{Texture Tuesday} Free & Easy eDition

Hello friends,

It's time for another Texture Tuesday! 

Here are this week's TT challenge details.

• Your image must contain any 1 of my textures. That's it that's all.

Before we start linking up. Let's talk next week's details.

Next week's TT theme. (May 22nd)

How 'bout a theme/prompt week.....  

Share an image centered around the word LIGHT. Your image must also contain at least one layer of any of my textures. 

Have fun!

New to Texture Tuesdays? Here's the short and sweet TT rules.

• please link directly to your TT post, not to your main blog url or flickr stream. Please do not link to your online shop. 
• please link back to the Café. You can grab the TT button HERE, if you wish.
• please visit the other TT participants and leave them some comment love. Remember it's a party.... and what's a linky party without lots of comment love? Right! 

Want more details? Click HERE for the full scoop!

Let's get to the linky party, shall we?

xo,

California Here I Come.....

mouse over to see the original

I'm off to California... for 4 fabulous days......

I will be back next week...renewed....inspired....and ready to share!

Have a most fabulous weekend friends!

xo,

{Texture Tuesday} The Two-Texture eDition

mouse over to see the original 

Hello friends,

It's time for another Texture Tuesday! 

Here are this week's TT challenge details.

• Your image must contain any 2 of my textures. that's it that's all.

I used 2 layers on my image above. One layer of Chase at soft light 100% opacity and another layer of framed (part of the Ultimate Bundle) at soft light 100% opacity.

Next week's TT theme. (May 15th)

Let's keep it simple... Any texture...any theme...  another free & easy eDition. 

New to Texture Tuesdays? Here's the short and sweet TT rules.

• please link directly to your post, not just to your blog or flickr stream. Please do not link to your online shop. 
• please link back to the Café. You can grab the TT button HERE, if you wish.
• please visit the other TT participants and leave them some comment love. Remember it's a party.... and what's a linky party without lots of comment love? Right! 

Want more details? Click HERE for the full scoop!

Let's get to the linky party, shall we?

xo,

p.s. I've had so many emails asking if it's too late to join Beyond Layers? Absolutely not.... there's plenty of time to catch up on the lessons already posted....I'd love to have you join in. Click HERE for more info.

{Weekend Texture} I Heart Blossoms

mouse over to see the original

I have a sweet new texture for you to try out today.... I call this little lovely.....Chase.

I used it on my image above at soft light 100%.... I love the soft subtle touch it added to the photo.

Test Kitchen members...I posted the a step by step video tutorial for this image.... Come check it out. It's a good one!

Click HERE to download Chase. 

Want more fab textures... join my list and get some instant freebies......

I'm signing off.... but I will be back for Texture Tuesday..... See you then.

xo, 

{iPhoneography} Our Week Squared

Hello Lovelies,

Tell me, how was your week?

Mine was fast and fab.....  But as always....everyday... no matter the weather... we walked our daily walks. 4 miles in the afternoon and another 3 in the evening. It's just what we do. If the weather would warm up, Ben and I would swap one of our walks for a bike ride.... But it's been really quite wet and cool this past month. I'm definitely ready for some sun. 

Anyhow, here's my favorite tree on the trail... the tree that started this whole photography thing for me.... The sky was daunting... a storm was rolling in.....  I took a quick pic.... Can you see Ben across from the tree on the right? 

Sophie got a haircut this week... Here she is by one of the ponds they like to dip in..... right now it's nice... but as the weather warms up...it can get a little stinky.... 'sigh'

My favorite section of the trail by far.... a path of trees....  it fills in beautifully in the summer.... Really so peaceful. Ben's the little speck in the center. :)

Another watering hole the pups like to dip in.

I didn't have a lot of time for setting up stills and taking pics with my Nikon this week... but I took a few snaps here and there with my phone..... and experimented with a few fav apps..... I love using down time to process images on my phone..... You know you love your work...when you walk away from it and proceed to do the same thing for fun!! :)

Just a few fav camera pics....

Love this sweet holiday brownie.....

One more.... 

Oh and.....I started this book....I'm really looking forward to diving into it.... I've heard great things.

Let's see...... what else did I do this week, besides walk and work? 

We went to my parents on Monday for dinner.....to celebrate my birthday.... Thank you for all the lovely wishes, by the way. It was a quiet, but really good day. John and I are going out for dinner this evening.... a little belated birthday outing. Oh this morning we went to an auction sale and I snagged another antique typewriter for $10. It needs a little cleaning up... but it's a fab old underwood. I had my photography kids over to work on their projects. That was fun. I caught up with a dear friend...such a blessing. You know a true friend, when no matter how long you are apart, you can pick right back up where you left off... and not miss a beat. And finally.....I had several revelations this week...that seemed to break open a flood of new and exciting ideas.. I mean seriously BIG stuff. Burst.

WOW.... it really was such a FAB week. 

Tell me.... Are you instagramming yet? What was your week like? I'd love to hear about it.

xo,

{Guest Post} Back in Time by Tracey Clark

 Oh my goodness... I'm so excited.....the super talented...always inspiring....  Tracey Clark is here to share with us today! Woo hoo.... Be sure to check out the surprise below her beautiful words and images.

Take it away, Tracey.....

My love affair with photography began in black & white. Before the digital age, you had to make a decision what kind of photograph you wanted to create. For me, it was always black & white. Roll after roll, shooting with a monochromatic palette, I began to actually see the world around me translated through the absence of color. It helped to hone my photographic eye. I became a stalker of light, of shadow, highlights, shade, shape, curve, space, composition and expression. When you remove the color from the image, each of these things becomes even more important. 

Since then, I’ve come to embrace the digital age and have learned to love (and depend on) seeing the shot in color first. After the fact, with the click of my mouse, I can change it on a whim. It’s changed how I see the world. I still see all of the things I saw before only now I have the luxury of choosing how to proceed. Color or black & white? And I usually make my choice on a shot to shot basis. Now, every shot can ask for something unique. Each one tells me what it would like to be. I listen and follow along.

Even still, I am 100% certain that laying my photographic foundation in black & white made me the photographer I am today. I’m not so sure I’d be able to see all of the elements I see, all of the things that make up a strong image, if it weren’t for the monochromatic practice. Would I still know the way the light shapes things and bring them to life, the importance of gesture and expression, the way every part of the frame is a narrative? I’m not sure. I just don’t know if color makes you work hard enough to not only see those things, but also to put them to good use in your images. I guess at this point there’s no real way to tell but I can say that with Picture Black & White, I am eager to shoot with black & white in mind again. I am looking forward to the challenge of going back to basics, of revisiting my beginnings, and reminding myself of where and how my passion was sparked.

Why is it that black & white images from the past stir our souls? Is it just a coincidence that all of the black & white images I cherish feel timeless, classic, and true? I doubt it. Black & white isn’t just where I began in photography; it’s where many of us began experiencing photography, whether by shooting or just by looking at early images. Black & white photography is a part of our history, part of who we are. And no matter how much amazing and awesome technology there is to help us capture life in living color, traveling back in time to where it all began will never get old. 

.....

Thank you Tracey... I adore your B&W imagery.

Fabulous News

Tracey is offering 3 lucky winners a spot in her upcoming class, Picture Black & White. 

To enter, leave a comment below sharing your thoughts/ideas/experience with Black & White Photography. Be sure to enter your email address in the info box.

The lucky winners will be announced tomorrow evening (May 2nd).

Update on Wed, May 2 by Kim Klassen

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments.The winners have been choosen... 

Congrats to Deanna Swauger, Jo Nelson & Donna Hopkins. 

It's not too late to sign up for the class.... pop over to the registration page to check it out.

Forty-Four Wishes

 scroll down for a Texture Tuesday Update

44 

Yep… today I am 44 years old. I can't believe it. I honestly have to do the math every time the subject of my age comes up. But perhaps 44 will be an easier number to remember…..  double 4's and all. :)

I'm taking cues from Xanthe..and many bloggers out and about….and making a birthday list… of 44 wishes…dreams… goals…… 44… yikes… it'd be a little easier if I were turning 30.

If you've been following my site for awhile…you know I believe in writing things down… it makes things happen…. So enough said… Here is….

My 44 Things - in no particular order.

1. see my kids find their way to what they love.
2. make the white room a semi-official photo studio….. take out the bed and add a lovely pouffy….white sofa. Take time to just BE in that space.
3. continue to grow and evolve in my art and photography.
4. touch people's hearts.
5. connect in person with many of the amazing people I've met through my site and Beyond Layers.
6. paint more of our old home white….it makes everything prettier.
7. paint the kitchen cabinets, get new countertops and an apron front sink.
8. visit NYC.
9. visit New England.
10. visit Europe - so many places i want to see and photograph.
11. plan a family trip somewhere dreamy and awesome.
12. meet Phoebe in person.
13. live in a loft.
14. travel and teach.
15. start an outreach program in my community.
16. go to Alt Summit.
17. go to this conference.
18. journal gratitude daily… I'm so random about it.
19. create an iphone texture app.
20. live fully…. not frantically.
21. visit the east and west coast of Canada.
22. Spend more time in real life with my fellow sisters.
23. continue to love my work.
24. drive a mini cooper? perhaps?
25. perhaps a larger studio? maybe? maybe not? 
26. take people pictures.
27. build my faith.
28. own time…rather than it owning me.
29. live fully…with purpose. 'do my one life well' ~ Ann Voskamp
30. nourish my relationships.
31. take time off to just BE.
32. buy this lens
33. laugh more…. serious less.
34. have a book published.
35. learn inDesign, illustrator, FinalCut
36. organize my digital files.
37. hire a VA (virtual assistant)
38. be less freaked out about the businessy part of my business. trust the right person, grow organically.
39. license my photos more extensively.
40. print more of my photos, frame and appreciate them.
41. paint one wall of the studio with chalkboard paint.
42. be fully open to the possibilities.
43. make more films.....
44. sit on a beach with other creatives and just soak up the energy.

It doesn't have to be your birthday to make a wish list.....  Why not make one today? And if you do.... be sure to pop by and share a link... I'd love to read your list too.

xo, 

p.s. wise words -

The best in life isn’t somewhere else. It’s right where you are, at this moment. There is nothing better than exactly that.

Pause for just 10 seconds, and notice where you are, what you’re doing, who you are, at this very moment. Notice that you are breathing, and how lovely that is. Notice that you can smile, and feel the joy in that. Notice the good things around you. Give thanks for the people you’ve seen today. Celebrate the perhaps not altogether insignificant fact that you are alive.

This moment, and who you are, is absolutely perfect.

~Leo Leo Babauta.

Update on Mon, April 30 by Kim Klassen

Texture Tuesday will be back next week.... May 8th.... 

Watch for a special surprise guest/give away post....coming soon.

xo, Kim