Memories of the Choir Loft (Graphic Novel filter)

Though I never actually sang in this particular choir loft, it did bring back memories for me of times that I had sung in choirs in the choir loft. I posted the original image (modified to HDR) a couple of years ago; for today, I modified it again as with the Graphic Novel filter. I figured that the filter would do cool things with the grain in the woodwork. Thanks for stopping by!

Oddly Shaped Tree

This oddly shaped tree trunk (a tree that is growing indoors) looks like it has had branches trimmed at various points in its life. Given the right imagination, one could see some kind of strange, alienesque animal in this image.

BW Nuthatch in a Tree (Dry Brush Filter)

Poised for flight, the nuthatch looks toward the center of the picture from its branch on the left.

Nuthatch on a Tree (Dry Brush Filter)

Several months ago, I happened to see this nuthatch up in a tree. Was it looking for bugs, or was it simply planning out its aerial assault upon my porch, in order to help itself to the black oil sunflower seeds that I had strewn about in the hopes of taking pictures of birds? Whatever it was doing, I managed to take its picture while it was yet up in the tree, so that (after much cropping and processing,) you have today's photo set before you. Thanks for stopping by!

Junco in a Tree (Dry Brush Filter)

This is another image of that junco that I saw a few days ago, this time, up in a tree. With the branches, this picture suggested something of a painting to me, and so I applied the Photoshop Dry Brush filter. Thanks for stopping by!

Where Have You Gone, Little Chickadee (Cutout Filter/Dry Brush Filter)

It's been a while (maybe a month) since I've seen the little chickadees out through my back window. Where have they gone? Probably somewhere warmer, even if they're simply staying inside of their nests. It certainly has been cold outside (although, I did see the nuthatches out the other day, venturing out in spite of the cold.) Maybe, if I look more carefully, I might also catch the chickadee. Thanks for stopping by!

Nuthatch on a Branch (Dry Brush Filter)

The nuthatch stopped by on my deck yesterday, but when I positioned myself to take a picture, I waited and waited and waited... (you get the idea -- no nuthatches.) While waiting, I watched my NEX-6 cycle through this problem (which I have read about elsewhere online): The camera fails to recognize the F-stop (it reads "--"), the screen goes bright/dark, and -- it's almost as though the camera is resetting itself. Sometimes, after going through this 5-second+ process, the camera recognizes an F-stop and starts to work again; other times, I have to turn the camera off/on to get it working again. I sent an email into Sony, and they gave me an 800 number to call, so... we'll see what happens. Anyway, I thought I would try updating the firmware to see if that changed things (I was on version 1.2, and there's a 1.3 out now.) Of course, while I was updating the firmware, a whole swarm of nuthatches (at least 2) descended upon my deck in a frenzy, picking up all of the seeds that they could find. So, today's picture is from November, back when I managed to get a shot in edgewise between the Nex-6 glitching-issue.

Winter wonderland (Cutout Filter)

When you look outside here in Minnesota, you see a winter wonderland. When you step outside, the -11 F temperature feels like -28 due to the windchill, which just leaves you wondering how long winter is going to last as you walk very quickly to get yourself back inside. Thanks for stopping by!

Nuthatch on a Cutout Filter Background

This was a quick patch job, in which I applied the cutout filter to make the background that I liked, copied the resulting image into a new window, and then went back, cut out and pasted the nuthatch from the original photo into its position in the cutout. (I liked the real nuthatch better than its cutout counterpart.) Thanks for stopping by!

Red Branches (Cutout Filter)

What initially drew me to this image were the red trees/branches that you see growing here. I'm not sure what kind of plants/trees these are, but I really liked how the red color stood out in contrast against the rest of the (less than colorful) image. When I looked at the image up close (after processing it with the cutout filter, I really liked what I saw in terms of the subtle colors that are present throughout the image - oranges, greens, and yellows. I wasn't expecting to see so much color, especially in a late autumn image that boasts only a small handful (if that, even) of leaves. Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Trees (Cutout Filter)

What drew me into this picture particularly was the trees. All of the trees are vertically straight, except for the birch tree in the center that has taken on a slightly diagonal direction. Even more, I was intrigued by the lines in the tree (near the birch) in which the branches split and continue growing directly up (not quite, but almost in the shape of a fork.) Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

It's time to turn over a new leaf. Happy new year, everybody!

Branches and Leaves (Dry Brush Filter)

This is a pretty common theme around here at this time of year; the branches are mostly bare, except for a few stray leaves here and there. (I'm looking forward to spring.)

Peeling Birch Bark (Cutout Filter)

Sunset Under the Mackinac Bridge (Dry Brush Filter)

If you hadn't noticed, the Mackinac Bridge is one of my favorite photo subjects. I grew up in Michigan's lower peninsula, and so, whenever we make the trip back home, we cross the Mighty Mac (with the exception of those extremely rare occasions when we travel south and go through Chicago.) There's something about crossing the bridge that says to me, "You're almost there." Thanks for stopping by!

Colorful Leaves, Colorful Branches (Dry Brush Filter)

I realize that they're probably diseased or something, but I really liked the orange color in the branches on this tree. Together with the yellows, purples, and greens of the surrounding leaves, it made for a colorful picture.

View of the Cass River

This morning I was thinking back to my family's trip to Frankenmuth this past fall. This is the Cass River, viewed (if I remember correctly) from the Covered Bridge (as we crossed on foot).

Return of the Junco? (in black and white) (Cutout Filter)

Back in October, I took a picture of this bird as it was passing through my yard. Was it a junco, like I had seen earlier in the year? I haven't really been paying attention that closely (until recently,) but it seems that the junco is maybe a late winter kind of bird in my area? The nuthatches seem to be here year round, as well as the chickadees (although, they only come out during a warm spell. Can't blame them.) Thanks for stopping by!

Cloudy Tree in the Evening (Dry Brush Filter)

This is another picture pulled from the 2013 archives, taken (3 exposures) within the first month or so after I had purchased my camera, edited this morning. What mostly impresses me about this picture is the layering of the clouds behind the tree, with a hint of the sunset behind the tree, coming through with splashes of yellow in the clouds. I don't remember whether or not a storm rolled in, but it looks like the kind of day that you didn't want to stay long outside. Thanks for stopping by!

Bird in the Grass (Cutout Filter)

I was digging back in the archives for this photo (which comes from 2009, when I was shooting with my Canon XTi.) I think that the bird is a heron, or possibly some kind of crane. It was a blurry picture (I did fire off a few more in which I could see that the bird had a light colored neck) and as such was quite disappointing. Yet, when I applied Adobe's Cutout Filter to the file, the blurriness goes away (as does much of the detail in the photo when you look at it full size). I do like the way that the Cutout Filter renders the photo, almost in a cartoon format, with all sorts of "cutout" shapes. It's cool, if you like that sort of thing (like I do). Thanks for stopping by!