Happy happy happy, joy joy joy!

I love finding new Photoshop Actions that make photography life artsy fartsy, easier and faster! I was looking at some pictures on the web taken with a Holga 120N, and decided that I just couldn't stand the thought of going online and ordering it, waiting around for it to arrive, nor waiting for one hour processing once I had the roll of film used up.  Sooooooo, being totally ready to give the Holga look a try, I did some googling and found a fantastic Photoshop action.

 The Holga Simulator Action comes courtesy of Alberto Campione.  Here's a couple of photographs after I ran the action.

Once I ran the actions, I did a little tweaking.  I blurred the frame a tad using gaussian blur, brightened them up a bit, and then in the second and third images,  I used the lens blur filter and brought back a little more detail near the center of the picture.  If you use Photoshop, head over and download this action.  It's fun, and most of all it's FREE!

So now, do I go out and purchase a Holga and film, or do I continue to do it the easy way??????   Hmmmmmm, jury is out on this one.

Have a great day!

$;`)  Frances

PS -- Thank you Albert Campione for this fabulous action!

PSS
The Holga 120N is a very inexpensive camera btw!

Color -- or Black and White???

Now that I have a camera in hand, I can get back to work!  The past couple of days, I've been shooting some pictures at Coyote Ranch for Crane West.  It's a great place to park your RV -- or if you're RV less like me, you can kick back in one of their air conditioned cabins.  Donna Adams has created a beautiful resort for RV'rs and guests as well.  The Ranch has a great lodge, cabins (I think there are 21), swimming pools, laundry and showers.  They are busy, busy, busy getting everything completed before next week -- because Hotter N Hell Hundred kicks off Thursday.  And you know what that means in this area ---  NO HOTEL ROOMS!

I was shooting till sunset -- when I captured a photo of the Chapel that is under construction.  This is the second time I've been out there at sunset -- and both times, I was treated to spectacular colors.

After I finished processing and cropping this photo in Photshop, I decided to see what it would look like in black and white.  Now, I can't decide which one I like better, color or black and white.

Have a wonderful weekend!

:^) Frances

Up in the air and on my derriere

I'm still on cloud nine from yesterday's heli ride! I buzzed through the pictures I took and worked on a couple that I found interesting.

These two shots were taken up in the air.

Plowing

 

 

And these two shots were taken from about my derriere level.

This is my neighbor's new puppy.  I call her Minnie Pearl.  I know I should probably ask my neighbor what here real name is, but to me, Minnie Pearl fits her.  She's a calico colored, cow dog that is just busting with personality. 

Well, it's Saturday and it's going to be another day of 100+ temps.  I'm getting ready to do my woo hoo weather dance, because we should dip back into the nineties next week!

Have a great weekend -- Ya'll!

|' ;^)  Frances

Meet Me In St. Louis Part Deux

I may have enough pictures to post for a month! Even though it was mainly misty, rainy and cloudy during our stay in St. Louis -- I managed to snap off about a thousand pictures (most of them at the Cardinals/Braves ballgame).

Firstly, I need to give a belated shout out to my birthday man -- Rick. We celebrated his birthday in St. Louis! Thank you  to his buddies who called and wished him a happy birthday (wish Rick would have put Mike on speaker phone so I could hear him sing)! He had a great time -- I think I had the better time!

I've strayed a tad from doing what I love most, taking photos and digitally altering them in Photoshop.  So -- I found a number of pictures from our trip to St. Louis that I thought would make great mirrored images.

 This is a photo of the ceiling and windows inside the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Ok.

Mirrored images of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo.

View of the engine and tail section of our Southwest Airlines plane

Enough playing for one day -- back to work!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

;~" Frances

Hiatus - over!

Ok -- I've got to come clean.   The photo-a-day venture I undertook just plain sucked the fun out of photography.  Maybe because I was limiting myself to using only one lens, maybe the gray yucky weather we had, or maybe it was just my poor little mind just couldn't take the pressure. 

So, the next time I come up with the urge to undertake a project like that, Rick has my permission to slap me on the back of my head and snap me back to reality!

Well, what did I do with my time??????   Can you say veggggggeedddd?????

Last month was a fun month of basketball! Rick and I went down to College Station to watch Texas A&M play (and beat!!!) the University of Texas.  Unfortunately, TAMU got knocked out of the championships yesterday by Purdue in OT.

Our friends Mike and Marcia invited us to fly with them to Bartlesville, Ok to watch the Midwestern State University men's basketball team win yet another game.  The Mustangs are in Massachusetts getting ready to play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on Wednesday.   We'd love to be there cheering the team on -- but alas, it's a tad bit far.  Luckily, KAUZ  TV will be airing the game -- so I'm sure there will be alot of folks glued to their TV sets this Wednesday!

Does anyone still have a horse in the NCAA finals???? I had Kansas winning the whole enchilada -- and it ain't happenin now!!!! I am somewhat comforted by the fact that I'm not the only one who had Kansas winning the tournament! Yep, misery loves company!

Looks like I'm back to rambling about uhhhhh - nothing!  Oh, it's good to be back!

Anyhoo, I took a total break from photography, and surfing the net for almost a month.  But -- I'm baaaccccckkkk! I hope to catch up on my blogger buddies and check out what they've been up to this past month!

This is a picture I took about a week ago of the birdhouse on the Country Club property right before a storm. I of course added layer upon layer of textures, plus used the ShadowHouse Creations bird brush.

Last thing! It's a freebie (if you use Photoshop CS or Elements). Check out OnOne's site for their free version download of PhotoFrame. It's a plug in that contains 20 edge and border effects. Hey, if it's free, it's me.

I think that's quite enough of my ramblings for one day! I hope you all have a great day!

;~D Frances

F3 11/50 Mirror Mirror

Today's F3 image -- is a photo I took this morning of the top half of the tree out in my front yard. The reason I only took a picture of the top half of the tree is because I knew that it would make a great mirrored effect picture.

So, in Photoshop, I duplicated it -- doubled the canvas size and then flipped it (the duplicated layer) -- to create this effect.

Next, (only on the bottom half) I blurred it, used the ocean ripple filter, and darkened it.

I then topped it off with a lens flare and blue photo filter.

And voila! I'm hoping that it fooled you into thinking it was a strand of snow topped trees at the edge of a pond.

The snow is still quite lovely -- but alas, it will be above freezing tomorrow -- so all we'll have left is a mushy mess by this time tomorrow(sob).

Here's to a wonderful Valentine's weekend!

:~D Frances

Merry Christmas

Psalms 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

I hope each of you has a very peaceful, relaxing and blessed Christmas. In all the busyness of this time of year, please stop and take time to reflect on the beautiful, perfect baby who was born to redeem us.

Merry Christmas!

Love Frances

Images from Dallas

Checklist:

Toothbrush (ck)
Toothpaste (ck)
Lotion (ck)
Contacts/case/solution/eyeglasses (ck)
Makeup (ck)
Hair Products (ck)
Socks (ck)
Shoes (ck)
Underwear (ck)
PJ's (ck)
Jewelry (ck)
Camera/assorted camera equip (ck)
Coat (ck)
Scarf (ck)
Gloves (ck)
Me (ck)
Rick (ck)

Hmmmmmmmmmmm -- what's missing? Can you say clothes for two days?????? Duh, where are they. Oh, back home in the closet!!!!!! Drrr,deee, ddrrrrrrrrrr, drrrrrrrrrrr!

Yep, got to Dallas, and then, remembered my clothes hanging in the closet. Sweet Rick told me don't worry, we'll go shopping tomorrow. Me -- unnnnnnhhh, unnnnhhhh! It's the weekend before Christmas in Dallas. I hate shopping, I really hate shopping a week before Christmas, especially in Dallas!

I am sooooooo glad I didn't run into the same people three days in a row -- because I sported the same outfit for three day! Looking on the bright side -- I have clothes ready for next week's trip to Big D!

Anyhoo -- Rick treated me to a fun weekend of basketball! We watched the Mavs/Rockets on Friday, and the UT/UNC game on Saturday. The UT game was the inaugural basketball game in Cowboy's Stadium.  Words cannot describe how grand the new stadium is.  It's something you have to see for yourself.  It's Vegas baby, Vegas!

On the food front, Rick found a wonderful Italian restaurant in Highland Park called Patrizio's.  The food is fantastic!  The great thing about Patrizio's is if you don't see a pasta or sauce on the menu that you want, they'll whip it up for you!  They made me a wonderful pink vodka sauce with crispy bacon, and spinach.  It was fabulous!  Rick and I are making plans to have dinner there again soon.

Ok, enough chatter  -- on to the images from this weekend!

Coming out of the tunnel into Dealey Plaza. The Texas School Book Depository is  the bldg on the left.

Looking out from our room at the Fairmont

 

 Zooming the lens, view from our hotel

 Yet another image from our room at the Fairmont

Christmas lights in Highland Park  outside Patrizio's

That's all folks! Have a great week!

;~'} Frances

More Art

I told Rick (via telephone) that I was headed to the YMCA in a little while.   UUUUMMMMMMHHHH - hasn't happened yet.  I pulled up some of the photos I took the other day of the trees and cool clouds -- and had an "ahhhhhh hhhhhaaaaaa" moment.

So -- no I haven't been to the Y, but am planning to go in an hour or so.

But, before I do -- I wanted to post the digital art I created this morning using one of the tree photos and several texture layers.

Click on the image to view it in a larger size. See if you can spot any cartoon-ish faces in the tree! Let me know if you see Humpty-Dumpty anywhere. And no -- I haven't been sipping the vino this morning!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

;~'} Frances

Art for my sake!

I hate leaving the house when it gets cold. Guess I'm showing signs of wear, tear and old age -- I can remember as a child, we'd play for hours outside in the deep snow and frigid temperatures, and it never seemed to bother me at all.

I went outside yesterday afternoon to throw out some trash and noticed that the clouds were amazing.  So -- I ran back inside, grabbed my camera and got off a few shots before my fingers numbed out on me.

This is what the sky really looked like --

But, in my mind's eye, this is what it looked and felt like!

Huge difference, huh?  Drama queen, sure. Anyhoo,I used a number of textures (from Shadowhouse Creations), plus one of the .png files from the CoffeeShop Photography's polaroid emulsion kit.  The birds are courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations' - bird brushes.

If you haven't been to these sites -- please click on the links and check these artists out.  They devote a lot of time and talent to their art -- and are kind enough to provide free downloads.

What that?  Rats -- the ironing board is calling my name.  Got to step away from the computer and get to some chores.

Cheers!

:~'} Frances

Nut in new to report!

I remind Rick (all the time) that I am soooo funny.  Well, in my own mind I'm witty and about two steps away from being a full fledged comedian.  Remember, it's all in my head.

I found these nuts (I once again am clueless as to what they are -- so please feel free to chime in and enlighten me) while walking the dogs with my friend Carolyn.  I grabbed a few and brought them home.

I stuck them in a bowl, and a few hours later examined them.  To my horror, a bug crawled out of one of them.  Gag -- I hate bugs!   So, what did I do???? I shoved those puppies in a container and poured hot water over them.  I then put a lid on the bowl and let them steep for a couple of days.

After the two days of steeping, I figured unless the critters were aqua bugs, they'd all surely had their last drink of water, so I pulled the nuts out and laid them on paper towels to dry.  I sure hope nothing survived the hot water bath!

The nuts were still in fine shape after the bath and dry -- and it was now "show time".

The title? Nut in new! Witty, funny - yep, that's me!

Anyhooo -- I hope you all have a wonderful evening!

; ~ '}  Frances

Window Shopping at the Art Hub

These are a few more images I took while Downtown at Will Tucker's new art studio (I believe the name will be the "Art Hub").

If you are out and about downtown Wichita Falls, Texas -- please drive by 709 Indiana and check it out!


Sculpture by Suguru Hiraide

Have a wonderful Sunday!

;~ `} Frances

Philadelphia Flyer

No, not the hockey team -- my new artsy, fartsy, creation!

This is a pano of Philadelphia, that I turned into a sphere -- and then cut and pasted pieces of the bridge to make ribbon like wings.



I think it belongs in a children's book -- uummmhhhhhh, add that to my to do list. Not!

Anyhoooooooo, it was fun playing around with it. Hope you like it!

Have a beautiful Sunday!

;) Frances

Just Stuff

Stay with me on this post -- I'm going to be rambling!

Whew, what a week! We lost three icons this week, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. These were celebrities that I grew up with. I loved watching Johnny Carson and the bantering between he and Ed McMahon. Charlie's Angels -- who didn't watch that????? And later -- I was amazed with Farrah's brilliant acting in The Burning Bed and Extremities. While in Wilmington, DE, I was glued to the TV watching her courageous documentary on her battle with cancer. Finally, the passing of Michael Jackson. I was in total disbelief when the news broke. I loved his music and his unbelievable dancing. I'm just thankful that there are no videos of me dancing or singing to his songs.

I know that they are all in heaven with our Maker, at peace and in no pain. I pray that God will guide their families and friends through this difficult time, providing them comfort and peace.

Stuff
Since I don't play golf anymore, I am sooooooooo not acclimated to the heat. I spent several days out at the TO taking candid shots of players and their families in the 95-105 degree weather. The good news is I lost 2 lbs this week -- we can all assume it's water weight. Rats -- I think I'm going to look at the weight loss as 2 lbs of fat -- which was melted off by the heat! I know, poor, delusional Frances.

Anyhoo, it was a lot of fun hanging out at the TO watching the kids.

More stuff.
Rick and I were in Dallas yesterday taking pictures of one of his job sites -- and followed that up with a game at the Ballpark. At game time, the temp finally dropped to 95 degrees on the field -- and by the end of the game, the temperature dropped to 92. Whew, got to love the Texas weather. It was a great game -- as the Rangers beat the Padres 12 - 2 (they are now a game ahead of the Angels)!!!!! After the game, they had a spectacular fireworks show (I think they do this every Friday now). The show was amazing! They shot off fireworks I'd never seen before -- and accompanied the show with great tunes!

I used my camera phone to take some shots of the evening, and once I figure out where the card is in the phone, I'll download some pics.

Even more stuff.
I went over to take a picture of the studs in an old house (wood studs -- not the two legged, male studs). Why take picture of a bare wooden wall??? The house is being renovated (everything is stripped down to the bare wood) -- and the new owners saw the writing on the wall, I mean writing on the wood, and called my friend to see if this could be his dad's signature. Lo and behold, it was! My friend asked me to capture his dad's signature before they drywalled the house.

While out there, I noticed some roosters and chickens milling around. I tried really hard to talk rooster and coax one of them over, but they didn't want any part of me. Roosters are beautiful!!!! So after chasing them around a little while, I finally got one -- not so hot picture. All was not lost, I loved the color and composition, so I turned it into artwork!!!

I am going to spend the weekend processing pictures from the TO and the Dallas jobsite. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ciao or as the roosters would say "cock-a-doodle-doo"
-- Frances

Dallas sign

I snapped a picture of this beautiful sign as were leaving downtown Dallas. I wished the sun had been shining thru it -- showing off the detail and colors inside the glass. Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful piece of artwork. I hope to get a closer look the next time we're in Dallas.

Have a wonderful evening!

Love -- Frances

Dallas

Did I mention that Andrea Bocelli is AMAZING????? We went to his Dallas concert this past Saturday -- and were blown away by his voice! Also with Andrea were two wonderful singers, Eglise Gutierrez and Heather Headley. He has two more concert dates in the US, Madison Square Garden in NY, NY and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The majority of the concert consisted of songs from operas (Carmen, Traviata, Nabucco). Rick and I were both talking about how short the two hour concert seemed. It just proves that time flies when you're having fun! The concert ended with Time to Say Goodbye. He was gracious enough to satisfy the concert goers with several encores -- one of them, my favorite, The Prayer!!!

We stayed at the Sheraton downtown Dallas, where I took a photograph looking outside my window. I, of course, popped the puppy into Photoshop. Here's what the final looks like.



Oh, almost forgot my "brush-with-fame" moment (PS Rick said (with a huge sigh) "you're not going to blog about this, are you?). We were having dinner at the Palomino (great restaurant FYI) when we noticed Babe Laufenberg arriving (would you believe this was my second time being tables away from him????). They were seated two tables to my left. Then (OMG) Jason Garrett tried to squeeze by me, but being quite comfortable with the position of my chair, I declined to let him through. Not really, it just makes for a better story! After he saw that there wasn't enough room to squeeze by (that's why I'm going to the Y this morning), he went around the other way. Shucks!

I can hear you all saying -- that's a brush with fame? Sad to say, it's a yup for me.
I'm up here in Wichita Falls, Texas -- where the closest I get to fame is being in the Kay Yeager Coliseum during a concert. If you're not a Dallas Cowboy's fan, then you'll have zero appreciation for my story -- and I apologize.

If you're looking for a nice restaurant near Downtown, Dallas, click on today's title for more information on the Palomino restaurant.

Well, time to work off this weekend's overeating session.

Have a wonderful week!

Frances

Bleachers

Hola and happy Sunday! Wow, another night of rain! We've been blessed with weekly rain showers which has nurtured the good Earth and made everything green!

These are a couple of shots I took at the Burburnett ISD Girl's Softball Complex. And, as always, I like to do my Photoshop thang to pictures and mold them into art.

I ran across another Photoshop tutorial website this morning called Tutcast. Click on the title of today's post and it will take you to Tutcast. I've only had a chance to look at one video on making clouds (got to try that sometime today) and hope to squeeze in a few more videos before the day is over.

Well, time to hit the showers and get ready for Church!

Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday!

Love you all -- Frances

Seagull II

He's baaacckkkk! This is a shot I took of the seagull (Camden, NJ) after he'd flown over my head. I converted this to black and white, and then decided to use duotone. Added several textures, and then painted in some yellow and blue for extra pizazz.

One of these days, I'll get around to posting pictures of the trip!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Frances

Lemons into lemonade

Was I mad! Fuming mad! Hey, but I'm over it. It all started last Wednesday, when we boarded our AA flight to Philadelphia. Actually, I am going to have to roll back time to about two hours before our flight. I'm checking in my luggage, and the very nice rep asked us if we would like to change our seats (we were already sitting together and I had a window seat), to their "honeymoon seats". She stated that we would have more privacy as this was a two seat row. The way she hyped up the seats is that they were "better" than our original seats. Being the moron that I can be I said "yes". Note to self -- ask more questions. When we finally boarded -- much to my disappointment, the honeymoon seats are 1) at the end of the plane, 2) by the galley, 3) by the restrooms, and best of all 4) next to the very noisy and huge engine. Oh, I did have the window seat, just couldn't see anything or take pictures of anything (other than the engine).

Well, lucky us, the plane was full, so we could not move away from the "honeymoon seats". And I was stuck looking at the engine for 3.5 hours.

So word up -- AA should not call these (at least row 32 A & B) "honeymoon seats", they should be called "time out seats".

Ok -- now time for the lemonade. At some point (my sense of sight was increasing because my sense of hearing was decreasing from the engine noise) -- I looked out at my friend the engine -- and noticed that the sun was creating some amazing patterns on the engine. I snapped about a dozen shots -- and decided to play with one of them this morning.

Here's what the original and final look like.





So what did I learn? Don't assume when they try to change your seats that you are getting something better. ASK QUESTIONS! Well, maybe I am still a little sore -- but hey, I now have a lovely piece of engine art.

May all your lemons turn to lemonade!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Love you all -- Frances

News update -- after posting this, I was convicted of being petty. A news bulletin just came across FOX News stating that an Indonesian plane crashed in East Java killing 97 people and injuring a number more. Please pray for the families who lost loved ones and the injured in this horrible accident.

Hebrews 13:5
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."

Phillipians 4:11-13
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Isaiah 53

53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? [1]
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected [2] by men;
a man of sorrows, [3] and acquainted with [4] grief; [5]
and as one from whom men hide their faces [6]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.