Awesome idea

Loading it here for Pinterest... Yummmmm

Carcoar 2

Another of the wonderful churches of historic Carcoar.

Two of Kim Klassen's wonderful layers, lightpaper3 and emptypage give it the boost it needed.

Carcoar

St Paul's Anglican Church, built in 1845.

We have passed by the turn off to this small historic town so many times. This time, I convinced him to slow down and take a look :-)

It was cold, and raining but it had a charm all of it's own. An amazing little untouched 19th century village still in original condition...

We will have to return and spend a lot more time looking around.

Mother and Daughter

Another from my carnival series - and I adore the colour in this one. I especially love how the Mother is looking down at her laughing daughter. Sharing an experience and making some memories...

A little photoshop playing to make it look like a painted piece and I am happy with the end result. Hope you like!

Clown effects

Playing with the effects in PSE ~ taking out the colour to see the real clown :-)

Boab

This is from 2006 - taken around Broome in Western Australia. The mighty boab tree.

The original photo had all the hallmarks of the Australian bush, full of that orange and blue outback colour. I wanted to take away the colour and just reveal the beauty of the tree... the addition of Kim Klassen's happyheart layer was just the thing I needed to give it impact.

Taken a few years back, the south coast of NSW has some amazing rolling hills of green - I am partial to this vintage postcard look so I converted it over. Loving the little horses on the hills...

Vintage Morning Glory

Shyly showing it's face in the fog, this little Morning Glory was reaching for something to cling to. I love the meandering of the vine as it strives for the light.

The addition of Kim Klassen's layer lightpaper3texture, seemed the right way to finish this.

Hiding behind...

Wandering a small historic cemetery for the founder of federation, Sir Henry Parkes, I spotted this lovely lone daisy, growing from a sandstone wall. The contrast against the lichen spotted stone was wonderful.

Autumn

We're starting to see the colours of Autumn now ~ crisp mornings and frost on the lawns.

I took a trip to the mountains over Easter and captured a couple of pretty images. It was cold and the sounds of crunchy leaves under foot as I wandered around, made me crave a hot chocolate with marshmallows - yes, winter is around the corner...

I'll go back with my camera in another few weeks to see how the colour has developed.

Vintage apple...

I have a small collection of old books which I have been dying to photograph in the right setting.

The old apple had such a lovely tone and texture ~it was a shame to just throw it away so I thought it would compliment the shoot...

Using one of Kim Klassen's wonderful textures, lightpaper3texture, I gave it the gorgeous old vintage feel. Hope you like :-)

Light moves...

My fascination with light continues as I look through the lens...

I saw this from from my bedroom window and knew it would create something special. The glint of sun off those autumnal leaves. It jumped from bed, ran through the house grabbing my camera off the tripod and raced outside in my pj's.

I forgot the view from the garden would be much lower, so had to hold the camera above my head and click, hoping for the best. The low f stop created awesome bokeh!

Cropping it to square seemed like the right thing to do.

Shadows created by my little occasional table on the floor looked great and the picture was crying out to be black and white.

Liking the contrast and the little curly pieces with the circles...

Skinny Mini Day 9

Day 9 in Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini course seems to have brought some clarity and understanding of the Photoshops Elelments process.

Here are Eliza's grungy boots using a couple of layers, "Pumpkingrunge" and "Andthensome", which has really brought out the feel of these old scrappy boots and fixed that rather over exposed background which was just the garage floor...

Happy with how it looks.

Homework (Day 4)

Here's my attempt at homework for Day 4.

I took the last bud off the Summer lavender and stuck it in a bottle... then I shot into the shining gardenias for maximum bokeh and achieved that soft background.

Next step Photoshop - I adjusted the light levels, and increased the colour in the flower by masking, then added some text. Just happy I could remember the steps.

And here is photo number two

My cute little pumpkin in combination with my two finds from the local junk place.

Old garden trowel and my $10 stool...

Tracks

This one's from the archives - taken on the Canning in 2011.

A lonely rail crossing, where I took the opportunity to jump from the 4WD and grab that classic 'rail lines to infinity' shot.

I love the texture and colour in the stones and the cold steel of the rails. Would have wished it was a little more symmetrical and centered in the frame but I am still happy with it.

St Stephen's

Coming home tonight the sky was full of scattered clouds that I hoped I could capture...

I rushed inside and grabbed my camera and headed for the local church to see what the spire would look like against the sky.

It is a beautiful old sandstone church and the colour is gorgeous but I thought black and white gave it a much more dramatic contrast.

Anniversary

Today is my wedding anniversary - 24 years seems a long time but it has flown by.

My dear husband is away today, and even though I knew he wouldn't be here, and told him it 'doesn't matter', I think it really does - I am slightly sad :-(

I decided to capture his collection of hats, stock whip and his heavy old Dryzabone raincoat. It is so him... he's my bushman.

I used the lovely gift he bought me too... my new baby, the Manfrotto tripod :-)

I'll tell him about it when he gets back... lol.

That look

"Mum, stop taking photos..."

They grow so fast and I will never get this time again ~ so I keep snapping shots, trying to capture moments each day, each week... My daughter :-)

9D

From times long past ~ before my memory ... and what the heck was a "D"

Grunge... style?

Captured my daughter stressing over what to wear to a festival. Not sure about that gold belt? And those shorts leave a lot to be desired! Oh to be young again...

Babydoll

Been wanting to capture my perfume bottle for a few weeks now... decided to try it tonight with some long shutter speed photography. Used my 50mm lens with f/22 at 400 ISO for 15 seconds. Pretty happy with it... the background is a calendar I bought in Italy of some marvellous hand drawn manuscripts. Will use them again I think...

My Mason Jars

This morning saw me out early, off to Arnie's Atic, where he had promised to open a treasure trove of new stuff he's acquired recently.

Plans were to just take photos :-) but I made the mistake of bringing my purse with me!

When I spotted these two Mason jars, I just had to have them, then tucked in the corner, was this delightful worn old stool. I had just the right place for it!!

Chasing the moon

Tonight the moon was full and we took a chance to head for the hills and try to capture something special. Unfortunately the sky had other plans and brought it's neighbour, the clouds...

Not to be outdone, we concentrated on the trees and this was the surprising result.

Happy with it's overall layout ~ had to remove a few power lines, which I did with some difficulty, but I am happy as a first attempt. Will go out again another night and do better :-)

Pumped up kicks...

These atrocious boots have joined my daughter's wardrobe recently... not really sure where they came from. They are scruffy and worn, the laces are knotted and broken and yet she adores wearing them. With leggings, jeans and even with a dress!! *shudder*

His Master's Voice

The crackle of the old phonograph, the long play records... reminiscent of times past. This old thing lives in our front room and, on occasion we will spend hours listening to the old music. It sounds glorious even with it's crackle and pops. Brings a smile to our faces...

Trojan

A gorgeous old wooden horse caught my eye at Arnie's Attic this afternoon ~ made me wonder what it has seen through those blue eyes...

Reflections

Tried to catch the echoes of the rain drops in my bird bath - will have to keep practising on that ~ but I do like how the reflections turned out.

Gutter flotsam

The recent rains have flooded the gutters collecting the summer gum leaves in their journey. Shot this one with my iPhone on a trip through the park...

Painted pumpkin

I loved how this little pumpkin looked on my old chair - almost like a painting. The scrappy paint which I am slowly removing added such great texture :-) ENJOY!

London Cornet

I was looking for something to take advantage of the warm light tonight - the little brass cornet I bought in the markets in London was the perfect thing. It's a little battered around but has some lovely character in the tones of the metal.

Two pears

Spotted these amazing reflections in the soft morning light on my kitchen bench-top this morning and thought it would make a perfect pear photograph.

So maybe I was right when I said I needed 'two pears' - lol.

It's just a pear...

Inspired by some of the amazing photographs of pears I have seen on some photo blogs, I decided to give it a go. Hmmm... well, it's ok I suppose, but... it's just a pear.

Maybe I need two?

O wilt thou go wi' me

The poetry of Robbie Burns, sweet with the burr o' Scotland is close to my heart. I thought it would make a lovely background for my gold pocket watch. Just playing with some still life and improving on my focus skills...

Handrail glory

The warmth of the bronze handrail really caught my eye and I didn't care what was over the balcony - I just wanted to capture that burnished metal that must have been polished over and over through the years. The effect of the light in the distance was the icing on the cake...

Heart Bokeh

Just had to try this with the heart bokeh after reading how it was done - pretty cool and a nice effect. I used my gorgeous maroon quilt for the background ~ would have been great for a Valentine's Day theme photo... By the way, there's only one nectarine left now...yummmm.

Fairy

My gorgeous fairy ~ I carried this delicate baby all the way back from England. She is super special to me. Still working on focus for the small things, but I am really loving the back lighting behind her.

Yashica 635

This gorgeous old thing belongs to my Father-in-law Bernie. He knows I love photography so gave it to me 'to mind' a few years back. Would love to stick some real film in it and see what it does... Just delightful in it's construction ~ a real thing of beauty!

Eiffel on Fire

A moment in time captured during our trip to Paris in 2004.

For five minutes every hour, the Eiffel Tower glitters with a million tiny lights and this photograph came from a bit of camera shake in my excitement at seeing it for real.

I will go back one day and try for a better shot. A pretty effect though and worth sharing I thought.

Bokeh

As part of my development in photography, I discovered those pretty coloured lights in pictures are highly rated by those in the know... Called Bokeh, is it easily achieved by setting the focus close to the camera, an F stop of about 1.8 and setting some lights like Christmas lights, off in the distance.

These two photographs were part of an experiment over two hours one morning... we took about 60 or 70 shots. It was a lot of fun, and I am pleased with the results.

Now looking to try and create this in every day situations...

Old Things...

I love old things and found these books in a local charity shop the other day... At 50c each they were a real bargain - and I couldn't resist giving them a new home. I do wonder what they have seen and who has turned their pages over the years.

Homemade Scones

Nothing nicer than the smell of fresh scones from the oven... together with the delicious strawberry jam I bought at the markets on Sunday, they were scrumptious!

Autumn Crocus

Took this photograph of my Autumn crocus in the last rays of the sun. They really should not be in flower yet... it's only the 2nd month of Summer!! Bless them... :-)

The shot was out of focus but I loved the effect of the background, so I decided to play with it anyway.

Dress of Many Colours

Was wandering the Sunday markets when this gorgeous dress just begged to be photographed... Must have taken hours of sewing those little strips of fabric.

Water droplets

It's been the wettest of Summers and this has meant a new opportunity to try out some macro work. Still trying to capture that 'perfect' raindrop reflection... maybe when I get my new lens :-)

Pumpkins

Wandering the markets on Sunday, these jumped out at me, begging to be captured. Not sure if the stall owner appreciated my camera action. Would loved have taken more and re-arranged the colours somewhat, but it was not to be :-)