.heart.in.TN.

i spent a few days down south over xmas, right on the border of VA and TN. i love those mountains. i have a lot of pix to process. more than likely, they'll be showing up here eventually.

.corner.view.

happy holidays. may this season bring you and yours peace and joy.

.wet.sky.wet.ground.

Song: Jane Sibery, It Can't Rain All the Time

.grey.

it's been ugly here lately. but i love the color grey.

.spikes.

boosted color. softened edges, while at the same time sharpening the spikes. added a lilac tint to picture. put in a focal zoom, framed.

what's your play?

.@.dusk.

outside my back door, after work. just barely any post-edit.

maybe playing with the iSo and lighting, and timing will bring back some inspiration. or not.

.leaf.in.hand.

i just figured out how to do layering of textures on picnik so i was playing around with that. nothing major today. softened it a bit, cropped, highlighted the color of the leaves in her hand.

FREE Textures provided by: Chrysti

for more What's Your Play?

it's been a distressing day for me. i voted in my first election this morning. but i also had my camera stolen. it's just a point and shoot but it was MY point and shoot, my first one that jab gave me for my last bday. i am so bummed. i've been working hard lately to save up for a dslr but now i don't even have a camera of my own to play with at all. i try to remember that maybe this person needs it more than i do but i can't help but hope karma kicks him in the ass sooner than later.

.step.on.a.crack.

• softened the edges
• made it dual toned - dark blue and white
• sharpened a smidge to bring out the texture of jeans and scalloped hem
• cropped it closer
  
  what's your play?
  

what's your play? -#16

this week's What's your Play? picture comes from Laura. It's from the botanical gardens in Montreal.

initially i was going to see if i could highlight more of the greenery and not so much the scary looking skull thing in the middle. that wasn't possible since it is th focal point of the pic. i softened the edges a bit and accidentally clicked on the invert colors button and got this. i dug it so i kept it.

have a good week.

.fall.a.flutter.

i was so in love with this week's What's Your Play picture, i played with it twice. i couldn't decide what tone to go for.




i went dark here. i wanted the leaf to stand out. brought the exposure down, added a boost of color and a frame ...


i went romantic here, softening the edges, blurring everything except for the leaf.

anyway, please don't forget to do something about your boobies, whether it be participate in a walk, another walk, the bake off or feeling yourself up for any potential bumps.

.green.pastures.

my cousin patrick submitted this week's what's your play? i think he went to some wedding up north but you'da thunk it was in ireland for the green grass and rainbow. at least that's what i thought. anyway, i personally think the picture is perfect as is and so playing with it was kinda hard. i rotated it just a smidge, added some color tint to give it a bit more of an Autumn feel to it. i also cropped it to bring the cows in closer.

this cooler weather is not inspiring me. i know the Fall Season is one that brings in crisper air, pretty Reds and Oranges and all that stuff. it doesn't inspire me. it just makes me want to put on socks, hide under my covers and wait til Spring. that doesn't make for much inclination to snap pictures. i'll be back eventually. next week maybe. see you then. but you can catch me on my main blog, Angry Asian Creations.

.a.bridge.

it's a pretty bridge but when i first saw it it reminded me of the Lord of the Rings. yes, i'm a nerd. but it brought to mind Frodo and his 3 hobbit companions going off to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony in Bree. they were chased by a dark rider and any scene with this rider in it, the picture would go almost black and the zoom focus would get all weird.


so i did that to this week's what's your play picture. i darkened it a smidge, added a focal zoom, slight boost of color and cross processing.

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.heart.lunch.

i've been making jab lunch this week. we're experimenting. he goes out to lunch everyday, which isn't very healthy or nice on the wallet. i've been making typical lunch fare and today's menu includes turkey and cheese sandwich. i just added a little something special to it. :)

Happy Love Thursday!

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.truth.about.dirty.water.

i had lunch in Fells Point saturday. sitting by the waterfront i snapped a few shots of the water taxi. what caught my eye tho was the reflection. for such a clear and beautiful day, the reflection should've been cleaner and crisper. but it's not. truth is, the harbor has been polluted for so long, i doubt that there's been a clear reflection from those waters in years. click here for more truths: shutter sisters.

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.shadowy.door.

this week's what's your play picture was taken by killashandra. it's a lovely picture, one that brings up images of early autumn mornings, going out to play in the woods or apple picking. (not that i ever did any of that back in the day...) however, i've been seeing a few scary halloween commercials and watching weird paranormal shows on tv (fringe, heroes, the sarah conner chronicles, not to mention most of the CSIs and Criminal Minds). for some reason, when i first saw this picture, i was scared. whatever, i have a vivid imagination! so my take on the picture is slightly dark. it just reminds me of the dreams i have of someone chasing me and i can't see clearly, due not only to the fact that i'm scared but also because my contacts aren't in.


i softened the edges a bit, added a boost of color but turned the lighting down low so there was a more shadowy effect. so now it looks like you're in the corner of this room and it's uber bright out, the kind of bright sunshine that makes the dark inside more pronounced. {creeeeeepy}

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.city.sights.

on saturday i met jab for lunch in fells point. while waiting for him i snapped a few shots. there'd been some fire emergency and a lot of official looking people were milling around. not horribly exciting but the fire truck was so pretty, i couldn't resist.

sunday morning, as my cousins were leaving, there was a random guy hanging out on the sidewalk. i didn't think anything until i saw him riding the small kids' bike. a grown man on a miniature bike. i was too far away to get a good shot but it was funny all the same.

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

more city shots.

.leaving.

my cousins came to visit this weekend. we cooked. we hung out. made fun of each other. even woke up early to go to the farmer's market. then they left. sigh.

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.kicking.balls.

i show up most games with not a clue of what i'm doing. and i leave the field usually with scrapes and bruises and a few days later, very sore muscles.

"What are the rules? I said & she said you run & you run & you run until you fall over. There's a couple others in there for variety, she added, but that's the main one." ~The Story People

Last note, don't forget about the Save the Boobies Project, aka Boobie Bake Off!

.stormy.beach.

just before the storm hit OC, i took a walk on the beach.

Last note, don't forget about the Save the Boobies Project, aka Boobie Bake Off!

.this.breaks.my.heart.and.mends.it.

i came across this picture from Lavender Lines and it captivated me. it's graffiti in Palestine. it originally came from Bomb It! such a true quote.

Happy Love Thursday!


note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.hearts.can.be.blue.too.

i have a collection of buttons. i actually have three bags full of random buttons. you just never know when you might need one. or you just had to buy the assorted buttons for a cardmaking spree you went on last winter. either way, it's always like a treasure hunt when i dig into these bags looking for that something special. and look what i found the other night?

happy Love Thursday!

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.tracks.in.the.sand.

"Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble” ~French Proverb

note:
i'm doing this event next month: Saving Boobies for Breast Cancer Awareness. Please participate in baking/making something pink and/or in voting.

.pitter.patter.of.the.feet....and.heart.

ok, i love this week's picture to play with. it reminds me of when i was kid. the socks. the colorful cordory jeans (maybe their farmer's overalls?) the patterned socks! and the cute girly shoes. THE SOCKS! her feet dangling.

as always, i post-editted in picnik. i cropped it to show more of the shoes and SOCKS. i think i scaled back the exposure (i don't even know if i am using the right terminology) and sharpened the image so that the texture of the socks and cordoroys was more pronounced. last, i added the golden hue and cross processing effects to give it a vintage, oldies vibe.

what i learned:

• socks are great (actually i already knew that)
• picnik is limited in their selections of edits and unless i upgrade to use their more advanced stuff or i finally upload PS, i need to stop complaining.
• playing with other people's picture is fun
• cropping can be my friend.

why don't you go over and play too?

before shot.

"They came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday." ~The Story People

.patient.sunrise.

on the last day of the long weekend in OC, i woke up 20 minutes before the sun did. the beach almost deserted. it was cloudy, i was concerned that there would be no sun to see rise. but i was patient. i took pix of other things. the sand. the waves. THE DOLPHINS! every so often the clouds would part and i would see the fire pink lick of the sun and then finally, the orb was fully out. and in the distance i noticed a lone surfer who was also watching the sun. how perfect.

"You don't need somebody to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is.” ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

click for more patience.

.end.of.summer.

at the beach there was a carnival that was closed down for the year. bummer. that really drove home that summer was over.

“And the summer, it too will fade, and with it brings the winter’s frost, dear. And I know, we too are made of all the things that we have lost, here. " ~Tom Waits

.finding.hearts.

among all those random leaves, i found a heart.

Happy Love Thursday!

.moment.of.inspiration.

friday night in ocean city, jab and i went out to dinner by the water. where we were seated there was a wooden fence seperating the restaurant from the boardwalk. the booth was actually attached to the fence. and the fence had holes along the top. kinda like peep holes. only bigger.

so before the food arrived, to amuse myself, i clicked away.

and what came thru my lens was rather pleasant.

and surprising.

what i learned: in the last frame, i wish i had centered it better, so that the hole isn't chopped off on the top.

for more discovery ...

ps. i'm having a pay it forward thinger over at my craft/food blog. head over that ways to participate...

.indian.summer.

i know it's technically not the end of summer for another 13 days but kinda unofficially, after Labor Day, summer is deemed over. and for me, being sensitive to the cold, i start getting chilly around late august anyway. but my past weekend at the beach was really warm, humid and except for Saturday, bright and sunny. LOVED IT. standing on the beach with the sun beating down, wind in my hair and cold waves at my feet, i was in heaven.

i've been dismally lacking in my weekly self-portrait project. oops. it's hard taking pictures of oneself when there's so much more out there to snap pix of!

anyway, i received my pay it forward package from elizabeth this morning. SO EXCITING. for details and to participate, go over to my craft/food blog.

.four.flowers.and.heart-shaped.leaves.

this week's picture is a beautiful wide angle of an old box in a corner somewhere. can you imagine the treasures that used to be housed in this box? what i love most tho isn't the box. it's the texture of the brick wall. i also love the heart shaped leaves on the side of the box.

will you play this week?

**added note: i am having a pay it forward thinger over in my craft blog. check it if out if you'd like to participate.**

.first.glimpse.

friday morning dawned hot and bright. jab and i drove down to the shore and i was laying out by the pool with a drink in my hand by 2pm. this is my first shot of the long weekend away. i wanted to capture the blue of the water, the BIG-ness of the Bay Bridge and fluffiness of the clouds but the frame wanted to capture it ALL in one shot. so i let it.

for more leading lens ...

.my.boyfriend.hearts.me.

i've been having a shitty week. just in general, the summer hasn't been all that pretty. so my boyfriend sent pretty flowers to my office to make me smile. :) thanks honey.

and so we're off on vacation this weekend. we were going to hit puerto rico but the weather blows down there, it's postponed till... whenever. we're hitting the OC instead. as in, Ocean City, MD. hopefully i'll have plenty of picture opps and reviews next week. stay cool and dry. tootles.