Cameraless and Catching Up

photograph taken in the gardens of the Buddhist Temple in Richmond, BC (near Vancouver).

I’ve had to take my Nikon in for some cleaning and fine tuning, so although I’ll be missing it for awhile, I’ll still have my small point and shoot.  The Nikon almost had to be pried forcibly from my fingers and I’m hoping it’ll be back in my loving arms very soon.  (It’s sad…very, very sad, to be this attached to a “thing”.  Don’t even get me started on my computer!)

My life seems to have become busy…very busy.  There are a million last minute things to coordinate and lots of unexpected hold ups…the latest being that we can’t pour the driveway and patio concrete until it stops raining for 48 hours and we can’t move in until we have a driveway or at least some “clean” areas around the garage and doorways. November is the the rainiest month of the year on the west coast of Canada and it’s been raining on and off for almost two weeks…with no sign of stopping! 

I’ve recently begun an online energy/meditation course which is a year long, commitment.  I really love it and it works amazingly well in the “webinar” format.  The group is world wide and we meet online every two weeks.  In the spring we will gather at a central spot in the US.  I’m learning some amazing techniques to “manage” energy and focus the thought process.  It requires a huge commitment and I thought long and hard about it before signing up, but I know I’m very ready for this next step.

We also have a friend staying with us right now (yes, up here in the attic!), and not only are we having lots of fun, but she’s a massage therapist and I’m being soooo spoiled!  I think I’m in heaven!

Nancy left a comment on my last post asking what textures I use with my photographs so I thought I’d pass that info along to everyone.  I use a lot of freebies from the Flickr texture pool as well as some purchased ones from Flora Bella and Flypaper.  There are others out there as well… Rita at Coffee Shop has free textures, actions (for Elements as well as Photoshop) and more. Lawrence at ToFurious photography has 10 free actions and more for sale.  

In the photograph above of the Temple gardens, I used Flypaper’s Caramel Soft (overlay @70%), Apple Blush (soft light @63% ) and Raw Linen (Vivid Light @ 100%).  If you have photo editing software and like to play with textures or think you might like to try it out, I would recommend any of these. Happy texturing! 

Thanks so much for visiting,

Play well and be kind to one another,

Comments

[Serena]

Here's wishing you a miraculous dry spell. After all, anything is possible with all the weird weather patterns worldwide. Thanks for the links, Kate.....I adore all the manipulations you do with your photos and, one day, I hope to learn about the use of textures too.