Love From Puget Sound ...

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dads out there.  Hope this was a good day for you and yours.  God Bless!


~M

Levity ...The Little Children will show you the Way

With all of the serious events presently unfolding in our world today, I find myself wondering:  How do we manage to momentarily just let it all go? To escape and renew? How do we find moments free from concern, where we can attempt to focus on acknowledging and processing ... experiencing happiness and maybe even a little JOY --JOY: a step up exponentially from mere happiness, in my book-- in our lives, every now and again?

Well, where happiness in the moment is concerned, I always find myself looking to the example of little ones, that is to say to the children, in order to see what are they doing.  Most of the children --the lucky ones, I guess-- can be found running barefoot through the streets, chasing after a stray ball, skipping through the grass, building monuments in the sand, scaling formidable trees, laughing with a friend all the while remaining completely blind to categorical divisions and societal imposed limitations.

In essence, children in their untainted innocence haven't forgotten how to simply BE.  They instinctively know how to pause, in the moment, in order to look UP ... And everything just seems to naturally fall into place after that, for them.

Photo by ME:  What I see when I look up : )

... To look up and appreciate the wonder of the world around.  To take a deep breath and breathe in the hope of infinite possibilities. With this in mind, why not take some time for you today to simply stop and LOOK UP.  Give yourself just one simple minute in which to clear your mind, open your heart, take a deep breath and just BE.  Maybe lie in the cool grass and look UP.  Personally, I happen to believe that God writes His messages in the clouds for us to find.

Who knows, maybe while you're looking up you will remember what all children know, but we grown-ups seem to have somehow forgotten:  that we all share the same sky on this amazing, rapidly spinning Blue Planet.

Joyful day to you! 

Peace & LOVE ...

~M

P.S.  We have unexpected snow here today, so if I do happen to lay upon the ground, while looking UP, it will be in the snow.  Guess, I'll be making snow-angels while looking up : )

Still Can't Sleep ... The Original ...

Just like an old book, with its tattered, worn and treasured pages ... We always hold a special place in our hearts for  that which came first ... The original ... The familiar .... With that in mind, and since nothing bold, new and inspirational seems to be springing into my own mind these days:  here is the original for the photograph that I colored the other night when I could not sleep.

@Copyright 2010.  All Rights Reserved.

"Conversation in a Foggy Wood: Original"  High Contrast

(Next time I will try using a polarizer! ... Still learning?)

Maybe sometimes we need to return to the original in order to gleen new ideas and gather inspiration?

@Copyright 2010.  All Rights Reserved.

"Conversation in a Foggy Wood: Inspired!" 

Joyful day to you!  Once the Fog in my head clears, I am hopeful that mine will be too : )

Peace & Love,

M

Beleive in Something Bigger than Ourselves ...

I am SO HAPPY today!!!

I have some TOTALLY AWESOME news to share!!  I just found out this evening that a very special little girl ...  a beautiful soul ... that I have been  dilligently praying for since October 2010:  Ally, Age 12 ... received her test results back for her MRI brain scan to follow up on a growth that her doctors had identified back in October.  This week, the new scan showed that Ally was 100% free and clear ... the suspected growth area was now nowhere to be seen.  Praise God!  Talk about a miracle and an answer to many, many prayers.

Ally had brain cancer three years ago.  They did surgery to remove the tumor, then followed up with chemotherapy. Ally had been cancer free for three years.  Then, this past October 2010 when she had her yearly scan a new growth showed up on the MRI.  When I heard the potentially devastating news, I immediately told her Dad to keep HOPE and then began storming heaven for Ally.  Tonight, I am so very happy for Ally and her family. Feels like we should be setting off fireworks or something to celebrate?! : )

God Bless you, Ally!!  Keep on sharing that beautiful smile and wonderful, uplifiting outlook on life with the rest of the world. Love you!!  Here is a post of one of my favorite magical and enchanting photos for you  ... I call this one "Driftwood Fairy Queen" ... I love this photo, because it reminds me that sometimes we just need to BELIEVE in something bigger than ourselves ... believe in magic ... miracles.


Your friend,
Michelle (a.k.a. Isabelle)

"Driftwood Fairy Queen"

@Copyright 2010 Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

(Thanks to an on-line photography friend's suggestion, I now have a circular polarizer ... so water shots (with blue sky like this)  turn out much more vivid and not so washed out.  Gotta love the internet and the on-line community : )

Apparantly, I'm Not ALL Thumbs? ; )

I've been taking some on-line training on photo editing software.  Only a few 6 minute lessons so far, but today I finally had the courage to try enhancing one of my Infra-red Texas Mission photos.  This is my first attempt at what I call "painting IR" ... hopefully, my images will only improve from here.   There wasn't a lot of foilage in this particular shot ... so not much ethereal white ... except for the grass, which to me looked out of place being all white ... so I shaded some green into the grass.  The remaining white resembles an angel to me.  The presence of which .... angels ... I felt all around this and the other missions.  An army angels waiting to be called where they are most needed.  I think I even saw an actual angel at the Mission San Jose.

(Note:  If you're wondering what Infra-red (or IR) Photography is, see my post from a few days ago ... It explains the basics.)


Anyway, here is what I came up with ...

Original IR image with Red removed.

"Mission Concepcion"

@Copyrighted 2010, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

A) First Pass Painting.

"Fortress of Angels"

@Copyrighted 2010, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

B) Second Pass Painting ... Enhance contrast in stonework.

"Fortress of Angels 2"

@Copyrighted 2010, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

I don't know?  Is the second pass too much?  Too overpowering?  Which is better A) or B)?

Life got you down?  Frustrated?  ... Why not go paint something?  : ) ... I'll be right behind ya!



Peace & Love,
M


P.S.  Think maybe I am at last more right handed than left?  I don't have a digi-pad yet ... I really, really want one of these.  A digi-pad is at the very top of my Want List.  But for now I am stuck using an optical mouse ... that is an exercise in patience in and of itself, but I think I've finally adapted ... the mouse is now an extension of my hand  ... a part of it.  Funny thing is, I got so used to mostly using my right hand with the  mouse that I am now better at drawing on the PC with my right hand.  Well that's ambidextrous for you ... no challenge you can't overcome ; )


1/26/2011  Okay ... I decided that both A) & B) above were BORING (ya'll are just too sweet to tell me so ; ) ... so I played with the software some more and came up with C) & D) ... these may change some (I'm loving this coloring), but here they are for now ...

C)  "Angels Among Us"

@Copyrighted 2010, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

D)  "Angels Dance"

@Copyrighted 2010, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

[11/25/2011 ... Final ART render deleted from this site.  To view go to the link for my Flickr website via main page.  Thanks!]



As my software editing skills increase, I might be able to shine the light into the mission tower?  But from an artistic standpoint, maybe that would just take away from the light source ... unless it was done just right.  We'll see time will tell ...

Got Snow? If not: Create your own with Infra-Red Photography ...

We were dusted with a flurry of  snow here, yesterday ... But nothing stuck on the ground : (  Still there is something truly magical about those BIG white fluffy flakes dancing down from the sky.  Makes you feel like a kid all over again! 

Even though our snow didn't stick on the ground this time:  I do just happen to  have some IR photos that I took and they look like snow.  IR stands for "infra-red" photography.  I have been experimenting with IR photography off and on over the course of the past several months.  All of my photos, and most digital photos, are taken in the near IR ... that is they capture light from an external source reflected off of an object.  Whereas far IR captures energy (heat) radiated directly from a source (e.g., heat retained from absorption of the sun's energy during daylight hours ... many stone and concrete surfaces retain well and hence photograph well in far IR). 

Far IR photography captures are most often taken with special IR film, because the digital counterpart technology is so very, very $$costly$$.  I do have a nice film camera (an old old Cannon 35mm)  that I plan to have serviced (repaired) so that I can use it to take some IR film images.  Far IR film images are best taken at night for obvious reasons.   In order to do IR photography with a digital camera you need to have a camera with a sensor that is sensitive to IR.  Most digital cameras have IR sensitivity disabled.  I just happend to have one of the few cameras that is sensitive to IR ... I have a Pentax K-100D (DSLR).  If your camera is not sensitive to IR, you can pick up a used one that is or you can pay to have your existing camera modified.  The latter can be costly, and I would recommend having a reputable lisenced dealer or manufacturer perform the modification or you could wind up without a working camera all together.  There is a simple test that you can do to determine if your camera is sensitive to IR.  I'll post some links here shortly for reference.

My dream is to do a nighttime cemetery shoot in far IR, but I have a lot to learn about shooting in digital and near IR first.  Shooting in near IR digital is challenging!!  Not only do you have to have a good external light source (e.g., sun), but you have no digital preview to work with to see how your shot looks and if you have successfully captured your intended image.  That's because you can't look through the lens and IR filter without potentially damaging your eyes and the image that saves on the camera is pre-dominantly RED, RED, RED ... with very few distinguishing detalis readily apparent.  So basically, in order take a near IR digital shot you have to:   

1) find your shot and compose it (using a tripod) without the IR filter attached to the lens; 2) then tape off your viewfinder (to avoid errant visible light from reaching the camera sensor and interferring with your image ... noise); 3) carefully attach the IR filter of your choosing (there are many types of different filters that produce different effects, but they basically filter out visible light to varying extents) for your specific camera ... all the while being careful not to bump your camera/tripod composed for the shot; 4) and finally take the shot (or shots if  you are varing the EV compensation values). 

Here is an image as it looks straight off the camera. The image following is what you get after some minimal post processing.

"The Enchanted Fairy Wood"

Photos by Me ... Feel free to reuse this image.

Note: Feel free to use this image, but please link back here to my blog and give me credit as the photographer. Thank you!

And you don't really know what you've captured for an image until you get back home and do some post processing ... specifically, stripping out all of the RED ... to see what you've managed to capture.  In the above shot the highlights are overexposed, so I probably had the EV set high (e.g., +2.0) on this shot for experimentation and learning purposes. 


In Infra-red photography a lot of knowing "what to shoot" and "how to shoot" it will come from experience ... of which I don't yet have a lot to draw upon.  I know that foilage is highly reflective and that with a good light source foilage produces really cool images.  Water almost always photographs dark grey or black ... unless you have the sun reflecting intensely off of it, then you get silvery-white patches where the light is most intense.  I have managed to capture some interesting reflections in water with IR.  Most man-made surfaces do not produce interesting IR images, but they are neat to have in the shot for contrast to the objects that do photograph well in IR.  Some stones (e.g., concrete mixes) photograph with an aura about them which is tres cool.   People photograph silvery and surreal in IR, but I haven't taken many people shots.  The real key to unlocking IR images ... near IR images anyway ... is in the software post processing ... layers, masks and the like ... adding back in selective color in a natural looking way, while leaving the glowing white portions of the images untocuhed ... resulting in ethereal and dreamy images.  I still have A LOT to learn in the software image processing department, but I am having FUN on this IR adventure thus far.


So here are a few of my IR photography images ...

(image temporarily removed for editing)

"The Silver Pond"

 @Copyrighted Image 2010. Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

Believe it or not, the above shot was taken this summer at my parents' ranch, in central Texas, in 100+ degree weather!!  Snow would have been awfully nice to have while I was out baking in the heat trying to capture these images.


Same shot with a bit more color?

(image temporarily removed for editing)

"The Silver Pond II" ... This photo is dedicated to my friend over the pond, in England.  He is the one  that encouraged me to give Infra-red Photography a try.  Thank you, Steve.

@Copyrighted Image 2010. Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

This shot really looks like snow ...

"Summer Snow"

@Copyrighted Image 2010. Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

Here is a shot of the "barnyard" near my Mom and Dad's house ...

"Barnyard IR"

@Copyrighted Image 2010.  Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

Here's an IR barn shot where I intentionally left some of the red in the image ... I have not tried to do an IR paint on this image yet.  Will have to try that next and see what I get.

"Old Red Barn"

@Copyrighted Image 2010. Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

Same shot with increased saturation ...

(image temporarily removed for editing)

"Red Barn on Fire"

@Copyrighted Image 2010. Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

I took some IR shots of the San Antonio missions while I was in Texas, but I haven't done much of anything with them yet as I don't have the software image processing skills to do them justice yet ... and I really what them to WOW, if you know what I mean.

Here is a favorite photo of mine from another photographer.  It is taken in near IR and the photographer/artist has gone in and added back color to the brick home (Monticello ... I believe) in the image:  IR photograph of Monticello.  Hopefully, I'll be good enough with the software to do this sort of image enhancement myself soon.


The nice thing about far IR shots is they require little post processing. So that is a big plus in my humble opinion. That being said, the IR film can be costly and hard to find. Still the images that can be captured with a standard camera and IR film are some my absolute favorties. Here are a few far IR shots sent to me from a friend of mine. He lives in England and they have some of the most wonderful cemeteries over there. I may have to make a trip back to England just to shoot some of their magnificent cemeteries.

Far IR film capture of a cemetery.

Lister park, Bradford, UK. 

@Copyrighted Image.  All Rights Reserved.

(I know that I have a close-up of the statue on this one, where the statue is glowing ...  almost

looks alive, but I can't seem to locate this image right now.  I will keep looking for it though.

1/17/11 My friend saw this post and pointed me to the photo I needed.  Thank you Steve :  )

... By the way, Steve is the one who encouraged me to pursue my interest in IR photography.

I wouldn't have any of my own photos to share if it had not been for his sending me informative links,

sharing photos and encouraging me.  God Bless  you, Steve. )

"Goddess, Diana ... of the Hunt."  Lister park, Bradford, UK.

@Copyrighted Image. All Rights Reserved.

Castle Ruins, Far IR image.

Statue, Far IR image.

Ruins near the sea, Far IR image.

This is a link to my favorite far IR photo of all time: "The Sleeping Angel.

You'll be happy to know that snow is again in our forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  Well, it makes me happy anyway.  Love playing in the snow!!  I called my parents, in Texas, last night, to see how they were doing, and it turns out that they had gotten snow yesterday too.  Nearly 3 full hours of snowfall.  They said that they had put on a roaring wood fire, made some popcorn, worked on a puzzle and just watched the beautiful snow falling ... layering everything in a pristine winter white.  Let it snow ... Let it snow ... Let it SNOW!!!!

Hope you're getting some winter white in your part of the country!  Enjoy : )

P.S.  Yup!! We got SNOW...  and then some!!  I know, because I just drove to the grocery store and back  in it.  There must be between 1 and 3 inches on the ground, and it's still coming down.  Sadly, the temps are supposed to warm back up overnight and mornings rains will probably wash this fabulous white fluff all away again.  Guess, I'll have to put the groceries away and head out and play tonight ... helps not ever having to sleep .. Just wanted to let you know that I will post some useful IR photography links here shortly.  Throwing a BIG snowball your way!!  ... Did I hit ya? ; ) ... Later ....



Okay here are some of the most useful internet IR-photography links that I have found thus far (one's that get you up and running quickly):



1) If you are wondering: Can my camera be used for IR?  This link is for you.  See the section titled "Honey, Where's the Remote?" for how to do the TV remote IR test with your own camera.


This page also gives the most comprehensive IR overview I have yet found.

 http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm#handle



2) Once you've got your camera and you are ready to shoot then you may wonder:  What am I  looking for and what do I do with the images once I've successfully captured them?  This site provides a pretty simple overview on image capturing and post processing basics.

http://www.xsrider.com/xsrider/infrared/infrared.htm



If I recall, or come across any other useful links ... I'll be sure to add them here.  But I've sorted through tons of sites on-line and these two are the best I've found thus far.  So maybe I've saved you some time by not having to do the same?  By the way, I have yet to find a really useful IR film (far Infra-red) on-line site.

Moon Photographs: Taken with the New Camera Mount for my Telescope

Well, I finally found the time and a reason (near full moon: 99% of full and clouds not too dense) to try out the new camera mount for my Astroscan telescope.  It was a bit cloudy, so the images are not as clear as I would have liked ... but this was a trial run ... just to see what I would ... could get.  Lots to learn:  this is a whole new ballgame for me. 

Haven't had time to look at all of the images yet.  I just choose what appeared to be the 2 best and took a look at them.  Here are my favorite thus far.  I LOVE the moon ... She and I are old friends.  : )

Photos by me, Michelle C.:  12/19/2010 ... Feel free to use, copy, post etc. ...

Give me credit if you want : )

Photo By, Michelle C.

Note:  Clouds are what make these images appear to be slightly out of focus ... This was the best I could get with the clouds in the way.

"Fly Me Away to the Dark Side of the Moon ....

.... And Meet Me on the Other Side"

Photo By, Michelle C.

Late p.m. ...

There is a lunar eclipse tonight ... but alas the cloud cover is too dense to even see the moon at all most of the time.  Even when the clouds disperse slightly ... there is still enough cloud cover to prevent seeing a clear image with the telescope or the camera.  Such is life ... there will be other times.

In lieu of lunar eclipse photos ... here is an ART render that I did ... just for FUN, titled "Solar Demise" ...

"Solar Demise", By Michelle C.

Feel free to use this image as well ... give me credit if you want : )

The Church of the Future?

O DUOMO MIO

By Thomas Barbey

One of my favorites.  This one hangs in our music room.  Inspirational!

Surreal ...

Perhaps one day, in the near, future: real?

"A church with no walls, one God and one united people."

Now that idea, to me, has infinite appeal ...

God Bless!

M

Thought for the day ...

Don't rush through life, always judging books by their covers ... if you do, you are sure to miss out on some of the wonderful subtleties in this life.  'God IS in the details' ...

Open your eyes, your mind, and your heart and you will begin to see.

God Bless!
M

God writes His messages in the clouds ...

God reaches out to embrace us ... surround us ... with His infinite love and warmth in the beauty and splendor of the setting sun.

Song:  Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley

French Vanilla Icecream .. Whimsically Drizzled in Sweet Chocolate Syrup?

I am randomly looking through other blogger's blogs early this morning -- while trying to wake up and begin the process of engaging in my day ... I'm definitely NOT a moring person!  This is not usually the way that I start my day, but I like to mix things up ... especially on the weekends and kids are not up yet.  Ken had to go into work.

Anyway, I came across the blog titled 'Down the Far Hall' .  The author, parsc2, has a blog with an interesting photo for each new day and little bits of his wisdom underneath.  I love the entry for Monday, September 14, 2009:

"Not all who wander wonder; then again - not all who wonder wander." 

[The photo for this thought is of  an ocean wave, on a sunny afternoon.]

I would leave a comment here, but my slowly recovering sixth says it is probably best not to ... besides it's so hard to leave comments on blogs nowadays?!  Too many login/IDchoices -- most of which don't work anyway?!


Some of parc2's photos are very interesting and the comments on a few make you laugh ... fun way to wake up!  Check out his blog if you have time and the inclination to do so ...

Here where I reside, it finally looks like the northwest that outsider's perceive of us -- weatherwise.  Today, it is overcast, dreary and drizzly, but that's okay ... the cloudy days, to me, are nature's way of giving us permission to slow the pace of our hectic lives ... and the gentle rain cleanses us, renews us so that we are ready to appreciate a sunny day when it arrives once again ... and a sunny day is sure to be just around the corner ...

In fact, we had a glorious sunny day just yesteday.  The sunset yesterday reminded me of a blue fiestaware bowl, filled with clouds of airy French Vanilla icecream, drizzled whimsically with sweet chocolate syrup ... you know, the way that the icecream begins to gently melt into the chocolate ... starts to swirl into the vanilla in strange and unexpected patterns ... almost like food art : ).  I was inspired to take a snap of this unique sunset, but my big camera had eaten through all of its batteries again (she needs to go on a diet!) and no replacements were readily available : ( ... thus had to resort to using her little sister ... maybe I should tell ken that I want new sets of rechargeable batteries next time, instead of flowers?

Here's are the images that I was able to capture ... judge for yourself ... (click on the images to see an enlarged view ... better detail) ...

Vanilla Icecream, Whisically Swirled in Sweet Chocolate Syrup ...

I'm off for another cup of tea ... hear the kids stirring ... Joyful day to you!

M

P.S.  HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!  Hope you all have sunny skies down there once again in honor of your special day.  God Bless!

9/19/09 I wonder ... does experiencing pain ... any kind of pain have the potential to awaken us ... awaken our senses ... our appreciation for things that we used to walk right on by ... not even notice? Now that I feel as if I am starting up the upside of the emotional pain and turmoil that I've been experiencing these past few weeks +++, I feel ... this morning, strangely alive? Not even sure if that is the right word? But every smell is stronger, every color is brighter, music is sweeter, a hug from my kids feels warmer, food even tastes to me once again. I don't know what it is, but I hope that it lasts ...