25 Aug 16. I've shared two previous versions of this image but I thought you might like this one for something not so bizarre on Theatrical Thursday. It actually has several problem areas and normally I would work to prevent them from occurring, but in this case the problems tend to make the image more dramatic. The grass, which is the subject of the shot, is a lot like pampas grass but I don't think it is such. I've seen this stuff on several of our beach areas but I don't precisely know what it is. That aside, it is a lovely ornamental grass and I would like to have a clump of it in our landscape. Unfortunately, I don't know what to ask for so likely it won't happen. So for the time being I'll just have to appreciate it wherever I come across it. The base image was adjusted to remove a few distractions, then a filter (Topaz Impression) was run against it to create the result. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f /11.

12 Jul 16. Back in the end of April time frame I shared this image with you in the form of a simple outline. A very simple outline to be exact. With the cherubs with us now for the majority of the summer, I printed out for them a "coloring book" of these outline type images of what I've sent daily for them to color using their imaginations as to how the "final" picture should look. They don't get to use my images as a guide, so it should be interesting to see what they come up with as the final result of each. While I was going through the process of selecting each one and printing it out, I was also looking at all the the B&W versions I had made and not shared. The one for today I thought made a nice complement to the previous April offering. This time the grasses are mostly although not completely in silhouette and are hopefully balanced by the brighter remaining portion of the scene. This was taken in late afternoon light with some rather stormy weather threatening to ruin our drive home as you might discern from the clouds in the photo. I first took the base image into a RAW editor and shifted the black B&W to create the silhouette and then into a B&W plug-in to finish it off. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200' Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f /11.

25 Apr 16. A few days back I shared an image of a leaf with the outline of a tree superimposed on it. As I mentioned it was composed of two layers, the leaf and the tree. Shortly thereafter I shared the tree from which I made the silhouette. Today's submission is along the same lines, only this time just the silhouette as a simple line drawing. You are free to create anything you'd like with it and as the copyright in just sitting above pure white you can easily remove that to make it your own, which of course, it would be. You will need to blend together the two objects (images) and there are several ways to do such; the possibilities are unlimited. It was originally a shot of a grouping of sea grasses I believe in front of a seawall, with a very stormy sky in the background. That may give you and idea for a starting point if playing around with images is something you like to do. Cropping it into different dimensions will also make a difference in what you create. As I write this I'm moving the text file off and on the screen with the image beneath it; each time I remove the test I'm visualizing a different image. So have some fun with it and see what you can create. The base image was adjusted to remove a few distractions, then a filter (Topaz Glow) was run against it to create the outline. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f /11.

21 Jun 13. Not being much of an architectural photographer, I may as well share with you the only other photo of that type I have. This one is of a small church, Eglon Community Church, located across the street from the school house I shared Wednesday. And it happens to be the church in which my grandparents worshiped and played in the church band, both of them being members of the Salvation Army, the organization who built the church. By the time I was old enough to participate in activities in the church my grandparents had stopped worshiping there; I never learned why. About the time we moved back here from MD, I was given a card with a painting on it of this old church. It was very stylized in that the artist had removed everything not desired and even added a bit of foliage to accent the overall look. I decided I'd try my hand at making a comparable picture, but as I was going with a photograph, it would be somewhat more realistic. It's a tough shot to pull off as there is a lot of "junk" between the photographer and the church, and not a lot of free room in which to move back to compose. But I gave it a go and came up with what you see. After having shot the church I thought the school house would be a good partner, that's why I shot it, and have now combined the two structures, the oldest remaining community buildings in Eglon, as far as I know, (the dock mentioned in the link was built by my grandfather and father along with several more Eglon residents of the time), into a single image for use in creating a card for the community. The creation of this church image followed steps very close to those used for the school house image. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 8.