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