Aww…some Monday
So what are you doing with all of your “Home Alone” time as we wrap up our second month of sheltering at home? This COVID-19 pandemic has literally brought our world to a halt and shown us that we are not truly masters of our own destiny hasn’t it? Many families have rediscovered the joy of time spent together. Since both of us are retired, my wife and I have spent a lot of time together the pasts four years, but since social distancing and shelter at home orders have severely limited our interaction with friends, we have found ourselves spending even more time with one another.
Most recently the weather has stabilized and we have spent more time in the yard. I have already mowed the lawn twice and my wife has gotten her spring flowers planted. We have plans to landscape the areas on each side of the house, but that is going to require some professional help. I will be getting bids for that work soon.
Personally, I have been taking a couple of online photo classes from Creative Live. One class focused on a DIY home studio and gear while the other was all about portrait photography. I also purchased a new photo editing program from On1 called On1 Camera Raw. It can be used as a stand alone photo editing program or it can act as a plug-in to PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements. I love some of the presets that this program has. Over the past couple of years I have posted articles that I have called “Fun With Filters” and this program is going to open up a whole new world of possibilities. This past week I photographed some of the blooms of the knockout roses in our front yard and edited them in On1 Camera Raw. Here are the results. This first image has had very little editing done.
After applying a couple of presets from On1, the image looks like this.
Once again this rose bud required almost no editing.
However, after adding a couple of presets the results look like this. Not every edit is pleasing to everyone, but I love the creative possibilities.
Okay, time for one more and this virtually unedited image is my wife’s favorite from this photo shoot.
I have to agree, I think the image above is my favorite, but I still had to add a filter just for fun.
Stay tuned. The possibilities are endless and I have just scratched the surface of my new toy. Best of all this program was on sale and extremely affordable. I mean EXTREMELY affordable.
Monday’s Music Moves Me
This week the theme at 4M is blogger’s choice and I am trying to come up with a fitting theme for the current state of affairs. While several states are still under strict shelter at home orders, others are beginning to loosen certain restrictions. Last Friday the state of Arkansas allowed gyms and fitness centers to open, but with the restriction of no pools, spas or showers. Some retail stores, like Hobby Lobby opened Friday as well. Wednesday restaurants can resume in-house dining with limited seating, and social distancing practices in place. Wednesday will also be haircut day for tens of thousands as barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and tattoo parlors will reopen with occupancy limits and social distancing guidelines. I believe that the governor will make an announcement today regarding places of assembly such as churches, movie theaters, and concert venues. I know that some folks believe this is happening too soon but I believe that we have to come out of our shells and begin to recover, we just have to be cautious. Besides, the individual still has the option to remain sheltered. For the immediate future it appears that face masks and social distancing will be the new normal for all us. Sooo… what have I decided that my personal theme for this week should be? How about “Change”. While we believe we are moving toward getting our lives back to normal, the truth is that things have changed and some of the changes will be for the better and will be permanent. Have a blessed week.
Driller's Place 
Interesting study of that rose.
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I have to admit, some days I have as much fun editing the images as I did capturing them.
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Hubby and I aren’t having any trouble being together either. We like it very much. We do miss the boat though. Soon we hope. Like you we are keeping ourselves busy with learning new things.
Have I told you how much I love your photography? I thought so.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, my friend. 🙂
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Stay tuned. I will be learning how to operate a new camera very soon.
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Very beautiful songs and pics. Thanks for brightening my day with both of the them.
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Glad you enjoyed the post. It was my pleasure to bring it to everyone.
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I knew that some of friends shot RAW and I had never thought about it. Last night somebody talked about shooting RAW on an iphone with an app called Halide and then ediiting it with the iphone version of lightroom. So I thought i’d try it and bought halide and shot an interior shot here in the house with it and edited it on iphone photoshop and I thought it looked good enough to pursue a little further.
And now you, with your shots of the flowers. They started great but you upped them quite a bit. I might have to study up on this whole raw thing, including the editing.
Love your songs today. I loved the Dwight Yoakum song, and I was going to buy it and found that I already have it. Love the Luther Van Dross song, I don’t have it in my itunes collection. I’m going to check our cds before I buy it.
Have a great week!!
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Camera RAW simply gives more information. An image shot in JPEG that is 10 megapixels will be over 20 megapixels when shot in RAW. I rarely shoot sports in RAW, but I do shoot portraits, landscapes, flowers, etc, in RAW when I want to explore some “fun with filters”. Family photos during the holidays are almost always shot in RAW.
I have come to love Dwight Yoakam’s music. I almost posted the original Sam Cooke recording of “A Change is Gonna Come”, but opted for Luther. Have a blessed day.
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Gorgeous flowers and wonderful song picks!
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed today’s post.
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Driller,
What a great way to spend your time with your favorite hobby! Your wife’s roses are gorgeous and they need no filtering at all but I understand the fun of photo play as I’m the same way. 🙂 Tennessee also began opening businesses last Friday. I agree with you, we need to get back to life while being cautious and I think if everyone is responsible then things will go well. Luther Vandross was an amazing talent. Thanks for sharing the 4M dance floor with us today, my friend. God bless!
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Like everyone else, I can’t wait to get back to normal, even if it is a modified normal.
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simply lovely rose photos! My favorite was the first one slightly altered. Take care!
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I think my favorite image is the same one you favor.
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Dang Dude, You have really rocked the house today. Great job and I have to say my favorite one posted is Luther Vandross in a “Change is gonna come”. I heard that song first when I had finally left my X-husband & it really helped me to feel better. I haven’t heard the song in such a long time. Thanks for reminding me. I’ve really grown to know people better by the songs that they pick. I’m so happy I met you cuz you’re definitely a good man. Thank you so much for joining us and have a great day & stay healthy!!!
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I almost posted the Sam Cooke recording of “A Change is Gonna Come”, I cannot lie, Dwight Yoakam is my favorite artist in this group.
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My but those flowers are gorgeous, no matter the filter or effect!
Not staying home here, still working, such is what happens when you are in a “needed industry” or whatever they call it now.
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Glad you enjoyed the images. I’m sure millions of Americans are looking forward to joining you in the workforce and at their usual place of employment.
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Beautiful photos!
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Oh, what an uplifting performance by Luther Vandross. That was such a perfect selection. But what is up with You Tube today? I couldn’t play the other two videos, and I’ve been having troubles on other blogs, too. Enjoyed the rose photographer (although, lol, I noticed the black spot on the first couple right away). Our dogwoods are just starting to bloom. It’s so sunny right now but we are expecting 1 to 3 inches of snowby tomorrow night, which may destroy our apple crop where I live in upstate New York – the weather has been so up and down it actually made the staying at home a bit easier. Our state is going to have a phased reopening starting May 15. We are divided up into several regions which may be reopening at different rates, which makes sense, especially given that NYC is still having such a hard time. It’s going to be a while longer before I can get a haircut, though. Happy you are staying safe, Driller.
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