For fun, the lighter side of things

My hubby is the man who loved auctions and one who could never turn down a 'good' deal for 'good' stuff. Eventually I realized he was a 'collector'.

So often I'd come home from work and find him unloading his latest prizes.

Him: Hey Sweetie! Look what I got for you today at an auction!

Me [subdued voice]: Um, gee, just what I want. Used pots and pans? I don't even like to cook!

Another time.

He comes home and starts to pull boxes out of the truck bed chatting excitedly about the deals he got. I watch as he starts to pile them up in the garage next to our saddles and bridles. I realize there is not going to be room to park in the garage ever again.

Him: I got you another gift! 

Me: Oh how wonderful a box of 30 white coffee cups! For $2!

One time he came home with a trailer full of metal pipes and another trailer. He was always going to scrap things out. He never has. But he still contends that those pipes and piles of other things are valuable. No amount of begging to have it removed or sold has ever worked.

Then something would break at the farm and he'd go scrounge in his piles of 'stuff' and come up with a way to fix that broken thing. 

Him: See, that is why I have all this good stuff!

Me [cringing]: Of course dear.

Need a 5/16th wrench? There's a bucket of 10 in the shed!
Need hoses for watering? I have 100's of feet of them hanging in two sheds.
Need nails? I have buckets and smushed cardboard boxes of them.
Need barbed wire? Metal fence posts?
Tires for hay wagons?
Scrap metal to weld?
How about a lawn mower or toilet? 
Parts to a hay wagon rack?

Darnit! Why do we only have one single hammer? How could that even be possible?

Him: Sweetie! Look what I got you at auction! Dish Towels!

Me[smacks forehead]: Oh thank you honey, what a prize that is!

I will have to admit though, I've never had to really buy dishtowels. They are ugly colored and mismatched but who cares? Though I have bought a few nice ones to put out when company comes.

Those coffee cups? I did take two into the house. They are the same type that are used in restaurants. They are a nice size and weight. 

My husband was a very talented welder and manufacturer of things needed for a farm. He could make a hay loader for nearly any piece of equipment. He could fit an Olive loader on an Allis Tractor. At one time he could tear down a tractor engine and put it back together.

He once took apart 3 old manure spreaders and put them back together to make a working one.

I smile as I look out at all of his unfinished projects. Sometimes the 'stuff' really bothers me and then I realize I am looking at the history of my husband. All the projects he had in his head and ideas for things. His ideas were good. He just rarely completed them.

Many nights I think about how many auctions I'll need to have at the farm to clean it all up. Surely there is another fella just like my hubby who would marvel and drool over all the Good Stuff we have.

ON1 RAW coming ...

About a year ago I ran across a program called ON1 Effect 10.5 Free.
I thought I'd try it. Free right? It was safe, no bugs no malware but it opened up a new style of editing photography and creativity.

I found it extremely useful in adding a little special touch to my still life work.

Soon I was hooked into trying ON1 10.5 the program itself. At first I wasn't quite sure on how to use it, but I soon found it fairly user friendly.

After I watched some short clips which gave me helpful hints, I began to use the program more and more.

One day earlier this spring I wasn't paying much attention to the files I was going through and I opened ON1. I grabbed a .NEF file and opened it. A .NEF file is a RAW file shot with a Nikon camera.

Well jigger me switched.
Not only could I open a RAW file from the Nikon cameras, but I could open RAW files from both my Olympus E-420 and my Olympus EM5.

The file is opened and your RAW editing begins in Enhance. You are not editing your RAW file but leaving it alone and editing a copy.
Exposure, color, detail, all of those tools are before you.

Go to FX and your Enhancements are applied.

Now you have choices of edits that you can apply.

There are many presets and filters to chose from. I think the hardest part of ths is making choices.
However, in this shot I just wanted to bring out the little fern curls a bit better.

Imagine my relief when I found out I could do effortless masking.

At this point if you hit 'Save' your current working file is saved as a .PSD file that you can transport to another program as Adobe Photoshop or PaintShopPro and continue any edits.

Export will allow you to save the file as a .jpeg, .TIFF, or PNG. 

If you want to go fancy and make an edit like my still life shots, you can add textures, gradients, borders, and even items from your own files. 

You own the program. You don't lease it. 
ON1 has great short clip videos to help you learn. 
I've used the portrait editing tool and let me tell you, it is as good as it gets. 

NO...ON1 has not paid me to write about this program at all.
I'm just that excited about using it.

Another very cool thing. I opened this photo of my son's dog.
And went to the drop down menu and was able to open up SilverEfexPro 2 and edit the dog in Black and White.

I do like the BW presets in this program also.

What is not to like about ON1 except that I'd never heard of it until early last spring.

Let me just say ON1 Rocks.

But, don't take my word for it, explore the free stuff now.
Check it out.


ON1 RAW will be released soon. 
"ON1 Photo RAW is the lightning fast raw processor, photo editor and plug-in collection all in one app photographers have been asking for. Unlike the current class of raw-based photo editors requiring catalogs, bouncing between apps for editing, and a subscription ecosystem, ON1 Photo RAW features a new, modern raw processing engine, tuned for today's sensors and graphics chips. Combined with our current set of tools, the next generation of ON1 Photo 10, will continue to work where you want, as a standalone app, a plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® & Lightroom®, or a host app for other editing apps.

No Subscription Required."