Going going gone ...

 ...to the nuthouse I go.

I made this sign and placed it in the mailbox so the mail person cannot put a 'no one was home' notice inside it without pulling this dayglow sign off. I signed and dated it once more. I am expecting a package I have to sign for and if he/she refuse as usual to deliver it... I will have to wait until Tuesday to get said package. Post Office is closed on Monday.

We will see the results. I'm betting that he/she will leave a note and not come to the house. 

Anyone want to bet???

So....

I thought I'd amuse myself by trying some old editing exercises. Like turning a photo into a drawing.

Original:

Topaz Impressions:

Adobe CS2: Photo to Draw method.

I sort of like them all for different reasons. Great exercise for my brain.

Original. Tea Time:

Edited for High Key Look with a texture:

I like this version. 

I moved around the tea towel that is hanging from the clothes rack...and moved in a bit. I settled on a subtle film color adjustment after trying several. Yep, I cut the poor rabbit's ear off too. 

Well this was for experimenting and brain work.

And then since nothing I was doing excited me very much. I did this.

It sums up exactly how I felt about trying my 'still life' experiments on Saturday.

One Photo, Many Edits

Here is the original. The morning had ground fog and sunlight filtering through the woods.

I took the shot and was so-so about how it looked.

In my mind's eye it was much warmer...
in my mind's eye it was more mystical looking.

But I decided to take it a step further after adding some 'warmth' to it.

This is the uncropped photo.
It satisfied me and I left it be.

Then this morning I wanted something to mess with while I was waiting for the rain to end.

So I opened up the first shot again and dropped it into Topaz Studio. I used 2 layers of Impression, Monet, and another one.

I added the mists that I'd seen with the naked eye and the vision I'd seen while squinting at the photo.

Then I took it another step further and opened up HDR Efex Pro HDR.

I settled on this look. The fog was incredible and moved along the tops of the berry briers, the meadow had an ethereal look to it that did not show up in the photo.

However, it had been a long time since I'd manipulated a photo so much.

I like it.

Programs used. PaintShopProX7, Topaz Studio~free version, Topaz plug ins Simplify, and  Efex Pro HDR. In PSPX7 I was able to add the mists with a brush.

So there you have it. One photo with many edits.
Some mornings it is just plain fun to be creative.