Red is associated with the meanings of love, passion, joy, strength, courage, determination and more. I saw those great characters on this group of high schoolers. The last show on this stage was 2019. We all know the story after that. The play was such a success. Back to the image itself, with it being a jpeg phone photo I had limitation on editing quality but I managed to use several skills I have learned in this class and hope to bring some good of it. In addtion to the basic LR, I added a gaussian blur to soft the image first, then add a composite layer to break the totally black and dark stage background. Used brush to clear out some faces from the composite layer. Still wish I have had my camera with me that moment.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 18 - Morning Mood

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 18, Morning Mood

Photo by Linda Rowberry

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Linda says:

My Cheerios told me it’s going to be a great day in spite of waking up to dark skies and rain! Edited in BeCasso.

Photos of the Week - Week 17

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 17, Cracks

Photo by Mary degreef

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Mary says:

Getting hot here in Florida. These is just a few cracks in a big pile of dirt on the farm. I put a photo of fire on top, layer masked that all out, then brushed back in the cracks. I put the fire on top so the photo would have the meta data for this week. Used a filter from Topaz.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 17 - Dreamscape

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 17, Dreamscape

Photo by Nancy Maciolek Blake

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Nancy says: 

I thought I would like using the dreamscape technique with flowers – and I do – but I found that I especially like it applied to structures like nest boxes and buildings. Softening the texture while keeping the lines of the shape is really appealing to me. This nest box is one of several used every year by Tree Swallows. Later in the summer, the fields are filled with lovely pink Joe Pye Weed but right now there is only a hint of the beauty to come.

Basic edits in LR, no cropping. In PS, used a Gaussian blur layer of 110 pixels, multiply blending, followed by adjusting the levels of the flattened image.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 17 - Corner

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 17, Corner

Photo by Deb Story

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Deb says:

This is the corner of my creative space. I’m able to see outside. But also I have several little knickknacks and things that are part of my past. I edited this with both distressed fx and BeCasso

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 17, Corner

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 17, Cracks

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2022 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

This is an old Douglas fir log with a huge crack. It's essentially a large votive candle holder shot from the side. I saturated the colors and did a dreamscape which gave it a sort of sunset landscape effect.

Photos of the Week - Week 16

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 16, Triangles

Photo by Karen Watts

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Karen says:

This pretty blue spruce is in our neighbor's yard. It's very symmetrical, but I made it more so by doing a mirror montage. Then I lost track of the various filters I applied in Topaz. This morning I noticed the triangle fabric and decided it would make a good background.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 16 - Golden Hour

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 16, Golden Hour

Photo by Deanna Sprinkel

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Deanna says: 

This is an old time bench at our local train station. Just wonder the stories it could tell of all the passengers through the years. It was looking rather myterious in the Golden Light. Liked the way the light was playing on the bench and the long shadow the bench threw to the wall. The train station has been around since 1907 -- wonder how many thousands of folks have sat on this bench either going to or from Kingman??

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 16 - Shadow Play

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 16, Shadow Play

Photo by Warren Lee

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Warren says:

Antique Plate enhanced the natural warm tones of the long afternoon shadows. The reflection was a bonus. Wishing you joy in your experiments with light and shadow throughout the coming weeks.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 16, Shadow Play

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

I had dinner with a group of friends after dinner and while walking home the street lights provided a shadowing opportunity. I ended up blending two images and then added a blurred image of the carpet in the hotel room.

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 16, Triangles

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2022 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

The original image is an entryway next to a brick driveway. That image was blended with itself, but rotated and the blend was 50/50. I then used a filter in Prisma to change the color and final effect.