3rd Haiku entry...Absence...

Absence

My heart grows sadder

knowing that you are absent

and distant from me

by klr

http://youknowthatblog.com/

              

I cannot take credit for this photo.  It was taken from the web some time ago, but we can all relate, I think.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

First, I must tell those who are familiar with or who visit my blog that I made a huge mistake while fine tuning the template design yesterday!!  I accidentally removed most or all of my  blog photos!  I thought I was simply moving them from my profile page only ;- (  -  I have of course sent my request for help but it may not arrive quickly or I may have to start all over re- loading them to the previous 60 or so posts...grrr. I  will hope they can be retrieved more easily than going to all that work again.  Or, I will just begin again!  


And so today I found myself scavenging through past and present photos for something to submit for my first entry to this popular websites' challenge.  These will have to suffice as I am indeed needing to replenish my stash. The objective is to choose photos that show our interpretations of the 5 word prompts given this week:
                                                                                           

1.  Waiting


Obviously this antique clown doorstop is waiting for a little boy or girl to buy one of his balloons...why do they have sad faces?  This photo is not original but is from an eBay seller's page.

2.  Foliage


I am ignorant of this tree's name and unfamiliar with it's fall blooms which I captured last week.  It does remind one of cotton, though.
   
















3.  Candid

My daughter did not know her picture was being taken at the time while with friends in Las Vegas.... 

                          

4.  Knife, fork, or spoons

I chose this pretty Mozelle grape patterned silver plate ladle which is a favorite of mine.                                                                                                               

5.  Rule of the Thirds

A common choice perhaps, but the ocean is always a good example  because of the layers of land, sea, and sky..plus

it is a favorite place of mine.

http://thebook-readersblog.blogspot.com/

This week's Haiku...Ponder...

Rodin's The Thinker

ponders all the world's problems

per-pet-u-al-ly 

                                

http://youknowthatblog.com/silly-haiku-wednesday/wednesday/

Happy Thanksgiving...Over the River and...same tune, different words...

 by  klr

Across the harbor and through the trees

in soft pink glints of the sun,

 angels are your guide, chariots your ride
last red ochre leaves of autumn

Sweet scented smoke of apple wood fire

snow dusted boughs of blue spruce

the wink of any eye, some pumpkin pie

Fill your heart with warm gratitude 

I took these pictures from a small park in Steilacoom, WA while the small ferry was heading for Vashon Island in the late afternoon.  The apple and maple trees stand starkly bare and there are benches engraved with local people's names. Early settlers' names are on the older renovated homes and on benches for sitting. In the distance one can see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and a small strip of a beach and picnic area....plus there is an old fashioned wooden swing for two.  A nice place to watch the sun go down.

Color bursts...

Photo Art Friday ~

For today my best intention was to read a tutorial on texture in photos.  However, I went back to picnik, and played with a few effects with this photo I took SOOC of a pink dahlia (right).

First I added a simple soft border.....then 'puddled' or 'rippled' it for this artsy result:

Then I made a 'waterfall' of pixels and a hypnotic setting for this original  kaleidoscope effect. (Below) For the last one I used black, white and sepia tones and the cross process with color focus at the center for a vintage look:

With the upcoming holiday there will be little time,  but I will have something else to share for that occasion. In the meantime, please visit the other outstanding photos submitted to Pixel Dust Studio this weekend:

                     http://www.pixeldustphotoart.com/

My first Haiku submission: MEDITATE

MEDITATE

BODY IN REPOSE
I AM MY OWN CATHEDRAL
LITTLE GIRL INSIDE

by klr

http://youknowthatblog.com/silly-haiku-wednesday/

Chambers Bay Golf Course...

Until I take a tutorial on textures, picnik color focal point, sepia, and black and white vignette matte effects are my tools.
Local links modeled after St. Andrews in Scotland...which do you prefer....SOOC (straight out of the camera)or textured a bit.

Silver spoons vignette...

Shiny silver spoons

Hints of golden times to be?

Share some light today

For more photos by talented people please visit Lisa Gordon Photography here at:

Thank you for stopping by - Kathy

A color pallet to ponder...

This grouping has been on my back burner for some time.  Needless to say these are not photos I've taken, but rather ones of other artists' work that I came across and didn't always have the source for or neglected to make note of.  To me, the colors would be wonderful for a fall or winter wedding or a Christmas party or a summer lawn party....the deep purple, the shades of teal and  red, and lighter blues and lavender come together with a touch of mustard in places and have the effect of causing me to dream and my heart to flutter a bit.

But maybe it is more the images themselves that push my imagination further.  The muses are forever a favorite subject, their sprightly selves dancing together, though the colors are muted for the period effect, however here I count 10 instead of nine  I see delphiniums or hollyhocks in the impressionist garden painting.  The model holding the pink flowers could be a bridesmaid at a lovely outdoor wedding.  The princess and the pea, a girls' fairy tale, and what girl would not want to bounce up on that bed with so many mattresses!!  Now maybe someone can help me with the last photo taken of some one's painting....I hope so, as I can't find anything online myself.  I adore it!  At first I thought a string quartet in Mozart garb, a fun gig someone had at this particular venue?.  Or, is this something Amadeus might have actually done in his flamboyant lifetime?  Is is a true depiction?   Is it a fine art piece that I cannot locate - or is it some person's version of a vision of theirs of a scene they would like to see played out?  

I fall into the last category as I would love to be there in person,  to hear the sound of the mini orchestra that includes the sea.  I'm imagining a long dining table on the beach as well with many guests and delicious fare and delightful cakes being served....perhaps people are dancing in their bare feet in the sand into the late evening hours, drinking champagne as the sun goes down.  So, I thought I would share this and possibly find out what other ideas it might prompt or what it might suggest to others, as I would love to hear them.

Kathy

Grass by water's edge...

Submitted to http://anasofiaeugenio.blogspot.com/  for the Earth Wonders challenge theme:

                                                       
                                                                   ~ BROWN ~

                     
I am taken by the various browns of this grass -  almost like wheat.  I should have made a Macro of one stem for a really good study of the hues.  In this view of Puget Sound from Day Island, a small community,  the top photo is SOOC and the one below it is enhanced by picnik.com effects to give it a more vintage look...almost sepia but with the center focus on color.  I'm adding the other two because they were in the same location.  And I love the door with the porthole window....and they all seem to go together.

Bird in wreath...

Depth in wreath is more apparent with sepia and other tones cross highlighted - the texture is really the wreath itself...for me...a step closer to the more complicated texture formats ;-)   Entry for ----

Button , button...

A half full old bottle of buttons...with and without a splash effect...

My Blue Heron...

Since I've lived here on this creek which originates from an underground spring, I've watched  many inhabitants (raccoons, squirrels, many breeds of birds, ducks and geese) with or without binoculars.  Each summer when it is hot with no rain, I am most apt to see the heron arrive for some hunting. I don't notice him until he moves because he blends in so well with the trees, water and rocks.  I love to watch him as he wades cautiously with his daddy-long-leg, skinny legs.  Last summer, however, I saw him fly overhead and heard him call (his voice is more like a bark than a quack of any kind).  I sat in the back yard and studied him for more than an hour.  The binoculars brought him much closer to me.  The sketch I did of him was better than the painting...I tend to over paint...this is too dark, but this is what I observed:

                                                       

by klr

On the high fir bough

spreading wings to the warm sun

stretching his torso,

blue pewter feathers undone

Twisting his long neck

forming letters S, C, Q

Profile of valor

 basking for this rare debut

A soldier at ease
cloaks himself in his own arms

grooming in the breeze,
routine for the avatar

Spying his next meal

he crouches down readying

Legs lift lubberly
casting a slender shadow

Wingspan to envy
he descends with slow drama

 camouflaged by reeds,

he lands knee deep in water 
Hushed statue on guard 

in a split second he snaps
His prey not clever
swam right into his beak trap

A change in weather,
and with a loud thunder clap
ends the private show,
A privilege to behold,
 as he looks my way
he glides into the nether