It's Your Life - Live It!

I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.  I don't know who wrote this, but I saw it on Facebook today and thought it was worth sharing.

Are you living the life you want?   Are you proud of what you're doing?  Do you wish things were different?  Do you think you can do a better job?   Only you are in control of those things.  Only you can change your life and make it want YOU want.  If you're not living a life you're proud of, only you can make a difference.   If you're not happy with the way things are, why not start making changes today that will give you the life you were meant to live?  Until you do, nothing will change.  So, if you need to make changes, start making them today.  Live the life you want.  Don't settle for anything less! 

I wish these things for you and hope you have a wonderful day.

At The Water Hole

"We return to old water holes for more than water, we return because friends and dreams are there to meet us."  An old African saying

Isn't it true that we return to places where friends and family members are there to greet us and to nourish our souls?   We need those connections in our lives, those ties that bind us to the past and give us strength to face the future. 

Now for a photo tip.  I used a Topaz plug-in to get the painterly look in this photo.  If you've never tried these plug-ins, they're a lot of fun and fairly inexpensive.  Just go to topaz.com and try the plug-ins free for 30 days.  If you like them, you can buy them after that.  If not, at least you'll have fun playing with them for awhile.

Great Blue"

"I asked the earth, I asked the seas and the deeps, among the living animals, the things that creep.  I asked the winds that blow,  I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars and all things that stand at the doors of my flesh . . .
My question was the gaze I turned to them.
Their answer was their beauty."
St. Augustine of Hippo  (354-430), North Africa

This is another version of the heron shot I posted a couple of days ago.  I almost deleted the original picture, because the heron was so far away.  Instead, I decided to keep it and see what I could come up with by using some filters, plug-ins, etc.  This is one of the results.  You may like it and you may not, but I'm glad I kept it. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week-end and a Happy Easter with friends and family.

Flying for Freedom

Sometimes a simple picture, like this one of two sandhills flying over my head, can convey a lot,.  But, what does it convey?  To me, it means that I was getting dizzy from leaning backwards and shooting straight up over my head.  LOL!  Seriously though, to me it conveys freedom, joy, simplicity, and an easiness about life. What does it mean to you?   If you like reading this blog, please leave comments once in awhile.  Otherwise, I don't know if anyone ever reads it.  Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Sunrise Over Nebraska Sandhills

This was my favorite morning while we were in Nebraska.  The sky was absolutely beautiful as the sun came up.  It provided a nice background for the sandhill cranes that were hanging out on the sandbars before flying to the cornfields for a day of eating.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing the other way and, between that and the noisy Canadian geese and snow geese down river, we couldn't hear them talking.  On the previous day, however, we had been in a blind and heard them talking quite well.  They're very noisy, but we enjoyed it.  Have a great week-end.  If you enjoy this blog, please leave a comment once in awhile, so I'll know that someone actually reads it.  Thanks!

The Magic of Light

Sometimes it's difficult to believe how much difference a little light makes.  When I was photographing these geese, there was just a fraction of a second when they were in the magic glow of the sun.  As you

can see, the two geese on top had not reached that point yet.  A fraction of a second later the other geese were black too.   Just in case you're wondering, this picture was not altered using PhotoShop or any other photo software.  It's just the way it was.  Mother Nature did it all by herself.   :-)

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.