use your wings

Kim Klassen's challenge was to use her image and texture in your own way. I cropped and lightened the image, added the texture at multiply, 45%, then added stamps, text, and a frame.

I've been in love with love....

LeAnne, of Photos by LeAnne, thought up this great idea of sharing an image and tying it to a song. I'm always up for finding new music, so jumped on this one. I love exploring San Francisco and capturing moments, so I printed this bridge shot on a vintage postcard which I painted with white acrylic and a digital ground by Golden. The song that I've connected with this image is San Francisco by Mowgli's. My favorite line in the song: "I've been in love with love and the idea of something binding us together...."

November colors

More play with the iPhone apps for processing. I'm loving the possibilities when processing with multiple apps. For this image, I started in Squaready, then used filters in 100Cameras, and finished in Snapseed. I like the painterly quality you can achieve with cross-processing - the play is endless.

roses

These lovely roses were in a clear glass vase on an off-white tablecloth. I shot from above to eliminate the conflicting surroundings and to capture the light that was cast on the table after going through the glass. The first layer I applied, French Kiss Peach Coral, was for color. The script is decorative paper that I scanned and tinted.

lovin' squares

I'm addicted to instagram; there, I've admitted it. I love the immediacy of sharing with others who capture moments. The opportunity to see glimpses from the other side of the globe is fascinating. And now, on my new iphone, there are all the processing apps to play with. I'm loving the square format, so I first go to Squaready to make the cropping decision without losing resolution. This image was then adjusted using Snapseed, which offers lots of processing choices and fun tools. And yes, that was the actual sun here in Santa Cruz today. I love where I live.

Shutter Sisters Camp

Had a great week with Shutter Sisters at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. So much love and effort went into making a supportive, playful space for sisters to create.

MarbleCam

Another fun iPhone app to play with is MarbleCam. It places a clear marble in front of your image, flipping and magnifying. You have the options to flip the image back as I have here, and change the diameter of the sphere. It then blurs the background (which is the image you started with) creating a nice bokeh. Check it out. It's free.

panoramic

I just got my first iphone! I'm, of course, taking tons of photos and processing with different apps. I'll show results with some of my favorites as I experiment. What I'm playing with at the moment is the panoramic function. You get a fish-eye effect (originally called a "whole-sky" lens) with objects on different planes, which I think, adds to the charm.

cloud-chasing

When coming out of work this afternoon, I noticed clouds forming so went off cloud-chasing. I can't remember ever seeing such a huge cloud that low in the sky. The beautiful blue provided great contrast to view those fascinating edges.

Vintage Postcard Series - San Francisco

The images on the left are the photos I recently took in San Francisco. The images on the right, are the fronts of the vintage postcards on which my photos are printed. Notice that there is a one-cent stamp on the top-left card. I'm searching out frames which are viewed from both sides, so cards can be visible with past and present shown.

I'm back

Okay, that was a long summer away, but I'm back with lots of new photos. My new series is printed on the back of vintage postcards (thank you Annie for the latest batch from France). When possible, I match the country of the card and my image; and on rare occasions, I have even taken a photo in the same area (Golden Gate Bridge as example). What I find intriguing are the hand-written messages from the past. I purposely let portions of those show through my work so the two stories, decades apart, can intermingle with the viewer being the interpreter. I found this red bike while walking in Zagreb, Croatia.

Prayer rugs

 Prayer rugs stacked in the Dervish House at Duna, Herzegovinia

Two layers of Kim Klassen's 'dream it' applied.

breakfast

textures

A few of the varied textures found on the island of Veli Drvenik, Croatia

red bike

Walking along the streets in Zagreb, Croatia, I spotted this charming red bike in front of a shop. I wish now that I would have gone in to learn the significance of those miniature clothes hanging on the wall (if there was any).

Mostar, Herzegovina

The medieval town of Mostar developed along the Neretva River in 1474. The men that guarded the suspension bridge over the river were called mostari (bridge keepers). The new stone bridge (Stari Most) was completed in 1566. In November of 1993, the bridge that had united Mostar for over 400 years was destroyed by dozens of tank rounds from the Croatian side. The bridge you see here was reconstructed in 2004.

Bosnia

First day back from a two week trip to Bosnia and Croatia. I have lots of pictures to share but just had to start with Una. We explored two castles in Bihac, Bosnia and had great adventures.

frames from French Kiss

Today is the last day to catch the French Kiss sale. Everything is 30% off. I just got a set of grunge/vintage frames, this being one. The texture that I mounted this on is also from Leslie.

desktop studio

After being frustrated with improper lighting and my white foam core board blowing over repeatedly, I broke down and purchased a desktop studio system. The 20" cube is big enough for small flower arrangements and stilll-lifes. This rose was placed inside with natural light coming from behind. In a day or two, I'll pull out the lights and check out their effect.

strawberry fields forever

On a recent drive up the coast, I spotted this gigantic strawberry. It was too late to pick, but I stopped for a few pics. The colors are celebrated in a side color bar for Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class.

July calendar

Here's your desktop calendar for July. This California girl is wishing that where ever in the world you might be, you'll find a beach to enjoy this month.

cuppa-love 5

Saturday morning still-life

cuppa-love 4

cuppa-love 3

The sheet music texture came from thecoffeeshopblog. Thanks, Rita

summer colors

I love the look of old polaroid photos but like the immediacy of digital, so have combined the two here. The texture used to "age" the photo is Kim Klassen's, Oh, my. The free polaroid frame came from Fuzzimo.

cuppa-love 2

cuppa love

Playing with the "cups" challenge in Beyond Layers class this week. I'll post a different cup each day. I have a collection that would go beyond, so there's no shortage of subject matter.

Pebble Beach

My childhood friend of 51 years visited last week. We talked, and laughed, went to yoga, and rode bikes. One afternoon we went to Pebble Beach and just sunk down into the warm, well-worn pebbles and enjoyed the ocean's song. Aren't old friends great?

Peony Pair

For Kim's Texture Tuesday, my beloved peonies reappear with her texture, ' pourvous'.

woman waiting

I love roaming the streets of San Francisco with camera in hand. There are visual surprises on every block. I enjoy the opportunities urban documentaries present for allowing the viewer to construct the story. The photo becomes the prompt. What's your story?

peony with french text

Love the tattered frame from Leslie at French Kiss Studios. The french text, frame and tape are all from Leslie.

peony love

Still playing with my images of peonies. For this one, I painted a canvas and scanned it for the background texture.

transfers

Here are a few of my latest projects inspired by Courtney's "Image Transfers" class. The vase is an olive oil bottle, the transfer is done with gel medium and the green stripes are washi tape ('flora& fauna' from Nest in SF) The center two images are from my postcard series and are transferred to wood (Michael's). Thanks for the inspiration, Courtney. I haven't seen the top of my dining room table for days.

teahouse studio

Had a great time at Teahouse Studio in Berkeley on Saturday. Courtney Ceruti taught a class in image transfer. I highly recommend both the studio and Courtney. The space is big, light, welcoming, and run by a great group of women artists. Courtney is very knowledgeable, encouraging, and fun. Check them out and, like their wall says - show the world your magic.

June ???

This is June? It rained for hours today. I want the sun.

red

Guest Shutter Sister, Xanthe Berkeley, invites us to make June a color month by posting a different color each day. I'm in.

June calendar

I love peonies. Here's a desktop calendar for you. Let the summer begin!

peony postale

peony

Thanks, Kim Klassen, for the texture 'providence'. It was used here at multiply, 76%.

stages

"A" door

-a good read

eclipse

The moon passed in front of the sun this evening. After using a pin- hole projection and looking through 6 pairs of sunglasses, this most amazing shadow was cast through the peach tree leaves in repetition for us to enjoy. 6:45pm. Santa Cruz, California

multiplicity

Self-portraits are scary enough for me, so times 3 is terrifying! Thought I'd play with multiplicity while trying to gain some ease with selfies.

airmail-3

airmail-2

airmail-1

I'm experimenting with a series of my paintings and photographs combined.