Rushing by!

Life has been busy! The month of July has rushed by {like the one before that... and before that... }, and I'm hopeful that August will bring cooler temps and, dare I say it? Rain!!!! That would be super!

Anywho, while I didn't spend much time with Scarlet the Camera this week, I thought I'd share some recent edits of some older images for this week's scavenger hunt. Thanks for stopping by!!

1) Walking Empty Streets- Venice in the early morning is so serene. We got up at 5am and there were still quite a few people out wandering- a few tourists, but mostly locals trying to get around before the visitors took over!

2) Repeating Patterns- This aging Murano glass factory was one of the first sights to meet us as the ferry pulled into the dock. This captures the Venetian lagoon- beautifully decaying elegance.

3) Floor- This was the cutest wee souvenir sales pup in Venice! He had a cute little home under the wagon so that even when it was rainy out, he could curl up warm and dry:).

4) Then & Now- Chowder still looks like such a puppy to us, but when I look back at pictures from when we first got him, he has grown soooo much!

5) Fingertips- This just needed someones fingertips to make it sing!

Next week's prompts are:

1. Seeing Double/Two
2. Whatever
3. Sweet

4. Space

5. Bright

 

 

And if you love photo hunts, don't forget to check out the Monthly Photo Hunt- August edition! Yours truly set up the prompts, and I can't wait to see how you all interpret them!

First try here!

Texture- even the word sounds interesting. Warm blankets, crunchy grass, all sorts of enjoyable things come to mind. But I've never used textures in PS. Why? Well, it required I figure out how to use them and... I was lazy.

But no more!

Today I used one of Kim Klassen's free textures, and I'm hooked! Such simple things can make a dramatic difference in a shot!

For this edit, I used:

PW Boost at 55%
PW Lovely & Ethereal at 60%
PW Slight Lighten at 100%
Kim Klassen Summer Lovin' at 7% Luminosity

Here is the SOOC:

Early Morning Rambles

I was up really early today, so please forgive me any typos. I haven't fully woken up yet and spell check can only help me so much:).

Long days, warm nights, the sun through the leaves and explosions of color- those things are the heart of summer.

And over at {My} Perspective, this week's Quotography prompt is 'birthdays'. More than 13 years ago my parents got me a pony for my birthday. So much has changed in my life since then, but Copper has remained a constant, fuzzy presence that I can count on to dry my tears, listen to my worries and beg for sugar cubes whenever I see him. Since I have no idea what his birthday is, we celebrate it when we celebrate mine. Thank you for so many lovely years, fat pony, and here is to a dozen more!

Also, H is, of course, for horse.

And Hogwarts (that is a Grffindor scarf, if you couldn't tell).

 

And hot walker.

And lastly, for high up.

Chowindor!!!

Well fellow muggles, I'm off to watch the final installment of the Harry Potter masterpiece!I hope you all enjoy the magic of this movie as much as I'm sure I will.

Chowder insists that I tell him all the best parts when I get home. And he also thinks that since he can wear clothes, he should get to go to the theatre. Of course, he wouldn't like all the special effects, so that is just silly on his part.

In either case, enjoy!

Good to Wow: Skies the Limit

Work has been getting me down lately. A lot. Do you guys ever go through weeks like that? Not fun, but it is part of life. But that does make me happy that this week's Good to Wow prompt is 'Skies the Limit'. That is really true.

There is a lot of good in my life- my family, my friends, my pets, my hobbies. I am not my job, and while sometimes it feels that way, I need to remember to step back, smell the roses {well, lilacs really, since roses are not even close to my favorite flower, but I digress} and focus on looking forward... or up!

So, without further ado- my edits of the SOOC shots posted here! Please let me know what you think- I love comments! I'll even pull on my big girl pants and beg for some criticism too- I want to get better! Thanks for stopping by:).

Peace

Sometimes I get so caught up in work, bills, house stuff, everything that I just forget to breathe. Then I forget to smile. Then I lose my joy.

Not good.

So every once in a while I just have to take a few minutes, think about how everything really fits together, run my fingers through some happy animal's fur, and regain peace. Looking for the small beauties of life can make a large difference!

And as long as I don't get too caught up in the details or too invested in making it 'perfect' {whatever that means}, editing my photos can help me find peace too- get lost in the colors, textures and memories of the events!!

I feel like all the shots have possibility, but I'm just not certain they are there yet. I'll take advantage of Jill and Ashley's weekly editing challenge to see if I can make them glow!

Lazy weekend

I haven't really gotten much done this weekend, but that is what weekends are for, right? Right??

I do still have an afternoon left to rectify my laziness. On this afternoon's list:
- shorten some pants {a lot}
- put up some home decorating stuff
- play with my larger children {the ponies}
- clean desk

Thought that last one... well, we'll see about that.

At least I got some photos taken this week!





1) Things that look like a letter- I actually had my own little project where I found something for every letter of the alphabet (maybe I'll post it here one day). I figured I'd try to find a new one for this, looked up, and the sky solved the search for me! I see an A... possibly an F... or a B? Whatever, it looks like a letter!

2) Weather- I'd love for it to rain. I really would. But all we get is this.

Seems like it would be lovely, right?

NOOOO!!!!

It seriously reduces my productivity and brings on an extreme case of the naps, as demonstrated by this beastie.

Dreadful stuff. And dry.

3) Bling- I'm afraid I had to go into the archives for this one. I was so intent on thinking outside the box for this that I... well, you know, didn't take a photo.

So without further ado... Paris!

4) Tangled- You know how some people (horses) can manage to have perfect hair all day, every day, without effort?

That isn't me. Or Copper. To avoid showing horrid pictures of myself, I'll share with you Copper's tangle.

This happened roughly two minutes after I finished grooming his tail. Damn Adorable pony.

5) Dark- Lyric has huge, dark eyes.

They provide a rather effective mirror, as well.

He is also pretty darn talented at making silhouettes.

Good job, Lyrical pony.

Next week's prompts are


1) Black and White
2) Reflections in Glass
3) Headlights
4) Seeing Double
5) Bare

Shoot and Edit: Red, White, and Blue

My shot for this week's prompt was pretty basic, but I thought it needed more pop and contrast. For my edits, I adjusted the contrast up a bit, then ran PW's Boost action twice. I think the result really makes the photo more interesting!

SOOC:

Summer

The blowing breeze.

The smell of cut grass.

The burst of growth.

The flies.

Oh yeah, it must be summer.