Whats old is New

This week in Beyond Layers Class, Kim is trying to get us to take our new photos or old photos and make them more simple.   The idea being that Less Is More!   I truly struggled with this because I like dramatic deep colors full of depth.   Both these photos I have re worked in the less is more idea.  the Texture Kim has us all using is called Awaken.

On the feather I used this texture only one time.  Its a found feather that I have kept for years.

This is one of my favorite subjects.  Old dead flower heads and pods.   This is called Spring Flower Becomes Winters Cloak.  I worked and worked on this to get it soft and delicate, added finally two textures of Awaken.  

Sometimes I use a dry brush filter on my images after I process them but not on these two.

You can view more of my work on my Flicker Photo Stream here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11605172@N05/

Hagerman in the Winter

Well, at last there is an image without birds!  I thought these dead looking trees in the water were so interesting with the reflection and the way the water glistened in different textures and colors.      The Great Heron's were out  in abundance at the Refuge last weekend and I got quite a few images of them doing different things.  They really blend in with water and weeds so it was hard to get nice shots of them. I hope you are enjoying these winter images.

Dining In The Muck

Hi again, with birds!  Saturday I got to visit again the great Hagerman Wildlife Refuge http://www.friendsofhagerman.com/Home
and spent 2 hours just driving and walking about trying to get some photos.  Since its winter there are not many things to shoot except , what else...birds!  I got a nice assortment of birds that I will be sharing with you.  These are not Mallards but this pair kept close enough to the edge of the water to get some nice wakes behind as they paddled along the shore.

I am having such fun learning new things in photoshop with Kim Klassens
"Test Kitchen".   This week we had a challenge photo called the Red Shed where we did some extra effects and texture to a great old structure.  This is not an image I shot but I am going to work this technique on a couple of my existing images and see how it goes.
Hope you enjoy and if you want to visit Kim's site it is: www.Kimklassencafe.com