Monochromatic Monday Plus #12 ~ Monochromatic Monday #26

   

 

Monochromatic Monday Plus #12 ~ Monochromatic Monday #26

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    26 weeks of Monochromatic Monday.... My, but time flies.  Have seen so many of you do wonderful things with your photos. And seen so many move right on into layers & do more wonderful things!!!       Happy 1/2 Birthday, Gator!!!   Thank you so much for all your time and for all the fun you've given everyone!!!! (Can't believe I let myself miss 22 weeks of this fun!)             Started with this photo (took it back in September of 2006 when visiting a friend in Florida):       Didn't do much with it....   1.  Pulled it up in Picnik and went to exposure.... adjusted exposure and contrast.   2. While still in exposure clicked on Advanced and adjusted highlights and shadows.   3. Than went to Create ~ Effects ~ Black and White and did some adjusting there....       And this is what I came out with:         And I continued to play.... and play some more... played with Boast, HDR-ISH, Night Vision, and more ~ don't have a clue what all I did! But here is what I came up with.... I call it my Plus:       WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!      

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ OLD FASHIONED

 

 

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY~ OLD FASHIONED

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Heather is our host this week....

And what a great theme!!!

OLD FASHIONED

 

 

 

The old Tipton Place in Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains:

 

Miss Lucy and Miss Lizzie, were schoolmarms in Cades Cove

in the second half of the 1800's. They were daughters of Colonel Hamp Tipton,

a veteran of the revolutionary war, who shortly after the Civil War, built this two story home.

The Smoky Mountain homestead he built, eventually included a smokehouse,

a woodshed, corn crib, blacksmith shop, cantilever barn, and an apiary for bees.

Tipton sold land to and hence was surrounded by many of his family and friends.

 

 

Home is the one place in all this world where ...   

Taken 11-04-2005 at Cades Cove with my Kodak Z740 Digital Camera 

 

 

"Home is the one place in all this world

where hearts are sure of each other.

It is the place of confidence.

It is the place where we tear off that mask

of guarded and suspicious coldness

which the world forces us to wear in self-defense,

and where we pour out the unreserved communications

of full and confiding hearts.

It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out

without any sensation of awkwardness

and without any dread of ridicule."

~ Frederick W. Robertson (1816-1853),

English reformer and minister

 

 

 

 

Mono Monday plus #11(MM#25) with a twist ~ EMOTION

Mono Monday Plus #11 (MM #25) with a Twist

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And the emotion I picked was love....

Took a bike ride and walk with my son and his family Sunday afternoon.  When we completed the walk, we just hung out in the front yard.... Of course, the girls stuck close to Daddy as the are Daddy's girls for sure.  Was so glad that my camera was on when the little one ran up to Daddy and Big Sis and gave them both a big hug!

I started with this picture:

And this is what I did:

1.  Of course,  I pulled it up in Picnik  (Frannie created a Picnik freak here ~ need to branch out.......  Later!)

2.  Went to Focal B&W ~ adjusted the Focal Size, Edge Hardness, & Fade.

3.  Went to Boost and adjusted the Strength to bring out the focal color!

4.  Next HDR-ish ~ adjusted Radius, Strength, & Fade.

5.  Saved it to my computer and uploaded to Photobucket where I added the album corners.

Daddy's Little Girls

Wishing everyone

a week full of love!!!

 

Is this news as great as the findings about Chocolate being good for you????? Depends...  Always being health conscious here, just had to read this article put out by LifeScript today and felt the obligation to share it with friends... You decide...

Sex Does a Body Good

By Dana Demas, Special to LifeScript

Monday, September 22, 2008

                                                                                                     

Sex is the new health potion. It’s good for you, keeps you young and only gets better the more you tango. Kinsey Institute sex researcher and educator Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., extols the benefits of sex.

Most of us already know that life is sweetened by sex. But healthier? Yes! In fact, study after study reports that people who are sexually active get sick less often, heal faster, are more alluring and simply happier. And once you’re in the groove, sex begets more sex. The momentum takes on a life of its own. Last night’s delight makes you want more. After all, your body wakes up to its arousal, and in a loving relationship, you and your partner feel closer than ever. 

Painless Perks

Why the magic? When we have sex, our bodies release increasing levels of oxytocin. Nicknamed “the bonding hormone,” oxytocin helps put the body and mind at ease. And it’s partly responsible for the feel-good effects of sex, including more pleasure and less pain. “Sexual excitement and orgasm, for both women and men, increase their threshold for pain,” Herbenick says. “They’re both less sensitive to pain and less likely to experience it.” 

In fact, Rutgers University sex researcher Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., has found that during orgasm a woman can tolerate up to 110% more pain than she can normally – a good thing, says Herbenick, because increased pain tolerance protects our bodies during sex and ensures that pleasure is the main event. The downside: some women may notice soreness or even mild tearing from an energetic romp once the pleasurable buzz has faded.  

But getting physical may be beside the point. Just thinking about sex can be pain relieving, too: In 1999, when researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Wisconsin asked participants to submerge their hands in ice-cold water, they found that participants who were told to think of kissing, flirting or otherwise enjoyable sexual activity with a partner experienced less pain and distress than participants who thought of a neutral situation.

Sexual activity can also lighten the pain of migraine headaches, chronic back pain and even offer relief from PMS symptoms, such as cramps. Saturday night never sounded so good.

The Sexy Side of Beauty

Sex also increases a person’s attractiveness quotient. A study out of Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, found that participants thought people who had sex four times a week were 7 to 12 years younger than people having less sex.

“Research shows that more sex releases higher levels of oxytocin,” Herbenick says. “And we know that’s good for decreasing stress. So, it makes sense that if you’re less stressed, you’ll look better.” And blood pumping through the body at a post-coital clip brightens our blush, not a bad elixir for dewy skin and rosy cheeks.

Feeling attractive may also link up with how much sex you have. A 2005 study by Penn State sex researcher Patricia Barthalow Koch, Ph.D., found that women who perceived themselves as less attractive now than they were 10 years ago had less sex and less enjoyable sex than women who still felt attractive.

The Happiness Factor

Along with the physical boon, sex lifts our spirits. In fact, people who have more sex are happier in their relationships and in general. Of course, much of the well-being conferred by regular sex comes compliments of oxytocin, says Herbenick.

“The benefits are not dependent on having an orgasm,” Herbenick says. “It can be just the result of warm touching and massage.” In fact, animal research shows the hormone promotes closeness and even feelings of exclusivity among pairs who mate. And although men and women may be mating in captivity, says Herbenick, we’re more like animals than we know.

okay, thinking single and thinking miles....... I'm thinking chocolate!!!!  Let's talk about it!!!!

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ JOINED

 

 

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY

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Our host this week is Tint 

And the word she has chosen is: 

                  

 

My first trip to Pawleys Island my sister took me to the Island

(The town is named Pawleys Island but is not an Island.

It is named after the real Island.)

It was a very calm day and at the tip of the island where

The Atlantic Ocean Joined with Midland Inlet,

the waves from the ocean were rolling over the calm inlet water.

Thought it was so cool, I took four or five pictures of it.

Thought of those when Picture Perfect word was posted

BUT couldn't find them anywhere so.....

My sister Rhonda (Ronnie) & I joined this week to post

 

Picture Perfect Friday ~ Joined

 

Taken today 09-20-08 with Ronnie's Kodak Z760 Digital Camera at Pawley Island, SC

 

We didn't have our calm day today

so the effect was a little different,

but on the left you see

the waves of the Atlantic Ocean...

On the right the waves of the inlet...

as the come together where the waters are  joined.

Mono Monday #24

   

Mono Monday Plus #10 (MM #24)

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Second week for me..... What to do.....what to do.....

I started with this Photo:

And this is what I did with it!

1.  Once I had the picture in Picnik I changed it to a Sepia

2.  Then I went to HDR-ish and adjusted the radis, the strength, & the fade

3.  Next clicked on the Cross Process

4.  Went to Focal B&W ~ (adjusted the focal size, edge hardness, & fade)

5.  Next to Effects ~ Tint ~ set the size of the brush & picked color

then colored....

6.  Went to Orton-ish ~ set the bloom, brightness, & fade

7.  Cropped

8.  To Frames ~ Picked Border  ~ picked colors & size

9.  Still in frames ~ Picked Museum Matte ~ picked colors & size

This was the end result:

Well, it appears as though I am taking baby steps...

but at least I am stepping now.

I thank each of you for any suggestions you have given me,

and will try to keep on learning.

EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ PERSPECTIVE

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY~ PERSPECTIVE

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OUR HOST THIS WEEK IS TINT

Perspective

3.  The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance.

My perspective on life: Love is what it is all about!!!

Taken 02-19-2008 7:29 PM with my Kodak Z740 Digital Camera in Capitola, CA.

Walk hand in hand with me, my Love

On this trip through life.

Let's just jump!

You can be my parachute...

I can be your soft place to land.

Mono Monday #23

MONO MONDAY #23

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Have been interested in Mono Monday since Gator announced that it was coming!!!  Ask to come aboard right away!!!!  First week thought I would observe.  Copied and saved Gator's blogs on how to's thinking I would join in the next week and the next week.....  Well, the weeks got away and I felt like it was a missed opportunity but with some time from friends I got past the "Afraid to jump part."
Inspired by Gator's picture of Arlington, I took one I had of Arlington to see what I could do with it.  That was my first mistake as how could anyone be pleased after seeing the wonderful things Gator did with his photo!!!!

My first attempt before thinking:

1. took my b&w photo into gimp (which I know really nothing about) so I was trying to find my way around it and found the smudge tool......

2. went to brightness and contrast... darkened it a little and than messed with the contrast

3. went to filters... blur... selective Gaussian Blur and did that... than

4. somehow I had opened it in two layers.... on purpose but not knowing a thing about layering.... and so    at this point went under filter and animation and burn in to mix the two layers.... yes, I didn't know what in the heck I was doing....

5.  took it on to Photo-bucket but wasn't happy with what I did there.....bronzed the picture... and than clicked on "old photo".... and than to borders for the black around the edges

6. Then to tint... and tinted the whole thing a soft gray..... this was when I realized I would never like what was happening to it because Gator's was so perfect!!!!  So stopped.

The Carry-over into Photo-bucket (now this is really scary!):

This is the original:

This was when I spoke to my friend, Frannie and she introduced me to Picnik.....
so I took another photo.... one I had taken this weekend during my grandchildren time....
and played with it!!!!  Didn't write down the things I did.... just messed around....

Results of messing around:

This was the original:

Any tips, constructive criticism, or help would be greatly appreciated.  I'm thinking too, It will be a huge step when I get a regular photo program and get familiar with it !!! Will do some visiting and see what I can learn from you too, but it will have to start in the am as I work at night and must get some sleep after working last night!!!!

Everyone have a wonderful Tuesday!

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ WET

 

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ WET

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WET FROM SWEAT

Taken today September 6, 2008 with my Kodak Z740 Digital Camera

Was taken at my 5 year old grandson's second football game ~ they won 20-0

 

In Life or Football...

You're a winner if you:

Play fair...

& Work as a team.

Just give it all you've got...

& break a good honest sweat.