Photos of the Week - Week 4

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 4, Three

Photo by Paul McKee

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Paul says:

I spied these three chairs backlit by a night light last night and knew I had this weeks photo. Standard LR adjustments.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 4 - Find A Line

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 4, Leaves

Photo by Donna Beals

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Donna says:

Heartfelt Reflection: A single oak leaf and its reflection.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 4 - Hot Stuff

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 4, Tickled Pink

Photo by Pam Clark

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Pam says:

I found a spring bouquet of flowers at Dollar General for only $5. I brought them home and I've been enjoying their pastel loveliness on my dining room table. The flowers in the bouquet were pink, aqua and yellow, but I focused on the stem of pink flowers for our "Tickled Pink" challenge.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 4, Tickled Pink

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

I have very few pink things around. I did what I could but the subjects were lackluster. however my orchids opened this week and that made me very happy so I decided to use editing to give them a pink vibe. Edited in Prisma app with Sailor

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 4, Three

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2021 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

Three orchids opened this week at home. This particular plant had never bloomed. It was in bad shape when I got it over 2 years ago. So.. a miracle! Did you first see three buds - or three blossoms? I layered a texture and blended it - then erased to keep the beautiful texture of the flowers. In Topaz I also used a filter, but then again, erased leaving the flowers with minimal overlay.

Click on quilt for full view.

Get the pattern here.

Shock Wave by Ricky Tims  

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

Photos of the Week - Week 3

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 3, Backside

Photo by Mary Degreef

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Mary says:

I decided to go with what I had the most to choose from. Bovine Backsides. I like this big fellows attitude and his total lack of inhibition about his body. He was a pleasure to work with. I used a texture from my collection so the metadata may show that instead of the bull but the bullshot is fresh from today.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 3 - Find A Line

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 3, Find A Line

Photo by David Scharf

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David says:

The gap between the hood and fender on my wife's minivan (she needs one for those quilt retreats, you know). This is a color photo, it's just a grey van shot in a somewhat dim garage. I upped the clarity a bit, otherwise unedited.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 3 - Hot Stuff

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 3, Hot Stuff

Photo by Linda Rowberry

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Linda says:

A bin of Jalapeño peppers is hot stuff to me!

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 3, Hot Stuff

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

I chose to spare you all from a selfie (haha) and decided a winter’s snowy day needs hot chocolate. I was not pleased with the “stream” because there is minimal humidity here. I created the filter effect first with Prisma. The steam was added in MotionLeap.

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 3, Backside

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2021 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

This is the backside of a wonderful violin. The wood has this amazing stripe. I left it in the case for the blue and was pleased that the refelctions were also blue. Only basic edits and several tiny speck/spot removals.

Almost immediately after posting this, I thought of my best backside option. The story and photos are here: https://rickytims.smugmug.com/2022-PhotoExtras/

Arabian Nights by Ricky Tims

Arabian Night is a beautiful stitched raw-edge appliqué quilt that features a center medallion. Many of you know Accuquilt and their dies. The primary shapes are in the blocks are Accuquilt dies. If you use that system, cutting out these shapes is super fast. The pattern is available from my website. It provides instructions for two quilts: the cover quilt with its glorious center medallion and an album-style quilt made solely from appliqué album blocks without the center medallion. It’s one of my most popular patterns. (51” x 51”).

Not only is this a fun quilt, but the title, of course, comes from the tales of 1001 Arabian Nights as told by one of the most amazing heroines in literature, Scheherazade (read more). She may perhaps been the first to create a “soap opera” narrative, but certainly she was the queen of cliffhangers...as she ultimately spared the lives of many young ladies who otherwise would have been beheaded. 

Get the pattern here. Only $14.98.

Photos of the Week - Week 2

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 2, Levitation

Photo by Bruce Hinde

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Bruce says:

Short Stack Magic
I've been planning this shot all week (and I get to eat the props).
Bottom two cakes are on the plate. The next three are suported on a steel rod up the middle on round pieces of carboard. The top cake is suspended from above. 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 2 - Two Rectangles

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 2, Two Rectangles

Photo by Cary Coutant

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Cary says:

This is a tie on the railroad tracks near my home. I liked the textures and colors, and the stray leaf.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 2 - Abstract Automobile

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 2, Abstract Automobile

Photo by Deb Story

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Deb says:

Dirty rim from my Honda. It’s only 7 degrees here in WNY right now. I usually like to take several shots to chose from…but not this time with it so cold outside! Edited in Prisma app with Thota Vaikuntam

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 2, Abstract Automobile

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

We still have some Christmas lights sparkling outside and these were sparkling on a very dirty truck. I liked the overall composition of this but of course the colors made a bigger impact. There are minor adjustments in BeCasso

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 2, Year Word - Levitation

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2021 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

My neighbors Steve and his wife Allison came for lunch but didn't escape my need for a couple of models for my levitation vision. Their costumes are nothing but pieces of fabric draped around. Steve climbed up on the rock with a staff. I had hoped he would be able to stand on a step stool, but it was too precarious. For the shot he simply raised one foot off the ground high enough that it exposed the sky underneath. I created his "right" foot by copying the left, flipping horizontal, and rotating it a bit. This was shot in full sun so I had to do a lot of adjustments to create the lighting effects and drama. The blue sky was replaced by a shot I took during the Spring Fire which was then manipulated and also using a filter in Topaz. Creating lightning was new for me. I found a tutorial that worked fairly well. With the tripod locked down, I took three photos...One of Allison, one of Steve, and one without anyone. See the original photos here: https://rickytims.smugmug.com/2022-PhotoExtras/