Aww…some Mondays
Fun With Filters
A lot of people I know enjoy taking photos but they dislike the post processing. I actually enjoy both. I am by no means an expert in either phase of photography and there are a million things that I still need to learn about capturing and editing images. From time to time I like to take an image and just mess with it by adding filters. My photo editing programs of choice are PhotoShop Elements 2020 and On1 RAW. PhotoShop Elements does more than I am capable of doing and is less expensive than the subscription service to full blown PhotoShop. On1 RAW is a series of pre-sets and filters one can use to create unique effects without an in depth knowledge of photo editing terms like layering, masks, etc. Recently I took a walk around our local town and photographed some murals. There is a small restaurant/coffee shop that caught my eye, so let’s have some fun with filters.
This image is SOTC (Straight Out of The Camera). The mural is whimsical and I asked myself, “What happens if you close to that plant and shoot through the foliage?” It kind of looks like you are sneaking up on the cat.
After a few enhancements to clarity, texture, and adding a vignette, here is how a focused section of the mural. The image has been cropped to 8×10 proportions, the colors have been enhance slightly and the exposure has been edited in PhotoShop Elements (PSE). The texture has been enhanced with On1 RAW. Now let’s get funky.
Okay, now I have added a dark vignette and a “Cold Fusion” lens flare pre-set from On1 RAW. The yellow flare over the cat almost looks like an idea has popped into his head. The whole process took about 15 minutes and now I get to share it with you and my FaceBook friends. This is just one of the ways I entertain myself during these shelter-in-place COVID-19 days.
Monday’s Music Moves Me
Last week I got ahead of myself and posted songs fit for this week’s theme. The theme at 4M this week is songs that are about the moon or have the moon in the title. If you want to know what my original choices were, just scroll down and listen to my choices. I think I will freestyle this week, with one exception. My parents were members of The Greatest Generation and their favorite music came from the Big Band era. My mother’s favorite big band was the Glen Miller Orchestra because Glen Miller played the clarinet and that was the instrument my mother played in her high school band.
Now I’m going to switch gears and choose music from a different theme. I graduated from high school in 1965 and looking back it was an awesome year for music. The Stones released “Satisfaction”, the Beatles charted “Help”, the Righteous Brothers had their best year with “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”. Even the Billboard 100th ranked song for the year was Marvin Gay and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). So, let’s start there and listen to just how great 1965 was for music.
1965 was a very good year. Have a blessed week.
Driller's Place 
Every picture i post, unless i crop it, is SOTC, so my hat is off to you for knowing how to do these cool things with your photos.
Fabulous music!
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I suppose that I just can’t leave a good thing alone. PhotoShop Elements and On1 Raw just keep me entertained for hours.
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I love to do photo play! Like, you I enjoy all the various processes in bringing a photo to Blogosphere. There’s much I have yet to learn, as well. Your photos are always excellent. I like the photo-edits of the fun mural. I want very much to go downtown to have time to photograph whatever captures my eye. I’ve been saying this for the past two or three years and have yet to do it. Life with all of its busyness is to blame. Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade” is a gorgeous song. I love the big band sound and how it transports me another time. Your 1965 songs are classic, well known tunes. I was only 4-years old when these songs came out but they played frequently toward the end of the decade and into the 70s for me to remember from my childhood. I love mewsic from the past and no matter what the era is, the tunes seem magical. Thanks for sharing the 4M dance floor with us this week, my friend. Have a boogietastic week. Stay safe and be well. 😉
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I honestly believe that the 60’s will be remembered as the golden age of rock music. The variety was endless and the bands were epic. I could do a whole year of posts just on the bands.
There is so much I don’t know about PhotoShop Elements and On1 Raw that it is frightening, but I enjoy the learning experience every time I load an image for processing.
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I love your playlist
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It was an honor bringing back my high school days for your viewing and listening pleasure.
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I love your photography. I’ve not tried to edit photographs. Not that accomplished.
I love the shot of Miss Lucy. What a happy pup.
Moonlight Serenade is one of my favorites. I love all the big band sounds.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, my friend. 🙂
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Like everything else, in photography start slow and simple. There is plenty of time to learn the more challenging stuff.
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Great playlist, and nice recovery!
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I think 1965 will be my go-to recovery plan. Glad you enjoyed the tunes.
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We love seeing Lucy! I love that mural on the restaurant, lovely. ‘My Girl’ is one of my favorite songs, thanks!
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I enjoy sharing Lucy with other bloggers. Our town is full of interesting mural art and I need to post a little more of it. “My Girl” is just such an easy listening, make you wanna dance song.
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always fun to visit your blog! Have a fun day with your camera!
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Glad you find Driller’s Place to your liking. I have always enjoyed blogging but I’m never sure if anyone is enjoying the results.
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…what a lineup! There nothing to skip over with this list, they are all A #1 hits. Thanks for sharing this allstar playlist.
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Glad your mind and soul were entertained by some to the best music ever.
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Nice photos and great songs. A classic playlist there.
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed your visit. See you again next week.
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Awwdorable sweet Lucy bringing in her puppet and such great mewsic. We loved them all and remember them very well. Can’t sit still anymore so here are some Swinging Pawkisses for a Mewsical Week ahead🐾😽💞
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1965 was just the best year for music.
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Editing is part of photography and it allows you to not only fix up a photo, but to add your own personality to it. We have photoshop elements as well, but there is so much to learn we will never figure it all out. We tried to switch to lightroom which is supposed to be better, but it was like starting all over with learning to edit, so we went back to photoshop. Editing takes a long time, but it can be fun too.
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You might investigate ON1 products. Their presets run inside photoshop under the filters tab. They have some awesome tools.
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Great job with the filters. You have the artistic sense and technical skill to really makes some works of art.
Musicwise, 1965 was great. It’s kind of funny from the 60’s to early 70’s when I see top 100 singles list for those years I know almost every single song. I look at a current top 100 list and I don’t know any of them. Literally, seriously.
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I know just how you feel. If I had any karaoke talent it would start about 1960 and end about 1975-78.
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All classic memories. 1965 was a great year! Just seeing those videos, and the little glitch the Lovin’ Spoonful experienced at the beginning, and the Temptations doing that Motown type dancing…oh, good times, good times.
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Good times indeed.
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