Thursday Texture

I love my sister's horse, Skeeter.    He is sweet, until someone puts a saddle on him.   I think he is convinced he is a dog or something.....

Be sure to check out more great textures at The Daily Wyatt.

I hope you are having a great day!! 

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Blue Wagon....

I am so overwhelmed busy right now, and it is mostly because of work, but more honestly Steve HDR!  In my tiny amount of free time I am reading, learning and when its NOT raining - out shooting.   This obession shall pass....

This is my first single HDR image; normally there are three bracketed images.   I found this pretty blue treasure in my daddy's barn.  I have been in, and around this barn lots of time over the past years and cannot believe that I missed this sweet, blue wooden wagon.  It was built by my daddy's uncle over 60 years ago.  I just love it!

Thank you to all of you who have continued to visit and comment!  I love you all, and will be stopping by this week - "pinky-promise."  This is what my youngest son used to say when he meant that you had better keep a promise!

Be sure to visit Barn Charm and Midweek Blues for more great photos!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

First HDR Image

I fell in love with HDR images after I first saw some of Steve's images featured in our local newspaper.   Since that time he has become my mentor, and a great friend.   He is such a kind and genuine person, not to mention incredibly talented!   Be sure to check out his blog, you will fall in love with his images just as I did.

This is my very first HDR image.   It is by no means perfect, but its a start! 

I apologize for not commenting on your blogs.  Unfortunately, work has kept me crazy busy and hopefully will be letting up soon.  

Have a happy and blessed Wednesday!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Lovely in Yellow....

I am not sure what type of weed/wildflower this is, but I feel in love with the bright yellow blooms.   After editing in Lightroom and PSE 8 and then loading onto the blog they do not appear as yellow and I have no idea why.   Any ideas?

Have a wonderful weekend!!   Be sure to visit Blogging from Bolivia for more Friday macros. 

xoxo,
SouthernSass

A Little Green.....

I found this in my archives from last summer and thought I would share it with you.  I love the bright green lantana leaves in this photo - very fitting for today!

This is my first edit in Lightroom 3.   I then pulled it over into Photoshop Elements 8 and sharpened it a tad more.   Do you use Lightroom?   I have a 30-day free trial, so we'll see how it goes.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Wordless Wednesday....

I am crazy busy with work and baseball season is in full swing here for my little guy.   I will be catching up with everyone soon.

xoxo,
SouthernSass

After the rain....

Have a wonderful weekend!  

xoxo,

SouthernSass



Skeeter.....

This is my sister's horse Skeeter.    He is very curious and follows me along the fence line when I am out walking and taking pictures at my daddy's.  

I snapped this on a cloudy day and the sky was washed out.  I added this texture and am pleased with the results.   He's such a handsome fella!

Be sure to visit The Daily Wyatt for week 2 of Texture Thursday!



xoxo,
SouthernSass

My Daddy's Barn

This is the back view of the largest barn that is on my daddy's farm.   We used to play in and around this barn the most when I was a child.  This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago on a mostly cloudy day.  The the sky is blown out, as well as the tin roof.  This shot is SOOC other than a little bit of cropping.

I tried adding several textures, but was unable to get the look I was after.  Finally, I decided to use Topaz Adjust after making some basic edits with PS Elements.   My friend Steve introduced me to this wonderful product and I highly recommend it!  You can try it free for 30 days, as well as all of their products.  Topaz Adjust is a plugin that is compatible with PhotoShop, Lightroom and PS Elements (and more I am sure).  It is reasonably priced and you can find the link on Steve's page. 

This is after my edit with Topaz Adjust.  There are different presets to choose from (this is Spicify), and Topaz allows you to have full control over the strength of various settings including hue/saturation, detail strength, sharpness, contrast, noise reduction and much more.   I am pleased that the sky is no longer washed out and details of the barn and tin roof are more visible.   What do you think?

I will share additional photos/views with in the coming weeks over at Barn Charm.  I found a pretty neat surprise underneath this particular side of the shed and hope to be able to edit it as a single HDR image in the next few weeks.  




I am also linking up with The Creative Exchange over at Lisa Gordon Photography.   The theme of The Creative Exchange is "Your Camera in One Hand, Your Heart in The Other."  This fits perfectly with my love of all old barns, but especially this family treasure!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Funny Photo - Macro Monday

I have been so slack  busy the past few weeks that I have missed out on Macro Monday hosted by Lisa each Monday.   It is always such a fun way for me to start the week.   Look at this wildflower/weed that I found in my neighbor's yard (yep - Marvin and Lynda's again!) after the rain this morning.

We are not sure what the correct name for it is, but in this particular shot it looks like an alien or some sort of cartoon-ish character.  It really cracks me up!

This second photo is my interpretation of it's various body parts.   Gotta love the humor found in nature!

Have a wonderful week and be sure to visit Lisa for more great Monday Macro shots!

Also, check out this great give-away over at Rita's The Coffeeshop Blog.  Color Inc. is giving away a 16 x 20 framed gallery wrapped canvas.   Wouldn't you love to win that?  I sure would!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Scripture & A Snapshot

I love participating in Katie Lloyd's weekly blog hop Scripture & A Snapshot!  It is a wonderful way to explore scripture verses and pair them with photos.  

Wishing you all a blessed day!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Flowering Plum Tree....

I took this macro shots this afternoon with my trusty Nikon Coolpix P90.   It is not a DSLR, but it sure has a great macro mode.  Here again I was taking over my neighbor's yard (I love you Marvin and Lynda!) across the street.  Their plum tree is just starting to flower and is incredible!  Plus they have bird feeders that I am now beginning to stalk.    It is great to have such wonderful friends!

I did some basic edits in Photoshop Elements, but it was pretty great SOOC.  Be sure to visit here for more great Flowers on Saturday.  

Happy weekend everyone!

xoxo,
SouthernSass

Inside of a tulip......

My wonderful husband gave me a bouquet of beautiful red tulips on Valentine's day.   Recently I borrowed my friend Steve's (visit his blog here for some great HDR photos and much more!) zoom/macro lens and had some fun with it on a warm, sunny day a few weeks ago. 

 
These shots were taken outside and the bright sun was shining directly into the center of the flower.  It was not the best time of day to take shots, but definitely the warmest part of the day.  I enjoyed being outside and experimenting with something new.

I have been super-swamped with work and I have been missing my blogging buddies!  I will be catching up with everyone over the weekend!

Please be sure to visit Blogging from Bolivia for more great macros!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xoxo,
SouthernSass