Baaa

Posted by dkrashb on March 28, 2013

Seriously–is there anything cuter?

Having spent the morning assisting at a birds of prey program at the Little Owl Festival at Audubon Acres, next on the agenda was lunch. There are certain places that people who come to visit Chattanooga want to go.

Pat’s sister wanted to check out the Hair of the Dog Pub downtown. My original sister-in-law came with a recommendation for Sugar’s Barbecue. We decided on the “Q with a View” location of Sugar’s. Not only does it offer great food and scenery, but there are also goats. It’s a place we like to take visitors.

Mama was unperturbed by my presence and concentrated on what she was chewing

In case you are worried, no goat meat appears on the menu at Sugar’s. I don’t know exactly why they have goats, but I like to think it’s for keeping the grass on the hillside trim.

Sugar’s has good barbecue. We particularly like their brisket. It’s extremely tender, falling apart when we pick at it. I also love their macaroni and cheese. And their mayonnaise-based coleslaw, which barely seems like it has mayo in it at all. And their banana pudding is hard to resist. I suppose it will come as no surprise if I mention I gained a pound or two in the day and a half my brother and sister-in-law visited?

Frolicking kids on the patio

After ordering and getting a tutorial on the various sauces Sugar’s offers (something I can never keep track of, except that there are 3 that are tomato based and 3 that are vinegar based), I slipped out to see the goats while we waited on the food.

The goats are divided into two areas. One is along the hillside and has a series of footpaths that only goats could possibly navigate. It’s like goat heaven. Except perhaps for the poop.

Kids or puppies?

The other area is in the middle of a lovely patio with picnic tables that are undoubtedly occupied during the months when it’s dry, sunny, and pleasantly warm without being too hot. We have never been to Sugar’s during the kind of weather conditions that would encourage people to sit out on the patio.

The center of the patio is fenced in, forming a good-sized yard where several goats are usually hanging out, hoping for a handout. On this day, three kids were hanging out with two moms. They were irresistible.

Naw . . . they’re not related

There really aren’t many things cuter than baby <fill in the blank>. Baby birds, baby people, baby dogs, baby sheep . . . you name it. They’re cute. Goats are particularly cute babies. Perhaps it’s their giant, floppy ears that seem so disproportional to their tiny heads. Or maybe it’s that they look so innocent while their elders always seem to look like they’re up to something.

Front and back

Whatever it is, I enjoyed getting some shots of the goats. So much so, I couldn’t resist taking a few shots with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone, too. Funny how quickly a modern goat can be transported back in time.

Looking historical

Chatter

Posted by dkrashb on March 27, 2013

Jerry, an Eastern Screech Owl, Hipstamatized

After spending a good hour or so entertaining a small crowd at the Little Owl Festival, the crowd began to thin out. A handful or so hung around, petting Jerry the Screech Owl and asking the questions that didn’t get answered during the program. A few stragglers wandered over in time to get a chance to see the birds.

In this moment of relative quiet, Paul with Artie, I with Gilbert, and Megan with Jerry lined up for a photo op. We lined up in this order because Artie has a way of making Jerry nervous–in the wild, Jerry would be prey for Artie.

Gilbert suddenly started a shrill alarm call, looking around frantically. One of the remaining fans spotted a Coopers Hawk in the woods. It took several minutes of pointing and moving about for the half dozen or so humans hanging about to spot the hawk. Gilbert had spotted his mortal enemy without so much as turning his head. I remain bewildered as to how he noticed the hawk slip into the woods 500 yards away.

At the same time, Gilbert doesn’t have the same reaction to a Barred Owl sitting 3 feet away. With me and Gilbert between Jerry, a tiny Screech Owl, and Artie, all would have been quiet were it not for the Coopers Hawk in the woods.

Lining up so Jerry can’t see Artie

Pat managed to get a series of shots in any case. In the meantime, the last remnants of the crowd faded off to the next act, leaving us to pack up the birds and call it a day. Pat and Dale had a face-off with the cameras before we went our separate ways.

Dale wins in the camera battle with her polka-dotted case

I walked across the field back to our car feeling high. I stopped to visit with the Audubon folks at the tent selling tickets and couldn’t stop smiling about how much fun it had been to share the birds with the audience. I think they might have been jealous.

We loaded into the mini-van and headed down the road talking about where we should have lunch. As we rounded a curve through the wooded neighborhood that surrounds Audubon Acres, we spotted a huge flock of wild turkeys, with what appeared to be a dozen toms strutting about displaying their plumage, competing for the attention of the hens.

I, of course, called to Pat to stop the van as I grabbed the camera, hopped out of the car, and tried my best to get a shot without scaring them off. Wild turkeys are not very cooperative, I’ve found. They look perfectly content to hang out in the open like they own the world and there are no predators they have to worry about until the moment someone shows up with a camera. Then they seem to rapidly disappear.

My 24-70mm lens was no match for the distance the turkeys were able to cover in the time it took me to get lined up. But, we enjoyed their show none-the-less.

Wild turkey toms doing their best to attract a mate

Cayce Rocks the House

Posted by dkrashb on March 26, 2013

Cayce follows Dale around much like a faithful dog

Cayce is my favorite vulture. Is it normal to have a favorite vulture?

Normal or not, I suspect anyone who has ever met Cayce falls into the same camp–Cayce is their favorite vulture. Of course, for most people, there’s a high probability that Cayce is the only vulture they’ve ever seen (or at least realized they’ve seen).

Cayce hops to my glove in exchange for a piece of beef

This reminds me of when Pat and I went on a tour of Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona-based school of architecture) and the tour guide told us that on almost every tour someone says, “Frank Lloyd Wright is my favorite architect.” He said he always has to stop himself from asking who their second-favorite architect is–he’s pretty sure most people who say this can’t name a second architect.

Sometimes Cayce prefers to hop from glove to ground, run, and then hop up to the next glove–it’s pretty funny the way she hops

Like Wright, Cayce has the advantage that vultures (and apparently architects) don’t usually become household names. However, unlike the stories we heard about Wright, Cayce has an irresistible personality.

Dale spends a few minutes setting the stage by telling the audience about vultures, their role in preventing the spread of disease and their importance to the environment. Then she explains how Cayce was erroneously rescued and became a human imprint.

The young lady celebrated her birthday holding a vulture

When everyone is wondering what it’s going to be like to see a Black Vulture up close, Dale calls “Here’s Cayce!” and I open Cayce’s travel crate. Cayce comes charging out and starts looking around like she’s trying to get oriented. I toss a small piece of beef towards the center of the circle formed by the audience and Cayce runs front and center. Once she sees Dale, she is good to go.

Cayce heads back to my glove having just passed over the heads of the surprised audience

As Dale continues to tell the small audience about Cayce, she walks along the circle of spectators with Cayce following at her heels. It’s pretty clear that Cayce would follow Dale anywhere.

Usually, when the birds are going to fly during a program, they get their breakfast during the show, flying for their meal. This both keeps them properly fed and motivated to fly. However, on this day, Dale forgot and fed Cayce her full breakfast. Often, a bird of prey won’t fly if it isn’t hungry–after all, their instinct is to expend energy flying purely for the purpose of seeking food.

Fortunately for us, Cayce loves to please a crowd. In spite of her full stomach, she launched perfectly several times, buzzing the heads of the audience. Everyone ducked as Cayce barely clearer their foreheads–her feathers brushed back the hair of one taller gentleman. This is always a crowd pleaser.

The second time Cayce buzzes the audience, they are a little better prepared and start to duck early

One of the reasons an unreleasable vulture makes a great entertainer is because, unlike Cayce’s raptor relatives, vultures don’t have talons. Their feet more closely resemble a large chicken’s, making close fly-by’s much safer.

Of course, we humans would be happier if Cayce could live out her life in the wild. But I doubt Cayce agrees–after all, she returned to humans after being released several times. I think she found her calling.

Cayce comes in for a surprisingly gentle landing

*Photography credit goes to Pat, my wonderful husband who took all shots of the birds of prey program.

Family Act

Posted by dkrashb on March 25, 2013

Posing for Granma’s Camera

Sometimes I think I’m a bit odd. Maybe just slightly kooky, a little nerdy, maybe even a bit eccentric. Then, every once in a while, I discover how truly normal I am. It’s almost disappointing, really.

For example, I thought maybe getting so excited about spending time with the wonderful birds of SOAR that it evoked childhood memories of the night before Christmas might be unusual.

Paul introduces Artie to one of the younger audience members

But what I’ve learned is that it’s not unusual at all to grin ear-to-ear when encountering wildlife up close. In fact, I believe every person I’ve seen attend any birds of prey program has responded with a similar grin. It really comes as no surprise that my brother and sister-in-law, joining us for the weekend, also exhibited the same jaw-cramping grin while helping out with an intimate show at the Little Owl Festival here in Chattanooga this weekend.

Megan holds Jerry up for all to see

The rain started early, turning into a light drizzle by the time we arrived at Audubon Acres for the festival. The organizers were fairly certain it was going to be dry for the duration of the festival. We were a bit nervous. But, we chose a back corner of the meadow, as far from the train tracks as possible, and started setting up.

We waited to start the program until after the civil war re-enactor had fired his musket a few times. Thankfully, one of the event planners thought to warn us so we left the birds in their carriers until after the smoke from the gun shots had cleared.

This birthday girl got quite a treat petting Jerry

Once things had settled down, the small crowd that had braved the early weather headed our way and we got ready to start the show. We had a small enough group to have them in a circle around us, which allowed everyone to get a front-row view of each bird, with time to pause for photos.

Megan was walking with Jerry, a Screech Owl, who was the only bird there that could be touched. Megan got the added pleasure of seeing children’s faces as they touch an owl for the first time in their lives. It’s a look that makes me smile so hard, my TMJ issues kick in and cause stabbing pain in my face. It’s worth it.

Seeing my brother with Artie makes me smile, too. I asked him what was going on in this image:

Paul trying to read Artie’s mind

He said, “He was looking at me.” The angle makes it a little hard to tell, but my brother is still grinning ear-to-ear. I kind of get the feeling that if Artie could grin, he would be, too.

By the way, I should mention that today’s photos are all by my favorite guest photographer, my husband. I put my camera on Automatic and handed it to him. Although I had to crop quite a bit because I should have put a longer lens on the camera, he did a fabulous job in a difficult shooting situation.

Paul squats to let the shortest audience members get a good look at Artie

Asking Why

Posted by dkrashb on March 21, 2013

Sometimes all that’s required for adventure is to look up

Tonight, I sit at the computer feeling a bit lost for a topic. It’s 9:37PM. The clock is counting down to bedtime while I flounder. I have no new photos to share. I find myself wondering what compels me to write 500 words every night and take and process enough photos each week to accompany those words.

My topic tonight has revealed itself to me: why do I blog?

Creating adventure out of cardboard and gravity

This is a question I have been asked by more than one person. Some of my closest relatives have wondered what the appeal is. It’s a question I ask myself from time to time. The original intent was to use the blog as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date on our new adventures as we moved away from the place I’d spent the vast majority of my life and into parts unknown.

But then, several things happened. First, I made the decision to post every day. My main goal was to develop a habit of writing. After all, to be a writer, there’s only one thing you have to do: write.

Hiking where there are great views is always a satisfying adventure

But, let’s face it, not too many of us have exciting things to write about every day. For the first six months we were in Chattanooga, we were treating our stay here like we were on a vacation every weekend–seeing and doing whatever there was to see and do within a couple hours drive. That gave me material to string out throughout the week.

Next, my husband started a business in Chattanooga. Not just a business, but a business requiring lots of heavy equipment that occupies a good-sized workshop. Not exactly mobile.

This guy is always on an adventure–but it’s always the same one

It’s funny how the knowledge that we had years to get to see the area vs months changed the weekend vacation attitude to one of “we’re at home.” Suddenly, it’s not the top priority to go hike a new trail every weekend or hang glide off a mountain or learn to kayak in white water. Now, we are accumulating the “some day” list of things we want to see and do similar to what we had before we moved here.

The idea of having an adventure to write about every day has gone out the window, yet the habit of writing seems to have stuck.

Taken a year ago, I realize how even spring is an adventure–no blooms on this hillside yet this year

In parallel to these changes to our life plan, I got more and more excited about practicing photography. I spent increasingly more time learning about the technical aspects of photography and more and more time shooting. Having a “deadline” and a place to publish those photos helps me prioritize my time so that I make time to practice.

I feel more accountable somehow because I have a small, much appreciated, group of followers who click the “like” button. This accountability helps me make time to do something I enjoy. It seems counter-intuitive, but it works for me.

Maybe the answer is as simple as I like it.

The moon always makes me feel adventurous

Not Snoopers Rock

Posted by dkrashb on March 19, 2013

Looking back up the trail, parallel to the cliff wall that makes up the bulk of Indian Rock House

On our weekend adventure, after going the wrong way and ending up at Signal Point, cowboying our way down a road made for ATVs rather than mini-vans and nearly removing our bumper trying to turn around, we headed towards our initial destination: Snoopers Rock.

We made our way slowly back up the ATV-friendly road back to the long gravel road that traverses the Prentice Cooper State Forest. At some point, I got a signal on my iPhone and looked up a map of the park. True to the rest of the day, I realized we had passed the trailhead for Snoopers Rock and we turned around. But, curious about what appeared to be a fire tower along the way, I asked Pat to stop, back up, and pull into the park headquarters to check it out.

Not the fire tower stairs, but still a little dangerous

When Pat put our trusty mini-van in reverse, something drug on the gravel road. Pat got out and discovered the radiator shroud was hanging far lower than it should be. I don’t know what a radiator shroud is, but was relieved that Pat thought we’d be OK for a few days as long as we stopped running over things with it.

The fire tower was open to the public with an ominous sign at the base of the terrifying stairs stating that if you enter, you have to assume responsibility if you get hurt. I made it up the first two flights of steep, narrow steps (less than halfway to the top) before a strong wind shaking the tower reminded me just how afraid of heights I am. I took what were, I’m sure, my best shots of the day of the tower. However, they mysteriously disappeared, making me slightly less enamored with shooting with Hipstamatic on my iPhone instead of my DSLR.

Side wall of Indian Rock House shot with the color verison of tintype in Hipstamatic

We headed back to the trailhead, parked, crossed the road and headed down the trail, expecting to arrive at Snoopers Rock in less than half a mile. Eventually, we saw a sign that said Indian Rock House was .9 mile away and Snoopers Rock was a couple of miles beyond. I was quite perplexed. We decided to head on down to Indian Rock House–we were nearly there. Our day was destined to be a day of detours.

A more realistic image of the entrance to the stone door shot with the Camera! app

Indian Rock House has a stone door much like the one at Savage Gulf, but on a smaller scale. The gap in the rocks leads down narrow, steep steps that rivaled the fire tower for hazardousness, but felt far more secure with the ground much closer.

The Rock House is a large indentation in the cliffside that provides a roof if you stay close to the rock wall. I wouldn’t call it a cave, but it did provide shelter to indigenous people at some point in history. It was pretty cool in any case.

Pat pointed out a “whale” in the end wall of the rock house–can you see it?

By the time we hiked back up to the trailhead, we decided we’d better call it a day. Some day, we’ll make it to Snoopers Rock.

I’m not sure why, but I find this image interesting with Pat blurred in the background and the foreground rock in focus

Nearly the same shot as above, only with Pat in focus instead

Nearly the same shot as above, only with Pat less blurred

Crater Lake, the Second

Posted by dkrashb on March 18, 2013

Crater Lake really is almost this blue. Shot with the Color version of tintype “film” in Hipstamatic.

From Signal Point, we loaded back into our trusty min-van, found directions to Snoopers Rock on Google maps, and headed back down Signal Mountain to drive around the base along the Tennessee River. The drive was mostly beautifu–there were views of the river and the gorge much of the way.

Snoopers Rock is in the Prentice Cooper State Forest. It is not only not near Signal Point, it is not even on Signal Mountain (see yesterday’s post). But, it was a lovely day for a bit of exploring in any case.

The longest part of the drive was the gravel road from the entry to the park to the trailhead. We happened to arrive on a day when ATVs were over-running the place. We originally thought there must have been some kind of event there, but in retrospect, I suspect it’s just that popular to go driving around in an ATV here.

I’m not sure if I was shooting the plants in the water or plants above, but I kind of like the patch of sharpness in the midst of blur. Need to figure out which Hipstamatic lens does this

Along the way, we saw a sign for “Crater Lake.” Thinking of Crater Lake in Oregon, our curiosity was piqued and we decided to take yet another detour. We turned down a road that was clearly not designed for mini-vans. We drove slowly, going up and down bumps and through muddy puddles that spoke of the popularity of ATVs here.

We made it to a grassy parking area and I suggested we were at the lake, but Pat thought we needed to go further.

The road got bumpier, rootier, and muddier the further we went. Of course, we had no cell reception to try to figure out where we were, either. I had a vague feeling we were going in a loop, however, and suggested we turn around.

This one was shot with the Camera! App and was only slightly adjusted–this is what the lake actually looked like.

By this time, we all three needed to use the facilities. Having quite a bit of experience with natural facilities, I worked my way through a few brambles to a bit of cover from view of the roadway. I was glad I did when, just as I was finishing up, I heard an ATV approaching.

Pat was in the middle of turning the van around when I got back to the road. He was also dragging the bumper over the roots at the base of a tree. Fortunately, our van suffered more harm than the tree did. But, tree-hugger that I am, I yelled “Stop!” as soon as I saw the bumper drag on the roots. This was a good thing–I’m not sure our bumper would still be attached otherwise.

Pat posed for me in front of the lake.

We eventually made it back down the road in the direction we’d come. Although the couple on the ATV seemed to think we might be close to Crater Lake by going the opposite direction, neither Pat nor I thought trying to turn around again was a good idea. As we arrived back at the grassy parking area, from this direction, the lake was visible through some underbrush. We looked at each other and laughed. I managed not to say, “I told you so.”

Tisen wasn’t sure if he was hot enough to go wading in the strange looking water

Signaling Spring

Posted by dkrashb on March 17, 2013

Looking up the walk from the Signal Point Overlook to the parking lot

Ahh, spring. Winter teased us with warm spells followed by cold spells that seemed to get colder just when we thought it was almost over. I found myself counting on those surprise warm spells about when they stopped coming. While it’s premature to assume the cold weather is over, it sure was nice to have a sunny day in the 70’s on a Saturday for a change!

We decided we’d try something new and go to Snoopers Rock. Reportedly, Snoopers Rock has the best view of the Tennessee River Gorge from Signal Mountain and it’s a short walk from the trailhead parking lot. These were both pluses–my husband’s joints are suffering and he still isn’t up for more than a mile or two.

Revisiting Signal Point during the worst time of day from a lighting perspective called for Hipstamatic’s Tintype kit

Since Snoopers Rock is in the same park as Signal Point, we started driving towards Signal Point while I found directions on my iPhone. We soon discovered we had passed the turn to Snoopers Rock. Since we had most of the day, we decided to keep going, grab some lunch and make a detour up to Signal Point before heading on to Snoopers Rock.

Slightly different version of the same scene as above–I can’t decide if I like it better or not

I switched apps to the Urbanspoon to see what food was available nearby. We discovered the Southern Star Take-Out Cafe was right down the road. I’ve heard of the Southern Star cafe–it’s supposed to have very good down-home fare. The “Take-Out” is a second location that has foods designed to go. We decided to give it a try.

We grabbed a couple cups of stew, a Waldorf salad, some sort of pea salad, and some of the sweetest sweet tea (even though we mixed it with unsweetened tea) we’ve ever tasted.

Leaning over the overlook rock wall, swatting flies, and shooting with the iPhone, I was happy I didn’t drop my phone

At Signal Point, we sat in the car, overlooking the park, with the windows down eating our lunch. The wind blew through the windows keeping us cool. I smiled to myself as I ate, thinking how nice it was to need the breeze to keep from getting too warm.

Once our bellies were full (the food was yummy), we walked the 50 yards or so from the parking lot to the overlook. I, of course, whipped out my iPhone, switched to Hipstamatic, set the “film” to D-Type Tintype style in black-and-white, and planned to take my time getting some images of the gorge.

In this shot of the steps up the hill, the steps in the foreground disappeared in the blur created by Hipstamatic

This was about the time we discovered we weren’t the only ones enjoying the spring weather. I’ve not been able to identify them, but they were something between a fly and a gnat and they were swarming everywhere. They stuck to my clothes, in my hair, to my sunglasses, and even to my iPhone. Tisen turned in circles chasing them and was quickly ready to go.

Pat and Tisen moved up to the gazebo in the hope of getting away from the bugs, but they were everywhere. I ended up rushing my shots after all. Tisen looked relieved when we headed back up the hill to the parking lot.

The Hipstamatic “lens” created a very shallow depth of field–only Pat remains in focus (with his hair blowing in the wind)

Just Ducky

Posted by dkrashb on March 16, 2013

Sometimes black and white makes an otherwise uninteresting shots better, but not always

When we went to the Nature Center a weekend or two ago, we went to see the Red Wolves. But the only wildlife we saw were these two mallard ducks. Seeing a mallard is not exactly the most exciting birding event in the world. According to several sources (including Cornell), they’re the most abundant duck in the world.

These two really did not want their picture taken. They were paddling along serenely until I pulled my DSLR with the 70-200mm lens on it. It’s as if they knew what a hunter with a gun looked like and were confusing me with one. They made a bee-line for cover. I rushed the shot, trying to get a nice close up before they got out of sight.

This is a “traditionally” adjusted version–just nothing to get excited about

As a result, I didn’t get a chance to change any settings on my camera from the last shot I’d taken. Having been shooting in the treehouse just before this, I had the camera in full manual mode and set for a pretty dark scene. So, of course, my duck images came out pretty darn bright.

So, once again, I found myself playing with adjustments in Aperture to see what I could come up with. Nothing like a bad shot of a ubiquitous subject to make you feel like you can go crazy with the editing.

Playing with the “blur” brush, I applied it to the whole photo and then erased the blur where the ducks were. I’m not really a fan of this look.

An interesting side effect of going crazy with the photo editing was that it really demonstrated the superiority of the female mallard’s plumage. As I adjusted and twisted and played, the biggest challenge was keeping her from disappearing all together. With brown speckled feathers, the female just kept blending into the background.

I would probably like this if the female showed up better

Surprisingly, as I did a little reading on the mallard–a species I have taken for granted since the first time I through them bread crumbs when I was about 4 years old–I learned that sometimes the male is just as well camouflaged. As an “intermediate” birder (on a good day), I was a little embarrassed I didn’t know that the male mallard loses his flight feathers at the end of breeding season at the same time he molts into an “eclipse” plumage. For about 2 weeks, he can’t fly. The brown plumage provides cover while he’s vulnerable.

This was created mostly with the curves feature–but the colors just seem to compete with the ducks

Every time I think I know something, I learn something new about it. And when I’m sure I’ve exhausted all of the current information, usually new information is discovered if I wait long enough. Good thing I like to learn.

Oops–I slipped with the curves adjustment. But look at what happened to the male duck

Tisen is an avid learner, too. He has made more progress in his current hobby of “ground-dogging.” I can’t recall him ever seeing a groundhog, so I’m not sure exactly where he got the idea to burrow under anything, much less blankets, but he’s now added snorkeling to his repertoire of blanket-burrowing techniques. This is a welcome relief–sometimes when he gets himself completely buried, he starts sounding like he can’t breathe. I’m always relieved when we see his nose.

Tisen snorkeling from under the blankets

Thrown a Curve

Posted by dkrashb on March 14, 2013

Getting crazy with the Aperture curves feature

After playing with my Hipstamatic images for the past several days, I finally remembered that I’d taken a few shots with my DSLR the same weekend. I pulled out the memory card and downloaded the photos.

I seem to have had some difficulty switching from the square frame of Hipstamatic back to the rectangular frame of the DSLR–there were many extraneous things in my DSLR images.

I thought about talking about how the DSLR images were technically better images than the Hipstamatic images, but really, they’re not from an execution point of view. If you want to compare megapixels and talk about sharpness, well yes, they are. But, that’s not better execution; that’s better equipment.

A more conservative adjustment

In any case, instead of trying to prove you can take technically better photos that still don’t look as appealing as what might be considered a flawed photo, I thought I’d try taking one image and doing a lot of different edits with it. I chose a DSLR image because of the better resolution and because it’s in RAW, both of which help images stand up to more edits.

This is the Hipstamatic image that I spent about 30 seconds creating:

Hipstamagic

By comparison, this is the original image from my DSLR (no adjustments/edits):

It’s not quite a fair comparison because of the differences in composition, but it’s the best I can do.

Now, what can you do with a not very exciting image of a treehouse? Well, Hipstamatic has already done a lot of editing for me. But I decided to push Aperture a bit to get a better idea of what kinds of things can be achieved in this relatively simple editing tool.

I don’t advise this exercise be started within 2 hours of bed time. It’s addictive.

This is what happened when I started playing with the separate RGB channels in the curves feature

For most of the effects, I used only one adjustment: curves. I tweaked a bit in saturation, highlights, and levels. But I literally spent an hour playing with dragging a curve around into crazy shapes just to see what would happen.

By the way, I didn’t sit down thinking “I think I’ll play with the curves feature tonight.” This idea all started when I was adjusting an image and I accidentally pulled the curve too far in one direction. The photo did something interesting and I liked it.

The curves feature is truly like coloring. Maybe scribbling is more accurate. Whatever it is, it’s fun. I don’t often say that about photo editing.

Tisen cuddles Skunk on the sofa after a walk

Tisen has resurrected Skunk from the bottom of the toy bin lately. This may be my doing–sometimes when he wants to take Big Dog or Squirrel on a walk (both of which trip him when he carries them), I make a quick substitution. I think he had forgotten he had Skunk. I like that the two of them together make a stripe pattern against a swirl pattern, but both in black and white. Tisen seems to have discovered Skunk also makes a great pillow.

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Combining living on the road with a mainstream lifestyle

Category Archives: Chattanooga