Beyond Beyond

Kim has told us that we will not be getting a weekly reminder that she has posted, this could be cataclysmic for me!
I received the Texture Tuesday and went to work with it yesterday, I added it to the photo that I had taken and decided was 'the best' as instructed in the class.
Apparently there is a price for being late with Texture Tuesday and the link no longer exists!
Back to the drawing board.
here is my original using Kim's 'minus 34'

Then I got a little crazy and changed 'minus 43' from the original to a more purple hue, here is that version, which do you prefer?

here is a close up of one of the orchids, again with Kim's minus 34 texture. I just love the tiny frills and the yellow and purple combination. 

i would never put those two colours together in life, but, nature does it so beautifully.

I think I maybe spent more time getting close and around rather than above and below, lesson learned!

Tulips 1

No point mentioning I am behind, although I did manage the last lesson pretty much on time, just the 98  before that that are the problem.
Here is the first tulip picture that Kim gave us, she had an idea in her head and wanted to see our attempts before she posted hers.

Here is mine.




The bunch of tulips fade in from black and white to colour as I get a second chance to complete the year. Looking at other peoples' pages I see I have missed So much.
Here is the beginning of my 'second chance'.

Love Big

I have missed so many of Kim's lessons, I believe that she is leaving the available for another year for those of us who signed up for Beyond Beyond, so I get the chance to miss them a second time, to attempt reading them and maybe find time to try them out a second time.
Of course, how I think I will now find time to complete two classes when I failed so miserably at one is beyond me, however, you never know! The eternal optimist lives on.
My computer no longer will open Vimeo, so I need to address fixing that before I even try to attempt lessons.

Here is my interpretation using Kim's 2nd tulip image.
Something about the words 'Love big', struck a chord, it is not eloquent and delicate, but 2 words mean so much.
I used a Radlab mix that I had made then again as a screen, then as a normal, and then added Kim's Pumpkin Grunge as I love the way it gently warms things up.
Then I flattened the whole thing and did a crop and then had to fill in the empty spaces with colour.
I found in my other attempts that the leave at the base with the light on it just kept blowing out so I ended up cloning it out more or less.

Late as ever.

Sad to say I am happy that I am not the only one who got left way behind on this.
I have signed up for next year, hope Kim lets us do another year after that as I will need 5 years to accomplish what others managed in 1.
However, I have learned loads and feel that admitting I am slow is better than not even trying.

However, I appreciate ALL that Kim has done

Pink End of the Day

A walk round a lake and the sun set and this was
the residual colour in the sky.

12-12-12 Make a Wish

An interesting date.
Some one said today is the day that the world ends. Well not for me.
Some one said that this date is a wishing day.
I am going with the wishes.

I wish to work less at my job and get a change in direction, live closer to the land and enjoy being alive, rather than being a slave to work, more or less for works sake.
I wish to make a living through creativity, photos, crafts, or something similar. Not a huge wage but some spending money. Friends are having a party in Vancouver, can I go? no! No time, I have to work, and I have little money.
I wish for the creative job that would give me time and finance me to go and take photos of so many places in the world I wish to visit. Not sure I want to go to the Arctic or Antarctic, but all other continents have places I would love to visit.
I wish I would give myself permission to take control of my life. I should not worry so much about what others will think of me.
I wish I could work on this blog on a more regular basis, every other day would be fabulous, once a month would be an improvement. How do people blog daily? When do they find the time?
I have signed up for Kim Klassen's Beyond Beyond, I am hoping that I can take the classes next year as I missed so many this year.
I wish that I could read and do each of Kim's Beyond classes, and I wish that when she does her blog class again, I can afford to take it and actually complete it.
I wish for more money, I would love to win the lottery and pay off so many of my friends mortgages, however, as I do not buy lottery tickets this seems a frivolous wish.
My biggest wish is that my family, friends and those around me stay healthy and that the grey negative cloud that has been over our area for a while gets blown out to sea and lost.
I wish for happiness and health for us all.
I wish my wishes come true and that I remember to count my blessings.

Do you think????

Kim's class lasts for a year,

there are 52 weeks in a year, 

so DO YOU THINK ....

that once a week I could 

sign in and do one of her projects

sign on here and make a post?

Apparently NOT!

So here is a pic and a sweet thought.

I love taking photos

    they are supposed to be a way of slowing me down,

looking at nature and taking time.

A New Years resolution that is still on the back burner.

where

Have you ever said something and then realised that God was listening and then whatever you said happens to you?
Seems like God listens to my not too brilliant words often and
THEN
I really commiserate with the person who said/wrote them.
Some time ago Kim said that she had dropped several of the online classes she had signed up for and I thought "she is batty, she paid good money for those and then just dropped them!"
well guess what
I am now so far behind in my classes with Kim that trying to even think about catching up seems like an insurmountable task and I am regretting my words about Kim dropping classes.
I have been every bit as busy as I knew I would be for April, problem is we are now in May and I am not even beginning to catch up.
Well a little pat on the back for me I am doing this blog!!!
Do I have a recent photo for it? no!
Just an old one that I am still messing about with, I did try the RadLab and got hooked so have used a bit of it on this photo.

Push

In our Beyond Layers class Kim has been gently pushing us to explore
our world
ourselves
our abilities.


Today she is pushing, again about ourselves, 
but
like Kim I have an extremely hard time with this.....
taking photos of myself; 
that is why I hold the camera!


I believe we have our idea of beauty so distorted by the fronts of magazines with those gorgeous girls, and although we know those photos have photoshop help, still the idea of not being up to snuff persists for me.


Many years ago there was a British television programme called Butterflies, in one episode the lady was sitting on a park bench and saw a lovely young girl pass by, the older lady reasoned that her own face bore the wrinkles of a longer life with many laughs, the lines from child bearing and the wear on her body from experiences, laughing, loving and living. 
My face and body tell the tales of life experiences, laughing, loving and living.  
I need to accept this as seen from the mirrors reflection. 


Photo, not of me, 
another using Radlab, I love the pictures I can make with them.

Oh this is amazing

In Kim's class she refers to a site called RadLab.
Wow do they have the most amazing stylets, almost like actions, but not!
They have a free down load trial, they are smart because once you have tried this you are hooked!

Here is one of my early tries, not mind blowing but so easy to create.

What Do You Say?

I have 2 friends who are suffering and ask myself, 


What Do You Say? 

One has a very predictable journey with and end in plain sight, 
one has turmoil and we hope and pray that no one comes to harm as a result.


What Do You Say to the husbands who are dealing with this?


What do you say to your friends?

Reba 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPx1HT9pqos

Beautiful B&W

The class was asked to make a Black & White picture.
I do not think in black and white and found this rather difficult.

Using the layers helped tremendously as I was able to keep going back and upping the contrast which my photo seemed to be lacking once the colour was removed and it converted to black & white.
However, I am so pleased with the result.

You would not know it was a pale pink tulip before the process but the result is wonderful (I think so anyway).

                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                    Another 'Thank You' to Kim.

Thoughts on Fear

The fear of what might happen next and the possibility that things might be in some way able to get even worse are close to paralyzing.
You hear about people who go through something and you wonder how they do it
then
it happens to you!

You realise that the passing of time happens in what appear to be two separate realms,
some things whizz past so quickly and others take on a slow motion persona of their own.

The saying 'One Day At A Time' becomes your mantra and at times one agonising minute is followed by the next minute seemingly stalking up behind the last in slow motion.

You know it will end,
but
will it end the way you yearn for?

Kim asked us to write 10 truths about ourselves, mine seemed rather small and I knew that it would be good to put a photo in with the post, so........
I put my 10 truths on the petals of a white camellia flower I recently took a photo of.
The outcome is not as brilliant as I would have liked but it gives you the idea.

What light from Yonder window.....

Am getting further and further behind in my assignments for Kim's Beyond Layers Class.
One, that I have yet to get done was to find a space and make it into a mini light studio.
You need a table and a backboard or two and your camera. Plus the light you have taken days to find.

I have found the best light in the house, it is in the bathroom, and it really can be quite perfect with the light diffused through the bathroom glass.
Here is the tricky (impossible) bit.
I worked out where I could sit on the edge of the bath to get the correct light, good thus far.
However, next comes the table to place our items to be photographed on, do you think I can get even a mini table in the bath and sit near it to take a photo? Not likely.
Add to this the 3rd item which is back boards in white or cream to bounce the light off, ( I hope you are getting a mental picture of all this).
Juggling boards, table camera and item,
No, it just will not work.

"What light from yonder window falls?"

Good Deeds

No good deed goes unnoticed!

The universe sings with these moments.

I am in the middle of my list of things that make me happy.
Then I decided to write a note to Kim who is running this course which I am way behind on but oh well.

I would just like you to know that although I am WAY behind in the projects that you have given us, 
somewhere you mentioned...
HAVE FUN with this
and I am.
I refuse to beat myself up about being behind with the lessons,
I am still learning lots
and
chances are you will run this again and I can sign up again, 
(even if I was up to date it is doubtful that I would remember everything anyway).
Maybe you could give us work on the word 'freedom' I am so enjoying the freedom that I have granted myself NOT to get upset about being behind, it is quite divine.
Back to my list 
Happiness is life 
and living it the way I choose.
(Just so that I do not sound too awful, I am kind to others, do drive more or less at the speed limit and pay taxes.)

The Wise Owl

Went for a walk at sunset, and there calmly sitting up in a tree was this owl.
Sadly the light was not good and he was high up,
however, I still think he looks splendid.

A little bit of daily wisdom.
Bloom where you are planted. 

As ever it is up to us to bloom where we are, and not wait for someone or something else to determine how we show ourselves.


And I do love hollyhocks.

A Little Dreaming.

Just a little dreaming.