Flower Power Friday......Lupine

This week's flower is the Lupine.  These Lupines are growing in my backyard, but are very common throughout Maine.

Last year I planted 3 colors of Lupine, white, purple and pink in the meadow out back.  The goal is to let the lupines fill in the meadow.  Last year they all bloomed well and the white were especially abundent.  This year no signs of the white, the purple only 1 stalk and the pink are doing very well.  Not sure what went wrong.  Maybe next year they will all be blooming.  I will say the plants came back, just not all the blooms.  Bummer! 

My peaches are getting bigger every day.  I am seeing more of them too.

I have planted tomatoes, peppers, cukes, basil and sunflowers.  All of which are doing well.  I thought for a bit there that I had to replant my sunflowers due to all the rain we had last week, but after some drying out I saw them starting to pop up.  I have tried to grow peppers in the past, but with little luck.  I am hoping this year will be better. 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads

I Love You Dad!

I've Been Found!!!!

Wow!  I've heard of Gray Squirrels being a nuisance at bird feeders, but these Brown Squirrels top the cake.  I started with one and it was cute.  Then 2 and I was still okay with it, but now there is 3 and a Chipmunk!!!!  Someone is spreading the word.............The first Brown Squirrel that started coming around we suspect is a female who perhaps has a litter of babies.  The other 2 not really sure.  One I wonder if it's from her litter since she doesn't seem to mind him/her around.  Either way I now have to figure out how to deter them.

This little guy along with his cohorts finished birdseed in the house feeder and now he is working the finch feeder as the Finches and Sparrows and Cowbirds watch and wait!!!

I will say my cat Dexter keeps a very close eye on all 3 of the squirrels and the chipmunk.  He would love to go get em, but brown squirrels are mean and I'm afraid Dexter wouldn't have a chance!  Not that I would let him do it even if he did have a chance.

In case you missed them here are my Treasuries for the week

I was feelin groovy when I made this treasury

Some great artists on Etsy

Finally Nothin tastes better than Maine Lobstah!!

Have a Awesome Weekend!!!

Just Peachy

Peach Blossom

This posting is all about peaches.....Why? Well after 3 or 4 years my peach tree has finally produced more than 3 blossoms. Which I am hoping for some peaches this year. Living in Maine growing peaches can be tough. The variety I have is "Reliance" which is suppose to handle -10 to -15 degrees. I will be photographing my peach tree as the fruit matures. 

I have used Flypaper Textures to soften up the photo some.

In case you missed them I have created 2 treasuries this week...the one above is "Just Peachy" and the one below is "The Railroad".  Great gift ideas for all on Etsy.com  Don't forget Father's Day coming up.

My uncle was a conductor on the railroad and I have always been fascinated with the railroad.

Anticipating a great sunny weekend and will be spending lots time in the garden.

Have a Super Weekend!

West Quoddy Lighthouse

West Quoddy Lighthouse

Lubec, Maine

So here it is.....I photograph this scene last October and though it wasn't raining the clouds refused to leave or even part some....the color version wasn't working for me so I decided to go black and white.  I used Nik Silver Efex and with some tweaking I like what I was seeing.  The clouds were looking good and in general the scene popped, but I wasn't completely satified.  In Silver Efex I tried toning, but still wasn't quite what I wanted.  So I tried Topaz Adjust and used the brown tone which is the photograph below.  I know which one I like, but which do you like.  Your input and any comments are truly appreciated.

Have a great weekend...Happy St. Patrick's Day!



So What Do You Think?

So what do you think?  I recently purchased Topaz Adjust 5 and it is giving me so much insight on some great features, which are helping me with alot of photos I was having difficulty with, but what I was most interested in was HDR.  I know I still have a ton to learn and there are other software that are better suited for HDR processing, but I wanted to try it to see if I liked it first.  I did post this photo earlier this year "In a Daze" take a look to see the difference.
I would appreciate your comments and or suggestions.
Have a great weekend!

Liquid Silver

This is actually a photograph of a Harbor Master's boat reflecting off the harbor in Belfast, Maine.

Paper Kite Butterfly

Idea leuconoe

This fragile beauty is known as the "Paper Kite Butterfly" or "Rice Paper Butterfly", because of it's beautiful delicate black and white wings.  I photographed this Paper Kite Butterfly at the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Garden in Deerfield, Mass.

Well one more show to complete my show season.  It is the United Maine Craftsmen 37th Annual Thanksgiving Arts & Crafts Show at the Brewer Auditorium, Brewer Maine.  After that show and the holidays I will be working on all my projects that have been put on hold.  Winter is a good time to do lots of projects!

Rockland Harbor

Rockland Harbor is one of my favorite places in Maine.  This harbor is both a fishing harbor and for sailing boats.  Rockland is also the home the the famous Maine Lobster Festival that occurs every summer in August.  I photograph this location often and every time I get a different perspective.

For this photo I used Flypaper Textures.  Giving the photo a little bit of that history feel.

In a Daze!

The past few weeks have been really crazy!  Between 3 farmers markets, baking cookies, getting ready for photography shows, yard work, office work, social media, meetings, making travel plans for the end of this month and getting ready for a visit from my sister and my nieces (who I haven't seen in over 5 years) I am slightly overwhelmed!  And I don't even have kids, but I do have dogs and a cat.  I have been trying real hard to organize my time so I can do it all and still have me time.  I am trying to stay 1 step ahead, but it isn't working.  So what am I to do?  Stop....breathe and start again.....slowly.  It can all be done, I just have to figure out how.

 



Okay so I grab the camera and go shooting!  That will help clear my head.  I have been practicing my landscapes.  I took this photo Saturday and I love it!  What do you think of it?

 I also wanted to update you on my backyard birds.  Bird activity has been kinda quiet.  Yesterday I did notice the Eastern Bluebird is back checking out the other birdhouse.  As I had mentioned previously the Tree Swallows have moved into one of the houses (eastern exposure) and they for a long time would chase away any birds that might be interested in the other birdhouse, but yesterday the Eastern Bluebird was back hanging around the house all day and part of today.  The Tree Swallows just watch the Eastern Bluebird as he/she became comfortable in the house.  So the possibility of having a Tree Swallow and Eastern Bluebird fledglings are good.  But as always time will tell.  Hopefully I can get better shots of both birds. 




Well please hang with me as I try to get organized and get back on track.

Have a great day!

Flower Power Friday, Featuring the Lupines




 Lupines are very common here in Maine.  They grow in gardens, meadows and on the sides of the roads.  They are quite hardy here.  I have seen them in full and partial sun.  They bloom in June.  The most popular colors are the blue/purples, but there are white, pink, red and yellow.  They will reseed and can easily take over if not watched.  I planted mine near the back field where I do want them to take over.  This is the second year for my Lupines.  I have a blue/purple, yellow and red I think.  I see that they are doing well right now, and can't wait til they bloom!

My 3 Season Coastal Maine Adventure





Iron Stairs

  




Morning Fog

  



Portland Lighthouse

 



As I have mentioned in previous posts that I am exploring different techniques that I have grown very interested in.  To name a few HDR (High Dynamic Range), Texturing, Hand Coloring, Infrared, and more Black & White.  I also want to try different photographic compositions like, landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, more reflections, more city abstracts.  Just to name a few.  The photographs seen here are some of the concepts I want to improve upon.
So I got to thinking of where to go to get these photos.  I have a couple of shows in Connecticut where I grew up and I know lots of locations there, but I really wanted to get more locations here in Maine since this is where I live and most of my art shows are here.  Have to say that I don't know Maine as well as I should.  So that is why I came up with My 3 Season Coastal Maine Adventure.  I choose 3 seasons, because frankly I am not a winter person, and I spend most of the winter catching up on things.  So March through October I have chosen 10 coastal towns and cities that I will be visiting with the March through October time frame.  I will be scouting out locations in March and regularly visiting these places on Sundays or Mondays when traffic is lowest.  The anticipated towns and cities I plan to visit are Machiasport, Bar Harbor, Stonington, Belfast, Camden, Rockland, Boothbay, Bath, Freeport, Portland.  I will be visiting locations in and around these towns and cities.  This will build my collection of photographs with the objectives above in mind.  And I will also get to know the coastal area of Maine.  If this goes well then next year I go inland to explore. 
This year is all about exploration of my skills as a photographer, myself too and exploring this great state of Maine.  Through my adventure I will be tweeting, posting on facebook and of course blogging.  And as always keep an eye on my website for new photos.
Just some added mentions:  I will be attending both the Rockland Farmers Market and the Newport Farmers Market where I will be selling my cookies and photography. My second job and more avenues to market my photography.