Keeping With The Times

living, learning, and keeping with the times

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Spring Fever in January

January 24, 2014 by Barb 9 Comments

succulent-copy

Oh my, the sun is shining, it’s 8 degrees Celsius and I can hear water dripping off the roof. It’s January in Alberta and I have windows open, fans running, and the sun is pouring through the windows. Bliss.

This is not the photo I set out to take this morning. I had been carefully arranging tiny pine cones and clay pots and nothing was working when I turned around and saw this succulent sitting quietly (of course) in my window garden. What gloriousness! And there’s my rosemary in the background! I had hoped that that would survive at least until Christmas but it has outdone itself and is thriving.

I need to get to work, but I think I have spring fever so a little watering and re-potting of plants is in order. Then I’ll get to work … I promise …

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday Finds at Kim Klassen dot com

 

 

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: flowers, friday finds, lightroom, photoshop

Learning by Teaching and a Photoshop Tip

January 21, 2014 by Barb 23 Comments

Late last year I was asked by Cheryl from Cheryl McCain Photography if I would be willing to write a guest post for her new “Frugal Still Life Photography” class.

I must say I was quite honoured that she would ask me! I decided to just be myself, to keep it simple, and this is the image I came up with. I wrote a bit about my process; how I set up, photographed and then edited the photo.Poppy Seed Heads Still Life

There’s nothing like writing something down to make things clear in your own mind and I believe I learned a thing or two as well!

I’m studying the dials and settings on my camera all over again. I was pretty proud of myself for always shooting in manual, but truth be told I still had/have a lot to learn; settings I never use (but should be) and little tricks and tips that hopefully will improve my photography. So thank you, Cheryl, for the boost!

Today I want to share a tip about how to pick a color off the internet and use it in Photoshop. I mentioned in My Holiday Tablescape post that I had sampled a color from the Tiny Prints site to use on the menus I was creating. One of my readers (hi Viv!) asked me how I did it, so here it is!

In Photoshop or Photoshop Elements:

  • Click on the Restore Down icon in the upper right corner and make sure you can see both Photoshop and the site where you want to grab the sample.
  • Get the Eyedropper tool and in the Options Bar set the Sample Size to 3×3 Average. Click anywhere on an open document.
  • Hold down the mouse and drag it over to the internet site and drag around. Watch the color chips in Photoshop and let go of the mouse when you see the one you want. That’s it!

Hope you enjoyed this little tip, and have a wonderful week everyone!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com 

For my image today, I added a layer of kk_3003 on Soft Light.

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life Tagged With: photoshop, photoshop tips, texture

Texture Tuesday

January 14, 2014 by Barb 27 Comments

Texture Tuesday Pansy

What do I dream about? When I thought about it, I didn’t really have an answer so when I challenged myself to come up with one, my garden came to mind.

Yes, I dream about my garden. I miss being able to walk outside to pluck even the tiniest little bloom. I miss my potting bench (which was a simple dream of mine that came true), and I miss photographing flowers. I had to dig around my files this morning and I came up with this tiny pansy bouquet. Such a simple little thing and at the time, I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I do now.

What’s one simple thing you dream about?

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life, Texture Tagged With: flower, kim klassen, lightroom, photoshop, tutorial

Winter – Up Close and Personal

January 10, 2014 by Barb 16 Comments

One morning this week as I was watching some big fluffy snowflakes falling to the ground, I decided to see if I could possibly capture a macro shot of one of them.

I set a piece of black velvet on a snowbank, then used my phone and the Olloclip lens to zoom in on them. I kept trying to get one single flake but that was not to be. My hands were frozen, and as a matter of fact, so was the rest of me and after about 15 minutes I gave up. However, I was rewarded with a glimpse into an amazing world that is in plain sight, yet invisible to us.

snowflake-macro-copy

It’s pretty incredible that these tiny, delicate crystals are what have completely blanketed our landscape and caused this …

winter

This little shack is in a (mostly) abandoned farmyard not far from our home. I see it on my walk and every day I vow to go in there and get some photos. I’m a chicken when it comes to (trespassing) but I’m going to have to get over that. The other obstacle at the moment is that I’d be up to my butt in those tiny little crystals … which makes it hard to walk.

As I mentioned in an earlier post – you can see why I’m craving colour! I have got to go and get me some flowers! Poring over my summer files just isn’t cutting it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Filed Under: Phone Photography Tagged With: olloclip, snow

Vintage Blue with a Touch of Lemon

January 7, 2014 by Barb 21 Comments

I felt I needed a bit of colour this week and because I couldn’t find any flowers I liked, I bought some lovely Meyer lemons. I piled them into my big old glass cookie jar with the blue stripes and blue lid, and added one vintage blue mason jar in the background.

meyer lemons

myer-lemons1-copy

What a bright spot in my otherwise white and grey wintry world. When I went back and looked over my last few posts I was struck by the lack of colour in them. Not a bad thing, just an observation … .

As I mentioned in my 14 in 2014, I’m trying to get a handle on LR. It’s really only the organizing part that I can’t (couldn’t) seem to grasp. But I decided to start over with a brand new catalog and simply go from there. I ‘m pleased to say that something has “clicked” and so far, so good. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_trace

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life, Texture Tagged With: kim klassen, lightroom, photoshop, texture

Feather Light Find and 14 in 2014

January 3, 2014 by Barb 19 Comments

We’ve been having some crazy snowy weather (again) and it’s a bit difficult to get around our country roads. A couple of days ago we were on our way home from “town” and we witnessed a car slide into the ditch. It happened close to an approach so thankfully the driver was able to navigate safely back onto the road *whew*!

So I’m sticking close to home. Trouble is, its even hard to walk around our back yard and when I went out I wasn’t feeling too inspired. But then I spied this little cluster of feathers sitting lightly on the snow. How delicate! The tips are white and a bit hard to see here, but this cluster almost fills the whole frame.

feather light

feather light

winter-day_0017-copy

Things are looking up, I finally wrote my list of 14 in 2014. As I was writing it, I became more aware, and more thankful that I already have so much; which is why it was hard to come up with 14 things!

  1. A lot less pressure and angst when it comes to writing Photoshop tutorials for Digital Scrapper. This is THE biggest thing for me this year. I don’t have a complete plan on how I’m going to accomplish this, but I think it has to do with the WORD that keeps popping into my head … .
  2. Write tutorials and share them here (completely separate from DS, and not always Photoshop either).
  3. Take the photographers tour of Antelope Canyon in AZ. The canyon is beyond breathtaking … .
  4. Make something artsy with real paper. Just one thing (to start).
  5. Sponsored posts.
  6. Improve my photography. Take a class in a real live classroom.
  7. Get a @!#+*&%* handle on Lightroom (I’ll have a whole post on that one).
  8. Print some of my photos/art and display it.
  9. Evenings with no TV and no internet.
  10. Reading. Good books.
  11. Meet an on-line friend IRL. You know, one of those people who “get me”?
  12. Improve my writing skills.
  13. A storage room that I can walk into.
  14. Growth of my blog.

Here’s to another lovely winter day and countless photo opportunities. It’s so strange, I didn’t notice the flag until I posted this photo. It’s cool how the fence drew my eye right to it.winter-day_0065-copy

Filed Under: LIFE, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: friday finds, kim klassen, photoshop

Winter Residents

January 2, 2014 by Barb 4 Comments

A little stroll out into our back yard was just what I needed today. We had a quick break from the cold weather and I was able to go outside without freezing my fingers off!

The bird feeder was a hub of activity, with a woodpecker and dozens of chickadees flitting about so fast I could hardly get a shot. But what fun I had!Woodpecker-copy

Woodpecker1-copy

I see you …

Woodpecker2-copy

… hello …

Chickadee2-copy

Chickadee-copy

Chickadee1-copy

There’s lots of the white stuff, and there is more on the way …

Snowy-Tree-copy

I’m hoping to get myself out of my January funk so I can write 3 posts that are brewing in my head. One is about my word for 2014, one is for the 14 in 2014 list that Kim Klassen suggested we do, and one is to report on how my battle with Lightroom is going … arghhh … .

Anyone else feeling blah?

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: birds, lightroom, photoshop

I’m Working On It

December 31, 2013 by Barb 14 Comments

Yesterday I spent a lot of time trying to write a post about my word for 2014 and I could not get it done.

I think I know what’s standing in my way, and it’s the fact that I first need to write about my word for 2013 and how it all went down. I may never post it – but I need to get it out of my system.

Let-Yourself-be-Drawn

My word for last year was WORK and it served me well. I had made a commitment and I worked hard all year to fulfill it. Now I’m looking back and reassessing, trying to decide how to approach it this year. I really need to think … .

So today, I decided to simply join in with my friends at Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com. Kim has suggested we write out a list of 14 things we want to see happen in 2014. That feels like less pressure to me, not so precise, and perhaps it will help me think more clearly. Until then … have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve everyone!!

Textures:

kk_desert

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: kim klassen, photoshop, texture

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Christmas

December 27, 2013 by Barb 20 Comments

Basking in the afterglow on boxing day…

Instagram

snow-on-birdhouse

Instagram

Instagram

frost

Instagram

Snow-Cave

Instagram

treebokeh

I’ve been so busy this past week I feel like I’ve been on another planet… and I’m exhausted…

But now that Christmas is over and everyone has gone home I thought I’d break my blogging drought with a list of 10 things that made me happy this Christmas… there were thousands of things, but I’ll just list 10 in no particular order…

  1. Having our whole family together (so blessed)…
  2. Grandchildren that can’t wait to get up in the morning to play with each other.
  3. Grandchildren that run up to (Grandpa and Grandma) and give spontaneous hugs.
  4. Playing cards, skiing, snowshoeing, eating, sleeping, eating…
  5. Daughters who bring yummilicious snacks and casseroles, and baking.
  6. Cozy fires in the fireplace.
  7. Big huge snow caves.
  8. My new ultra quiet fridge that hubby made happen.
  9. Strong men who will carry heavy freezers to the basement for me.
  10. Discovering new Christmas music by She & Him.

How was your holiday? What made you happy? I’d love to hear…

Filed Under: Phone Photography

Friday Finds

December 20, 2013 by Barb 18 Comments

Friday Finds

Good Friday morning everyone! How has your week been? If you are into the season – how are your preparations going?

I have to admit, I’ve been feeling a bit panicked this week – but that drove me to keep on keepin’ on until last night I had all the presents wrapped, tagged, and under the tree. Every single last one of them.

Earlier in the day I made my favourite cookies – Cream Cheese Hazelnut – yummm!

Then I decided to photograph them with this cup I found at Chapters (I actually copied their idea since they had a little package of stacked cookies beside it). I love it when I find a good idea to copy! I ate so many cookies (or was that cookie dough?) that all I had for supper last night was a plateful of brussel sprouts…

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life

Snowstorm

December 17, 2013 by Barb 17 Comments

Our world outside is grey and brown (and white). It’s no wonder that inside we light candles and put twinkly lights on trees.

Shed-in-Winter

I was watching the news last night and contemplating how parts of the world are in so much turmoil, and how so many people are in desperate situations – and I mean desperate… there seems to be no hope…  it’s hard to comprehend.

I know, I’m being a downer and I’ll stop right here.

I just feel so grateful that my world is simply cold and grey and silent. I am warm, and well-fed, and safe… and so is my family.

Have a grateful Tuesday!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

Snowstorm courtesy of : kk_magicfilm2

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: kim klassen, lightroom, photoshop, texture

The View From Here…

December 8, 2013 by Barb 9 Comments

Snow-Canvas

We’ve had a cold snap (to say the least) with temperatures reaching -35C, with windchill values of -40C. That makes a person not want to go anywhere! So this is the view from my dining room window, which is about as far as I ventured this past week.

I have lots to do today – first up – brunch with friends – yes, I am going out! Then decorating and cleaning up the mess around here is going to eat up the rest of the day, so I’m going to make this short!

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Thank you for stopping by!

Filed Under: Phone Photography Tagged With: snow

Simple Things Sunday

November 24, 2013 by Barb 12 Comments

Sepia-Snow-1

Sepia-Snow

Last week was downright freezing but the only morning I missed my walk was the day it hit -30 degrees Celsius. Brrrrr… double brrrrr… that’s not cold, that’s dangerous.

But now those temperatures are a thing of the past (for the moment), and it’s a regular heat wave today at +3 degrees – water is dripping from the roof.

Our snow ghosts are already “disappearing”…

snow-ghost

Last night we served dinner for 9 people, and I have to say I’m pretty happy with the way everything turned out. I’ll have a recipe on the blog soon… but now it’s time to relax (yay) and later we’re heading over to join some friends to watch the Grey Cup.

Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday!

Filed Under: Phone Photography

Trying to Stay Focused (It’s Not Working)

November 18, 2013 by Barb 14 Comments

Hello friends!

It’s so cool that I am working from home… quite often I have to remind myself of that. I have a job… I write tutorials for Digital Scrapper…

snowy shed, instagram, keeping with the times

…but in between I jump from my blog, to Pinterest, to Google+, to FB, and on and on. Then I have to go get something to nibble on, or drink, or I need to take a picture of something, like my back yard…

Oh, wait! Is that the phone? Is it my friends wanting me to go for a walk, or shopping? Puleeeze? Somebody help me!!

.

.

.

.

OK, I’m over it.

Back to work…

Filed Under: Phone Photography Tagged With: snow

Printing Instagram Shots with Persnickety Prints

November 16, 2013 by Barb 28 Comments

I’ve taken thousands of photos in the past few years and (up until now) how many have I printed? Virtually zero. Some are on my blog, some are on Instagram, some are on scrapbook pages, and the rest are residing on my hard drive, most likely never to be seen by anyone but me.

I don’t take as many family photos as I used to.. I’m happy to let their parents take them, and then share with me.

And then along came my iPhone, and Instagram. I know, I’ve talked about this before, but there’s something about the filtered, over-processed, funky quality to them that I totally love. There is no pressure to get the best shot ever, it’s simply fun and what I’ve ended up with is photographic journal of my creative life. My hope is that when I’m gone, my grandchildren, or great-grandchildren will look at them and say “grandma was kinda cool, creating all this art, wasn’t she?”

instagram, persnickety prints, barb brookbank, keeping with the times

So that’s what spurred me to have these printed. I loved the idea of the Polaroid format offered by Persnickety Prints (this is not a sponsored post, just my experience). Well, but wouldn’t I LOVE to do a sponsored post for them? Dream on…

instagram, persnickety prints, barb brookbank, keeping with the times

Anyway, I ordered the Persnickety Prints Polaroid (3×3 Print on 3×4) Soft Texture Art at $0.40/ea.

I could not be more tickled!! The quality is outstanding with great colour, texture, and size. The ordering and delivery process was fast and easy. I simply went to Persnickety Prints and clicked on the “Printing With Instagram” tab at the top, and followed the directions. I used the “Instaport” option, which I thought was fantastic because it basically backed up my feed to my computer – bonus!

instagram, persnickety prints, barb brookbank, keeping with the times

 

So, I’ll stop gushing now :) I just wanted to share… I have my little tiny works of art displayed on my desk and I’m doing the happy dance this morning.

I hope you are too!

 

Filed Under: Phone Photography Tagged With: printing photos, scrapbook

November Sunset

November 15, 2013 by Barb 13 Comments

november-sunset

Yesterday I had “gone to town” to pick up some groceries before the weekend (and before the icy blast of winter that is supposed to hit us) and was on my way home when I noticed the light. At this time, I was on the highway and could only marvel at it – the stubble in the fields seemed to be glowing – totally bathed in gold. I kept watching for a place to pull off, but I couldn’t find one where I felt safe, so I kept going. Better safe than sorry, right?

As I turned off and headed down the country roads that lead me home :) I spied this little scene. It was my last chance… of course it’s an iPhone shot… I’m still loving my Instagram.

I’m looking forward to Tracey Clark’s Picture the Holidays at The Big Picture classes. I play along on Instagram, but it’s open to anyone, blogs, Flickr, etc. and it’s very inspiring.

So what are you up to? Here’s a little hint of what I’ve been doing this week…

Create a fun garland from burlap ribbon (found at World Market).

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Filed Under: Phone Photography

Direction

November 12, 2013 by Barb 23 Comments

Trust what you know;

have faith in where you go;

if there’s no wind, row;

or go with the flow.barb brookbank, texture, photoshop, cs6, texture tuesday, kim klassen

I really like this quote by Ed Parrish III (when I tried to find our more about him, I came up with nada… sorry). I think it’s all about following your instincts, doing what feels right, and then if it isn’t working, trying something else.

I had fun with this one, so I  thought I’d reveal the original photo. Yep, that’s my bathtub… there’s some pretty awesome light coming through the opaque window we have there. If I was building a studio, I’d have one whole wall made of this glass.

As you can see, the crop is pretty substantial (good thing my camera has 24 Megapixels to work with). However, that crack in the table kept bothering me until I lined it up from corner to corner – then it clicked! After that I made a curves adjustment and duplicated it until I was happy with the light. Then I added 2 layers of kk_0411, one on soft light, and one on color.

Daisy-Diagonal-Original

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

Thank you to Kim, for the new free texture this week.

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life, Texture Tagged With: flower, kim klassen, photoshop, texture

Boyce Arboretum, AZ

November 3, 2013 by Barb 12 Comments

For the past week we’ve been spending some time at our little get-away in Arizona. It’s very relaxing here; we eat, we sleep, we tour around a bit, hubby golfs, I play with my camera.

On Friday we visited the beautiful 323 acre Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior. We spent over two hours exploring the desert and all the amazing plants and creatures that call it home.

I don’t know what this plant is, but it was a magnet to butterflies – there were dozens of them flitting around it and I was pretty lucky to capture three of them sitting still for a moment. I think they’re monarchs… but please correct me if I’m wrong! Did you notice the bees?

Update! TexWisGirl said she thinks these are Queen butterflies and I believe she is correct. Upon closer inspection, not only are these darker but they also have some spots on their bodies which I do not see in a Monarch. Thank you TexWisGirl!

barb brookbank, butterfly, photography, photoshop

It turned out to be quite the nice little hike (where some of us hid in the shade every chance we got).

Boyce-Arboretum

Beautiful cactus, beautiful light…

Barrel-Cactus

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY, TRAVEL Tagged With: arizona, insects, photoshop

Purple Coneflowers – Fading Beauties

November 2, 2013 by Barb 13 Comments

What is it about coneflowers?

barb brookbank, photoshop, photography, purple coneflower

I love them at all stages, but it’s at the end of the season when the petals are crispy and curling that I find them the most beautiful.

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Filed Under: Autumn Tagged With: autumn, flowers

What’s Inspiring You?

November 1, 2013 by Barb 11 Comments

barb brookbank, photoshop, photography, textureThat’s the question Kim is asking today at Friday Finds.

I can answer that one quite quickly; flowers.

Oh, and autumn, and spring, and summer, and winter.

My DSLR, my iPhone camera, Photoshop, and Lightroom.

Blogging, reading blogs, other people’s work, and lately, Flickr.

Books, catalogues, magazines, and manuals.

My creative “spidy senses” are always on high alert (sometimes I wish they weren’t). Good golly, can I not just watch a sunrise without rushing to grab my camera? Yesterday as I was grocery shopping, I picked up a fennel bulb. Hubby asked what I was going to do with it, and I said, well it has a wonderful licorice flavour, but… I think I want to photograph it… hmmmm… (that gave us both a good laugh).

So what about you? What is inspiring you? Head over to Kim Klassen dot com to check out some great “Friday Finds”. That’s a great place to find inspiration, I can assure you!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Filed Under: Artful Photography, PHOTOGRAPHY, Still Life Tagged With: flower, flowers, friday finds, kim klassen, photoshop

Autumn 2013 Recap and a Free Template

October 31, 2013 by Barb 17 Comments

I’m offering a free template to use with your autumn photos! Please enjoy … for personal use only!

It’s a *fully layered psd template, compatible with Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop.

As October draws to a close, most of my autumn photo opportunities are over. Our “show” starts early, and ends early.

This year I was particularly inspired because our weather was warm, dry, and calm, which resulted in some spectacular colours. I also had a my new D7100 to play with, and oh, does it ever do bokeh well! I’m excited for (then next season) and another chance to rock the bokeh!
barb brookbank, free template, adobe photoshop,

 

I made up a template to showcase some of my favourite shots, and you can get it here for free!

It’s a *fully layered psd template, compatible with Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop.

 

 

barb brookbank, free template, adobe photoshop,

bb_9 photo template

*For personal use only

Happy Halloween!!

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: freebie, photoshop, scrapbook, template

Creative Inspiration

October 30, 2013 by Barb 11 Comments

I found the most wonderful book; “a life less ordinary” by Zoe Ellison and Alex Legendre.

I tried not to buy it, really I did… but as I walked around Anthropologie attempting to talk myself out of it, I knew it was futile.

This book is bursting with inspiration. There are hundreds of photos of everyday objects; string, rocks, old photos, plants; just bits and pieces of stuff, but it all looks so interesting. I don’t completely understand why the images are so compelling but they are. Even a photo of the book is inspiring…

create

This metal butterfly clings to a framed piece of rust which is hanging in the hall of our condo.

We bought it at a flea market, came home, hung it up, time passed, and now I hardly see it anymore. So I thought I’d honour it by making it my TT submission for this week. Clearly, I need practice!

metal-butterfly

 

For some reason, this post took me forrreeever to write, and I’m late to the party, again!!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

iPhone image with one layer of kk_postale

 

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: kim klassen, texture

5 Reasons Why This Still Life Works For Me

October 25, 2013 by Barb 16 Comments

vintage, barb brookbank, kim klassen, friday finds, texture, photography

On my last post I wrote about how I sometimes don’t like what I see when I’m shooting a still life. A lot of you told me that you also struggle with that self-doubt, and I appreciate your encouraging comments. I guess we just have to accept that we are not going to love every single thing we create. But the key is to keep creating. Show up every day, do the work, and then share it (or not)!

When I came across this chippy enamel spoon in my favourite junque store, I was instantly transported back to my childhood. I saw my mom standing at the kitchen counter making supper for 6 hungry kids, and memories of how it felt to come home to the smells of bread baking, and some kind of hearty meal simmering on the stove washed over me. There was no doubt that that spoon was coming home with me.

As I was looking at this little scene, I knew I loved it, so I sat there and wrote down every reason I could think of as to why I loved it. I was creative BIGstorming; a technique I learned at my blogging convention. Then I spent about half an hour on this shoot, focusing on the top 5 things on my list.

So here are 5 reasons why I like this vignette:

  • It’s simple.
  • It makes me feel something.
  • Late autumn sunlight is streaming onto the table, and I love late autumn light.
  • The spoon is resting on mom’s cookbooks, and that feels right.
  • The close details of the rustic edge of the spoon, and the soft worn cover on the cookbook, are comforting.

So, although there was really nothing wrong with my previous still life, I guess I just wasn’t feeling it. It may have been my mood that day, or perhaps I was in a rush to just get something. No matter what though, it was totally worth the effort and I’ll continue to show up and do the work. You never know what will come of it.

Friday Finds at Kim Klassen dot com

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Still Life Tagged With: friday finds, kim klassen, photoshop, still life

Gorgeous Gourds

October 22, 2013 by Barb 18 Comments

barb brookbank, autumn, kim klassen, texture tuesday

I’m still getting mileage from these quirky little white gourds that I found while visiting our favourite market garden. I first used them in my Autumn Tablescape, and since then I’ve had them lined up on my kitchen table along with two sedum bouquets. Every day the sun pours in on the little vignette and the scene warms my heart.

autumn, barb brookbank, kim klassen, texture tuesday

Yesterday I took them outside and played around, trying different combinations of props, different camera settings, and different backgrounds.

Sometimes I think my creations look forced. Do you ever feel that way about your own work? That self-doubt creeps in… next thing you know, you’re paralyzed, and you can’t get anything out. Happens to me all the time… but I fight it, which is why I managed to get this posted for Texture Tuesday – although I’m quite late to the party.

Kim is giving away a copy of “What Katie Ate”. I would sure like to win that – wouldn’t you? Head on over to Texture Tuesday for some eye-candy and a chance to win that book!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_3003

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: autumn, kim klassen, photoshop, texture

Good Morning and Happy Week!

October 21, 2013 by Barb 7 Comments

autumn leaves

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Soon I’ll be heading out to meet my friends at the mailbox, but these days I have a little extra time to have coffee, and maybe write a blog post before I go. We’ve had to push our walk back to 8:30 because it’s still so dark at 7:30… You might think that that is depressing, but I find it kind of cozy. This is when I bring out my bright orange pillows, set out a few candles, and start thinking about having fires in the fireplace.

I’m going to enjoy every single minute of this beautiful season.

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: leaves

Autumn Preparations

October 20, 2013 by Barb 10 Comments

Autumn-Maple-Leaf-VintagePinterest

…or is that winter preparations?

We’re having the most gloriously warm and sunny autumn this year. There’s hardly any rain to speak of, lots of colourful leaves, and amazing light.

Every time I go out into the yard with full intentions to clean up flower beds, I somehow never get to them… photos happen instead.

So yesterday hubby coaxed me outside, and after I spent a half hour playing, he managed to get me to clean up the two front beds. Progress.

He was busy blowing leaves off the roof, lawn and driveway, and then he roto-tilled the garden.

Today I have three more flower beds to clean up, four autumn bulbs to plant, and I’m done. It’s a cozy, familiar feeling when the yard is all tidied up for winter. Now we just wait…

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: leaves

Autumn Photography

October 18, 2013 by Barb 19 Comments

adobe, photoshop, barb brookbank, autumn, nurture photography, friday finds, kim klassen

This tenacious little Amur Maple sits at one corner of our house, underneath a window.

Two years ago, it got so big and unwieldy that I cut it right to the ground. I did say sorry while I was doing it though…

It must have forgiven me, because it has come right back and its beautiful fiery orange, red, and yellow leaves are gracing our yard once again.

barb brookbank, autumn, nurture photography, friday finds, kim klassen

Just one of those perfect autumn moments…

Orange-Fiery-Still-Life

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

 

Friday Finds at Kim Klassen dot com

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: autumn, flowers, friday finds, kim klassen, photoshop

Autumn Yellows, Going, Going…

October 16, 2013 by Barb 7 Comments

Yesterday, as I was driving back to my country home, I stopped for a coffee at Tim Hortons. The sun was up, but still low on the horizon and it made these poplars glow.Poplar-Trunk-Leaves

Our autumn displays are fast coming to a close. Most trees have lost their leaves and the landscape is starting to look a bit bleak.

Poplar-Leaves

Hard to believe when you see this, right?

Poplar-Leaves1

But it’s true, and I’m soon going to have to see the beauty in stark bare branches. And beauty is everywhere, you just have to see it, right?

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: autumn, landscape, photoshop

I’m Thankful

October 15, 2013 by Barb 11 Comments

autumn

We celebrated Thanksgiving this weekend. Our oldest daughter and our son-in-law hosted the whole shebang. Wow! What a feast they prepared, from home-made bread, several different types of vegetables, to a delicious turkey. Oh and the dessert… oh my… pumpkin pie, and pecan pie…

All I can say is that I am thankful; for my family, my friends, and my life. As I write this, I have Kim Klassen’s husband on my mind (as well as Kim and her boys, of course). Yesterday was their 24th wedding anniversary, and she wrote a heartfelt, and powerful post that brought tears to my eyes. No matter what she does, or writes about, she is an inspiration to me, and to hundreds of others. I am thankful for her.

It’s Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

I used kk_day, and kk_wake in my image

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: autumn, kim klassen, photoshop, texture

Yellow, Yellow, Everywhere

October 11, 2013 by Barb 21 Comments

Yellow-Lake-Scene

Yellow-Trees-Lake

Yellow-Single-Autumn-Leaf

Yellow-Leaves-Nurture

Yellow-Autumn-Love

This past week I spent one full day at our country home soaking up our autumn colours and taking photos. I felt guilty, but this beauty is so fleeting that I knew I would regret it if I didn’t. Now, as I sit here this morning in my city home, I absolutely know I did the right thing.

I’m looking forward to getting together with family this weekend. It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada, and I see a turkey in our future.

I hope you have a lovely weekend too!

Friday Finds at Kim Klassen dot com

Filed Under: PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: autumn, friday finds, kim klassen, landscape, photoshop

Beautiful, Bountiful, Autumn

October 8, 2013 by Barb 25 Comments

Don’t you just love it?Autumn-Leaves-Pumpkins-1

Autumn-Trees

Autumn-Leaves-1

Autumn-Leaves-2

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

The top photo is for Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_traverse

kk_jamal

 

Filed Under: Artful Photography, Texture Tagged With: autumn, kim klassen, photoshop, texture

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Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

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