Themes for October, 2006

October

• 2 Seasonal, fall (+family)
• 9 Sky
• 16 pumpkins
• 23 Playing in PS: Layers, layer blending. For a "straight photo" alternative, cut and paste collaging with real scissors (Tutorials provided upon request)
• 30 Family, Holiday, All Saints, Halloween, best of the month, special

FAMILY FUN

More more mobile phone fun. Hidden to the left is Sammy. Then there is Kit who is Eric's mum. Andrew holding the phone. Then Thomas, Mia, Holly, Alec and Hannah.
I am putting another one of these on BP on Monday. Apparently it is cheer up Dr Silly Day plus it is the Fashion theme for 101 Group. Don't ask me how I turned this into a fashion shot but I did!

FAMILY FUN

Andrew had a couple of days off work with a bad back. He amused himself by taking pictures of himself and
warping or skewing them which was a feature on his phone. So this is at Eric's house on his 65th birthday and Andrew was taking pictures of everyone and distorting them.

FAMILY - The Day After

Sore muscles and stiff legs getting up and down Jeff's steps.

FAMILY - Marathon

Ali on the finishing straight. I was shouting my head off at her but she didn't hear me. It was hard to jump up and down and wave my arms in the air while taking a picture. The others were waiting at the actual finish but I couldn't get a decent position so I moved up on my own.

FAMILY - Marathon

The three runners before the start of the race outside the metrodome in Minneapolis. We have Jeff, Alison and Jon. Jon is Ali's neighbour and ran the London Marathon same day as Ali did. He came over with his Dad and they stayed in the Millenium Hotel in Minneapolis. A bit posher than our one. After the marathon Jon went up to the bar in the hotel for a drink and they wouldn't serve it until he showed proof of his age! But he always looks young, unfortunately for his wife who some people mistake for his mum!
I would have loved to have got a shot of all three of them at the end with their medals.

FAMILY - Marathon

Jeff and Cyndy happy before the start of the marathon. I spent a long long time getting rid of a huge green sunspot over Jeff's right cheek.

Jeff and Cyndy were great hosts and a help to both Alison and Jon. They broughf along the breakfast which we ate in our rooms. All good stuff packed with carbos for the run. They catered for all Ali's needs. But as a vet of 23 marathons I guess they have it down to a fine art now. What a shame that Jeff didn't make it.

Family: Me, with Grandpuppy

Erin took this of me with her new dog, Paulie. It's in front of the house that I recently moved out of. 

Layers, Blending

The Forest Floor IV (Survival), by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger. This is from my Vera House Women's Shelter Collection. See a selection of my Vera House Collection.

This picture is a sandwich of an urban art portrait grown up with bushes and vines and paint dribbles from the same urban art site in Syracuse, NY. I have included the two layers I used. Under layers>blending options I chose hard mix. Then, under file>scrips I chose export layers as files to show you the two layers I used. I actually had more layers, but I combined them into two by using layers>merge down and layers>mergevisible. You probably can see the things I added the the two original layers if look closely.
 

Layers: Someone to Look Up To

Layers: Someone to Look Up To, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger.

I did this in layers. There are three layers, one with the face,one with cracked cement and one with the hand.

I was invited to produce some themed work for Vera House Women's Shelter. This is the third in the series. 

Watch this spot: Layers: Erasure

Hope I don't regreat this, but here is a piece I'm working on for Vera house and hope to complete in a series of stages day by day (I don't have time to just sit and work). Every item in this picture is in a separate layer at this point. The mouth is made of three layers, the hair of two (one in front one behind the head), they eyebrows have their own layer, as do the eyes, and so on. Mary Stebbins Taitt, click image to view larger. (I hope to have further installments on this.)

Erasure, more steps

All done in layers. Lots and lots of layers. This is for Vera House Women;s Shelter.

Deinitely not anywhere's as as nice as Moo's flying geese shot!!

PUMPKINS - Outsize

Outsize and in your face!

PUMPKINS - large

This had to go under pumpkins. I did wonder if it would qualify for patterns but figure you need more than two for a pattern. I also chose to leave the price labels on. Just to show they are on sale.

PUMPKINS - any size

On the corner of the parking lot these pumpkins are for sale with an honesty box just on the road down from Carson Park, Eau Claire. Same picture as I put on BP but not buzzed so much and very very slight touch of poster edge.

PUMPKINS - Outtake

On your marks!

SKY Messing September Morning

I will save all these in my sky folder for possible future use

SKY Early Morning Stubble Field

This was taken the morning I couldn't sleep and so I found it easy to get out to capture the sunrise. It was wonderful being out there all on my own with just the birds and the clouds.
Not wonderful scenery on its own but I guess that just emphasises the clouds.
This is about 10 minutes before the sun came up.
I used a graduated neutral density filter.

SKY at West Mersea

These two pics were taken in the same location within an hour of each other. This is the path along the sea wall where the inlet goes down to the Strood which is the road that goes across to the island.

I was waiting for Eric and Geoff to get back in the boat. The little fences are to protect against coastal erosion.

Fall - Half Moon Lake

This is also in Carson Park. All in old logging country. Carson Park has this half moon lake going three quarters of the way around it with also the river running parrallel to this side of the lake. The lake was built so they could store the logs in it.

Only realised on this visit that Carson Park is actually within walking distance of Pat's house as is a wonderful cycle path which runs all along the Eau Claire River. Now I can't wait to go back and explore the cycle path more and walk all the way into Chippewa Falls have lunch then walk back. You can actually hire cycles which would make it a lot easier.

FALL - Stained Glass Window

Carson Park again. The trees were on the other side of the river to the foreground branches.

I didn't manage to get the branches in perfect focus so I tried the buzz and liked the stained glass effect.

FALL - Autumn Gold

Taken in Carson Park, Eau Claire. Slight buzz added.