flowers

Artified photos and another “T” stories voting reminder

In four days, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round will end. I post the reminders because there have been late-round voting surges which seem tied to the deadline approaching . . . probably people who enjoy the thrill of working to a deadline.

. . . although this isn’t really work, or shouldn’t be . . . .

If you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.

As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few more Nikon D100 photos, but transitioning from flowers to other stuff.

Those look like Black-eyed Susan flowers but they’re actually a wildflower that looks similar. Or, maybe they are Black-eyed Susan from seeds that had been blown into a natural setting. We’ll never know.

Continue reading →

More flowers and a “T” stories voting reminder

With five days to go, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round heated up into a frenzy of votes and drastic moves in the standings of individual stories. It’s good to see the activity pick up a bit as we approach the end of the voting block. Perhaps we’ll top the record set last week (but still far from the once-hoped-for 100 votes mark).

If you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.

As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few more photos of flowers captured with the D100.

Stella D'Oro daylily painting

That’s a Stella D’Oro daylily. Artified, of course.

Continue reading →

Flowers and a “T” stories voting reminder

With six days to go, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round is progressing nicely. I suppose I should start thinking about my next story.

Meanwhile, if you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.

As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few photos of flowers captured with the D100.

Dogwood tree flowers turned into a framed painting.

That’s a peach tree blossom, I think. Artified, of course.

Continue reading →

First “S” stories voting reminder . . . and Luminar 4 post-processing

This is the second day of the Alphabet Challenge “S” Stories voting round. Given all that’s going on in the world, I’ll be happy to get any readers and voters at all to stop by.  

If you are a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge S-Stories” are HERE.<<<Link Votes will be accepted until noon on November 8th.

I know the voting post is a bit of a mess, what will all the warnings and colors and stuff . . . but, the poll works (as far as I know) and a few votes have been cast.

And now, onto a few photos that were processed using Luminar 4 . . .

John Deere Model "B" TractorThat’s a John Deere Model “B” tractor<<link that has graced these digital pages before.

So, you might wonder what’s so special about using Luminar 4. I mean, it’s not like that post-processing has made the shot amazing . . . well, I’ll have the original in the gallery at the end, but . . . .

Continue reading →

Thai Basil and “K” stories voting reminder

Current voting for the “K” stories is . . . baffling? I didn’t think it would lean the way it’s leaning. But that’s the thing with readers; they can surprise you. If that sounds intriguing, give the stories a read and vote for the “Alphabet Challenge K-Stories” HERE.<<<This Is A Link

Clicking on the above link will take you to the post with the poll where you can cast your vote. The post also contains links to the individual stories. After voting, readers can — if so moved — spread the news about the story to friends and family. Or, not. But, we hope for yes.

So . . . Thai basil

I didn’t know what these were. All I knew is that Melisa clipped them and once close, I thought the flowers were pretty neat. .

Continue reading →

“E” stories closing soon; “F” stories on their way (maybe)

You can still vote for your favorite of the “E” stories HERE. BUT . . . the opportunity will close soon because the “F” stories are on their way . . . maybe.

I’ve not heard from the other writers but I can speak for myself . . . I’ve not written one yet. Nothing new with that as I tend to be a last-minute writer anyway.

All I can say is that the “E” stories voting will close when the “F” stories are ready and that might be as soon as tomorrow . . . or the next few days.

Continue reading →

Alphabet Challenge “B” Stories poll hungry for votes

It’s falling on deaf ears, but here’s another reminder — if you’ve not already done so — to vote for one of the stories in the “B” Alphabet Challenge Submissions. You can vote HERE and for them who have yet to read them, there are links to each of the stories in that post.

I’ll be closing the vote for the “A” Alphabet Challenge Submissions (HERE) on Wednesday. It’s seeing little traffic but in case there be a straggler or two out there, I’m giving fair warning.

To be clear, you can read the stories and not vote (as some people have done). It’s also perfectly OK to not like any of them (it’s one of the voting options).

Any reader involvement is appreciated and we welcome comments and questions. They will be answered anonymously, but answers you’ll get (if you have questions, of course).

Click for a larger view. Full-size can be seen HERE.

That’s a Topaz Glow 2.0 conversion of the previously shared flower photo.

Continue reading →

Alphabet Challenge “B” Stories poll could use a few votes

A quick reminder — if you’ve not already done so — to vote for one of the stories in the “B” Alphabet Challenge Submissions. You can vote HERE and for them who have yet to read them, there are links to each of the stories in that post.

By the way, you can still vote for the “A” Alphabet Challenge Submissions HERE and for them who have yet to read them, there are links to each of those stories in that post.

To be clear, you can read the stories and not vote (as some people have done). It’s also perfectly OK to not like any of them (it’s one of the voting options).

Any reader involvement is appreciated and we welcome comments and questions. They will be answered anonymously, but answers you’ll get (if you have questions, of course).

Click for a larger view. Full-size can be seen HERE.

That’s a Topaz Impression 2.0 conversion of the previously shared flower photo.

Continue reading →

Reminder to vote on Alphabet Challenge “B” Stories poll

A quick reminder to vote for one of the stories in the “B” Alphabet Challenge Submissions. You can vote HERE and for them who have yet to read them, there are links to each of the stories in that post.

By the way, you can still vote for the “A” Alphabet Challenge Submissions HERE and for them who have yet to read them, there are links to each of those stories in that post.

To be clear, you can read the stories and not vote (as some people have done). It’s also perfectly OK to not like any of them (it’s one of the voting options).

Any reader involvement is appreciated and we welcome comments and questions. They will be answered anonymously, but answers you’ll get (if you have questions, of course).

Click for a larger view. Full-size can be seen HERE.

Obviously, it’s not a recent photo. September flowers, they are.

Continue reading →

Quick NECA Cruise Update 05 – the rest of Bar Harbor

I’m writing this from the LaGuardia Delta Gate 29 (Terminal C) . . . our scheduled 1:10 pm flight has now been pushed back to 3:10 pm.

Most annoying and an unwelcomed development given that we were scheduled to (by now) have pick up our car and be driving home. Oh well; it’s yet another reminder as to why travel by commercial carrier sucks.

So, where where we? Oh, yeah . . . Bar Harbor.

So, after looking into a few shops (but not finding anything to buy) we made our way back down to the water. The place is certainly picturesque.

Continue reading →

Bugs, Bees, Birds, Flowers, and Thoughts – Part 7 of 7

For them not interested in reading, you can go directly to the SmugMug Gallery HERE.  These are added to the D7500 camera Gallery since they are taken exclusively with that camera.

For a SmugMug slideshow click HERE. When you click the link, it will open in a new window and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the bottom-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos as this will pause the slideshow.

If you want the full experience, keep reading. Also, if you see stuff crossed out (like this) it’s editing after I published the post and any new words are in gray. Part of my educational outreach effort.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Continue reading →

Bugs, Bees, Birds, Flowers, and Thoughts – Part 5 of 7

For them not interested in reading, you can go directly to the SmugMug Gallery HERE.  I added these photos to the D7500 camera samples Gallery since they are taken exclusively with that camera.

For the SmugMug slideshow click HERE. When you click the link, it will open in a new window.

If you want the full experience, keep reading. Also, if you see stuff crossed out (like this) it’s editing after I published the post and any new words are in gray. Part of my educational outreach effort showing people how to improve clarity in writing (I hope).

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Continue reading →

. . . how about some random Nikon D7500 photos?

These are all shot around our house using the Nikon D7500 and either the 70-300mm kit lens or the 105mm macro lens. Most of them, at the full zoom.

Actually, these next two shots were an experiment of sorts; same ISO and same zoom, with default aperture for the respective lenses; one is the 70-300mm kit lens shot at 200mm zoom, and the other is the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. See if you can tell them apart without peeking at the data.

Continue reading →