Playing with Photoshop

I recently took some photos around sunset.

I was near Swede Point Park,

just outside of Madrid, Iowa.

The pictures all turned out different

as I was near the river valley and so some

pictures were dark, with the sunset behind,

while others were brighter with the last

of the sun making the trees glow.

There were a few pictures I really liked,

but most were pretty ordinary.

So I played.

Playing in my Photoshop program

is like a kid playing with art supplies.

I just had fun creating various effects

with the tools in Photoshop Elements.

dry brush effect

stained glass effect

added a border

glowing edges

glass--small lens effect

paint daubs effect

This was near Swede Point, looking

west towards Woodward.

water color effect

The Des Moines River is low right

now you can see the remains of an old

bridge to the north of the current 210 bridge.

glowing edges effect

This photo shows the Highway 210 bridge

west of Madrid, with the High Trestle

Trail bike bridge in the background.



Sunset in November

No words to say to

improve upon what God

gave me on this

past November day.

How did you know I could do that?

Sometimes there is great wisdom

in children's stories.

I can't remember if this quote came

from a Winnie-the-Pooh story

or from the Velveteen Rabbit,

but either way it's a good

one for all of us to keep in mind.

Thanks to whoever the author is!

Illusion of Movement

I was taking sunset pictures

through a grove of trees

in the last moments

before darkness

overcame the land.

I have a number

of very pretty pictures

(some of which I'll post another time),

but this picture

was by far

the most interesting.

I have no idea

what I did

to create this effect.

If I stare at it long enough

I swear I am moving.

Or the trees are moving.

I wish I knew

what happened

to create

this illusion.

The colors behind the trees

are absolutely brilliant

and make a perfect

backdropfor the impression

of movement in a still shot.

Some days you just get lucky.

Spiderwebs

I was taking photos at Grey's Lake

one evening recently.

Once the colored lights

on the bridge came on the

spiders and their webs were amazing.

Behind some of the photos you can see

dots of light from the Des Moines

downtown city skyline.

Believe

BELIEVE      

believe

                Believe

                                        believe

                    BELIEVE

High Trestle Trail Bridge at Night

The High Trestle Trail Bridge,

just west of Madrid, Iowa,

is simply amazing.

The architect is a genius.

If you've never been here, I highly

suggest you make a trip to visit.

If you come visit at night,

bring a flashlight as

only the bridge is lit up at night.

It's worth the drive,

worth the walk,

worth the time.

What a view.



Flowers near Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic has such beautiful buildings

and beautiful surroundings.

This post focuses on some of the gorgeous

flowers found on the grounds of

Mayo Clinic or in areas near the clinic.

They certainly brightened my day

and I hope they will brighten your day as well.

Castle Bookstore near Mayo Clinic

If you ever are visiting Mayo Clinic in

Rochester, Minnesota, there's a

Barnes and Noble store in the

skywalk/subway system

very close to Mayo.

I don't know the history of the building,

but now the bookstore resembles

a castle.

It's the coolest bookstore

I've ever been in.

I happen to love bookstores.

Could spend hours, days, weeks,

getting lost in them.

I absolutely adore the castle theme

of this bookstore.

And I love that it's so very close

to Mayo

so that when you're visiting

you have a place to go where your

imagination

can take you

anywhere

and away from every reason

you're there at

Mayo in the first place.

They used to have a great reading nook

in the front window,

with nice fluffy chairs.

They were gone this time.

Silly me.

I thought they'd want people

to enjoy the place and be comfortable.

I miss the fluffy chairs,

but I do still love the bookstore.

Worth visiting if you ever

need to take a trip to Mayo Clinic.

Sunrise Over Iowa

Few things are as breathtaking as a

gorgeous sunset or sunrise.

Thankfully I was awake when this

beauty of a sunrise

appeared and my son pointed it

out to me. My house doesn't give

 me the best spot to take

sunrise pictures, but I knew

that in a matter of minutes

the gorgeous colors would be gone so

I had to make do with what I had.

I thank God for giving all of us

a beautiful sunrise over Iowa

on the morning of Monday September 17.

This especially goes out to all the

service men and women

who are serving our country overseas

and weren't here in Iowa

to see this sunrise.

May you come home safely.