Unfortunate Occurrences…..Round 3…

Posted on May 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

My readers know well by now that I like to hike.  Well, I also like to go camping.

*GASP*  What?!  A girl…that likes to camp!?  Impossible!  A mythical creature!!

Well, it’s true.   Usually, by this time of year I would have gone camping at least once or maybe even twice, but sadly, it’s been raining non-stop for the past week and a half now and there’s still no end in sight.  That’s Maine for you.  And, once it does stop raining, I’ll have to wait for things to dry out a little or the mosquitoes will be unbearable.  [-_-]

I’m itching to get out into the wilderness and do some hiking and camping (especially since I picked up some new gear recently).  I’d say screw it and just go camping in the rain, but it’s a little difficult to toast marshmallows while the sky is dumping buckets on your head (and your campfire!).  I’m almost to the point of going Elementary school, pitching my damn tent in my living room, and toasting marshmallows over a sterno stove (I did get a new one for my backpack that I‘ve been meaning to try out…hmm…).

So, until the Maine sky stops being all emo and crying on me, it looks like I’ll be stuck in my house.  At least my little rose plant is still flourishing and giving me new buds to photograph.  Hopefully that’ll be enough to distract me until I can get outside again.

Until next time…

[-_-]

~A.M.

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Selective Color

Posted on May 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Every once in a while I like to take a photograph beyond just the “pretty shot” and closer to something more artistic.  I do this in a number of ways.  Sometimes I go for high contrast black and white shots.  Sometimes I alter color schemes.  Sometimes I add digital elements to completely change a photograph.  And sometimes I mix black and white and color in what’s called, selective color.

I used to go the long route when I wanted to do selective color.  I would copy my photograph into a new layer in Photoshop, turn the original layer to black and white, select the portions I wanted to remain in color in the top layer, and delete the rest.  Kind of a round-about way.

Now, thanks to my Sony HX9V’s “Part” feature, I have an easier, in-camera, way to do selective color for the primary hues of Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow.

My mother bought me a little rose plant for Valentine’s day this year and since then (and after one very needed plant pot transfer), it has been flourishing and producing several buds.  I decided to take a few shots of one rose bud using selective color.  Here’s the result.

Selective Color Rose

So much easier than all the work I would normally do in Photoshop to get the same result!

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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The Mists Of…Avalon?

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve always been enamored with mythology, namely Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.

Recently, I went on a hike at Quoddy Head State Park.  There was a thick blanket of fog and mist rolling in from the ocean that completely obscured the view of Grand Manan.  There were several spots where the mist had parted to reveal portions of Campobello.  It reminded me of “The Mists of Avalon”.  Either that or Stephen King’s “The Mist”.  But, I’d rather there be a magical isle in the mist and not monsters, so I went with “The Mists of Avalon.”  [^_^]

 

The Mists of Avalon

The Mists of Avalon 2

The Mists of Avalon, Yo!

Yes, I’m a nerd/geek, I know.  But I’m proud of it!

 

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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The Throne

Posted on May 6, 2013 | 2 comments

No, I’m not going to be talking about the insanely popular book and television series “Game of Thrones”.  I’m going to talk about a rock formation that has been dubbed “The Throne.”

I’ve been hiking in Downeast Maine since I moved here a decade ago.  In all that time, I had never heard of, or seen, “The Throne” until recently.

I was searching for new geocaches in my area and came across one that was labeled “The Throne” and decided to check it out.  So, I downloaded the coordinates to my GPS and headed out to Catherine Mountain in Franklin, Maine.

After a nice hike up the side of Catherine Mountain, and several awesome views of Tunk Lake, I got to the peak and came upon the Throne in all its rock glory.

The Throne

Amazing what you can find when you get out there and look.  I actually think they could use something like this in “Game of Thrones.”

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M

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Unfortunate Occurrences….Round 2

Posted on April 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

Ever have a day that starts out great only to have it be ruined by one little seemingly insignificant thing?  Yeah, me too.  In fact, that’s happened to me more often than I’d like to admit lately.

Most recently, I was taking a nice hike along the Bold Coast trails in Cutler, Maine (if you ever have the chance to go there, I would recommend it).  The weather was great, I got some decent photographs, and I even found two geocaches along my route (those of you who don’t know what geocaching is, look it up, it’s awesome).  I decided to stop for lunch on a rock ledge above the ocean.  Sun, surf, and a nice lunch.  Perfect afternoon, right?  Right.  Well, that is, until I sat down and heard (and felt) a “pop/crunch”.  It was in that moment that I remembered…..

….My sunglasses were in my back pocket.

Farewell perfect day.  It was nice while it lasted.

I was annoyed, frustrated, and half blinded by the bright sun at the loss of my sunglasses.  But, on the upside, at least they weren’t an expensive pair.  Thank you dollar store!

That’ll teach me to store my sunglasses in a place where they could be destroyed.  On my face is probably a better place to have them.

And on a final note for this week‘s post, my thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to all the victims, victim’s families, survivors, and everyone affected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon.  And a big thank you to the first responders and everyone who helped during the aftermath.  Stay strong, Boston!

Until next time…

[-_-]

~A.M.

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Posted in Hiking, Life, Photography