Reflect

A dock on the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook--the light there today was like that on the inside of a shell.

It was a day of contrasts: we had fog, then yellow sun, the drizzle then brilliant sunlight again. The water at the reservoir was part ice, part running current, and part water still enough to hold reflections. Accented Edges with Watercolor plays up the varied textures and the contrast in lights and darks.

July 16: We crossed back into the US camping not far from the Canadian border at Grand Marais. We were lucky enough to find a campground right on Lake Superior. In this photo, gentle waves roll up on shore as the sun sets. I played around with Red Tint, Blue Tint and Colorful Center to create more of a moonlight effect.

July 13: The goal of this summer's camping trip was to visit the Really Big Lakes of the north. We saw the Grat Lakes, Lake of the Woods, and several large lakes in Minnesota (including Cass Lake, Lake Itasca, Lake Bemidji and Gull Lake.) The furthest reach of the trip was Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. It was vast and olive green. We saw a bald eagle swoop over head when we were there. It was too fast for me to capture it on camera, but I did snag a two of its distant cousins standing warily on a rock. I know I just used Dry Brush on the previous photo, but it worked nicely on this picture to soften some of the details so that the gulls stood out a bit more.

July 8: This is the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the upper and lower pennisulas of Michigan. It's an eleganst span. Pencil Sketch delineates the structure of the bridge as well as the tall billowing clouds.

July 6: I'm still trying to catch up on the phots I took while we were on vacation in July. This is Lake Erie from a roadside park. I used the Infrared option in B&W conversion, then lowered the opacity to plau up the clouds and the sailboat.

We were supposed to go camping on Cape Cod this weekend, but the weather forecast was dismal. Instead, John and I decided to go on a date: a trip to the New Britain Museum of Modern Art and then dinner out. The restaurant is in an outdoor mall. As we were strolling along before dinner, we came across this fountain that was joyously tossing water up against the late afternoon sky. The original picture didn't capture the warmth of the westering sun, so I added it back using the Warming filters. I selected out the sky with the Magic Wand so it would retain its pristine blue and only the cloud and the water would be "warmed."

Alas, today was one of those times when the photo I thought I took wasn't the one that came out of the camera. In Real Life, the nascent leaves glowed both above the water and reflected in it. The photo, though, is muddy and nothing is distinct. I'm not sure the effects really salvaged the shot, but they did separate the leaves from the water. I used Posterize and Color Fade Vertical (I flipped the photo first so it would fade where I wanted it to, then flipped it back.)

Sometimes things don't work out the way one intends. The photos I took of the first crocuses in our yard were all out of focus. Fortunately, as we were driving past the reservoir this evening, there was no one behind us so we were able to pull over to get a shot of the sunset. It's not really a very exciting picture. As I was clicking through the filters, I ran across the Stained Glass filter. I'd never thought it would be useful for anything; but it transforms this rather standard sunset into a pointilist painting, making the water sparkle and highlighting the glowing rim of cloud.

Today was typical for March in southern New England: cloudy, glum and raw. The water of Paper Goods Pond reflects the sullen sky. The Dark Strokes filter works well with the lights and shadows and the moodiness of the scene.

I used the Sumi-E filter for this one. I think it made it look like a pen and ink drawing, emphasizing the sense of lonliness. It might work well for the Abandonment theme.

A bench at Paper Goods Pond, looking rather lonesome in the winter chill.

The reservoir we pass on the way to church isjust freezing over. Under the pale winter sky this morning, it exemplified the chill colors of January in New England.