Texture Tuesday ~ The Posey eDition

I planned on getting my Texture Tuesday posey photo when I went up to Mt. Diablo on Monday. I had gone to Mt. Diablo in the middle of the summer last year, and there were some huge thistle flowers, only they were dried up already. So I thought perhaps I could go early in the summer and catch them while they were all purple and freshly blooming, but still I was too late. Not only were they dried up already, they were really scarce. I only found one small clump of them, while last year they were everywhere to be found. Well, they were still beautiful in their dried up state, and looked even lovelier when I added Kim Klassen's textures to them. Here is what I was able to capture of the thistles.

On this photo I only used Kim's new texture, Reverie. I like how it lightened and softened the photo.

Textures used: Serendipity, Mayzee, & Reverie



Textures used: Serendipity & Reverie



Textures used: Serendipity & Reverie

I got to Mt. Diablo early in the morning, and the birds were quite active. They sounded so beautiful, I had to capture the sound on a video. This video was captured on one of my old Kodak cameras, it only has 6 mps, so the visual quality isn't so great, but the sound of the birds is pretty amazing, it is just a quick sample of what I heard at one of my favorite places on Mt. Diablo.

On the way out of the park, I saw this tree and grazing horses. I couldn't resist getting a few more shots before I left for home.

Well, that was my visit to Mt. Diablo in a nutshell : )

Now it's time to go over and see what everyone else has posted at...

Texture Tuesday ~ free and easy eDition

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” ~Henry Miller

Edited with Kim Klassen's Happy Heart texture.

Time to post over at...

Edit Me 2012 Challenge - Week 24

This week's photo was provided by our guest judge Jaymi from

When I saw this picture I wanted to add a warm sunkissed look to her delicate features.  I used PSE 9, RadLab, and PicMonkey to achieve the look.

~ In PSE I sharpened the photo and gave it a levels boost.
~ In RadLab I added the stylets, Prettizer and Cinnamon Toast to give it a soft warm look.
~ In Pic Monkey I cloned out the wheat heads and stems and filled in the areas affected. I replaced the rocks behind her with soft flowers. Then to give her a warm summer glow, I ran the airbrush over her skin at the default setting. Finally I cropped it square, and that was that.

I really enjoyed editing this photo.  She looks so comfortable and natural in this summer field setting.
Thanks for the photo challenge this week Jaymi!


Time to post over at...

Texture Tuesday...A Quote and A Texture

I was too busy to take pictures this week for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday quote-eDition, so I had to search my archives for a photo. I was looking for something simple and minimal, and came across this picture I had taken at Pt. Isabel last year. I wanted to pair it up with a quote I found over at don't rain on mondays (the quote is above the comment box). I found it to be inspirational and thought perhaps you would too : ) I added Kim Klassen's Serious Magic texture to the picture and added the quote in PicMonkey, and here is what I came up with...

After previewing, I realized the wording wasn't so clear, so here is the quote again.

To practice any art,

no matter how well or badly,

is a way to make your soul grow.

So do it.

~Kurt Vonnegut

I'm joining up with Texture Tuesday over at...    Hope to see you there!