Spooky - Week 43

This week's photo theme was Spooky. We had a great moon the other night. I din't have time to drive around for a good view; I was just able to take a shot out my front door. I didn't even have time to set up my tripod. I knew it was going to be grainy and probably out of focus but I was hoping I'd get something to work with at least. 

Here's the shot straight from the camera. 

ISO 1600, f 5.6, 1/5 sec.

And then I did a lot of editing. Burning, playing with curves, increasing contrast, desaturating, adding a border. 

Nothing great, gut I'm happy with it. 

Next week's theme is Abstract. 

Another Mural FINALLY done!!

You probably don't remember this but waaaayy back in January I posted a bunch of quotes that I was considering incorporating into a mural for my bathroom. 

Well, I ended up actually starting this mural in April, believe it or not, but then life just got really hectic and I had a hard time carving out big chunks of time to paint. It was 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there. What made this mural even harder was that I chose some lousy paint! I ended up having to put on 3 COATS to cover evenly. Next time I paint a mural I am definitely putting a lot more time into researching paint!!! 

Last week though, finally, FINALLY I finished it!!!

I ended up choosing the Oscar Wilde quote, "With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy? 

My bathroom is kind of small and I couldn't get a photo of the full mural but I think you get the idea. (The light in there is terrible too.)The mural begins  above our mirror and sink on the left....

...then wraps around a corner and is above a window on the right. 

This little old mural only took me.....4 months!! Ha, if I didn't have kids I probably could have finished in 4 days! 

On a little side note I put up a new curtain in this bathroom, right below the mural. It had Venetian blinds in it, which I hate. DR and I argue over windows and light. He always wants them closed...he's got this thing about privacy! But me, I want the windows wide open letting in as much light as possible. 

Then the blinds broke, YAY!!! Now for a compromise...I looped a bunch of ribbons onto a tension rod as a curtain. This photo looks lousy, it looks much better in person, but now DR and I are both happy. He gets his privacy and I get light!!! 

I wish I could take credit for this wonderful idea but nope, I found it on Pinterest...of course!! 

What next? Should I attempt another mural? I'm not sure. Of all the 7 houses we've lived in I've never finished more than two murals before we had to move. Should I attempt another, or worry about bringing down the resale value?? 

Shooting in the Dark in a Small Town.

Last weekend DR got home late from work, go figure...it's harvest. And he walked in and told me I should come take pictures of the moon. It was beautiful! Big and bright with lots of details! But try as I might I couldn't take a picture without it looking like a big white ball. 

(a car coming towards me)

As I was in the dark playing with my camera, I realized I could try making light trails!! Fun!! 

I set up my tripod and set the exposure to 4 seconds and waited...and waited....and waited...for a car to drive by. We live on the main street of town and it was Saturday night at 9 pm and I could have pitched a tent in the street and slept soundly. Small towns.

DR even offered to get in the truck and drive back and forth on the street for me...sweet guy! 

But I was lucky enough to get 3 or 4 cars drive by after while. 

(a car driving away)

They were fun to do! They aren't great but a good learning experience nonetheless. 

This is south side of town. See that fence? That is the edge of town. The boys and I were curious the other day and drove the borders of our tiny town and we learned it is exactly a mile square. I can stand in the middle of town, turn in a circle, and see the four edges. Small towns. 

I liked how all the lights looked like there were rays shooting from them. 

I liked this photo even more when I pushed the boundaries of editing. 

Sometimes I kind of like the wild abstract look of things. 

Cool huh? 

Photo Thursday - Spooky December Moon

Last week when we were home for Christmas in Indiana I took this pic for my sister or Officer as she is better known. She's a police officer in Indianapolis and rarely gets to enjoy the beauty of a night sky due to all the light pollution of the city. If I ever get her out to Kansas to see the night sky she may never go back!

So here you go Officer. I thought this was kind of a spooky shot, more Halloweenish but I enjoy them all the same. I didn't have a tripod and I needed a second long exposure. I tried standing still while making myself into a tripod and leaning against the house. But they are a bit blurry but hey...a blurry shot is sometimes better than no shot at all, right? And hey, I bet Officer will enjoy this one anyway.