Destination: Venice

Later this week, Travel Partner and I are headed to Venice. We'll spend a couple of days there and then board a cruise ship and set sail for Greece and Turkey. Join us as we experiment with posting from Europe.

This image was taken from the San Marco campanile during a previous trip. I added texture 136 from nasos b.

Happy Easter

A very delayed Easter image! This image is a combination of photos taken at Desert Ridge in northern Phoenix. The Marriott resort has hosted several events for my employer and I always enjoy walking around their beautiful grounds. The plentiful flowers attract desert bunnies and other wildlife. I created a brush by combining some flower and butterfly brushes from Coby at Deviant Art.

After the Rain

Immediately after a brief rain shower last summer, I ran out to the garden to take some water droplet photos. This is one of the leaves from our tangerine crossvine plant. I've added a texture called RT-1 from Shadowhouse Creations.

The Green Door

This image is a composite made up of photos from Rome (the door), Cinque Terre (the wall) and Les Baux (the hilltop village) with a texture from boccacino added.

Alcatraz

This image shows a few of the old prison buildings and guard tower at Alcatraz Island, now part of the U.S. National Park Service. It's a fascinating place to visit, and its location in San Francisco Bay is especially scenic.

I've added a texture by boccacino.

Wild Lavender

I took this photo at the neighborhood elementary school where I discovered a small planter filled with bright flowers. I was experimenting with my new camera's macro settings. This wild lavender seemed to be very popular with the bees.

I've added a favorite writing texture called handwritten recipe from muffin.

Lake Pleasant

This image began with a photo taken while hiking at Lake Pleasant, just outside Phoenix.

I added a texture called Gold Days from Shadowhouse Creations and then made some saturation and hue adjustments.

Cloaked

I recently received a travel brochure which had a photo of Venetian gondolas framed by a costumed Carnivale figure. Wanting to create a similar image, I started with my photo of the Grand Canal just west of the Rialto Bridge, then I added a portion of a photo I took outside a Venetian costume/mask shop. A texture from cleanzor added a nice foggy effect and helped blend the figure into the scene.

Old Polaroid

This post shows how a photo can be aged with a few textures. I began with the photo below, taken at a local antiques mall, then aged it by adding two textures from Shadowhouse Creations (black magic 1 and square 164). Finally, I added an old polaroid frame texture from the Flickr free textures group.

Waterfall in Japanese Garden

This photo was taken at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix. I added a texture called Sun's Edge by pareeerica to give it a slightly golden glow.

Guild House of the Free Boatmen

This beautiful Ghent guild hall has a sandstone facade which dates from 1531 and has many carvings of sailors and sailing ships. It is located on the Graslei, one of the canal side streets that lined the old Medieval port.

Texture courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations.

Monterey Bay

This photo of Monterey Bay was taken several years ago. Even though it had some nice elements - rocky beach, nice colors, sailboat and seagull, I felt it was lacking something. I added a subtle HDR effect and a texture from Shadowhouse Creations.

Rodin's Roses

Photo of the Rodin Museum gardens in Paris with the golden dome of Les Invalides in the background. This is a wonderful museum and the gardens are extensive and populated with many of Rodin's statues. It's well worth a visit of several hours. The frame is part of a Shadowhouse Creations retro color mask texture.

Mystical Milkweed

This milkweed was growing around some prickly pear cactus just down the street. I knew right away that I wanted to do something dramatic with it. I've added two textures from Shadowhouse Creations - haunted by ghosts and black magick 4, as well as a smoke texture.

Desert Bluebells

This image began with my photo of a common Arizona wildflower, the Desert Bell, also known as the Desert Bluebell. After applying selective blurring and a bokeh texture by pareerica. I decided to add another texture, Square 191 from Shadowhouse Creations, with words that reminded me of "Knots," the brilliant book by the Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing.

Moon over Balboa Park

The California Building with its bell tower is typical of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style that can be found in Balboa Park, San Diego. I decided to turn this photo into a night scene by adding a big full moon.

Textures:  Square 165 from Shadowhouse Creations,and GR06 from boccacino.

Morning on the Grand Canal

The photo was taken on a cruise along the Grand Canal of Venice in early morning. I've added a texture by Kerstin Frank.