Daisy, daisy....

I adore the simplicity of daisies.  I always think it's a shame when my son cuts the grass as the daisies get cut too.  But I know that they'll be back in a few days.  And I often pop out into the garden to take some photos before they get cut !

 This is the original image, straight out of the camera.  I laid on the grass to get this low viewpoint and selectively focussed on the closest petals so that everything else was out of focus.  I like the hint of yellow peeping out from behind the petals, so that you are left in no doubt what flower it is.  I also like that the background is green, so that the main flash of colour is the brilliant white of the petals.

This is the same image after I played around with the Florabella actions on it.  I used a layer of pearl at 72% over the background layer and boosted the vignette slightly.  I feel it has a kind of ethereal, dreamy quality to it this way.

Before I got the Florabella actions, you may have noticed that I did very little in the way of editting or post-processing.  I like to get the shot right in-camera, and having begun my photography when I was very young ( I used my dad's camera from the age of about 8, maybe even earlier) it was, of course, all film, so you HAD to know what you were doing or the whole, expensive, film was wasted. To say nothing of the cost of the processing too ! And the wait while the film you posted off was processed before being posted back to you !  But with these new actions I am enjoying seeing what things do and how the images can be altered to give a different "feel".  I am always aware that these looks are "on-trend" at the moment and will be replaced by different looks and needs at some stage in the future.  So it's important to get the image you set out to shoot correct in-camera. 

Sx

I've got a new toy.....

...well it's not a new toy as such, but I bought a collection of actions from http://www.florabellacollection.com/ and I've been playing with them. 

Before - pretty much straight out of the camera

Using a bit of the Florabella black and white blush action.  I lowered the opacity of the b&w layer to allow a hint of the original colour to come through.

Before with no processing

Using Florabella teatime action at full opacity.  I adore the vintage feel to this, which is something I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to do so far.

Again with no processing, taken in the winter.

This was using Florabella's black and white blush action but with a love action over it at a reduced opacity.  The hint of colour I just love !

Straight out of the camera, this is another in the series I shot at the end of December.

This is the teatime action again with a layer of swoon over the top at a reduced opacity.  I was interested to see how the actions would work on my flower photos.  I like this effect a lot.

I still have lots of playing and learning to do - I only got this last night after all !  I'm loving the effects so far, and seeing which ones work with what subjects.  I still have to learn how to do the fine tuning, as I'm working with PS Elements rather than a full PS package. 

I'm having fun :-)

Sx

Christmas is over.....

...and we all seem to have/have had colds.  I currently have a very sore throat but it doesn't seem to stop me eating chocolate or drinking wine !

The snow has all but gone now, we have had a big thaw and everywhere is slushy and wet.  So I am glad I got out when I did to take the snowy, frosty photos.

My 365 project is almost complete now too - only 1 more day to go. It has taken a lot of discipline to make sure I take a photo each day, and some of the photos are a bit....erm.... random!  But at least I have (nearly) completed the project.  I do hope I remember to take tomorrow's photo !

Today, for the project, I photographed a tulip from a bunch I have in the house at the moment.  I have said before that flower photography is my favourite type of photography to do, and I did enjoy myself for half an hour or so today while shooting it. 

This is one of my favourites.  I started off using a black card for the background, but there wasn't really enough light to shoot hand-held using natural light, even though I was shooting in the morning.  So, rather than get the tripod out or bump the ISO up really high, I used a lighter coloured background card, which I had forgotten I had, to bounce some of the window light back.  It also fitted in beautifully with trying to shoot flowers against a similar coloured background, as I have mentioned before. 

Hope you all had a lovely, relaxing and peaceful Christmas time - see you in the New Year

Sx

Well.......

.....it's been lovely and cold, but I don't think the majority of the country would agree with the "lovely" in that sentence.  Much of the country has suffered lots of disruption because of the snow and ice - it's not got above freezing here for days - but I am lucky that I've not had to travel too far, so apart from having to put an extra jumper on, it's not been too bad for us.

I have been out in the snow, taking pictures like I said I would.  I have already posted some, and I have a few more to put on here.

This one I took this morning.  Again it is a view across the fields next to our house, but the barn is off to the left out of shot.  I love how the frost has coated the trees.

This shows how gorgeously blue the sky was this morning.  The sun is bringing out the white of the frost, but hasn't had the strength to melt any of it.

Another frosty leaf.

This icicle is one of many hanging from the bars of my garden gate. 

This cobweb is hanging on the corner of my son's shed.  The frost makes it look like lace - you wouldn't think a delicate cobweb would be able to hold so much frost without breaking.....

So I have been out and taken some shots I am fairly pleased with.  I did have some lovely fingerless gloves which kept my hands nice and toasty while I was out shooting, but I have managed to lose one.  Hopefully Santa may bring me a new pair.

Keep warm

Sx

And.....

.....one from the weekend.

We went for a weekend away to Malvern, to visit Worcester where we used to live.  On the Sunday, we walked up the Worcestershire Beacon and this was the view on the way there.  The early morning mist was trapped in the valley, with only the higher ground showing.  The view is from Malvern looking towards Pershore.

Sx

It's still very cold.....

....but that is actually how I like it ! 

Yesterday, for my 365 project photo, I went out into the garden with my macro lens on my camera, to look for more detailed photos of the frost and ice.

These two pictures are very similar, but I like the clump of ice crystals on the right of the second photo.

In this photo I particularly like how the frost picks out the vein detail in the leaf.

At this time of year, and with all the frost, the photos have an almost mono feel about them.

The thaw is, apparently, on its way - no doubt we'll have more snow soon.  Probably before the ice on the driveway has melted !

Sx

More Snow.....

..... fell overnight

This is the field next to our house.  We often see owls and kestrels in that little barn over the hedge, and there are bats roosting somewhere nearby.  I have shot this view for my Project 365 several times this year, and am thinking that next year's project may be a weekly shot of this view, to show how it changes though the year, both naturally and as a result of farming.  Hmmm, maybe I need to think of something that will make it a bit more interesting tho.....

Sx