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I made this image for our last mask workshop from a photo that I received from my daughter in law. Today, there was an article on yahoo about this same deer crossing Lorain Ave near where they live.

Here is my calendar ready to get packaged and send of to the recipients. I'm on time for the Holidays! Carole I have loved doing another calendar, although it always takes a lot of time to get it finished and printed; I'm happy with the result 🥰

Seeing as I didn't take the frost photo one day this week, here is a shot I took last night. First quarter, waxing crescent moon.

Week forty five. Well it's that time of year again, winter is moving in. We are already getting frosty nights, giving way to bright sunny relevantly warm days. Shooting hoar frost at this time of year doesn't give the best results, so this photo was taken last January when the temps plummet to 30 below and colder.

Week 45 Fuchsias in bloom at the start of November! It has been so mild here in England that these flowers have kept on going. I usually lose them with the first frosts in October – last year it was on the 3rd. Amazing to still have the colour in the garden.

What a beautiful photo, Julie! I can only imagine how the photographer waited at the right spot to get this shot. You created a lovely layout to showcase it. "Playing is fun even if the results are not stellar!" -- I agree. I also just want to have fun creating something, although it's no piece of Art. 🙂

Well done Corrie! What a truly thoughtful and personal gift for others in your life.

I am waiting to meet with the Jane, who will be doing the printing of my calendar. She will show me a sample of the printed calendar, and I was flattered that she asked if she could print one for herself.

Julie that is a spectacular photo and this layout does it justice

When working on the calendar workshop I promised Carole that I would show my calendar when printed and today it is completely finished. I have taken a photo of a couple of pages laid out on the table. In the next post is the calendar ready to hang on the wall. I printed the pages at home but went to the Copy Shop, a local smaller version of Staples, to have a binding. I can't upload 2 pages on the same post because I have kept them at a fairly large size when resizing for posting.

When I come across a photo I admire or enjoy, I grab it and then hope to use it for a layout. I don't take that many pix but I like seeing what others do. This one was posted on FB for the Hillman Marsh, taken at sunrise on November 3. I used a Dissolve blending mode on it to intensify the spectacular colours. Then just played with bits and pieces to create the layout. Playing is fun even if the results are not stellar! The marsh is protected wetlands where birding is a favourite activity. The boardwalks make it navigable.

Me neither, at least no longer, but I understand the technical bit of this process. Our camera became out dated, we had one that needed an actual roll of film. And it was heavy with all the different lenses. But when I buy a new cell phone I always go with the one that has the best camera. It is becoming amazing what you can do with your phone nowadays and for me that has to be enough; besides that I always have it with me!

Here too and if you ask a child to draw a mushroom you will in most cases get something like this one. Red with white dots! I know it is poisonous and we always told our kids. But in the calendar for this year I used a photo of an Amanita phalloides or death angel that is deadly if you eat it and every year there are cases reported of people dying after eating this mushroom!

That's quite technical for a non-camera person like me, but interesting to read. I really admire macro photography. But don't have the equipment to do it.

This week we have fog or low clouds, it is grey! Monday we had just a small glimpse of sun for a couple of minutes only, when I passed the stretch of grass in front of a building bloc. I have taken some mushroom photos there lately and just noticed some fly agaric (amanita muscaria). Btw is there another common name for this mushrooms? I have the new iPhone 16 which has gotten a great camera update which allows you to select the f value and exposure time by hand. I'm experimenting with it and here it worked great; foreground and background are blurred. When the weather improves..... I want to do more experimenting, however the grass has been cut and all mushrooms are gone for now.

Here's mine for Week 43 - an original watercolor by my daughter, Debbie Lennox, titled "End of Summer at the Mendo Zendo" (that is the new name for Big River Farm that actually started life as a Buddhist retreat, complete with gong.) It is now an Airbnb and art gallery.

Hello everyone. I haven't taken this one, so I can't wait to see what I learn.

I saw your comment only today, Ann. 😞 Lucky us, there's always someone here ready to help when we have questions or doubts. 🙂

Yes his name pointed in the direction of the northern European countries, like Norway, Sweden or Denmark.

I had missed it. Not an issue, I found it. Cheers!

I'm in now too.

I had missed it, anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to translate these documents. Jack is absolutely chuffed to bits to finally know what the documents say. As you rightly say, he wasn't Dutch, but Norwegian.

Sue I did a translation and it is in the same post where I said I do it after dinner, I think you might not have seen it there, sorry I better did it in a separate post

It might be Fly agaric. It has hallucinogenic qualities and can be poisonous, but rarely deadly, to humans. The image is used a lot in fairy tales.

It is. I choose not to use a photo stacker, as it is a tedious process. Where you have to take a series of shots at different focal lengths using a tripod. Which also takes accuracy. That doesn't work so well when shooting moving insects. There isn't anything which is completely flat to obtain perfect depth of focus of a subject, hence I opt for trying to keep the camera absolutely flush with whatever I'm shooting, whilst more often than not positioning myself to achieve it. Which works for me. There are lots of photo stacking programs out there, many of them are free to download. When shooting macro, one has to understand the difference between depth of field and depth of focus. Mind you not choosing to use a photo stacker over the technique I opt for is my own personal choice. So I may have part of a subject slightly out of focus, like an antena of an insect, due to it being slightly angled away, so be it.

Sue, is that the one that is now a part of PSP2023? (screenshot below)

In order for me to take macro photos, whether they are insects, frost, leaves, lichen, or anything else I use what is called a conversion lens. It's a small round lens which I attach to the camera. It is the Raynox 1.50 or 2.50 macro lens. Not all cameras support a conversion lens. Mine being a Panasinic FZ300 bridge camera does. As for the camera settings I use AFS/AFF mode. Setting is aperture. F4, which is the sweet spot for my camera. ISO 100. 2 second timer on stills. Aspect ratio 4.3. I can increase each image 4 fold, without loosing quality. When taking macro photos I concerntrate on the depth of focus. Making sure that that camera isn't in the slightest bit tilted. As I don't use a photo stacker program.

So adorable, the child and the layout.

Thanks for helping out here Cristina. It might well have been Lilypad. And I can fully appreciate her feelings over some tough times and losses. She did a great job on that layout.

Please, can you explain the camera settings for this pic?

And here is December.

Neither do we in the UK. I will have to wait for the temps to really drop, before taking frost and snowflake shots.

Lovely depth of field achieved in this shot.

Sue I love that frost, we almost never have that over here any more because the temperatures don't drop that low any longer; climate change.......

And here is my translation. No. 9577 Deposit no. .../... Ziekenhuis aan den Coolsingel Deposited for the later settlement of the nursing costs for the benefit of L.P. Nielsen the amount of 28 guilders for 14 days in the 3rd class ward. Rotterdam, 19 October 1916 for the administrator Deposits are made in advance of 14 days instalments at the office of "Het Ziekenhuis aan den Coolsingel" on every working day from 9 to 12 am and 2 to 4 pm. After the treatment, a receipt for the total costs will be provided. Sue I did some calculations and the total costs of f 52,05 in 1916 are the equivalent of CA$ 835 in today's money. I'm not sure if it was common practice to pay in advance for hospitals, but I think it might be because mr. Nielsen hadn't a Dutch address. Do you know why he was in the Netherlands at that time during WWI? In those days Rotterdam was a very busy port, the Netherlands were neutral, and in a port are a lot of merchants or sailors............ If your friend has more documents/letters that need translation, please let me know, Corrie

I'll make a translation somewhat later this evening. At the moment I have to cook dinner, but at first glance it is only about how and where to pay the bill and nothing else. See you later with a full translation.

Yes, they can be transformed to PSP via a free script https://levifiction.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/import-custom-shapes/

It's a custom shape by photoshop.

Never heard of it...what is a CSH file?

Great work. I love when something is something:)))

Next /better than previous/ pick.