Beauty and the Beast

SmugMug Daily Link

I guess it was bound to happen.  With a writing spider web mixed in with the butterfly bushes at Donnie's house and the butterflies fluttering about, one of them got caught up in his web yesterday.  I wish he'd caught some other insect.  Earlier in the week he had a beetle of some sort.  But, he's got to eat too.  But, hey, Mr. Spider no more swallowtails!

I know it's not a pretty picture, but for you nature enthusiasts, I hope you find this shot interesting.  I did my best to get good dof and to get it sharp.  I took about 15 shots between my two cameras and studied them for clarity.  I cropped this just a tad and also brightened it a bit.  Auto Contrast and Lucky fix were yucky, so I manually adjusted it.  I like the little spider next to the big one too.  In a later frame he has moved down closer to the butterfly, so I don't think he was stuck.

Sun Shiny Day

SmugMug Daily Link

I found myself traipsing through a field of sunflowers this morning.  Darn near over my head, close rows, and most past their prime didn't lend well to any super shots.

I guess I'm in a pp kindof mood.  Nothing wrong with the sooc shot below, I just felt like seeing what else I could do with it.  I used the Picasa pencil sketch filter and then darkened the shadows and did the HDRish filter too to bring out some details.  I used the Tint feature to turn the print green.  In PSE7, I then quick selected the sunflowers and bee (3 layers total) and altered the colors.  There was quite a bit of work with the clone took and eraser to get some of the flower petal tips just right.  Lastly, I used Picasa to add a green colored dark vignette.

SmugMug Link

Joey reading with Princess Kitty.  I am amazed at just how much she likes to cuddle!

SmugMug Link

Birth of a Butterfly

SmugMug Daily Link

I started out wanting to do a graduated color background with a spotlight of sun coming in from the upper left corner.  That wasn't working so well for me, so I ended up using this omni color direction background that comes with PSE7 and putting a lens flare in the center with a vignette on the outside.  Instead of diagonal across the screen, it's increasing size from the center.  All I've got for today.  A good lesson for me in patience and preserverence.  If I had to do it again, I could do it much faster, but the first time around, it took a while.  Getting the antenna on the butterfly isolated from the original background was the only really difficult part.  Lots of mistake and redo for about 15 minutes trying not to erase too much or leave too much. 

We had Princess Kitty to the vet and confirmed that she's a girl, got her microchipped, and got her all her shots.  She was HIV and Feline Leukemia negative which was a relief.  The shots seem to have left her feeling a bit bad.  I hope she's back to herself soon.  She loves to be cuddled and is survivng the boys just fine.  Here I posed her with Blaze beneath the table during homework time.  Considering Blaze was running away a few days ago and Kitty was hissing at every opportunity, this is huge progress.  I don't expect any more issues.

SmugMug Link

Here Kitty gets a lesson in Mario.  The boys are playing their Nintendo 3DS games. 

SmugMug Link

Today is school picture day.  I swear I don't know why I buy the pics, but I do.  Let's hope the boys smile!

Butterfly Color Explosion

SmugMug Daily Link

I said yesterday that I wanted to try a texture on one of my butterfly shots, and this is what I came up with for better or worse.  I used a picture of rust that I took a while back for the texture.  Don't ask me why I picked that texture, I just did.  I also used the technique of isolating the butterfly in it's own layer and blurring the original layer to place more focus on the butterfly instead of the branches and flowers in the background.  If you look at the file names of all the variations I tried (August Gallery) you'll see that I tinkered a lot to adjust the colors using both Picasa and PSE7.  The rust layer is on top as a Difference layer with the isolated butterfly and then the blurred out original layer.  Using the Difference option on the rust filter is what really bumped up the color the most.  I also placed a yellow vignette on the blurred background layer which brought the red or purple tones into the background more.  Then it was a matter of using a combination of Picasa Boost and Lucky and PSE7 Color Variations to fine tune it to my liking.  I don't think this style would mix in at all with unedited butterfly shots, but maybe they have a place in some other setting. Or for some other purpose.

SmugMug Link

The Butterflies Keep Coming and I Keep Shooting

SmugMug Daily Link

I guess as long as the butterflies come I am compelled to take pics of them:-)  Another shot from Donnie's yard.  I told him to make sure he tells his sister Gale how much joy the bushes she planted last year I brought me.  I decided the background in the original shot (see below) was too busy.  I used PSE7 to quick select the butterfly and flower and put it in an new layer.  I then did a gaussian blur to the original.  As youcan see I retained all the color of the original background while getting rid of the textured distractoins.  I also added a 50% opacity drop shadow to the butterfly and flower layer.  I think that helps to hide a multitude of sins on the quick selection.  No color alterations.  Cropped to maxiumum size 8X10 from the original.

SmugMug Link

Another shot I liked.  I removed just a little clutter from the bottom of the shot with the clone tool.

SmugMug Link

I really liked this one too...

SmugMug Link

The writing spider is still in the same spot and very busy.

SmugMug Link

Kitty goes to the vet today.  The kids sure are enjoying her.  This is how far Joey is in the 4th Harry Potter book.

SmugMug Link

SmugMug Link

It's raining and cloudy today.  I keep thinking that I want to add texture to one of my butterflyshots.  Maybe I'll experiment with that today.  We'll see.

I like vivid color like this too.

SmugMug Link

I ordered 10 various 11X14 butterfly prints from my site and am planning on using the wall high above the stairwell up to the bonus room to hang them.  It will take me a while to buy enough frames and matts and then for Donnie ot use the ladder to hang them, but I'll eventually show you a pic.

All Washed!

SmugMug Daily Link

This juvenile male cardinal had just taken a bath and was perched in my camillia bush preening.

Here's a copy I think looks a bit like a screen print.

SmugMug Link

I made friends enough with the stray kitty by feeding her fish to get her in the house and interacting with the family.  She seems to be settling in pretty good:-)  Joey (and Johnny) are thrilled. I think it's a girl, and we'll get her to the vet one day this week to look for a microchip and get her shots and flea stuff.

SmugMug Link

Guardian Angel Apex

SmugMug Link

I went to the Guardian Angel website a few weeks ago to grab the url for another blog post and noticed that they had a new store in Apex.  Of course I wanted to go check it out sooner rather than later, and today the boys and I had some extra time and made the trek over there.  I have been a GA shopper since the boys were babies, and I often tell folks that GA is my favorite store in town (Fuquay-Varina).  I guess I was expecting the Apex store to be just like the Fuquay store, but it was totally different and I must add well worth checking out.

The Apex store is set up in an old house.  There are items on the front porch as well and throughout the rooms of the house.  I found the items to be charming, nostalgic, and even quaint.  The natural lighting from the windows mixed in with the fireplaces and built in bookshelves are the perfect setting for displaying various home goods including chairs, lamps, mirrors, framed prints, etc.

The cozy display below greets you as you come in the front door.

SmugMug Link

I found a few pieces of Corelle dinnerware that I purchased on the shelves in this room.

SmugMug Link

Joey and I really liked the peacock wall tapestry in this room.

SmugMug Link

But it was the metal sun hanging in this room that I bought.  Trying to decide where to hang it at home, but I sure do like it!

SmugMugLink

As you can see, the rooms are very well arranged with various items.  Instead of all the plates or candles being in one spot, the items are spread out nicely from room to room.  You can see why I was so motivated to take a few pics.  The layout is fantastic!

I'll mention that there are not a lot of clothes at this location although there is a selection of new men's shirts.

Thrift store shopping allows you to reduce your carbon footprint by reusing items that might otherwise end up in a landfill and also by buying products that don't come with any packaging.  Plus with Guardian Angel you get the extra bonus of contributing to the fight against Alzheimer's.

I hope these pics have peaked your interest and if you're local that you'll go visit.  I'm sure you'll find something to delight you!

MapLink

Dinner

SmugMug Daily Link

I took over 100 butterfly photos yesterday, but it was partly cloudy and early in the day and they were all blurry:-(  So, you get a food shot of last night's dinner.  Swordfish, green beans, and onions and green pepper.  There was a salad too not pictured.  I have been cooking the fish in butter on a cast iron skillet on the gas grill. Turns out great.  Garlic salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, and lime juice.  The green beans are steamed and then tossed in bacon grease for a few minutes.  The onions and green pepper are sauteed in coconut oil.  Yum!  We are doing well with our goal of eating fish for dinner at least one night a week.  It is all wild caught off the coast of NC brought to us through Carolina Grown from Haag & Sons Seafood.

The boys have both had their fall baseball tryouts now.  Johnny had to be there at 8AM yesterday...dang that was early.  We stopped in at Donnie's house for breakfast afterward.  Yum!  I can make breakfast pretty good now, but when Donnie cooks, it's the best!  Sausage and eggs if you can't tell from Joey's clean plate!

SmugMug Link

I took the boys and their friend, Andy, to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days yesterday. I thought the first 10 minutes of the movie were a bit over the top raunchy, but the rest of the movie was fine even humorous. All that boy humor you know...