Choices

"I choose…to live by choice, not by chance. To make changes, not excuses. To be motivated, not manipulated. To be useful, not used. To excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice. Not the random opinion of others."

~Unknown

We all have many choices to make in life.  Those range from the simple things, like what am I going to wear today to what am I going to do with the rest of my life.   The choices we make determine how successful we're going to be, how happy we're going to be, etc.  These choices, however, don't only effect us; they effect all those who we meet.   They determine whether we're going to be a positive force in the lives of those we meet, or a negative one.  So,  when you're faced with important decisions today, or in the future, think about the long-term effects those decisions will have on your life and the lives of others.

I wish you well.

What Soothes Your Soul?

"It is the mind which creates the world around us,
and even though we stand side by side in the same meadow,
my eyes will never see what is beheld by yours,
my heart will never stir to the emotions with which yours is touched."
George Gissing

I firmly believe this is true, because we all see things, hear things, understand things based on our own filters.  The experiences we have in life have a profound impact on how we react to what happens in life, be it observing a beautiful scene or trying to recover from a disastrous event.  No two of us are exactly alike.  I'm not even sure about identical twins, because they must have some unique experiences that make them see things just a little bit differently.  Since I'm not a scientist, I don't know that for sure, but it makes sense to me.

What unique experiences have you had that make you appreciate certain types of art, literature or music?   If you had been raised in a different place, or had different parents, would you see things differently?   Which one of these pictures "soothes your soul"?  Or, maybe none of them do and that's ok too.  Art is very subjective and we don't have to like the same things or react to thing in the same manner. 

Feel free to leave your thought here for others to read.  Plus, that way I'll know that someone is still reading my blog.

Swans in the Fog

3

2

1

You can do all kinds of things with the help of PhotoShop or other editting software programs.   This picture was taken on a very foggy morning.  There was so much fog, in fact, that you could barely see the trees.  I love foggy pictures, so I just started shooting, knowing that I could make the necessary adjustments when I got home.

Picture #1 is a copy of the original file, with some minor adjustments done in Camera Raw, such as bringing up the brightness, fill light, clarity and adjusting the blacks just a little. 

Picture #2 was altered in PhotoShop using curves & levels to brighten the overall scene and to bring out the whiteness of the swans.

Picture #3  is Picture #2 with the NIK graduated fog filter applied to it.  I softened the effect to the point where I liked it and then saved the photo.

My oldest grandson likes picture #3 best, because he likes the soft, graduated effect of the fog.  I think I agree with him.  Which do you like best?

Swans in the Fog

I did some different processing on this swans in the fog photo to make it look like it was taken at night and illuminated with a spotlight.  I have fun trying different things. Hope you enjoy it.