• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  reflections,  sunrises

    Taking Care of the Soul

    August 19, 2024

    “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.”

    Stephen Batchelor

    I took care of my soul this morning with solitude and silence at Pineridge Natural Area. Afterwards I made my way to Mugs for coffee where there was a lot less solitude and silence since classes at CSU started today. It was a surprising 68 degrees this morning when I left the condo. The moon was just dropping behind the mountains when I arrived. Bats silently circled above me. Grateful for these moments. This is an HDR image of two images at +/- 1 stop. I like how it turned out.

    I’m roasting up a pan of vegetables with andouille sausage this morning. I’ll let you know how that turns out. While having my mocha, I wrote in my journal that I felt like crying and wasn’t exactly sure why. But as I began to write this post at home I realized my mom died 3 years ago today. Makes me believe the soul knows. Hope you have a wonderful Monday and week!!

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  • Cityscapes/Urban,  clouds,  landscape,  sunsets

    Something Different

    April 27, 2015

    Standing in the Road
    Standing in the Road

    “It is only through mystery and madness that the soul is revealed.” ― Thomas Moore

    We need to try something different every once in a while. So, I did! A few years ago I drove out east and found this lovely sky and empty road. Both called me so I stopped the car, stood in the middle of the empty road and let the scene unfold before me. For some reason I took a series of three images for HDR processing even though the scene was fine without it. Three years later I get back to the image and run it through HDR EFEX Pro. Something different.

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  • HDR,  landscape,  sunrises

    No Need to Compare

    July 23, 2014

    Edited in Silver Efex Pro 2
    Cropped and edited in Silver Efex Pro 2

    All of us at times go back and work on images with the intent of improving or learning something new. A couple days ago I converted an image to black and white because of an article I’d read. This is a second image I worked on. It is an HDR image. I’ve cropped the rocks out and run it through Silver Efex Pro 2. When finished I asked a couple of friends which one they liked.  One immediately jumped all over the color version while the second one took time to study them,  choosing the black and white version. It was at that moment I realized it was unnecessary to compare.  Each version would stand on its own. Each will be liked or dislike for a thousand reasons.  There was no need to compare. 

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  • Avian,  landscape,  sunrises

    Sunrise and the Fence Post

    April 18, 2014
    HDR Preset at Dawn
    HDR Preset at Dawn

    This image is post processed using an extreme HDR Pro 2 preset. I like it. There is no sign of the city. No sounds of the city. Just the wind blowing in the grass. It’s an image that reminds me why I get up early, make my latte, and drive east to watch the sun come up.

    But, there is another reason I get up early. The birds! As took the above image a couple meadowlarks were singing in the back ground. Ever notice how birds are up early? And, they’re singing. And, they’re happy. Ever wonder why? Well, maybe it’s because, as William Camden says, “The early bird catches the worm.” Or, in this case it’s probably going to be flying insects, but still. Begs the question why the insects are out so early. Why don’t they just sleep in late and not get caught? One of those nature things. But without all that circle of life stuff, I wouldn’t get to enjoy hearing them sing in the morning when I get up early.

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  • clouds,  HDR,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    A Hoot in Hell

    July 10, 2013

    Sunset on 26th
    Sunset on 26th

    “When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don’t give a hoot in hell about it. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself. And that is no mean function.” – Edward Steichen

    Yes, this is a manipulated image. It is composed of three images and run through HDR Efex Pro and then processed with Silver Efex Pro. No plants, clouds or sky were touched. I did remove about a half dozen dust spots. 🙂

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  • HDR,  landscape,  sunrises

    Have a Great Weekend

    June 29, 2013

    Sunrise on County Road 13
    Sunrise on County Road 13

    Sunrise from a couple of weeks ago and worked in HDR Efex ProI. My parents have been out visiting and I sure enjoyed the time with them. They are headed back today so I pray for safe travels. I do hope everyone has a great weekend.

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