Photo Class

While in Phoenix for my husband’s business meeting, I participated in a photography class. It was only two hours long, but we learned some amazing things!

The instructor gave us a few hints on taking better photos with our phones then sent us out onto the resort property to take pictures for a half hour. After we took photos with our Iphones, we went back to the meeting room where she taught us to us Photo Editor by Aviary. It is a free app and has all kinds of tools including red-eye correction and whitening capabilities.

Here are some of the photos I took along with the edited versions.  I played with some older photos as well.

I hope you like them. Maybe you can play with Photo Editor by Aviary and post a few of your pictures.

Before – snowy tree near Niagara Falls
After editing: brightness, warmth, saturation na d added frame.
Before – Niagara Falls
After editing – effects:landscape, vignett, adjust saturation.
Before – carpet design
After – sharpness, focus, splash
Canal in Ottawa
After editing!
Before – cacti in Arizona
After – I love the effects of this!
After editing – much brighter and sharper
Parliment Building in Ottawa
Before – carnation at the resort
After – using the Splash feature to make b&w then add back the natural color.
Before
After using Focus to draw the eye to the book.

I’m far from a professional, but it is fun to learn new things! Especially when it involves a free app!

Oh! We also downloaded Tiny Planet and played with it. Here are a few of my silly edits.

Eighteen Photos 

 

 

 

Day 18 Photo Challenge

June 28, 2016. The White House News Photographers Association “Eyes on History” gala takes place tonight.

The photo challenge is getting harder as the number increases!

Post a picture representing the number 18. It can be eighteen items, eighteen people, or something showing the number 18. Maybe even an 18-year-old!

Alternative: Post a gallery of 18 photos that have a shared theme. Or post three galleries each with six pictures having a shared theme.

Here are pictures I took Tuesday & Wednesday.

The crosses are in the order where they were sitting. Three in front, two in back died. Andrew is front right. Passenger side. The survivor was sitting behind him.
A memorial to my son on the side of the road.
The intersection where it happened.
The Accident happened just in front of this feed yard.
The stop sign they drove past.
Eric, Amanda, Julian, Clint & Andrew. The TEXAS Angels. Plus Peyton.

Scenic Shots from Our Travels

Beautiful flowers I shot this spring

A Story in Photos

I had planned to post pictures of our fun Homeschool Extreme Water Kickball and Play Day. We had dozens of kids and parents playing all over our yard today! A giant slip and slide on the hill, sprinklers for the preschoolers in one area, and a kickball game with inflated pools for bases in another area of the yard. Plus our two story fort and our “swing area” with a hammock, tire swing, and swing.

Here is a video of before everyone arrived to finish the set up.

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Here is a video of the slip & slide. It is was taken far enough away that children’s faces can’t be seen. 


After I took a video and pictures of the children playing, I realized that some of the children in the pictures are foster children. They cannot be shown in pictures on social media or on blogs.

Instead of what I’d planned, I’m posting pictures from our last trip.

Camille, me, and Ron riding The Five Boros Bike Tour in NYC. May 2016

 

June 11 Challenge

June 1-30 Challenge

Day 11 Photo Challenge

June 11, 1963. We’ve all seen the pictures: Governor of Alabama George Wallace standing at the door of a building at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students from attending the school. He was not successful. The pictures of the young people standing up for their rights are powerful!

Photographs can tell powerful stories! Can you tell a powerful story with your pictures this week? Try taking even photos that tell a story.

Alternative: Post a picture representing the number 11. It can be eleven items, eleven people (think soccer team), or something showing the number 11. Or post a gallery of 11 photos that have a shared theme.

Photo Challenge: Four

June 1-30 Challenge

Day 4 Photo Challenge

June 4, 1917. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded.

If there was a Pulitzer for amateur photography…

Today is your chance to post your entry for the competition!

Post a picture representing the number 4. It can be four items, four people, or something showing the number 4. Be creative! Look around you and take some fun photos to share!

Alternative: Post a gallery of four photos that have a shared theme. Use the Create a Gallery Tool to make your gallery.

Here is my gallery. My four darling grandchildren.

Lucy with her Daddy.
Jacob may not look happy, but he really enjoyed kayaking with his Auntie M.
Colin caught the biggest fish! Granddad may have helped a bit.
Elijah is ready for his baseball game.

 

And just for fun, here is my photo representing the number four. My four sons. The last photo I have with the four of them together, from December 2012.

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Andrew, Adam, Peter, and David

And a gallery from a photo shoot in 2010. They had a great time together.

 

 

 

Numbers

In June, I am hosting a June 1-30 Challenge. Each day of the month, I will post a challenge or prompt that relates to the number of the date. 

I’ve been taking photos use as the featured image for each prompt.  Here are some of my photos.

 

If you are interested in joining the June 1-30 Challenge, follow this blog or check back on April 25 for more information. You can also follow the tag “June 1-30 Challenge”.

June 1-30 Challenge

Photo 101 Day 20: Triumph

Growing up, I did not learn how to be a good mom. I did not learn how to be loving, kind or patient. I saw anger, abuse, and bitterness. I learned not to follow house rules, but to try not to make mom mad, especially if she’d been drinking.

When I had my first child, I knew little about being a parent. I made many mistakes over the years. I tried to learn and do better. I know I was a better mom than my mom was, but I was far from perfect.

Here is my Triumph photo. It shows the feet of our newest grandchild. Lucy has three older brothers. They are all wonderful.

My Triumph is this:

My daughter is an amazing mom! She is kind, patient, and loving. She cares for her children with wisdom. They know they are loved, and they know the rules like “don’t go near the street” or “don’t hit your brother with sticks”. They know there will be consequences when they break the rules. They also know the consequences will be dealt out with love and compassion.

When I look at the men and women my other children have become, I know that they, too, will be great parents if they have children of their own. Until then, they are awesome aunts and uncles.

Changing the family tree. That is a triumph to be proud of.

Photo 101 Day 18: Edge and Alignment 

For my long time readers, there are only two more days of this class. I hope my daily posting of pictures hasn’t bored you.

Today’s assignment is:

Today, show us an edge — a straight line, a narrow ridge, a precipice.

Today’s Tip: To make sure your edge packs a punch, use a photo editing tool to check the alignment and adjust the image, if needed, so that your edge is perfectly straight.

My photos for this assignment aren’t very cheery. They are where my brain is tonight. They include straight lines.

It’s late Tuesday night and I’ve been fighting a migraine since early February. I’m tired. Grief is harder when I’m tired.

I’m missing my son tonight. Maybe more so because I got to see two of our daughters weekend before last and our other daughter and oldest son on Easter. It’s great to spend time with them, but it also reminds me that one is missing. He will always be missing.

 

The Accident Site. On Hwy 287 north of Amarillo, Texas

The crosses are in the positions where the five were sitting. The driver is the top left. Andrew is the top right. The truck hit him directly. He was killed instantly. Blunt force trauma.

 

A stud at While We’re Waiting Refuge

While We’re Waiting is a support group for bereaved parents. They are building a retreat center. We were able to write a tribute to our children on the studs of the building. This is for Andrew. It’s in the kitchen. The library will be named for him. And the utility room will be called The Bat Cave in his memory. He loved Batman.

 

The back of his headstone

Too many cold edges on this stone. For an explanation of the design of his headstone, read this article. The front is explained here.

 

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Andrew Raymond Duncan

Photo 101 Day 17: Glass, Squared

Incorporate glass in today’s image: a window, a mirror, a wine glass, sunglasses, or something else. It doesn’t matter what form the glass takes.

I took this picture last week from my daughter’s kitchen window. This is what she sees when washing dishes. What a lovely view!

Today I took this picture off my front porch. I love looking out at our property. 

My peaceful yard.

But when I took a picture looking through the red glass hummingbird feeder, the scene is not so peaceful feeling!

Looking through a hummingbird feeder.

Here is the yard looking through a pink water goblet. 

  

Looking through a pink water goblet
 

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