Dare to b Gr8

Dare to b Gr8, originally uploaded by marierush.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

The pumpkin patch priced all of their pumpkins by the glorious stems, so I rolled with it.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to a. "roll with it" more often, and b. write more on my blog.  As much as I love the photography aspect, I feel that it is important that I explain a bit of the *lalalalalalalalalalalala* that goes on in my mind when I capture an image and feel like it deserves a spot on my blog.  I'm rollin' with it...hope you roll with me!

Daddy and His Angel

Sometimes the perfect shot doesn't even have any faces. Can you feel the love? I can.

The Sun Came Out for Me Today!

So here is my tribute...

~Marie

Photographic Bucket List

I have a photographic bucket list.  A list of things I want to capture with the lens, but all of the planets have to align first.  The planets aligned twice today. Three if you count the fact that I got a job, but I digress (hooray, me!)

Without purchasing a special filter, I have wanted to capture a dreamy sun kissed image, that flares like fireworks.  I have also wanted to capture a leaf while it is actually falling.  Like, seriously, I have to have a tree that sheds, a breeze and enough light to see it.  Oh, and the perfect shutter speed, and focus and click--all at the same time.  While patiently waiting for my leaf to drop (yes, I did wait-staring at the tree like a watched pot) I saw the sun through the leaves.  I actually caught it!  Here is today's shot.

With that shot under my belt, I continued to wait for a breeze and a dead leaf to find each other at the same time.  I won't tell you how long I stared, but I will show the shot.  Next time, I'd like to have a blue sky background instead of the pines, but, hey, I'll take what I can get these days!

I'll reveal the whole bucket list soon...
~Marie

Dear Teacher,

Dear Teacher,, originally uploaded by marierush.

Thank you for taking the time to write my daughter a note today. It was the first one she has ever gotton, and it made her day. And mine.  Look at all the positive words, all in one place, right near her name.  It has a place of honor on the front of our refrigerator. And it might be there forever.

Sincerely,
Grateful Parent

The Transformation

Some folks have asked me about my bus picture, so I will try to explain how I turned this:

Into this:

This was a one time shot.  Out the window of my car, only two school buses go to the school, and this one had already dropped off the students, so it was empty.  The first issue was the necessary crop.  The truck was not in my mind's eye, nor was the drainage ditch in the forefront, so they were chopped. Then I took it into Photoshop and played with it. You can use pretty much any editing program to do what I did, whatever came with your camera, or Photoshop Elements. I boosted the exposure to lighten it a bit, and then saved a copy.  So then I had two pictures, a light one and a dark one. I opened a new file and brought in both pictures as layers (dark one underneath).  I created a third layer and I painted over the blacks in the bus using a teeny tiny little ole' paintbrush, and then reduced the opacity to about 24% so it didn't look goofy.

Then, to make the fall leaves pop on the leftside (to give them the appearance of depth) I removed the upper left quadrant of the lightest layer with my eraser tool, at about 50% opacity, to reveal the darker layer a bit.

I fooled around a bit with where I wanted the depth, and when I was happy with it, I was done.  I'll be quite honest though, it is much easier to get the shot right out of the camera!  In a pinch though, some thoughtful edits can make a "bleh" picture palatable.  I took the photo for a class I am taking, and the picture prompt for that day was "Me Time."  I felt the bus represented the time that I have while the girls are in school.

Morning

Morning , originally uploaded by marierush.

I'm uploading this tonight, but watch for an update as to how I took the picture (out the window of the car) and what I did to make it feel like I actually put my kids on the bus (which I didn't!)  I'm gonna show you what the picture looked like SOOC (straight out of the camera--which wasn't beautiful!)
~Marie

Alli Girl

Alli Girl, originally uploaded by marierush.

All love, no common sense. Sweet gentle goofball.

Cookie Jar

Cookie Jar, originally uploaded by marierush.

I love it. It clinks and hasn't been chipped, it is filled with skinned-knee-fixer-uppers, it brings smiles, and even when seemingly empty, I know that it is still filled with love.

Antique Remains...

Antique Remains, originally uploaded by marierush.

Saw these beauties in a barn today. I am so drawn to antiques, and years ago I was a collector. Now I am a collector of Strawberry Shortcake dolls from McDonalds...but I digress...these were beautiful jugs on top of an old phonograph.  Just lovely.

...and the spinning wheel--how glorious.  I wonder what it has woven in its time.

I don't know what this machine is, but I loved the colors, and the juxtaposition of the new tire and the beautiful rust.







I posted some more treasures in my Flickr stream (the link on the top right) and I hope you enjoy them.
~Me

My Aunt. My Blessing.

, originally uploaded by marierush.

She is...
my rock
my guiding light
my wisdom (when I have none to be found)
my friend
my listener
my voice of reason (when I have a voice, but no sense of reason)
my blessing.

Love you!

Oh Roxy, You're so Fine...

Oh Roxy, You're so Fine..., originally uploaded by marierush.

Beauty - in projection and perceiving - is 99.9% attitude. ~Grey Livingston

Musings on Fall...

Fall Porch, originally uploaded by marierush.

...hoping it is right around the corner! I am ready for a change.

"Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist. "
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005