m a r y v i c a n

Winter Birdwatching!

2012-01-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

January and February are months here in New England where there is nothing much happening other than occasional weather freakouts and bread and milk stock-ups. It's a time for me when I find it hard to leave the house sometimes, nevermind find photograph opportunities! So I headed to a place where I knew nature wasn't taking a break, Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, located in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

I love chubby little chickadees, but they are very hard to photograph! Hardly ever staying in place long enough to click the shutter, they fly and move so fast.

And here comes the sneaky little nuthatch. His feet and huge, perfect for climbing quietly down tree trunks and even hanging upside down.

A fuzzy little woodpecker was making a racket, and that's the only reason I even knew he was hiding here. That, and his bright red hat.

Above is the adorable little titmouse.

And here's another chickadee with a giant sunflower seed, perched on the edge of a birdfeeder near the station.

Phoneography Aerials of the Western U.S.

2012-01-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

On our last flight from Los Angeles back to Rhode Island, I was able to sneak some pretty cool photos out the window with my new 'droid. At first, I was a little iffy about "phoneography", thinking it was silly to be taking photos with this phone when I had a digital SLR sitting at home. But it's not always practical to have it handy, and this is truly the next best thing. I don't think photography has to be digitally perfected and have a high megapixel count to be beautiful.

Above, part of the desert and canyon landscape I saw about 20 minutes after leaving LAX. I jokingly refer to it as "Area 51".

More gorgeous, reddish canyons cut by fluffy clouds.

I looked off in the distance of the airplane window to see snow-capped mountains.

And soon we were flying right over them. I am not sure what these were- Rockies? the Sierra Nevada is too far North. Maybe someone out there knows and can tell me. Aren't they beautiful?? I have never seen the Rockies, and our mountains in New England are so entirely different- rounded and slightly faded, golden, blue and green depending on season.

A sunset from 30 thousand feet is quite stunning! It looks like an ocean of sky and clouds with thin ribbons of slowly fading colors....

The last few months for me have been a whirlwind. A lot has happened, wonderful, and terrible, things...things I can't put into words quite yet. But I hope in the near future putting some of the events online might help me get through some of it. I have been blog lurking, and not really commenting, and not feeling like myself lately, so please understand my bloggy friends. I appreciate all of you, and have been touched by your messages on facebook, for my birthday on the fifth! Leaving again- this time for Florida- today, and I can't wait to get the camera out again once I get there. :))

My Own Magical Snow Scene...

2011-12-20T08:30:00.006-05:00

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.

2011-12-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

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....

2011-12-05T10:38:00.119-05:00

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

~Autumn in Los Angeles~

2011-11-27T22:22:00.001-05:00

Is almost as pretty as in New England....and the weather is wonderful too!

These gigantic leaves were everywhere at the Getty Center and in the gardens..

These gorgeous, spiky Japanese maple trees had leaves turning in layers of light gold, apple green and scarlet...

Even more brilliant than the maples back home!

And in the rain gutters the giant leaves floated away...:)

8 FREE textures :)...and some birds

2011-11-10T01:48:00.001-05:00

I recently came across some old photos that I reworked with texture and thought I would share them here. I also created a few new free textures....see below...

Northern Cardinal, my mother's driveway, East Greenwich, RI

Starlings on a telephone wire. Chatham, MA

And here are some free textures I created, feel free to download and use them in your photography or digital artwork! You can download them by clicking on them and opening in a new window below, or visiting my Flickr "textures" page here. Textures are free and for use in your commercial or personal work...(no derivatives of my work, and not for sale as is...thanks!!)

November Leaves texture

Aqua Bubbles texture

Aqua Bubbles II texture

Coastal Bokeh texture

Make a Wish texture

80's Pink texture

I starting creating textures in Photoshop when I began using them from Flickr in a group that shares beautiful textures for use in digital creations...I always make sure to credit the original artist and have had countless hours of fun using these! I figured I could share them as well, and give back to this community that is so generous. My favorite Flickr textures group is Textures for Layers. I have also used various textures from Shana Rae of the wonderful Florabella brand. Her textures and actions are not free, but worth every penny! She is helpful and very talented! Her portraiture provides a lot of inspiration, and her blog is amazing. I highly recommend her actions, too- particularly the "Vintage" ones. They are my "go-to" actions for amazing, subtle effects!

Hope you like these....enjoy....and thanks so much for all your encouraging words...they really mean a lot! I know it's not easy these days to be able to find the time to visit/ comment on all the blogs we follow and enjoy reading...so those of you guys who read and leave me messages really make my day! I do READ all of your blogs...I'm just lazy about commenting! lol. I am trying to be a better bloggy friend! Just learning now how to use my smart phone, so maybe that will help! :) <3.... Mary

Cosmic Love...

2011-11-02T08:00:00.003-04:00

I'm so in love with Florence Welch's voice. Isn't it beautiful? this is an acoustic version, but you can also find the original on youtube. I made the below piece inspired by their song....

Cosmic Love/Florence & the Machine

And I took this photo of the moon this evening...:)

And the beautiful luna moth. I have only seen one live in my life, but I have a preserved specimen of a female luna moth under glass. I used photoshop to extract a moon photo I took and place the moth on top.

And finally, this is an photo I took of hundreds of crows outside my living room window. The moon was added afterwards, in photoshop.

Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think of the music...You can find the original video here.

Happy Wednesday! xo~Mary

Autumn Country Drive...

2011-10-30T14:00:00.003-04:00

Just a few random scenes from last weekend. .....and my "texture tuesday" submission (my first!) which used a lovely texture made by Kim...

Most of these were taken on the way to Putnam, Connecticut from RI. Putnam had a lovely little downtown festival going on last weekend. It's a great little place to find antiques, too.

I discovered this new coffee place in Plainfield, Baker's Dozen, that I am obsessed with. Above was their tempting Pumpkinchino ad, but I opted for the Iced Chai, which was the BEST iced chai I've ever had. Sweet, with skim milk and just the right amount of spices. YUM! I should have taken a pic of it.

Above, top, this deer was staring at me when I was stopped at a traffic light. It was a rather long time, so I got out my camera and snapped a pic. Isn't he cute?? Center and bottom: maple leaves and cozy brown house; colorful lakeside leaves.

That's the great thing about New England..I am always finding new places to discover. RI is so small that "taking a drive" means you end up out of state at least twice a week. And the changes in nature, wildlife, foliage, and even people from just a few minutes of traveling in any direction makes it fun to explore.

We're having a snowstorm right now, (unheard of in October) so this may be the last time I had to take fall pics....(sniffle!) :) ~Mary

Light + Orange & Red Maple = Bliss

2011-10-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

I had some time this weekend to do nothing but drive around looking for the most colorful trees I could find. It seems the further west I drive, the more colorful they get. We still think it is due to Hurricane Irene and the salt from the ocean that burned a lot of the trees in coastal New England. Here is a preview. Happy Monday!

True story: for the third photo above, I snuck into a deserted parking lot of a church. I figured it was empty and no one would mind. Right as I pulled out my camera, these HUGE dogs came running over to the chainlink fence that was there and began barking. I guess they were church guard dogs? I love dogs, but I swear these dogs were bigger than Saint Bernards and had fangs. As I took the photos I said out loud "Nice Doggy!" until finally I figured the barking would annoy the neighbors and left. But I got some nice shots..heheh!

Weekend Maine Getaway.....Indian Summer

2011-10-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Mary, and I'm a recovering Fall-o-phobic. Heh.

Maybe it was Maine, and the super nice people that seem to all live there. Maybe it was the Moose adventure. Maybe it's the fact that it hasn't really gotten cold here yet in Rhode Island. My attempt to sit back, relax and enjoy the change of seasons (Autumnal Acceptance) has resulted in...me liking it, kinda. Woo hoo.

A beautiful time of the year in New England...the part of October that still remains sunny and warm enough to go outside without jackets, even into the night hours. The butterflies are still out, the water is cooling down in the ponds and lakes..Why haven't I noticed all this stuff happening before? It's probably something I can attribute, again, to my camera.

Above are more scenes from the Maine Highlands...Moosehead Lake..and surrounding areas.

As a kid I remember the night of Halloween always being super cold, and my mother forcing me to wear a huge puffy Michelin-Man coat over my costumer- ruining the whole effect. So I'm trying to enjoy the days before that fateful day arrives this year.. and it always seems to take everyone by surprise!

These adirondack chairs sported cutout pine trees and overlooked Moosehead Lake. The water was cobalt blue and the mountains surrounding the lake were tinged with red, orange, yellow and green.

Above are some views from the same hill above the lake, and the sherbet hued sunset behind the pines. A great place to sip some cider and take in the sights and scents of the changing season.

Hope you enjoyed! (While all of this color is happening in Northern New England, we in the Southern section have yet to see the brilliant color of seasons past...still waiting (hoping)! for some additional color, but if it doesn't come I will set out with a few choice lenses this weekend, anyhoo.) :)

the amazing Monarch Butterfly Migration

2011-10-17T08:30:00.002-04:00

I've never actually seen a group of migrating monarchs (except at the Butterfly exhibits at museums.) But I think they are particularly amazing and beautiful, so I wanted to learn more about their migration to South America every fall. Below is a piece I made using a Monarch I saw last weekend in Maine. I used a digital texture by irisb and my photo, then added the words.

I had no idea that come Autumn, monarch butterflies actually fly 2500 miles to their desired, warmer locations...or that there are two places they regularly migrate to every year like clockwork. And they also go into a type of relaxed state, a hibernation of sorts. What a beautiful life..wish I could leave for the winter for the beautiful California coast, too.

I'd like to share here some of the amazing photography from Flickr photographers showing the migrating Monarch...see below for credit and link to their large-sized photo on Flickr.

1. Monarchs in motion, 2. Monarch Migration, 3. Natural Bridges Monarchs #2 - Santa Cruz, California, 4. Monarch Butterflies Galore

If you love butterflies, dragonflies and the like, you'd love my friend Caitlin's artwork. She sells her affordable work in her Etsy shop The Paper Butterfly and her blog is an amazing journey through the Ottawa wilderness. Her latest adventure? Raising swallowtail butterflies. Read all about it on her blog.

With all that work these little guys do, it makes Mondays seem a little more palatable, doesn't it? You can learn more about their amazing journey here and see a little map here. Enjoy!

Moose Safari Fun! - Moosehead Lake, Maine

2011-10-13T08:00:00.021-04:00

I've been wanting to see a real Moose for a long time, and this unusually hot and sunny Columbus Day Weekend was the perfect time to visit the Moosehead Lake region of Maine for some Moosey goodness.

So above the Momma moose (moose #1) emerged from the side of the road and hung out for a few minutes, waiting for her baby (#2) to arrive. There's also the sign we passed which had a built-in sensor and would light up as we drove by, warning us about moose crashes!

Above this young male moose (3) and his Mommy (4) are returning to the road after a scare from a car horn. In the right photo, you can see the baby moose (2) from my first photos crossing the road to join his Momma. These are winding roads and this was very early in the morning, just at dawn, so the lighting was not ideal for either photography nor driving with moose :) I really have to fiddle with my camera settings to find out the ideal way to photograph wildlife at dawn!

Above you can see Momma Moose 4 and Baby Moose 3 taking turns at a roadside stream. Moose also like to lick salt off the road, and this is what keeps them in front of cars during the dawn and dusk hours. Their bodies need it for energy.

Cute baby moose 3 is munching away! I'm really thrilled we got to see these guys in their natural environment. Some people travel to this remote region just to see moose and never do. Part of me wanted to put down the camera and just watch, but I knew I had to try and get some photos since I had driven 7 hours to get here!

This part of Maine really has a sense of humor about their beloved Moose neighbors. After tourist season is over, moose outnumber the folks here 3 to 1. Top, a winged "Pegamoose" is visible from the main road in Rockwood, Maine; middle, the imposing shadow of a Bull moose from a statue at a rest stop; bottom, a moose chases Santa up a mailbox.

And here I am, posing next to another moose advertising the moose safari we went on!

Maybe you want to go on a Moose Safari, too? Some suggestions we learned along the way!:

Moose are most often active in the summer and you will mostly seen female moose (cows) with their young. Babies are born in late Spring and the adorable young moose are viewable in June and July with their Moms. They spend a year with Mom before going out on their own.

Bull Moose (males) have a thick, soft velvet on their antlers that falls off in the early Autumn, so many photographers seek them out during this time because their antlers are most elegant. However, male moose are more elusive, and rightfully so, because they are hunted.

It's best to seek out a group to go with, because locals and trained wilderness guides know the "moose hangouts" and even know some of the moose by name! We chose the Northeast Guide Service, who are wonderful and convenient to the Moosehead Lake region. Our guide, Jessica, was respectful of and very knowledgeable about the moose. In fact, she runs a cool blog where she writes and shares photos from their Moose Safaris!

It seems that every town has a "theme". This is my favorite sign though- it has a moose and a loon!

Moosehead Lake and its southern hub, Greenville, is a great place to start your Moose journey. There's a lot to do here including boating of all kinds, hiking, a historical plane crash site, birding, whitewater rafting of all class levels, swimming, camping, a museum, a tourboat, seaplane rides, fishing, and excellent shops and antiquing. The foliage in fall is awesome, but we plan on going back sometime in early summer for Maximum Moose! (a tip from Jessica.) And a wonderful bonus is that everyone here is super friendly! :)

Dahlia & Zinnia love!

2011-10-06T08:20:00.000-04:00

While walking through Rockport Massachusetts a few weeks ago I captured some of the awesome, huge late summer blooms along the main street area...

This dahlia was pale, pale pink and its petals had dark purple edges.

This is another dahlia that was light purple with yellow accents inside. I love the center portion of this one - all the little petals clustered together. I used my macro lens to capture the sharpness and detail of the petals

Above, I looked this one up online and found out it's called the "White Wedding" zinnia. Endless layers of white, fluffy petals.

And here is another colorful fuschia zinnia. Very different looking from the white one! It has a little crown in the center.

For the White Zinnia and the first picture of the pale Dahlia, I used a white canvas texture in Photoshop and layered it lightly over the image of the flower to give it a lighter look and block out some of the background (which was a busy garden outside a storefront.) It also tempered some of that bright sunlight in which I had to take the photo. Bright sunlight is just not photography-friendly, but it sure made me happy that the sun was out..

To find textures like the ones I used above, you can visit the awesome Florabella Collection site and click on Textures. She has a lot of soft and pale options that look amazing with floral photographs and make any photo look like a piece of fine art and she is a joy to work with if you ever have questions or issues.
Have a great weekend...we are off to Maine until after Columbus Day! Enjoy! M

A Bookstore Surprise, Free Textures, and Signs of Autumn :)

2011-10-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

I passed this sign in Gloucester, Massachusetts and created this altered photograph with tons of texture and colorful mums! (wait til the end of this post for some free textures which you can steal from me to do fun stuff in Photoshop, too.)

I had fun making this in Photoshop, it's not perfectly layered or lined up but I love the way it came out like the fun, orangey and vivid Autumn I imagined. I had to really brighten the colors because sadly, hurricane Irene from last month has ruined our change at colorful foliage here in Rhode Island. :( So I used Mums instead of Leaves. :)

So, last week I was at the local bookstore, happily and caffeinatedly flipping through the latest issue of Somerset Life, when I did a double take near the end...Wait, isn't that my photograph? Yes! it is! :)) (Big smiles and a dropped jaw in the bookstore didn't seem to faze anyone else, though. The cashier didn't really care either. sigh.) But here it is:

So that was exciting! If you're interested you can submit work to them, too- they are now accepting submissions for everything from photos to projects and jewelry and..well, check out their site above. Each issue lists items and ideas they're looking for in the back. And finally..

Sunflower Field texture by Mary

Hunter's Beach texture by Mary

Two more free textures I made- feel free to download them here by opening in a new window in your browser or visit my flickr textures for more you can download. For the image at the top of my post I used some of the lighter brown textures mixed with bokeh, and then I used a hard brush in Photoshop with the brush tool to dodge out more bokeh around the top of the mums and bottom of the sign post.
happy Monday! :)

White, worn and weathered beauty

2011-09-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

A secret wishing pool and weathered white picket fence...

A white shingled house with cheery blue shutters...

....and another pair of shutters against baby pink...

A happy bird sunning on her own private ocean terrace...

and this beautifully weathered boat in a field on Cape Cod...

Autumn Under Water.

2011-09-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

More photos in the spirit of Autumnal Acceptance! (it helps to accept the end of summer when I have my camera around.) Leaves floating and buried under shallow water...

And I'm loving subtle Autumn reflections that still have lots of green in them...

And finally, I love the super-dedicated beavers building their winter homes in the shadow of the changing colors. Look at this one....on its way to being a mansion, right? Who's the lucky lady?

Happy Monday...(if there is such a thing..) It is supposed to rain every day this week, but the weather hasn't been accurate in months so I won't get my hopes down for nothing...my camera's coming everywhere I go despite the predictions...:)
Also I redesigned my blog for the 137th time this year. I think I have banner obsessive compulsion. Someday I'll write a post with all the banners I've created. (it would take me hours, though.)
ALSO....last week two of my photos made it into Explore on Flickr. I got lots of nice feedback and visitors. That's always super fun! If you're on Flickr you can visit me here. ; )

"Autumnal Acceptance" and 4 Free Textures for Fall

2011-09-22T07:30:00.009-04:00

Ok, Ok. I understand the magic of Autumn! I just wish it would be followed by another summer...instead of the New England winter. That's all. That's my only problem with the season.

The golden and light orange colors are everywhere now. You know that golden hour just before sunset? It suddenly seems like that is every hour of the day. Also I am noticing a lot of Monarch butterflies around here. I'm assuming they are on their yearly migration down to Mexico. Sure wish I were going with them...maybe having a few Margaritas..

So I'm giving in to the season, reluctantly, like I do every year. In the spirit of Autumnal Acceptance, I have decided to keep my camera busy this season. Some of the things I'll be doing...if you are interested and/or in the New England area:

Taste of Block Island weekend, Block Island, Rhode Island. Our first time going.
Cranberry Harvest festival, Wareham, Massachussetts. This one we went to last year and it was awesome. I plan to bring my new lens and get better pics of the Owls/ raptors they have on show there.
International Oktoberfest, Newport, Rhode Island. This one's a maybe; this is a busy weekend, and depending on how the foliage report is I may want to go up further North and do some leaf- peeping!
Scituate Art Festival, Scituate, Rhode Island. We go to this every year, usually on Columbus Day. I buy lots of my Christmas gifts here and the foliage is usually peaking around this time; the village of Scituate is gorgeous during this time of year, with old churches and lots of maples, natural lakes and the reservoir. Warning- don't go if you don't like crowds!

Here are also a few more textures I made in Photoshop for autumn...you can download them here by opening in a new window: (and I will be adding them to my Flickr textures set as soon as I can.)

Peak Autumn texture

Blush Bokeh texture

Vintage Sepia Bokeh texture

Warm & Grungy texture

All textures are for your personal use or for use in finished creations. :)

Enjoy.....:)

Gloucester, Massachusetts

2011-09-19T08:30:00.025-04:00

Gloucester is a quintessential New England fishing town North of Boston. Home to America's original seaport and a huge arts colony, it's also home of the huge "Fisherman's Memorial" and plaques depicting the ships and people who have never come back from sea since the early 1800's.

Pretty sobering stats.

Above is an old paint factory which is very aged and picturesque and sits on the edge of town. I've read a few blog posts that indicate it may be demolished soon, so I snapped a few shots of it!

Yep, that's the Gorton Fishermen Man. Pretty good stuff for ready-made meals. Try it sometime.

A beautiful schooner and the sparkly water.

A beautiful lone tree on a hill. :)
If you're in the area you can learn more about Gloucester, events, directions and more here.

My Trip to Brimfield - the largest antiques & collectibles show in the U.S!

2011-09-13T08:00:00.070-04:00

I thought I would share some of the photos I took while I was at the Brimfield, Massachusetts antique show this past weekend. The show has multiple fields, each one with several tables of its own. The whole show is one square mile worth of old, antique, or vintage goodies, as well as random collectibles like trains, signs, postcards, dolls, etc....I posted more info at the bottom!

A huge collection of Jadeite. The top row Sugar & Flower containers were priced at $75-95 each.

Texas Dairy buckets!! and an awesome, swiveling drawer storage thingy! If I had a bigger carriage I would take this home.

I loved these file drawers. Imagine how organized I could be with this...

More awesome storage!!


I loooove this old Red Cross container. Super cute in a vintage bathroom. Here is my breakfast- egg burrito and cranberry soda. P.S.- what is a "crantioxidant?" .. People started to show up in droves by late morning... Also....Jesus was there...along with that creepy mannequin in the background... A huge Pez collection; old baskets painted pretty colors. A chair from the 1870's was selling for $650; an old stove. Lunchtime! Gorgeous cobalt blue bottles would look great in the window. Gazing ball atop an old pillar. That's me there in the middle... Pretty scrolled old doors. The Crystal man. He had all crystal vintage chandeliers. I had to take these pics at a distance so as not to be rude. I would have loved to have gotten closer photos of the detail though. This vendor had tons of funny signs. He repurposed old doors and windows. I would hang this in my basement....if I had one. So, hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my day of Brimfield shopping. If you want to visit, hotels book a year in advance for tourists for this gigantic show. (I maybe did one-eighth of the show in 6 hours!) If you're within a few hours, take the drive up. It's worthwhile if you are a collector. Visit their website here for information. The show happens three times a year in May, July and September. Hope to see you there next Spring!

the Colors of late Summer...appreciating what is left.

2011-08-30T08:08:00.002-04:00

After the last few days of wind and rain (that used to be a hurricane, but it sort of fizzled out before it got here, although practically our whole state lost electric power), I took out my dusty macro lens before heading to my cousin's house to see if any of her or the neighbors' gardens would still be in bloom..with anything. ..

See, I love how this lens makes things like dead and dying flowers...and even weeds..look pretty. While I was taking this one I could hear my cousin's husband saying, "Where is Mary?" and my cousin replying, "What the heck is she doing??"

I'm pretty sad that the blooms I thought would outlive my laziness are fading away like the summer.

While learning the ins and outs of my camera, I've also learned things about the world around me that I never cared to know before. Things like, a sunflower blooms for only ten days if you're lucky; that a luna moth lives for less than a week before its luminous green color fades and it slowly dies. Things like how fleeting summer really is in New England. That it is worth traveling sometimes hundreds of miles to see things in nature that you would never otherwise see if you weren't willing to take the journey. And that sometimes the most beautiful things are the little things, the things close to home.

This wilting rose (above) was on the side of a major road in the middle of nowhere. (Really, it is. The Middle of Nowhere Diner and Next to Nowhere Creamery are around the corner. They claim on their website that the food, and the women, are worth the detour.)

I'm really glad I live somewhere where there is something beautiful to see during every season. But I'm even happier to be able to share this love of photography, an art which captures things on the other side of the lens and records it for all to enjoy. That way I can rewind my late summer days on my computer when it's too cold to venture out...(Ahhh!!! I can't even think about the cold!) :)) Have a great week!

9 New Free Textures for you!

2011-08-24T08:01:00.016-04:00

I made some more digital textures, which you can use in blending with your photos, digital scrapbooks, or any other digital creations. Download them here, or visit my Flickr set of textures to see these and more. Enjoy! A few recent photo creations with textures first...

You can selectively erase sections of texture after adding them as a second layer in Photoshop to give them a lighter touch. For example in the daisy photo below, I erased the section with the tall daisy to make it stand out.

You can also dodge and burn the center and edges to give them vintage feel, and change the colors to your liking. If you like the grungy textures but you want them darker, you can burn them in, or go to Photoshop's "auto tone" feature under Image adjustment to automatically add some contrast.

Hunter's beach texture

Gray grunge bokeh texture

Denim grunge texture

Natural grunge texture

Natural grunge with vignette texture

Dappled blue texture

Lavender texture

Vintage Sepia bokeh texture

Tidepool bokeh texture

I enjoy making these, so if there are any that you like or want more of, let me know...which colors do you like to use in your work? Do you like darker textures or lighter ones? Which blending mode do you use the most? And what types of photos do you add texture to- nature, people, still lifes, or landscapes?

(To download the full size, click on the ones you like below, open in new window, and maximize by clicking on it again. Right click and then save.) :)))

Rocks + Water = Beautiful Coastal Abstracts

2011-08-19T08:38:00.012-04:00

It's kind of tough to take a new or artistic photograph of something as simple as water on rocks. And it's a little weird when other people are taking photos of the lighthouse and the boats and I am concentrating on the way the water is crashing on to the rocks below. I know it's been done, but somehow I keep coming back to rocks and water. And guess what...there is an entire Flickr Group dedicated to this nature pairing! Sweet!

And some of my faves from Flickr: (photographers noted below.)

1. Blurring the Waves, 2. moonrise acadia, 3. rocks at hunter cove, 4. Water and Shells
Hope you enjoyed....Happy Happy Weekend!! :) :) :)

Removing color from your photos...Sometimes less is more.

2011-08-15T08:00:00.075-04:00

I have to say that I really don't like taking photos in black and white. I like to shoot in color and then download them, live with them for awhile, and process them differently at that point. But there is something to be said for removing the color from a photo.

In this forest, I originally wanted to capture lots of sunlight and haziness, but I ended up liking this version better. It highlights the contrast in the paper birch trees, and you can still see the haze in the background.

Fans at a Red Sox game. By removing the color you can see the similarities in the people instead of their various color clothes.

A little boy who wants to go outside on a rainy day..:) The raindrops on the sliding door add interest and become a graphic element without color.

My favorite of the bunch I think. The sunflower field in Connecticut which I originally blogged about a few weeks ago. (see the field in color here.) Since they are so vibrant, and it's hard to look at anything other than their brilliant yellow color, I really think that by removing it this photo shows off how vast the field really was. I added a soft photo filter of blush pink.

A new father's tattoo..and the little feet that inspired it.

The landscape of Bar Harbor looks more classic in monochrome.

Lunch by the sea looks like a vintage movie set. You can really see the heart shapes in the chairs.

Things to consider about processing your photographs this way:

Anything with geometric lines and shapes will look interesting when you remove the color.
A landscape with a boring or washed out sky will benefit from more interesting foreground, which sometimes happens when processed in black and white. this is because..
Negative space is emphasized. When space around your subject would normally be a light sky or sunlit background, suddenly it becomes cream or white, and your subject pops.
People love their portraits done in black and white, because it smooths complexions and brightens eyes. Try changing one of your ho-hum portraits to black and white and see if you like it any better than the original.

What do you think? Do you like black and white or sepia toned photographs? When I first started selling online, my first big sale was a 20" by 30" version of one of my beach landscapes in sepia. I think it's easier to match the colors in your home when you consider a monochrome or muted color scheme. I hope to do a set of my florals and one of my beach landscapes in black and white as well when I re-open my shop.

The Cutest Baby Chimpanzee....

2011-08-08T08:25:00.002-04:00

My favorite part of a visit to the zoo from last week...

The happy family...above, Dad, Mom and Baby...

The baby is asking his Mom if she wants to play but she's not in the mood...soooo...

I love this one, he is totally showing off!

And exhausted, he takes a snack break.. :)(All photos taken at the Southwick Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts.)

Buttonwood Farm Sunflowers...(And ice cream)

2011-08-01T08:00:00.005-04:00

Before this weekend we decided to take a trip to the Sunflower field in Connecticut planted by Buttonwood Farm. They have an event where they pick some of the flowers in bunches and sell them for $5 and the proceeds go to charity.

Every sunflower had creatures in it. They were about 7 feet tall and all facing different directions. I wasn't sure if we would miss out going after noon because I thought they all faced toward the sun, but it turns out they all have separate personalities and pretty much face wherever they want...

I don't have many photos of the ice cream because.....we ate it in about 5 seconds. But I would totally recommend the "graham cracker" flavor if you ever visit...

Photo from Buttonwood Farm website.

Even thought this is probably the last week for the sunflowers, this place is really cute and the ice cream is to die for. And in the autumn they have pick your own pumpkins and hayrides.
I'm always looking for fun little field trips like this in New England, if you have any to share or recommend I would love to know... have a great week! :)

Trip to Maine, Part 1: Portland Head Lighthouse

2011-07-25T08:00:00.006-04:00

My sister and I headed to Maine a week and a half ago and we had a blast. We made the most of the 7 hour or so journey there, stopping along the way to take in some of the sights. I'd been to Maine many times, but there were still a few places off the highway that I hadn't seen yet. One of them was this lighthouse.

This is the gorgeous Portland Head Light, located just south of Portland, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. We stopped here after about 3 hours or so to rest and get some photos. I tried to be a little creative with the above. Below is the classic scene. You can see it on just about every postcard of Portland. Sure, it's been done...but you can see why!

It kind of looks like a postcard, but this is actually how it looked. The red and white lighthouse is really striking against the rocky coastline and the sky was that perfect shade of blue.

And it's the same scene on the welcoming sign when you enter this charming town, too.

Frank's hotdogs give visitors to the light an excuse to picnic on the lawn, overlooking the ocean. The man in the red suspenders was so cute.

We could see another lighthouse off in the distance, which I learned is called Ram Island lighthouse.

Here you can see that the Portland lighthouse looks out to the Ram Island light. There were quite a few people there, considering it was a Thursday afternoon. You can tour the lighthouse and there is a little museum inside, but it was beginning to look a bit stormy and we decided to get back on the road and on the remaining 4 hour journey we had ahead.

I would really love to make a summer trip to Portland and explore the city itself. If anyone has been there or has any tips I would like to know! I'm thinking of staying in the Old Port section of the city, the travel guides claim it has the best shops and restaurants. It's only about 3 hours from me, so it would be a great weekend adventure.
My sister and I decided on taking the Coastal Route, route 1, on the way up to Bar Harbor, so the rest of our journey was very scenic. More to come...

Lessons from Ladies who Lunch

2011-07-20T08:00:00.037-04:00

Once we visited this beautiful place in Sarasota called the Marie Selby botanical garden. While there, I noticed people with their briefcases and laptops having their work lunches in this gorgeous place, and I thought, "If I could, I would have lunch here everyday....I would escape from my desk, sneak away, and get some peace." I tried as often as I could to step outside during my breaks and sometimes even go for drives to nowhere, enjoying the fresh air, and then returning to work.

It's even better if you bring your lunch goodies with you and/or have a bench nearby. I loved this little garden area (above) because it was super private and because it had this lovely pink foxglove bloom right in front of it. Bees love foxglove, they huddle inside the bell shaped blooms gathering pollen and you don't even notice until they pull themselves out.

These lovely "Ladies who Lunch", as I call them, all had colorful floppy hats on and were having drinks and lunch on the lawn at a hotel in Newport last week. I stood there in my flip-flops and bun and though, Why don't I ever wear a hat or dress up for lunch? How come I don't grant myself a mid afternoon drink with a view like this? What am I waiting for, really? They may not work or maybe they took a girls' day off. All I know is, they were making the most of their time together, all dressed up, matching hats, and drinks in hand. They claimed some adirondack chairs down by the water for their lunch.

Sure, we don't all have hours every day to go outside, or we don't live in a gorgeous seaside town like Newport. (neither do I.) I have learned, though, from the last few years spent learning photography that we can make time for things that are beautiful. Take the scenic route to work and the long, unknown way home. Take time to sit by the ocean instead of by the highway. Pick or purchase real flowers instead of fake ones for your dining room table. If you have dinner at a restaurant in the summer, enjoy it alfresco.

Wear your floppy, colorful hat whenever possible. Remember the most unassuming things, like dappled sun through the trees, a lonely garden bench, and ladies who lunch, make the best subjects for your photos. Take time for yourself and nature...just the two of you. There doesn't need to be another person present to enjoy it. Your job, and your life, will still be waiting when you're done. :)

USA's First Sunrise: Cadillac Mountain

2011-07-18T08:30:00.010-04:00

After visiting Acadia National Park for the last three summers, I finally was able to see the first sunrise in the country atop Cadillac Mountain. (The mountain is the highest elevation within 25 miles of the coastline from Maine to Mexico. Although during certain times of the year, the easternmost point in the US, Lubec Maine, sees the sun first.) All it involved was being there at 4 in the morning, a tripod from Walmart, and a lot of patience! Here are some images from the day...

So here you can see the first colors starting to appear, and the people at bottom right (above) and below.The first pic above is a little blurry...I was trying to get the exposure down pat. I needed to keep the shutter open for a few seconds to capture the earliest morning light, and then I changed it as the sun came up.

Above, the rocks are turning pinkish purple. The rocks on top of Cadillac are actually made of pink granite, and are naturally light speckled pink and gray.

The colors got more and more vibrant, especially the pink, and the water began to change from blue to pink right before our eyes..

There it is peeking over the horizon...we are the first to see it...all these people on the mountain started cheering. Partiers who had been up all night, little children with their grandparents, hikers, photographers....everyone was excited. There must have been 40 people there.

Above, you can see some of them gathered against the water (toward the left of the photo.) The islands you see here are called the Porcupine Islands, located in Frenchman's Bay, on the Maine coast.

And as the day began I was able to snap another for my "hearts" collection... see it?

We spent a few days in this area of Maine and I have lots more to share, too. :) Hope you enjoyed the sunrise!

8 New Free Textures!

2011-07-14T08:00:00.026-04:00

I've been having a lot of fun making these and I'm happy to share them! To download, you can click on each texture below you want, and it will open in a new window. Click the + sign on the image to get the highest resolution size, then right click and save on your computer. You can then layer and play around with them in Photoshop.Another option is to visit my Flickr texture page...there are lots more textures there, too. Enjoy!

Sunny Lavender field

Underwater Bokeh

Speckled Sky


Wet Rocks


Coffee Milk bokeh


Grungy Sky


Maine Beach bokeh

Candy Buoys

My perfect day in Newport.....

2011-07-12T08:30:00.005-04:00

I would start my day by drinking my Iced Coffee in one of these chairs and browsing through the latest issue of Somerset Life...

Then I would walk over to the Cliff Walk, which would be in my front yard, of course..

then..I'd head over to the beach and do some tidepooling and swimming..

Next...a little peaceful kayaking...

Watching the colorful boats make their way out to sea...

And ending the day in yet another Adirondack chair with a friend as the sun goes down. :)

I may be adding some of these as prints to my shop when I re-open...I've been soooo busy!! I hope to come back and get it up and running any day now! Maybe the first day we have that is not beautiful and sunny? Hope your summers are going as wonderful as mine.. :)
Oh and P.S. I have created my own little blog button (see the right sidebar!) and if you grab it for your site or blog, please let me know so I can link back to you or advertise your button, too! :)))

Long Exposure Fireworks...and American Flag Cake!

2011-07-06T08:04:00.004-04:00

I'm still learning the best way to photograph fireworks, but I took these using between a one and five second exposure and a small tripod. I think they came out very abstract...it was a really great show, we head down to this location every year and I'm never disappointed. (I also included some of the delish cake that was at my Aunt's party this past weekend...slrrp..)

And the cake!

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

2011-07-01T19:12:00.000-04:00

Hopefully I will find my camera battery charger before the fireworks this year...:)

Enjoy!!

A little bit of salty Cape Cod air for your week.

2011-06-30T08:26:00.002-04:00

At the bend in the "elbow" of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Chatham is one of my favorite places. I'm posting some photos from earlier this Spring as I have somehow misplaced my Nikon battery charger and have been lost without my camera....wish me luck finding it..:) Enjoy the view!

Above and below: some of the sand bars and the little inlets the tide creates...lots of kids always playing in these in the summer.

Above, the Chatham lighthouse.

Starlings on telephone wires. I don't know why, I just like them.

The fish pier is a lively place where the lobster fishermen and women come back from work in the afternoons, causing a ruckus among the locals...the seals and the seagulls, of course! Below are some more beautiful photos from some talented Flickrers...credits below.

1. Chatham Harbor Aerial (w/ fish pier), 2. Seal Feeding, 3. View From the Chatham Pier

Summer + Flowers + Vintage Camera = Bliss :)

2011-06-26T08:00:00.033-04:00

Someday, I will live in a place that is sunny and warm all year...until then I must squeeze in little joys into every one of the 60-something days of New England summer. Like running around barefoot.

My awesome little Argoflex.

Where the dandelions meet the sea..

What is this flower (Above)? I like the fuzzies.

Hydrangea.

Goldenrod.

Rose.

I hope to get into my Aunt's garden soon and share some pics of her beautiful allium and dahlias. This week is supposed to be looovely here in Rhode Island...

Have a great Monday!

Create your own Favicon in Blogger

2011-06-22T08:30:00.001-04:00

This is a cute way to individualize your blog. If you look at your internet browser while browsing my blog, you should see a heart shaped rock against a turquoise background. Ta-da! That's my new favicon.

Installing a favicon has always mystified me but Blogger makes it easy. If you have a blogspot account, here's how to get one.

First, decide on an image that will work. You want something that will identify your blog to others in their bookmarks or favorites. It has to be something that will look good tiny. Something without too much detail and one main subject should work.
Next resize the image to 20 px square. You can use Photoshop or Picnik, which is free and easy to use. Save the image to your hard drive.
Instead of logging into Blogger like you normally do, go to the beta link for Blogger- Blogger in Draft. This is the new site for blogger where they test all the new, cool functions. You can use it as your regular login page from now on, too, if you like.
Go to your blog's design section where the Layout is. On the top of the layout on the left side, click on "edit" next to the word Favicon. Now upload your 20 px file from step 2.
Hit save. Ta-Da! Admire your awesome new favicon.

A Celebration of my Computer Crash....Rhode Island style

2011-06-20T08:00:00.056-04:00

Yes, that's right. My beloved laptop crashed last week, due to repercussions from a particularly horrifying virus that tricked me into believing Windows was telling me to do things to fix some sort of "critical error" on my hard drive. A family member thinks they might be able to salvage some of the files on it, but alas, there were more files than I wanted there to be as I had not been up to date in backing them up...yikes.

This setback, however, lent me the excuse I needed to buy another laptop, which is when I decided my beloved was not so beloved afterall. My new laptop is sleeker, lighter, prettier and does not leave first degree burns on my leg. So, in celebration of the crash of '11, here are some crashing wave photos I took a few weeks ago...that I had on my memory card (one of the few saving graces for me is that I am terrified of cleaning off my memory cards!)

Above, the beautiful waters off coastal Route 1, southern Rhode Island, near Black Point, Narragansett. Below: this awesome heart-shaped rock was buried beneath waves and I waited for them to subside to capture the full shape. So cool!

Below is the heart-shaped rock again. I could have stood here all day, listening to the crashing waves and just watching the patterns of the water and foam in between the rocks. Total nature immersion.

Sparkly foam in the sun looks like little diamonds in the water.

So, I will try to look on the bright side of this computer crash..but I do want to pass this on...I put off backing up my pictures and music for ages because I thought I had plenty of time....not really! I am very careful about my computer and keep my anti-virus software up to date and everything, but this virus just came out of nowhere..so save yourself time and money, go backup your files right now! ;))
P.S. I am now using Avast anti-virus software. It has a wonderful free option that has been working great so far.
P.P.S. I also learned that your Ipod doesn't quite function as a hard drive when it comes to all those music CD's you've loaded onto it. Itunes keeps the music you've purchased through its service, but you will lose all the other music uploaded onto your 'pod unless you back it up beforehand...with blank CD's. You then have to reload them all into your new computer.

I looove Digital Textures! (examples + resources)

2011-06-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

I've posted before about how much I really love using these digital textures in my photos. There are so many options you can use in Photoshop (or any editing program that allows the blending of multiple layers of work). I find a lot of my free resources on Flickr. If you're familiar with how Flickr works, you can search its Groups for "textures" and find some examples. Just make sure they are marked as free to use in your work. All of the examples here were made using those free texture resources except where noted. (you will need to have some knowledge of Photoshop layers to use the textures, but the links I provided below do give tips on this.)

Above is a simple photo I took last week of a dandelion weed. Although I really liked the negative space I thought this would be a great one to work with and texture. I added two textures- both on Darken blending mode at an opacity of between 40-50%. Then I went back and used the background eraser tool to lightly erase some of the texture over the detail of the floral so it would show through. Finally, I added the text, lowered the opacity so it blended better with the background, and moved it until I liked the composition.

This scene of a red-winged blackbird was kind of plain straight out of the camera. The sky was bright, but not especially interesting, and I thought the bare branches could handle some texture. I chose a light gray texture with long whitish streaks that looked like rain, erased away some of the texture around the center, and then added a slight vignetting around the edges. I also lightened the branches using the selective color tool so they would "pop" a little more.

Above, an ordinary photo of a flowering tree suddenly looks like a page from a vintage botanical book after adding a subtle texture. I lightened the leaves and flowers to the point where they had the same intensity as the background and didn't look too harsh.

Textures can also disguise parts of a photo that are otherwise distracting. This sign outside of a herb garden shop had a lot of charm but parts of it were discolored and rusty. I blended a simple, green canvas texture (purchased from Joy St. Claire, an extremely talented photographer from Ohio and great lady! you can see the textures she offers on her blog sidebar.) I like the way it came out!

Ok, I have used this photo above before ( and it's in my current banner), but I find it magical. This was the night of the Supermoon, set against some beachy reeds and a lightened dusk sky. I added a subtle grungy texture for interest, blended it on low opacity, and then added randomly scattered text from a phrase I made up to go along with the image.

This is just a simple, kitschy sign atop a restaurant I noticed while shopping this winter. I used the selective color tool to brighten the red and white, then overlayed a misty, grungy blue texture with a soft vignette effect around the edges. It looks very sci-fi...doesn't it? I can't imagine this one without the texture now.

This macro photo of a simple acorn had a lot of pattern and interest, but I added this light brown "rough canvas" looking texture to give it even more. I played around with the blend modes until the acorn and texture just meshed together like one piece of art...now it almost looks like a different form of media.

I'm really still learning all of this, so I appreciate any feedback or tips anyone reading may have to share, too. I'll try to include them in a future post because I plan on playing around more with textures. I also have my own textures to offer you, which are free, mostly bokeh textures with circles of blur and light that add a magical, dreamy touch to photos. You can find them at the top of my blog, underneath the header on the Textures link.

resources:
Joy St. Claire textures, Moderne, Maggie texture sets
Grunge textures gallery
Textures for Layers - group in Flickr
Florabella's fine art textures set

Coming back to Etsy soon...

2011-06-05T03:20:00.005-04:00

I've been so busy this spring that I closed my Etsy shops temporarily so I could get organized. Doing my taxes made me realize just how much I need a real desk/ office, receipt location, folders and a calendar. I've been donating and selling about seventeen pounds of clothing over the last few months. My friend Joe and I are planning our massive annual yard sale, which is insane because every year it is bigger than the year before, and yet the whole point is that we are getting rid of items....so, guiltily, I guess during the rest of the year we're making up for it.

My sister has moved home for the summer before she moves away again - sniffle- to the west coast. We traveled to New York to help her move out last month and then attended her graduation from college...and then little by little everyone I know comes out of hiding this season, having parties, barbecuing in the backyard, trying to figure out inexpensive day trips with the kids...I attempt to cram in as many social events and get-togethers as I can stand before the weather changes yet again. Summers in New England are so sadly fleeting.
So, if anyone is out there in blog world, or maybe you've been just as busy or more so than me...just wanted to say my shops will probably re-open by the end of the month. I have to go back and do a little house-cleaning but I have so many prints to add from the last few months, and I'm super excited about that.
In addition to fixing my own office and supplies before reopening, I plan to:

analyze my print listings that have expired and either renew them or delete them
add my new prints to my shop
take photos of all the jewelry I have ready to sell (3-4 boxes worth)
redo my print shop banner
add links back to my shop in each individual listing, making it easier for people to find other sizes and similar pieces, etc
reply to a few requests from very patient people for prints in custom sizes
design a quick email response that I can send out to customers immediately after their purchase, identifying my email, when to expect their item(s), and offering any assistance with their order
order more business cards from Moo with updated artwork

Taking a break from online selling has been a good decision for the last few months, at least for me, so I can spend the time I need doing the above and also just enjoying life. Anyone who tells you that opening an Etsy or Ebay account is easy is lying. But I really do enjoy interacting with people and I've made some great connections through my shops, especially with the other artists and sellers. I can't wait to get back into the swing of things....;)
Happy Summer! xo

Summer Food Fun...

2011-05-31T14:35:00.001-04:00

A Day Full of Birds

2011-05-10T08:30:00.004-04:00

These were all seen on the same day, this past Saturday, in coastal Rhode Island.

Here is one of my favorites. Osprey spend winters as far south as Argentina. They are seen around here in April through the summer months. They build their nests in the same places every year- usually very high off the ground, in utility poles, or other high structures, near a body of water where they can fish. Their nests are made of anything and everything they can find- other than sticks, clothing, garbage, fishing nets. These two are a mated pair. The female on the right was sitting over her eggs when the male came back. He didn't have a fish in his mouth though. Maybe next time...

Here is a red-winged blackbird calling out. The males call to other males to assert themselves. They hang out in swampy areas, in tall grasses.

Below, this pretty guy I'm almost sure is a male house finch. He was chillin' near a very exclusive golf club, and I think he looks awfully dapper. Not sure about his handicap, though.

Here is an egret I caught from quite a distance.

A cormorant dries its heavy wet wings on a jetty rock. They can be seen doing this for long periods of time before they go diving for fish.

Below is a northern mockingbird. They have many calls and can mimic other birds quite well. They're also aggressive toward people, if you get too close.

Below- I think this is another finch..perhaps the female house finch, because it's not as brightly colored as the male? He had more yellow and red markings and this one is mostly gray.

Here is a relative of the mockingbird- the Catbird. Its call sounds like a dying cat or whining child.

And this little guy was doing this "wing dance" near my feet while I was watching the osprey. I turned my camera on him, and he continued to do this showing off motion, fanning out his wings, then back down, over and over. Flickrers told me he may be casting shadows to scare off bugs, or he may have had a nesting mate nearby and was attempting to scare me away. But he was not backing down until I left.I could still see him in my car side mirror, and as I shut the door he scooted back into the grasses.

So, those are my latest birds....still having lots of fun with my 300mm lens! Being able to hear the birds before I see them is helpful this time of year, when they are harder to see among the filled-out trees and flowers. So I am trying to learn the various calls and chirps as well. By the way, if you know the birds I am not 100% sure of, above, let me know in the comments, I would love to know. :)

Morning flower walk around my condo...:)

2011-05-03T09:09:00.001-04:00

I don't usually get up too early but I happened to find myself awake the other morning and I grabbed my lens and went downstairs for some exploring. I figured it would be better if the sun were more toward the East since when it hovers toward the West, my pictures would include the parking lot and bits of the condo building. So here's what I found. I don't know the names of some of these flowers, by the way so if anyone knows...feel free to comment! ; )

I think this flowering tree is a Kwanza cherry. I looked up some similar flowers on Flickr and compared them. Here's another one:

Processed with my favorite Florabella actions for Photoshop.

I love these tiny little blooms because the petals look like hearts!

Above there are a lot of tulips but I like the ones that are multicolored. Again with the heart shaped petals...see it?

Hens and chickens are the name for these small, rose shaped succulents that are growing in a small container garden near my entryway.

I have no idea what these little buds are or what they will be.
And these are some saucer magnolias that I took photos of this weekend on Cape Cod. These are possibly my new favorite flowering trees.

Hope you enjoyed....the next week is going to be a little rainy and blah here...hope to get out again this coming weekend for more.

Magnolias and more.....Mom's yard in blossom

2011-04-27T08:30:00.007-04:00

Before going out to Easter dinner (we gave up cooking), I had a chance to take some pics at my mother's. We also took turns playing glamour shot photographers of each other in front of the magnolia trees, but I won't be posting those here..hehe!

Weeping cherry tree. The birds really like this one. It's like a canopy.

Magnolia tree next to the driveway.

I spent a few minutes trying to capture the fuzzies backlit by the sun on the side of this magnolia bud.

The Star Magnolia.

Hope you enjoyed....I plan on stalking a few of the neighbors beautiful trees over the next days too, as long as the weather is nice enough. Although I'll take them anytime, flowers are so much more pretty in the sunshine!

Early New England Spring...sightings around town

2011-04-18T13:52:00.002-04:00

I think I was born in the wrong latitude. It's like the trees agree with me, because they're all bloomy and pink and happy. These are just some photos I took from my car (yes!) while doing errands over the last few days...in the coming week I'll hopefully have the time to actually get OUT of the car.

I think these are Saucer Magnolias.

and some happy Spring photos from my Flickr faves..

1. Do you believe in the goodness of God? 233/365, 2. Untitled, 3. 2.22.twenty.11 ~ primrose, 4. patience

~Happy Spring~ :)

Photographing Babies

2011-04-13T10:00:00.003-04:00

I know nothing about this, actually. But one of my goals this year was to try to learn how to better photograph people. And what better subject than my new(ish) twin cousins? I visited the other day with my handy dandy 50mm 1.4 lens which I have discovered is a life saver when it comes to inadequate interior lighting. So I tried to get down to their level so I could catch them learning to crawl around.

They move and squirm so much it's still hard to catch one of their "moments" but I was determined not to use the flash or pose them which I think looks cheesy and feels awkward. One of the twins was constantly entranced by me and my camera and stared at me the whole time and the other could not care less and wouldn't face me at all!

I loved when they turned to face one another, it looked like they were "discovering" each other for the first time, it was so adorable...they don't look too much alike but I liked the effect of the vintage processing here because it tied the photo together and made the twins appear more alike in skin tone and color.

When I couldn't get anything of their faces, while they played around with each other on the floor, I took some of the feet...I wanted to get the four feet together but, they wouldn't all keep them in the air at the same time...hehe!

There's a lot of creative photo options I would like to work on with these two cuties...they are just starting to discover the world around them and are taking on more interesting positions and interacting with each other which will make some nice keepsake photos for my cousin before they get any older. ;)

My Mother's Birds, Attack Spider, and 80's Cardinal

2011-04-06T08:45:00.070-04:00

My mother seems to have a way of attracting some interesting characters to her backyard. Last year, she sent me photos of the hateful woodpecker that was eating her roof and waking her up every day. She actually considered buying the "Birds-Away Attack Spider", a creepy and kind of hilarious stuffed toy-looking black spider thingy that supposedly drops down to scare off the offending woodpecker when he starts to peck.

Seriously, you have to click on that link, it makes me giggle. Especially when they state that even though the spiders are exposed to wind, rain and such, that "[there is] an Attack Spider death rate of about one out of eight a year, or a survival rate of 87.5% per year". ahaha!!

Not the pesky woodpecker, just a friendly (quiet) one I spotted one day. They're striking and easy to spot!

Anyway, I guess he left town since then but now my dad has begun complaining that the giant male Northern Cardinal that's been living in their yard for years has now started the bizarre behavior of"head banging" against his car mirror. Which I think is funny because the cardinal has hair/ bangs like he is from the 80's which goes along with the headbanging theme. The other day I visited and snapped some quick pics so my mother could see the birds up close (sometimes, my 300mm lens is like having fun binoculars that take photos!)

Above, the 80's hairdo I was talking about..

Above a beautiful Blue Jay I caught hiding behind a branch..

A pleasingly plump American Robin. He was sharing a tree with Mr. Cardinal.

I can't wait to use my new lens more this Spring, although when the trees fill out it will be harder to spot the birds in them. Sometimes I just listen for their songs and then aim my camera in that general direction at its longest focal length and poof! They appear through the lens. Also somewhat unrelated but I would looove to visit Machias Seal Island in Maine/ New Brunswick (it is part of both the US and Canada) sometime in June or July to see the Puffin colony there. Maybe I can convince my sister to make the 8 hour one way trip with me...:)

Around my house....my owl collection...part one!

2011-03-30T17:07:00.001-04:00

I really don't know when my obsession with all things owly began, but slowly these little creatures have taken over my house. I actually don't even have room for many of them, so I have started rotating them around. My collection consists of figurines, huge 70's pendants, wade statues, suncatchers, stuffed animals, puppets, teeshirts, placemats, needlepoint, wallhangings, photographs, artwork, wood blocks, soapstone carvings, banks, plates, a wallet, a picnic basket, and more. I thought they would be cute to share on my blog so here are some of the little guys (and gals.)

Porcelain owl peeking into my camera.

Above, a copper owl bank with marbled eyes, and a chubby little barn owl made of hand painted stone.

Above, I don't know what this is made of, but isn't he cute? I love his eyes sticking out over his head.

Above, this beautiful and funky suncatcher was only $5 at a local thrift shop. It's about 8 inches across.

The owl on the right, above, is marked "Mexico" and I almost overlooked it at a flea market, not recognizing it as an owl! It's a very abstract and folky piece of art, about 6 inches tall..for only $3. Yes!

Above, the little guy on the left reminds me of a gremlin. The cute one. What was his name?

My owl wallet, which features 70's-style owl prints with little heart cutouts. Made by Bungalow 360.

Three little owls. The one in front is flat on the back and I thought of maybe turning it into a funky pendant by adding a bail, but I'm still debating. He's only about 2 inches tall.

Above: the basket in the back is an old picnic basket with a double opening top and cute little owl hand painted on the front. I found this in the Putnam, CT antiques district for $15 last summer.

This mini needlepoint was only $0.50 and has its own frame and hanger! It's about 3 inches square. In back is an owl figurine that has a body like a whale and giant painted eyes.

I really adore this guy, above, because his eyes are like twice the size of his body. Made of some type of glazed ceramic, I purchased him in Florida at a thrift shop for $3.

So, that's part of my collection. I hope to share more of it soon. It's just hard to take all of these out of their little nooks and photograph them! I'm in the process of organizing my jewelry (the stuff I sell, mostly) so while I am at it, I'll put my owl stuff aside for a future post. I also have a lot of owls in my photo print shop. If you're into owls, too, take a look at my owl photos! Enjoy...~Mary

Photo Cards & some new jewelry....

2011-03-23T08:30:00.003-04:00

Just some fun things I've been working on lately! Let me know what you think...

Above, this is a jasper stone bead that I wrapped with a gold filigree piece, added a bird charm and chain.

Above. This was a tiny square frame to which I adhered a photo of a robin's nest and coated with glossy accents glaze.

Above- Jesse the Barn Owl made into a necklace!

Above- my photo "Breathe" printed to fit inside a necklace with a protective glaze and shell bead accent.

Above, I made a bunch of photo note cards using prints of my photos adhered with acid-free 3m photo glue and using acid free, embossed cream colored cardstock. Each of them has matching envelope.

Above, one of the cards. This was my photo "Vintage Fair Ribbons" which made the front page of Etsy last week! Yippee! I sold three copies of the 8x10 and one 16x24 large format. I'm so thrilled other people see what I see when I look at this collection of old ribbons. I found it to be so pretty and interesting when I visited the Barnstable county fair last summer on Cape Cod.
I'll probably have lots more time to get crafty this week, as it is supposed to SNOW all week. :) Oh and P.S. - see my shop links on the right side of my blog for where you can purchase the above items!

More Daylight = Yay! My after-work adventure...

2011-03-18T08:00:00.008-04:00

As I sat at work today pondering the fact that I haven't taken any new photos recently, it struck me that I had an extra hour of sun today. (and have since Sunday, but it was, in fact, sunny today.) And warm! So off I went, after work, to see what I could see with my last precious hour or so of good light. I headed south for about 20 minutes until I ended up near Misquamicut beach in Westerly. I looooved just being outside and soaking up the sunshine and fresh early Spring air. And the birds were out....so many, their songs and chirps all melted together in a cacophonous melody and I wasn't quite sure where to look first...

This chubby American Robin was chirping so loud I had to take his photo. He was totally posing for me, too. It's the same one in both shots. I just love their clownish faces and fat bellies. heh.

These two swans swam and dived around together for a while before swimming off into the sunset.

There were about a thousand red-winged blackbirds. Twittering and chirping and making noises that sounded like songs but not quite. They were in every treetrop as I looked back over the landscape, like little black inkblots sitting on the trees and branches. I caught this one in "mid-sing."

Reflections from an old building in the calm inlets off Misquamicut beach.

I really kind of wanted to jump into the water until I remembered it wasn't going to be nice enough for swimming until mid summer. Whoops!

Objects in mirror may be larger than they appear...um, yes! Gigundo seaside mansions! Drool. :)

The sun went down and the tide went out....

And I thought the moon looked huge in the early dusk sky...and these eight foot- high reeds seemed to be almost touching the moon.

Happy Friday! It is supposed to be beautiful here today, early summer weather...Enjoy!

Vintage Shopping Goodies!

2011-03-15T08:30:00.059-04:00

In the winter I like to go vintage/ consignment shopping, since it's hard to get outside around here. I started really loving this when I opened my first Etsy shop and hunting for great old pendants for my shop and to create new jewelry with. But then I started seeing all kinds of things I wanted. For my house. For other people. I was addicted!

I looove old postcards, especially the ones with funny babies. It seems like smiling ended after the age of 5 back then. I like to think the babies were being rebellious.

Postcard from 1922.

I think old stereos are so kitschy, even if they don't work (but this one did).

In the summer there are lots of flea markets around here, too, and those are usually less expensive (and require a little more hunting to find good buys.) We also have a ton of yard sales here in the late Spring, and I will slam on my brakes for those, too. Of course, I need spending money for all of this junk love, so every year my friends Joe, Alison and I have our own yard sale, full of goodies we just couldn't store anymore, and to make room for more..

I picked up this Yashica twin lens at a local consignment shop for $25. Unbelievable.

A gorgeously detailed filigree necklace I found languishing in a consignment shop...so unique! I sold this one last year, no wonder...I loved it.

I bought this old chipped watering can last year and put it in my kitchen window. It's only 5" tall and cost $6.

More old postcards- isn't this adorable?! I wonder what it means in German?

Old bottle tops and stoppers just look pretty when they're in a pile.

I found this shamrock vintage locket at a consignment shop in the Berkshires last fall...so cute! I just sold it from my jewelry shop on Etsy. Perfect for Saint Patrick's day! :)

I feel like Going for Ice Cream. (and, the best place to go for Lobster Ice Cream.)

2011-03-07T13:28:00.002-05:00

I don't know if this is a typical phrase in other places but when I was growing up, we lived within walking distance of the local outdoor Ice Cream stand, and it was always "Wanna go for ice cream? We're going for ice cream." It's still there, that place, and in the summer you can't really even get a place to park, so lots of people walk there. Right across the street was another place, which was more a place you went inside and they had all those little buckets where you peered in the glass to see which one looked the best. That place went out of business when I was about 5, but I still remember it fondly...

There are tons of ice cream shops in Provincetown, Massachusetts..all ready to cater to hungry and tired families who have made the 3 hour trip from the "mainland" to the outer tip of Cape Cod.

I loved this kitschy Snowman signage at a carnival last summer. It was about 97 degrees that day...

Vintage Ice cream shop sign I saw at a local antiques mall.

More fun carnival signs!

Local sign down by the beach...I think this place is only open for about 2 months...but a fruitful 2 months.

And finally and old favorite....(really old- I think I took this with my old camera...don't judge) :)

Yes.....that says "Lobster", as in, Lobster flavored ice cream...in another picture I see it is described as "real Maine lobster, cooked, picked, buttered, and folded into a buttery vanilla ice cream." I really wish I had opted for a sample....maybe next time I go to Ben and Bill's in Bar Harbor....:)

The howling of the wind, the crashing of the waves, the flowers in the field

2011-02-27T20:45:00.002-05:00

And we may take a glass together, the whiskey makes it all so clear..it fires our dulled imaginations..and I feel so near.. to the howling of the wind...

feel so near, to the crashing of the waves...

feel so near, to the flowers in the field...

I feel so near. -Dougie MacLean

A Burst of Sun

2011-02-23T19:34:00.001-05:00

As I sat in my office today it struck me the last few days have been...sunny! Yes, sadly I'm inside most of the day, but luckily I have a huge window from which to enjoy the bright sun, especially in the afternoons, as it faces west. Lately, I've been addicted to sun bursts, flares, and generally either shooting right into the sun or enhancing the effect in Photoshop.

When there's snow on the ground, that sun is nearly blinding..but still beautiful. And now that the snow around here has (mostly) melted, the sun is peeking through the trees again, now unburdened with snow blankets, and shining light through windows, cleared of frost. Yum!

Above: "Sunlight after the Rain", for sale on Etsy here. This print was featured on the front page of Etsy earlier this week- yay!


Above: "Sewing Room" for sale on Etsy here

Above: "Someday", print for sale on Etsy here

So, here's to much more sun and more sunny days to come.. Enjoy your week!

Digital Textures - before and after examples (share yours too!)

2011-02-20T19:26:00.003-05:00

One of the coolest things I learned to do when I got Photoshop last year was to digitally layer textures with my photos. Textures are just photos or digitally created pieces that you can blend in with your art or photos to create a completely different feel and look. My favorites tend to be ones that make my photos look aged, like canvases, or old photos.
I pulled together a few of my photos to show how easy texture work (simply copying and blending in any texture, lightly, in Photoshop) can change the way it comes across....I'll also share where some of my textures come from! Note: there are thousands of ways to use texture, and these below are just some simple layering techniques. You open your file and the texture both in Photoshop, copy and paste the texture over your photo, and blend away. Use any blending mode and switch up the opacity to make the effect less dramatic if you wish. I sometimes layer multiple textures for different effects!

Above, the first photo is simply a beautiful day at the beach in Rhode Island. I love the look of the zig zaggy fences, but wanted a more intimate and old fashioned feeling...so I cropped the second one, and layered an "aged" looking, brownish gold texture in the darken mode. I like how it transformed the sky here.

Above, a simple shot of beach rocks, layered with a light creamy-yellow texture, lends an aged, sunny feel. It's incredibly subtle but I love the way it looks.

Above: a lighthouse in Maine. The first shot is the original layered with a light, bubbly sun flare. I love the rainbows and way it makes this look the way it did in my mind, after the sun comes out following a light rain. The second example is the same photo, cropped to show more of the foreground water. The water had very little detail and was slightly blown out, so adding a texture to just the water here (and selectively erasing the top portion) gives a lot of interest to the water, buoys, the blue color, and emphasizes the lighthouse being on a far away island. Without the extra texture, I felt like the water looked boring and was forced to crop it out.

Above, a sunlit autumn floral is ethereal and beautiful as is straight out of the camera. But with a light minty canvas texture, the flower becomes more like a drawing or textured painting. I worked in the texture to display darker around the flower and lightly erased it from the center outwards to bring attention to the flower and not allow the texture to completely erase the detail from its petals.

Above: an older photo that I really loved but was a little bored with (again!). In Photoshop, I used the magic eraser tool to "cut out" the pelican from the sky, then flattened the image so just the pelican was showing against a white background. Then I layered in this patchy, light turquoise texture in the background. I added a sun flare in the corner to emphasize the sunny day feeling and add some interest, then applied a "sunlight" texture in the corner where the sun is. This light, buttery yellow texture made the white light look more like sun and gave the photo a lighter feel.

Above: the original photo, a sweet early summer day on Cape Cod, was nice and serene. But on the right, I added a light blue bokeh texture (those little light circles) and set it on darken mode to give a more vibrant feel to the sky and water and darken the white sand to a tan shade. I increased the contrast on just the bokeh texture layer to make the circles pop a little more in the sky. I like the dreamy, colorful result.

Above, right, a photo of Black Point, a rocky coastal area. The midday sun made the foreground rocks look white and the overall feel was very "cool". I applied a yellowish, brownish texture right over it to make it look more vintagey and bring interest to the strip of sky. I also used the selective highlight/ shadow tool to lighten the black rocks so they would pick up more of the warm texture. Now, the rocks have more warm color, and they look more alike. It looks like a totally different beach!

Well, those are just some quick and easy ways that texture has helped me, and I love experimenting with them, using them as overall layers, skies, backgrounds for animals, and so on. I find them mostly on Flickr, searching for "free textures" and making sure the ones I download are available for creative commons use. Here are some resources:

Joy St. Claire - My fave! Joy is a wonderful photographer herself, but her textures are fabulous! She has textures to suit landscapes, still lifes, add a vintage feeling or enhance a plain photo. I used many of them in her Moderne set in my examples above.
Life N Reflection - Kristy not only sells her awesome textures, but shows you how to use them, too. Her blog is an awesome resource for texturing and digital photo work.
Textures for Layers - a wonderful Flickr group! I've used and donated some textures from this group. Be sure to check the privacy settings and allowances before using a texture and be nice and share your creations afterwards- the creators of these textures do spend lots of time and creative effort making them!
Spectrum Textures - you need to sign up, but there are some great grungy and industrial textures here. It's free.
2Textured - another free site where you may find still life objects and nature landscapes to add interest to your art or photos.

I'm developing a pack of textures that I made myself as well....I'll be sure to share as soon as I have it put together! :))

Color! I need it!

2011-02-17T08:00:00.006-05:00

Yes, I do badly need/ want a tan, but I mean, I need color outside...in nature. It's about this time every year I stop wanting to live here for about 2 months. Gray skies, melty, muddy snow piles covered in car exhaust, birds too cold to come out, wrinkled berries everywhere..So I dug into my springy, summery files from last year and re-edited some old favorites for our enjoyment...just in case, like me, you are in need of a cheerful little pop of color...
I really enjoyed heading outside last year with my favorite macro lens and getting superclose to every flower I saw on the side of the road. Some of them ended up being questionable ("Mary- that's a weed!") and some exciting only for someone with a new lens ("Omg, look, I captured an ant's eyes!") But for the most part I love that I can get those little specks of detail, vibrant color and shallow depth of field without messing around too much with my settings. My macro lens makes the most mundane things look like art!


I love the symmetry of this one!

Black-eyed susans are everywhere by August..so sunny!

Bright and cheery Gerbera daisy..don't the little stamens look like hearts?

Purple coneflower (echinacea) is also a Bee favorite.

A crocus is like a little hiding jewel and one of the first blooms of early Spring!

I remember last Spring, early, when the first day I had no need of a coat came by, I headed out to stalk local yards, desperate for color and beauty...Sorry, neighbors, if you see me driving by with my camera, but these are some of the beauties I was able to capture! I have no lawn, but this year I hope to get to a couple of parks and flower shows so I can learn a little bit more about the different blooms I see around town. Happy colorful day!

Fun with Birds and my new lens!

2011-02-09T18:00:00.093-05:00

I've been toting around my new 300mm lens on weekends for those "what kind of bird is that?" sightings and occasional public bird feeder fun. Before I got this I was struggling to make out blurry blobs taken with my 105mm- so not enjoyable. I'm still learning, but it's incredibly hard to photograph birds! Anyway here are some of my shots from the last two weeks, species and location.

Tufted Titmouse, Mystic, CT


Red-tailed Hawk, Mystic, CT

Downy Woodpecker, birdfeeder at the Nature Center, Mystic, CT

Mourning Dove (sleepy!), Mystic, CT

Male Northern Cardinal, Trustom Pond, Charlestown, RI

Female Northern Cardinal, Trustom Pond, Charlestown, RI

Squirrel, stealing all the bird seed, feeders at the Trustom Pond welcome center, Charlestown, RI


Northern Mockingbird (thanks, Kristy!), South Kingstown, RI

White-throated sparrow, Trustom Pond, Charlestown, RI

American Starlings, at the Equinox Diner, Mystic, CT (yummy burgers there, BTW)

Mourning Dove, Mystic, CT

Nuthatch doing a tap dance, Mystic, CT

Black-capped Chickadee, Watchaug Pond, Charlestown, RI

Great Horned Owl, rescue inside the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic, CT

Downy Woodpecker (I think!), Nature Center, Mystic, CT

I also got to see my first ....Mole, crawling out of the ground near Trustom Pond. It was like a little gray mouse, but I couldn't see its face, he came out for some fallen birdseed and then disappeared... Not sure what kind of mole this is.... Here is the little guy...

You can never be lonely....if you like the person you're alone with.

2011-01-26T09:00:00.109-05:00

And only then can you really offer something to others. I love going out taking photos by myself and noticing the solitude in nature and wildlife...and it's equally fun to see things in pairs!

Some of the photos above are available in my Etsy shop. Hope you enjoyed! ;) Mary

Experimenting with abstract style photography

2011-01-24T08:40:00.004-05:00

Abstract photography means different things to people, but to me it conjures images of everyday scenes and objects that are turned, by the photographer, into something not immediately recognizable. So, a field of grass becomes a wonderland of huge trees...or bubbles in glass of soda are a mesmerizing blur of circles. I do have some photos which seem to fit that bill, some of them are in my shop, but others I never saw as being very "successful" photos....but perhaps they are...just not the type I normally strive for...and that's ok!

Above: Canadian geese heading south, during Sundown

Above: reflection of winter trees in the fading sun, seen in a pond

Above: tendrils and plants by the beach

Above: crystal clear water over smooth pebbles

Above: tidal flats cause patterns in the sand during low tide on a Cape Cod beach.

Above: the clear beach water trickles down through the flats at low tide.

Above: Autumn reflections in the river.

Above: watery ripples in Newport harbor right before Sunset.

Above: another watery reflection, of a rainbow colored sail, Block Island.

Above: closeup of sea kelp, Maine.

Above: some type of flower...seen in the Marie Selby Gardens, Sarasota.

Above: leaf on curly branch.

Above: the Margaret Todd sailboat, Bar Harbor, Maine.


ABove: glowing purple summer flower, side of the road, Cape Cod.


Above: dandelion fuzz.


Above: carbonation closeup in my bottle of soda.

So, that's my roundup of some abstract photos from my archives! I suppose I do tend to see patterns in water ripples, stones, and certain flower patterns. I also like selectively focusing my lens to capture a scene in a more dreamy, blurry sort of way. I did this with some of the scenes I came across in Acadia National Park last summer, when the weather was rainy, misty and foggy and lent to that kind of dreamy landscape. One example of that weekend is the Margarett Todd sail boat above.

I'd love to learn more about this type of photography and how others see the abstract style. It's one of my focuses this year to learn more about the different styles of photography that I tend to shy away from. :)