Playing Games of Catch-Up

Can it really have only been a little less than 2 weeks since I posted?? I know that perhaps the every-other-week thing seems a bit sparse, but these past couple of weeks have literally seemed like a lifetime!...

I've become a massively huge fan of Picnik... and for those of you who don't know what it is, it's a free photo-editing website. Well, technically I guess you can subscribe and get more features if you pay money, but who wants to do that?? Not me. Anyway, just for grins, here are a few pictures I've taken over the course of a few millenia (so it seems). Enjoy!!

I call this one "First Avenue Lady." It was taken in downtown Birmingham... from my car... pretty much in the middle of the day... obviously on First Avenue. I played a bit with the colors and the exposure, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

This is a photo I took from the ferry going from San Francisco to Sausalito, CA. It's an absolutely beautiful place... freezing... even in August, and especially on the water. I hyper-saturated the colors to make the sunset appear more brilliant, which I LOVE!! The picture now looks exactly like Sausalito does in my memory... stunning.

This really is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken. It's a section of RR tracks not far from my house that are very rarely used anymore. I love the picture just because it makes it seem like part of a ghost town or something. Very solemn. Very lonely. Melancholy even. I took the picture in sepia and then tinted it with red.

I took this picture in Destin, FL a couple years back. The beach was pretty eroded from a recent hurricane and everything had this worn look about it, especially this old boardwalk. What I really love about the picture is that you definitely can't tell that at the end of this bridge were some VERY steep steps going down to the water. And you can't tell even more that the steps had been washed away by the storm and just left this 20 foot drop just over the edge. It was frightening, but the picture makes it look like a tiny bit of nostalgia. I used the same grainy exposure as I did with the First Avenue Lady, saturated some of the colors, and then used a sharpening tool to bring out some of the whites and define individual pieces. I think it turned out really nice.

Here's my tribute to Auburn Road... you're welcome, Josh. The exposed brick wall and dim, even intimate lighting lent itself very well to a softed version of this picture. It definitely makes them look more professional.... :)

I have LOADS of other pictures, and I'll try to be better at posting some of them so you can enjoy them too! But, it's time again for the things I've learned lately, which is not much. I think I've passed the learning curve...

1. Pets belong at the zoo. OK, maybe I didn't just learn this, and I know I'm going catch a lot of flack from you animal-lovers out there. Please hear me out... I don't hate your pets. I just shouldn't have any. To me, it seems a bit like burning $20 bills. I can pay a few bucks and get my fill of the pets at the zoo. Once a year is good enough for me.

2. I am more afraid of Kevin Bacon than I am of roaches. This disgusts me. Whenever a Kevin Bacon movie comes on TV, I feel all awkward and panicky and my palms get all sweaty and I have to close my eyes. Yes, I realize that this is completely and utterly irrational... my mysterious KevinBaconophobia. And I used to be terrified of roaches, but just the other night one honked as he crawled past me in the garage. I didn't even jump!! I was just very still as I called my sister out to take care of it. But later that night, "Footloose" came on TV and I thought I needed an inhaler.

3. I want a vampire boyfriend. I realize that I am getting weirder by the day, but Twilight has made me strangly envious of fictional vampire love that spans centuries. Sigh...

4. Publix has made organic shopping so easy!! I was recently convicted about all the chemicals I was adding to my body via food, and while I can't say that I go out of my way to buy organic foods, I have realized that they tend to taste better and they don't make me feel bad for eating a bunch of chemicals. At Publix, they mark all the organic foods with a brown price label and the non-organics with a white one. Now I don't even have to think about it!! I love America.

Well kiddos... enjoy the rest of your week! I know it's only Monday, but every day is one closer to Friday! :)