2019 The Year of Seeing Green: Week 12

The year of seeing green?  Living green?  Sharing green?  We try for all three here but I still had a hard time settling on one for this post so after a day spent typing and deleting variations I finally acknowledged my best days happen when I can see something green so “seeing” it is.  Of course time with family, a good book, meal etc will brighten any day but everything just feels easier for me to enjoy when surrounded by pretty shades of fresh green life.

Is there a color that makes you happy every time you see it?  Or does the absence of a certain shade make joy harder to find?  I’d love to hear your favorites,  or maybe even a little story about what color means in  your life!

This set of seven photos were all taken with my iPhone and edited using the following apps: 3/17 & 18 – Stackables, 3/19 – VSCO + Word Swag, 3/20-23 – VSCO.

Lisa12 Comments
Porthole view on a Washington State Ferry

I Knew Who I Was This Morning…

I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then.” Lewis Carroll

A quick scroll through my posts makes it pretty clear my approach changes from day-to-day.  Sometimes I want as little to no change and other times I enjoy playing with color and shadow to create something new from my original photo.  There is a time and place for each view here and usually I know which look I want to go for but this morning I ran into a little dilemma. Too many choices.

I’ve gone back and forth with these six images all day trying to pick my favorite and finally decided to just give up and post them all.  If you have a chance to click inside the gallery to see each image full size I’d love to hear if you’ve got a favorite!  Each photo is labelled for easy voting and I’ve included a poll below so we can all see the results.

Porthole 1
Porthole 2
Porthole 3
Porthole 4
Porthole 5
Porthole 6
Porthole Unedited

The final image is the original, unedited photo for a good before/after comparison.

Lisa10 Comments

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas filled with love, light and happy memories.

John, Ryan, Finn and I are enjoying the surprise snow and lighting candles. Presents are wrapped, dinner is cooking and Santa is on his way…🎅🏼 🎁

Lisa4 Comments

Shades of Blue: Part 3

I’d better pick up the pace with these spring themed posts or I’ll still be working through May photos after the 4th of July. 🙂  Today you get to see Ryan and I out in the neighborhood looking signs of spring, roaming the beach skipping rocks and finding interesting driftwood/seaweed combinations. To keep things interesting you also get to peek at one eclectic corner of our garage…

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Shades of Blue: Part 2

Continuing my thoughts from last weeks post about Hipstamatic and Shades of Blue I have a new series of small photos from my walks around town.  This was a surprising spring morning filled with fog that could have passed for fall if you looked past the brave new blooms.  The air was damp and cold but since I was out I thought I’d make the best of it and see what I could see.

My day started with the early morning walk to the bus stop next to this warning sign for motorcycles.  Later I detoured to the beach on my way to the gym and our day ended wine tasting with friends.

All photos shot with my iPhone 7+ using Hipstamatic and the Elijah/Love 81 combination.

Lisa8 Comments

Shades of Blue: Part 1

If you’ve been with me for a while you might know I take all my photos with my iPhone and if you are a details person you’ve noticed I typically tag each photo or post with the editing app used in case a reader wants to try something new with their own work.  I’ve got more apps than I want to count and each has at least one unique feature that inspired me to download but when it comes time to edit images and post my results I skip over all of them and open one of these favorite three every single time.

In no particular order my favorites are Snapseed, VSCO & Hipstamatic.  Sometimes Oggl substitutes for Hipstamatic if I want to process a straight out of the camera shot into something with a Hipstamatic filter but really I like the immediacy of shooting and finishing all in one.

Snapseed is a great easy-to-learn app that quickly offers subtle balance corrections, straightening, cropping and some fun filter effects if you want a more dramatic change.

VSCO also offers corrective features, a large library of soft and pretty filters that mimic film photography and has a vibrant online community full of like-minded photographers.

While Snapseed and VSCO are my apps for subtle changes Hipstamatic is where I go to explore small moments in time.  When I’m overwhelmed and tired of the chaos that comes with a busy life I like how the square format directs my focus to just one or perhaps two things.  It’s a photographic chance to slow down and take a breath while tuning out distractions.  I know some people find the editing heavy-handed but I like it for just that reason because when I use Hipstamatic I’m not trying to capture a realistic image of the moment, instead I’m exploring how each little square is a work of art hidden in the day.  The lens/film/flash combinations add a painterly quality that transforms something easy to overlook into something that makes me think.

All of this is a long-winded way of introducing my next series of posts.  For months I’ve wanted to post more regularly but I was out of new pictures to share and as a result out of anything interesting to say.  Now I’ve got a series of Hipstamatic images ready to go and I thought I should give you a little behind-the-scenes insight into why they were shot this way.  Over the next week or so I’ll have several posts full of images from my daily escapes outside but instead of big, beautiful PNW vistas these are small in scale and more personal. Now you’ll see the one element in a big space that drew me in instead of a panoramic shot with something for everyone.  I have those too and will share them another day but this week will be all about Hipstamatic and shades of blue.

All photos shot with my iPhone 7+ using Hipstamatic and the Elijah/Love 81 combination.

 

Lisa14 Comments

Hellebore

Processed with VSCO with wwf preset

While local garden centers are filled with pretty displays of spring bulbs and primroses I’m starting to worry about the mostly dormant state of my own yard.  Plants that usually bud and flower in early February show no signs of growth and my weeds are the only green things that look truly happy but this one brave hellebore is giving me hope for a brighter season to come.

Taken with my iPhone 7+ and edited in Snapseed and VSCO.

For more examples of mobile macro photography please enjoy Sally’s latest post over at Lens and Pens by Sally.

Lisa38 Comments

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature (Invincible Summer)

In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

iPhone Nature 2 1-8_Snapseed

When our winter days are cold and dark I hold tight to moments like this knowing summer will come again.  I took this Whidbey Island photo on a picture perfect August day as we hiked along Ebey’s Bluff after lunch on the beach below.  The warm, salty sea breeze and sparkling blue water were enough to make the day memorable but what you can’t see is the pod of Orca Whales that swam and played just off shore.  I’ve had the good fortune to spot whales before but this was my quietest encounter and the first time I could enjoy the view completely free from boat traffic and small airplanes buzzing by to follow their every move.

Posted today as part of Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge:  Nature

Lisa21 Comments

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Challenger’s Choice (Shades of Finn)

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve joined Sally’s weekly photography challenge but I’m ready to end the year on a high note and jump right back in with two images for this week’s theme of challenger’s choice (animals).

When I opened our Etsy store in November I knew it would mean a lot of extra work and that my hands would have to make a choice each evening between blogging and creating something new to list in the shop but sometimes these two endeavors can coexist and last night I found a way to do both.

Of all the things John and I have learned to make this year and of all the big ideas we have on our future “to do/to learn” list I never expected these little wool dryer balls to be our most viewed and best-selling item.   I hand-roll each ball but my fingers can only take so much winding before cramps set in so after each ball I take a little rest to shake things out.  Last night I discovered this is just the right amount of time to edit a photo so today you get to see my break-time handiwork.

I like both images for different reasons so since I missed last week’s black and white challenge I decided to go ahead and share the pair.  The original photo was taken over Christmas weekend with my iPhone 6 while Finn was waiting for John to come back inside.  The black and white was edited in VSCO cam using the LV2 preset while the color version was edited in Oggl using Ray Mark II and Estrada 83. I like elements in each photo but would love to hear what you think.  Black and white or color?

Lisa37 Comments

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Panorama (Crossing Puget Sound)

iPhone Thursday Panorama

Even though my iPhone has a great panorama feature I rarely remember to use it.  I’d like to think I am so caught up in the beauty of each location I can’t be bothered to think about trying something new but really I’m probably trying to get a few quick shots in before John and Ryan ask me to stop and enjoy the moment with them.

This image of the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry crossing Puget Sound is one my two panorama photos from summer 2015.  The three of us were enjoying a quiet morning crabbing from the local fishing pier and while the pot was resting on the sea floor I passed the time taking pictures. 🙂

Posted as part of Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge:  Challenger’s Choice.

Lisa21 Comments

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Black & White (Into the Forest)

A few weeks ago I shared the slightly embarrassing fact that sometimes I take a picture of where I’ve parked my car so I won’t lose it in a crowded garage but I didn’t mention that I also take photos of trail signs whenever we are out for a hike.  I’m pretty sure that these signs wouldn’t be much help if we were lost but they certainly help me identify where we’ve been months later if my file isn’t labeled properly.    Also I can’t resist anything that announces we are now in the wilderness…

iPhone Tuesday 10-20

A misty shot of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness sign on the way to Mason Lake, posted for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge:  Black and White.

Lisa22 Comments

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro (Portrait of Jan de Leeuw)

October is John’s favorite month of the year because it means he can start installing his latest Halloween creations.  I’ll be sharing little peeks of spooky cheer throughout the next two weeks beginning with this portrait of Jan de Leeuw.

iPhone Saturday 10-18

The original painting by Jan Van Eyck was painted in oil on wood in 1436 and hangs in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.  Our version is a photo reproduction on a larger scale and hung in an oversize wood frame from Goodwill.   He is placed at the top of a staircase with amber lights angled to shine up under the chin adding a spooky ambiance to the overall composition.   Today I’ve chosen to highlight just the face in order to concentrate on his direct gaze and the interesting web of crackle lines.

Posted a part of Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge:  Macro.

Lisa19 Comments