Sunday, December 29, 2013

Thursday, September 19, 2013

A Stormy Kansas Evening ~ SkyWatch Friday



Kitties don't care much about approaching storms!




It is always utterly amazing to me when these storms approach and I can see their leading edge over our vast prairie! These pics are hot out of the camera, as the storms just went through our area earlier tonight.

All four of these photos are SOOC - straight out of the camera.  No retouching, nada.


Visit SkyWatch Friday to see other glorious skies from around the world!


Thursday, September 5, 2013

A Turnpike Sunset ~ SkyWatch Friday

iPhone capture, enhanced with Instagram.

Not only do I get to see gorgeous sunsets from home, but I often see them while I'm at work.  There's a lot of big sky in Kansas, and a lot of big opportunities for fantastic sunsets!


VISIT

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Shelf Cloud, Kansas ~ SkyWatch Friday


This pretty impressive shelf cloud rolled into south central Kansas late evening on June 27.  I was walking away from the house, east on our gravel road, to get some good shots and then.... front line winds hit me!  Even though I was fine, it was still pretty scary.  I had to run INTO the winds to get back to the house.


What we photographers will sometimes do for "the shot".  :-)


If you click to enlarge this last photo, you can see some wind and rain disturbance off in the distance.



Sunday, August 25, 2013

Yellow Wildflower ~ Native to Kansas?

Unknown wildflower ~ August 2009

I have always liked this particular photo, however, I'm unsure exactly WHAT this flower is!  It was almost hidden by some fallen tree branches, under a tree.  Kansas is known for its abundance of wild sunflowers, but I don't think this is a sunflower variety.

As a side note, since we live only 1 mile from Oklahoma, I suppose it could be native to Oklahoma, right?  :-)

Does anyone know what this flower might be?!

Thanks to my friend, Misty, for introducing me to Today's Flowers.  If you're interested in joining this lovely flower photo meme, click the link and take a look at all the beautiful flowers submitted by other photo bloggers this week.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Puppy Love ~ Mini Australian Shepherds


Then.... May 2013.
About 2 months old.
Molly on left, Lucy on right


and Now!
Almost 6 months old.
Lucy on left, Molly on right

And yes, Lucy IS smaller than Molly.

Molly was the biggest in the litter while
Lucy was next to the smallest (not quite the runt).


Sunday, January 20, 2013

I Wasn't In Kansas Anymore...

View from hotel room lanai
Maui, November 2012

I went to Maui in November with my mom, my sister and a very close family friend.  A girls' getaway.

We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani.  You can see my review at Trip Advisor, if you're interested. (My link will get you close, but I'm not sure that Trip Advisor will let me link directly so look for Susan Barnes Garten, review dated December 18.) 

I highly recommend the Fairmont.  Gorgeous hotel and grounds.

This is a cell phone capture with some post-processing in Topaz software.

I'm ready to go back....


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Our Stormy Girl

... Nikon D60
... Topaz Black & White Effects, Infrared I

Sometimes it's so hard for me to get decent pics of this girl.

She always wants to be right.next.to.me.

In this case, I think my friend had the right idea for her photo.  I love this view of her.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Return To Skywatch Friday

Storm Cloud over Pond
Week of January 6, 2013
Nikon D60 with Topaz Simplify post processing

I was a lucky girl and got the entire Topaz Labs software suite for half price on Cyber Monday in November.

So far I've used Adjust, Simplify and B&W Effects, and I love all three of them.  I can't wait to try the other software programs that came in my package deal!

Here's the original photo, before post processing in Simplify.  Pretty dramatic straight out of the camera, I think.  But I rather like the mean edge that Simplify gave this photo.

Original photo, unretouched
Which version do you like better?  The original, #2, or the processed version at top, #1?  I think they both have merits, it's just a matter of personal preference.

I haven't joined the Skywatch community for a few years.  It's fun to be back.

If you've never heard of Skywatch, head on over and check out all the beautiful skies that other bloggers have submitted this week.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013