Vintage Findings

Another Beautiful Day ~

I can't think of anything better than Springtime. That, combined with Lensbaby :-)

"One can get just as much exultation on losing oneself in a little thing as in a big thing. It is nice to think how one can be recklessly lost in a daisy." 

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

. . . or in a tiny geranium

Best Weekend To You.

~Karen

A Quick Little Tour

Images from our trip to Italy ~ these are from Florence.  We began one evening at dusk at the Piazza Michelangelo above the city, walking and shooting as it got darker.  We walked into the night ending up at the area around The Duomo, the large dome on the right in this first image.

Walking down the path toward the Arno River

Heading towards Ponte Vecchio.  This bridge totally enchanted me with the little shops. In days before, the butchers and fish mongers had their shops here but now each little space is for an artist.

And one view, even closer.  I loved the light coming from the shuttered window.

Please click on images to view them larger.  It was a wonderful night walk in Florence.

Sure, we had to lug our cameras, tripods, and equipment ~ but it was no problem, really, when you had views like this.  I am enjoying processing my images from the trip.

~K

A Little Lensbaby Fun

I am trying the new aperture disks that fit with the lensbaby lenses.  This one is a sunburst disk:

Pretty cool, huh? 

I kinda like what it does with the bokeh background.

I think I will play around some more and see how the other shapes look.

I do hope you are heading into a wonderful weekend. We hope to have a little "down time" here, since our week was so busy.

~Karen

Spring is Here ~

Spring is here in all it's glory.  Flowers are poking up and spreading out, but so are the weeds.

These calendula/pot marigolds come up every year, sometimes in unexpected places. But their warm colors are most welcome.  The same for the camomile, it self sows readily.

I'm quite fond of putting things in place and keeping everything neat and tidy, so I enjoyed tucking these into the box frames.

William and Jenny have announced their engagement.  I could not be happier for them. Jenny will be headed to law school in August and it seems that William may be leaving for Galveston for that teaching job he has been hoping for. Plans should firm up over the next few weeks.

Until then, a mini celebration | BBQ with Jenny's family and ours this weekend.

Hope your day is full of good news, too.

~K

Fading Fast

The dogwoods are almost finished for the Spring. How I hate to see them go. 

Hand painted background for this dancer. Background doubles nicely as a texture on other work. 

Till next year. . . 

~Karen

She Turned ~

"She turned to the sunlight

and shook her yellow head

an whispered to her neighbor:

'Winter is dead'." ~

A. A. Milne ~ When We Were Very Young

~K

I'd Love To Be A Local ~

~ for a little while longer, anyway. . .

Straight from the camera after a fresh rain-shower, walking along the sea in Camogli. Hope you are not getting tired of these images yet.

As with any of the images on my blog, you can alway click on them to view them larger.

~K

Fence Line

A beautiful day to be out walking ~ image taken while walking the 1/2 mile to the mailbox.  Hope your day includes some sunshine. 

~K

Reckless Blooming

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."  

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Sunny day here and I am still spending time in the orchard. I feel as if these fragile blossoms will be gone in moments ~ well in a day or two, anyway.

Lensbaby shot ~ impossible to do on a breezy day! I ended up cutting a few twigs and bringing them indoors to shoot. Lensbaby is hard enough to focus without a breeze moving the subject.

I'm pleased with the results ~ this was done using a macro converter for the Lensbaby.

This next image was taken on Barton Road with Lensbaby without the converter.

I am getting the hang of it, but still only get one good shot out of approximately ten!

Hope you were able to spend some time outdoors today. . . 

~K

Preserving Spring ~

Preserving a bit of Spring for those of you who still suffer from the icy blast of Winter's chill ~ take one teaspoon per day until your own Springtime arrives.  

~K