This texture was created from the following photo . . . which is of the dirty back window of a pickup truck that lives in the neighborhood . . . I used features in Picasa as well as IrfanView to come up with this texture . . . and part of the process involved creating a double exposure collage using a texture from playing with PSP . . . let me know if you need a higher resolution version . . . and I'll send it to you . . .
Here in Texas, this is known as a Texas Stop Sign . . . 'cause you can't drive by without stopping for a DQ treat . . . and for the first time since I moved here in 1989, we have a Dairy Queen in Red Oak, Texas . . . I took this photo today when I stopped by for a DQ specialty . . . I chose the Cappucino Heath Blizzard . . . sure was good! . . . the Dairy Queen in Rockdale, Texas was the hangout when I was a teenager . . . and the local Dairy Queens along the route were a frequent stop when we rode with the Texas Sesquicentennial Wagon Train in 1986 . . . welcome to the neighborhood, DQ!
Well . . . since I did not have a human helper . . . and I could not get the goats or the dog or the cats to help on this project :) . . . this photo shows the set-up I used for photographing my Then & Now photo for The Family Curator's genealogy photo challenge for World Photography Day . . . which is the 19th day of August . . . I started out with my photo holder sitting on the top tier of this little step-ladder . . . but the hot summer breezes soon taught me a lesson . . . and the photo holder toppled over . . . and I had a torn photo! . . . because of the necessity of figuring out a photo holder for this project, I had already decided to use copies instead of originals . . . so the torn photo was not a big deal . . . I wound up using my little Kodak Z1012 for this photo session . . . it frequently malfunctions (zooms in and out and powers off . . . all by itself) . . . so I have not used it in a while . . . but it worked right today . . . and it worked great for this project . . .
I took the photo of the fence this a.m. with the idea of creating a textured background with it . . . and then I remembered I had a snow photo from sorta the same angle . . . so I merged the two photos in the above collage . . . and then I created the following texture (which you are welcome to use) by merging my photo with a texture from playingwithbrushes . . . I then used this same texture to create a heritage collage featuring my maternal grandma . . .
Clicking on this altered image will take you to another altered image from the same photo session with my palomino friend . . . please do let me know if you use this texture for a project . . . I would like to see what you do with it . . .
In the gloaming, oh my darling,
When the lights are dim and low,
And the quiet shadows falling,
Softly come, and softly go.
When the winds are sobbing faintly,
With a gentle lull of woe,
Will you think of me and love me,
As you did once long ago?
In the gloaming, oh my darling,
Think not bitterly of me,
Though I passed away in silence,
Left you lonely, set you free.
For my heart was crushed with longing,
What had been could never be,
It was best to leave you thus dear,
Best for you, and best for me.
These are the lyrics to the song In The Gloaming as sung by Dana Reeve at the end of Christopher Reeve's directorial debut from the film of the same title . . . written by Anne F. Hamson & Meta Orred . . . performed by Dana Reeve . . .
Gotcha!
He is actually in my fenced-in backyard in this photo . . .
with my goats!
He lives two backyards away from my back lot . . .
and this was at least his 2nd visit today . . .
In mirth he mocks the other birds at noon,
Catching the lilt of every easy tune;
But when the day departs he sings of love,--
His own wild song beneath the listening moon.
Henry Van Dyke
10 November 1852 ~ 10 April 1933
OK . . . I was hungry! . . . so I went to Whataburger for pancakes-to-go . . . and an apple pie for tomorrow . . . shot this photo from the window of the Sequoia as I was driving back home over the Boxcar Willie Overpass (for real . . . there's even a sign that says so) . . . when we moved here 20+ years ago, NONE of those businesses were there . . .
There were multiple wildfires in North Texas today . . . thousands of acres burned . . . some of them just a few counties west of me . . . so with all that smoke in the air, my camera and I waited patiently for the time of day when we could capture this view . . .
High from the earth I heard a bird
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles
And then he spied a breeze.
by
Emily Dickinson
10 December 1830 – 15 May 1886
