Along the Grand Canal

This photo was taken from our vaporetto as we cruised along the Grand Canal of Venice. It's hard to take a bad photo in Venice, unless the weather is just dreadful and you're forced to find creative ways to protect your camera from the elements while photographing all those marvelous sights.

I applied several textures which resulted in some interesting color variations.

View from Ghent Belfry Tower

This is the view from the belfry tower in Ghent, Belgium. It dates from the 1300s and is considered one of the finest examples of such a structure in Flanders. At one time four soldiers stood guard atop the tower.  Although it rained the entire day we visited Ghent, I enjoyed this beautiful city and I would love to return again.

I've added textures from Shadowhouse Creations - Square 92 and Square 116.

Dolphin Fountain

I've seen many variations of these dolphin fountains throughout Europe. This particular one is located in the town of Bruges, Belgium. Bruges is another of those places that feels as though it's been forgotten by the passage of time, especially if you find a quiet corner like this one.

I added a gold texture by the name of  Sand and Stones from Jodi and then I adjusted the contrast with Curves.

Global Postcard

Enkhuizen

Enkhuizen is a charming small town in the Netherlands. It was an important harbor in the 17th century and portions of the old town have changed very little over the years. We traveled there to see the Zuiderzeemuseum, an open-air folk museum. Unfortunately, our visit was somewhat marred by the many groups of young school children whose noisy exuberance made it hard to enjoy the atmosphere.

I've added a postcard texture from borealnz to give the effect of an old faded postcard. Produced in London, bearing a New Zealand stamp and a Dutch subject, this postcard is truly "global."

Shades of Gold

This image was created from a photo taken inside the Louvre, looking out towards the glass pyramid on a  rainy day in Paris. I decided to experiment with a gold texture to achieve a sense of warmth, so I've added the Harvest texture from Shadowhouse Creations.

View Fit for a King

This photo was taken from Neuschwanstein, Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle, perched above the lakes and forests of Bavaria. I was surprised to learn that only about 15 of the 200 rooms were ever finished before the king's mysterious death by drowning in 1886. From this viewpoint, Ludwig could look down towards his boyhood home of Hohenschwangau Castle and the Alps.

After cropping the image, I added a paper texture by Boccacino from the Flickr textures site.

Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey

Monterey, California is one of my favorite places in the world. Along with neighboring Carmel and Big Sur to the south, this whole area is just breathtakingly beautiful. This image depicts Fisherman's Wharf, a fun place to explore and dine on seafood at one of the many restaurants.

Because the original photo was rather flat-looking, I added a couple of textures:  painted clouds from Shadowhouse Creations and linen text created by Tanya Felsheim and found on Flickr.

Sepia Study

Mr. Lee Anderson kindly posed for me at the Pioneer Living History Museum in Phoenix. Lee is both a history "re-enactor" and the Executive Director of the museum. He is a fascinating person to talk with, not just because of his encyclopedic knowledge of Arizona history, but because of his affable and genuine demeanor.

This photo was originally taken in black and white. I changed the mode to RGB, then added a sepia tone and a texture overlay.

Bird of Paradise

This image began with a photo of the Mexican bird of paradise plant in our backyard, taken at dusk. Now this type of bird of paradise is not the one I grew up knowing as the tropical plant used in floral arrangements, but a bush that thrives in the desert of the Southwest because it likes plenty of sunlight but doesn't need much water. In fact, we haven't watered ours in years and it keeps getting larger every summer!

I added two textures: splatter punk 1 by Shadowhouse Creations and fireflies by Pareeerica for a dreamy effect.

Leaf on 313

This image began as a photo taken on one of our many hikes in nearby Sedona. The leaf, colored by the crisp autumn weather, and twig were lying on the ground. The plain background was begging for additional textural interest, so I added the highly unique Square 102 from Shadowhouse Creations because I enjoy testing out unusual textures as well as more subtle ones. I was pleased with the gritty effect that resulted.

The Secret Garden

This image is a composite of two photos: a doorway at Filoli Estate in Woodside, California and a garden and cottage in Shottery, England, the town where the famous cottage  of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, is located. I had to work at the image of the door for quite some time because the original photo had a bit too much contrast. After applying various layer adjustments and Square 116 texture from Shadowhouse Creations, I was able to get the effect I wanted.

Filoli Estate is well worth visiting if you love gardens.

Stucco and Iron

While visiting friends in the Bay Area, I arrived at Santana Row in San Jose early on a Sunday morning to take  a few photos before the crowds arrived. I was delighted to find several walls painted in various bright colors to which wrought iron panels of different styles and sizes had been attached.

For this image, I changed the original pastel colors to a deeper autumn palette and then added a scratch texture created by Paul Grand on the Flickr texture group.

Musical Instrument Museum

Mongolian Bull Mask (Makhi Tsam)

We visited this wonderful new museum earlier this week. MIM opened in April of 2010 and has thousands of musical instruments from every country in the world on display, along with other fascinating objects. We ate lunch in the cafe before spending several hours looking at and listening to the exhibits.

Guitar Guy was in heaven with so many guitars to check out and exhibits by Fender and Martin, among others. I indulged my interest in anthropology by perusing the ritual masks and costumes from various world cultures. It's a great experience for the entire family.

Pink Blossoms

I took this photo in the Botanical Building at Balboa Park in San Diego. When you live in Phoenix, San Diego is a wonderful place for a summer escape and we've been known to fly there and back for a quick day trip. You can take public transportation to a variety of places right from the airport if you don't want to bother renting a car.

I don't recall what these flowers are, but I loved the way they cascaded gracefully over the leaves. I've added a couple of textures which darkened up the background for emphasis.

Venetian Adagio

This image was one of my first attempts at adding scrapbooking elements to one of my photos. I created it on the scrapblog website as part of a larger project.

For a brief explanation showing the steps I took, click the link below.

Dubrovnik's Old Port

Another favorite place of mine is Dubrovnik. You may have guessed by now that I love old Medieval towns. Despite the overcast weather and intermittent light rain, I thoroughly enjoyed my leisurely walk along the old town wall, stopping every few feet to take another photo because the views were just so amazing. Afterwards I walked through town and lunched on pizza at one of the many outdoor cafes...a perfect day!

Textures by Shadowhouse Creations: Ominous Clouds, Vintage Canvas 1 & Grunge Box 9

From the Ponte Vecchio

Standing on the Ponte Vecchio overlooking the Arno River on a beautiful September day, I shot this scene on my first trip to Florence.

The large expanse of sky seemed to lend itself to the addition of a texture made from a photo of a stucco wall.

Smooth and Sharp

This photo was taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens, a must-see if you are ever in the Phoenix area.

I was intrigued by the way the different varieties of succulents complemented and contrasted with each other and I discovered that the addition of a subtle texture added even more dimension to the photo.

Back in the Day

While visiting Savannah with friends in the winter of 2009, we tracked down a popular local bakery to sample their offerings. I recall that it was a very cold day (by Phoenix standards) and as much as I was craving a sweet treat, I was also wanting a hot drink to warm me up. I ordered a hot mocha and a chocolate cupcake with coconut frosting. The salesgirl took great care in creating a beautiful design in the foam on the mocha. It was so pretty, I had to take a picture!

I've applied a texture to enhance the dark background.

Naples x 2

Touring Tuscany, I met a couple who hailed from Naples, Florida and had nothing but good things to say about the town. So the last time I visited Florida, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I arrived in Naples in the early evening and after checking into my hotel I had just enough time to drive to the beach before the sun set. I took several photos of this pier which was silhouetted against the rosy glow of the sky. I've added a texture reminiscent of the luminescence in the waves as they rolled onto the shore.

This photo of Naples, Italy was taken just after dawn as our cruise ship was sailing into Naples Bay. I opted to use a color filter and layer adjustments to give it a pale, muted effect.

We took the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii and had an amazing taxi ride back from the station to the ship. After I spoke a few words to him in Italian, the taxi driver, an older, very dignified man, played a CD of opera music for us while navigating the congested streets with poise and mastery, as the crazy traffic all around us honked and jockeyed for every inch of available space.

San Diego Zoo

If I were an animal living in a zoo, I'm sure I could do a lot worse than living in San Diego with its mild climate. Granted, this chimpanzee looks sort of bored, but the meerkat seems to be enjoying himself watching all the people watching him.

As usual, I used some textures to enhance the original photos. Click here for the texture I used on the photo of the chimp and here for the one I added to the meerkat photo before squaring it to fit the cropped photo. Both textures are from Shadowhouse Creations.

Lost in Time - Les Baux

Les-Baux-de-Provence is another of those places where you can cheat time and pretend that you are back in the Middle Ages. It's situated in southern France and traces of habitation dating back 6000 years have been found there, although the current population is only 22 persons.

I took this photo of the old village from the ruined castle above, shielding my camera from the intermittent rain. A fabric texture ShadowhouseCreationios has been added for a frayed cloth effect.

Lost in Time - Rothenburg

Rothenburg, Germany is a magical town. Although it can be touristy at times, if you venture out very early or very late, you can still find quiet corners of the town and vistas which transport you back through centuries. Here I've added a subtle canvas texture to a photo I took from the town wall on a crisp fall morning.

For a version of this photo with a frame, click the 'Read more' link below.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

This striking fish was gliding through the koi pond at the Mission of San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. It reminded me of the blue and white porcelain of the Netherlands or China. An added texture enhances the look of the somewhat murky water.

Autumn Leftovers

Our back yard is filled with leaves which fell just a couple of weeks ago when the weather turned cold. Yesterday, my guy spent part of the afternoon raking and bagging the leaves because our dog is slowly dragging them into the house a few at a time, stuck to his paws or long fur. We don't get a lot of fall color here in Phoenix, but I did manage to get a couple of photos right after our deciduous trees turned color. Here's one of the photos with some textures added. I'm not sure what the Italian handwriting has to do with anything. I just liked it. :)

Taormina

This is a subtle HDR version of a photo taken in Taormina, Sicily. I loved this beautiful town and its picture perfect location overlooking Mt. Etna and the sea. It was my favorite excursion on my first Mediterranean cruise a few years back and I would love to return and spend a few days there.

London

Just added London to the itinerary for an upcoming trip this spring. I had a wonderful visit there several years ago and I've been thinking about how nice it would be to return. This is a photo I took of the Houses of Parliament with a leaf texture by Nancee Art and birds added. London has such amazing architecture, art and history.

Something New

I miss Maui. Arizona is supposed to be warm in the winter, but right now we're having a cold spell and it's anything but warm. I'm tired of piling on layers of clothing to keep from shivering. Yes, I'm a wimp. But the best antidote for this cold weather has been looking through photos from my Maui trip this past fall. This one was taken at dawn's early light on the beach in front of the Kea Lani at Wailea. I've added a texture from Shadowhouse Creations.

Something Old

Since I'm still getting my feet wet and learning how this blogging business works, my first post of 2011 will feature an image that I created for on online digital imaging class I took this past August. Susan Tuttle was the inspiring instructor. I can spend hours browsing in bookstores, and one day I came across her wonderful "Digital Expressions" book which led me to her website where I learned about the class and immediately signed up. A big part of the online course was learning to apply digital textures to photos and this image turned out to be one of my favorites. The original photo was taken during a trip to Paris in 2008 and .features a statue of Diana the Huntress in the Tuileries garden.