Photos of the Week - Week 23

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 23, Free For All

Photo by Sarah Carpenter

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Sarah says: 

Last week, a friend and I kayaked on Echo Lake in Mt. Vernon, Maine. We have had lots of rain recently and the dam was overlowing. I took this picture with my IPhone, on live. Then in post I liked the shot with the long exposure.. I added Brownie kayaking - ( I selected her from the old picture and placed here where I thought she showed up the best. ) Summer has come to Maine!!! (Somedays, at least).

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 23- Do Over

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 23, Do Over

Photo by Olivia Edwards

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Olivia  says:  

Kind of a combination of Selective Focus stirred with texture and clarity sliders.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 23 - Circles

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 23, Circles

Photo by Cheryl Walker

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Cheryl says: 

I’m a quilter, so first thing I thought of was my quilting templates. Edited in Snapseed, double exposure.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 23, Circles

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 23, Free For All

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

Home! This is the Cuchara Valley, home to La Veta. These are the mountains that burned in 2018. The clouds often billow and dominate the sky which is what captivated me on this particuarl day.

Photos of the Week - Week 21

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 21, Perfect Pair

Photo by Wendy Hodina

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Wendy says: 

Someone had to do it :) i got these pears on Saturday on they have been staring at me all week. Mind blocked from thinking of anything else. 65% Topaz Dingy Cream applied after usual adjustments. Taken in a wooden cabinet with my iPhone light at the side.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 21 - Loved Ones

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 21, Loved Ones

Photo by Carrie La Barge

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Carrie  says:  

My parents were visiting for Jamie's 1st birthday, so it was the perfect time for this week's challenge! My mom doesn't particularly like being photographed (we're similar in that way), but she put up with me randomly snapping pictures while they were here (my dad, on the other hand, loves having his picture taken haha). This is a shot of my mom and son, Jamie, who was smiling up at my dad. All candid, nothing staged.

It was really nice to focus on capturing moments between loved ones this week, but I wish that I had used different settings. I should have used shutter priority and auto focus, but I was being stubborn and wanted to shoot everything manually, which resulted in some BAD photos because I wasn't able to focus or adjust the settings quickly enough. I also personally have a very hard time raising the ISO - I want to keep it at 400 or less but that isn't always possible for hand-held shots, but then the graininess bothers me. I'm definitely still learning!

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 21 - Mellow Yellow

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 21, Mellow Yellow

Photo by Wendy Browne

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Wendy says: 

Native Australian Grass

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 21, Mellow Yellow

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 21, Perfect Pair

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

This week was significant in that my grand piano (1978 college graduation present), came inside my home for the first time since 2005. It has lived in the building/studio/gallery in La Veta all these years. I’m going with Ebony and Ivory or Black and White. Opposites, but perfect pairs. I’m n a side note I was to graduate in summer 1979, but the Wichita Falls April 10 tornado destroyed 5000 homes killing 46. Out house was demolished. My car from the driveway landed on this piano. The scars are still there.

Photos of the Week - Week 20

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 20, Anticipation

Photo by Betty Seeman

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Betty says: 

Every year about this time I await the Gardenia blooms. They first appear as tightly spiraled green buds. They swirl to open and release the sweetest scent. We have a gardenia bush at each of the four corners of our house. The two varieties bloom about two weeks apart so we enjoy the beauty and fragrance for a full month.
Enjoy!

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 20 - Forks

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 20, Forks

Photo by Nora Norton

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Nora  says:  

Had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to submit..... So I just blended a background to the main fork image. I also did some cropping to one area I didn't like. This blending thing is interesting.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 20 - Zig-Zag

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 20, Zig-Zag

Photo by Linda Rowberry

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Linda says: 

The Zig-Zag edge of a pair of pinking shears. Added a filter from the Distressed FX+.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 20, Zig-Zag

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 20, Anticipation

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

Spring has sprung on the mountain and there is an air of anticipation in the air. Sprouts sprouting. Nest building underway. . Hope and eagerness for the days ahead.

Photos of the Week - Week 19

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 19, Delicate Mirror Montage

Photo by Helen Albion

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Helen says: 

Emu feathers on white cardboard. Converted to black and white, with a frame and drop shadow added. I wish that I had smoother cardboard available so there was less texture.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 19 - Mirror Montage

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 19, Mirror Montage

Photo by Max Lee

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Max  says:  

I thought that a macro photograph of oil in water (with food coloring) would work well for the mirror montage. I'm not totally satisfied with the result and wish I had a bit more time to play with this, both in shooting and editing, but I had fun creating it.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 19 - Retro

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 19, Retro

Photo by Zipora Golenberg

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Photos of the Week - Week 18

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 18, The Scream

Photo by Carol Freda

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Carol says: 

The scene looked familiar, why it’s the fishing dock at French Park. The ‘screamer’ was morphed in PS from a fishing line depository located on the fence line. Sky replacement and warp, Topaz-a funky color filter.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 18 - Red

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 18, Red

Photo by Laurie McGowan

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Laurie  says:  

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, OR opens to the public for a Tulip Festival every year in April. Spring has been so late in coming this year that they extended it through the first week of May. Lucky me! Perfect timing for "Red" week.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 18 - Bowls

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 18, Bowls

Photo by Patty Robinson

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Patty says: 

“All set and ready to go!”
These Pyrex mixing bowls have been in use for 4 generations! Edits made on the iPhone to bring out the colors of the bowls a little more and the grain of the wood inside the drawer.

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 18, Bowls

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 18, The Scream

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

This started with a photo of the rail fence at the entrace to our ranch looking to the Wet Mountains. Gracie the cow lives just another halfmile or so down that road. Miguel lives on the front porch, a concrete scupture I purchased in Socorro about ten years ago. One of the joys after the fire was seeing the fireman photos of the house still standing with Miguel greeting the camera.

I cut Miguel out of the porch photo and layered him on the rail fence photo. I flattened those two and then added saturation. Then I went to work with the Liquify tool to create some swirly movement. From there the image went into Topaz where I added a double filter.