My Own Magical Snow Scene...

I was on my way to an exam today (yay, finals week...) when I thought I saw snow falling outside my car. It must have lasted about ten seconds and then....turned to sprinkles again. Oh well! I made my own magical snow scene so I could enjoy it anyway. I simply used an older photo I had taken of snow during a blizzard and overlayed it on top of the photo of this giant tree, adjusted the blend modes, and dramatized the clouds with some extra color.

Happy week before Christmas...everything during this week just seems to get insane, the shopping, the cooking, the studying for finals...in fact, I'm stalling on studying right now. I hope to see many of your creative and beautiful photos after your own holiday celebration. I've been missing my photography and editing over the last few weeks because of school, but hope to get back to it soon...:)  

Happy Holidays friends. ;)))

Venice Beach in a softer light.

Venice Beach...according to my Frommer's guide some place I had to visit while in L.A., if for no other reason than to people watch the zany surfers, skaters, rollerbladers and salespeople along this stretch of shoreline. But on the day I visited, it was foggy and not so warm, and the crowd was thinned just enough to take some photographs of the softer side of this beautiful length of beach.

Artistic trompe l'oeil on the side of a building.

Looking North down the beach...

Day of the Dead skulls, hand painted, for sale along the boardwalk.

Looking South toward the pier...a slight fog and some extra waves meant the surfers were out.

Lots and lots of friendly pigeons.

Funky sunglasses for sale.

Happy Face kitesurfer and row of seagulls.

Hope you enjoyed visiting Venice Beach with me...you can read more about the Beach and various neighborhoods of Venice, as well as its history, here. :)

To get you in that Christmas mood....

Japanese Maple leaf floating in  a pool....Los Angeles, California

A red dory in the waters of Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Apple Tree outside the elementary school... Abbot, Maine, Moosehead Lake region

Make a wish....Chepachet, Rhode Island

The very last colors of the season.....Lee, in the breathtaking Berkshires of Massachusetts

That's it for now....lots of twinkling lights and bokeh and warm socks and fires to come. I'm determined to try to slow down and enjoy December as much as possible. Bought some wool socks, brought in the old java logs for the fireplace, strung some colored lights on the mantel.

Also I bought some awesome lowfat Eggnog from Trader Joe's that is to die for!  I can't even believe it's lowfat, I am very suspicious..hah. (if you go to their website, they actually have some great foodie gift ideas!) What's everyone else doing to savor the season? Please share... xo..M