Evil Talk.

I'm normally not one to quote the Bible; I think more comes from doing good deeds alone instead of evangelizing. But I believe my thoughts on that matter are beyond the scope of this post.  Lately at my church this quote has been the central theme of our sermons and I believe it's a good piece of advice to live by.

The Only Living Boy.

I heard this song on the way home from work and it's been stuck in my head ever since.

Sock it to me.

Image of one of my wild socks ran through a few filters.

Brick pile.

Just a quick shot I took of a brick pile, then playing with an app called Piclab.

Shuttlecocks.

Today I visited the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. I hadn't been there since middle school (well over 20 years ago.. you do the math). This is part of the Shuttlecocks exhibit out on the lawn. I put my spin on it of course.  It was well spent for an afternoon of free entertainment - one exhibit had an actual ancient mummy! I went alone but hope to go back soon to take my husband along.

Serendipitous to the Point of Uncanny.

OK so this may be cheating a little bit since I didn't create this image today, but the serendipity surrounding this picture is off the charts. I really must post this.

I shot this image at an old motel in the town I used to live in 8 miles south of where I currently live. I worked some Photoshop magic on it at the time to appear as if it was glowing at night. The old neon tubes were broken off and hanging, so it definitely wasn't easy to restore. 

It was July 21, 2006 when I shot it. I remember because I was off work that Friday. Back then my summer job schedule had me working 4 days a week. I took my day off to go shooting around town with my Nikon D70 camera and a tripod. My grandmother passed away suddenly early that next morning, July 22.

Fast forward to approximately 8 years to the day from when I shot my image and this appeared today on Facebook on a local page that celebrates our city's history: 

I learned that the motel used to sit just a few minutes from where I currently live but then the entire building and sign were moved to the location pictured here. The motel was torn down at some point, not exactly sure of when. 

What are the chances of this, I am still in amazement. 

Starting Point.

Good piece of advice. Happy Friday!

Tame Impala.

I think this is around a '65 Chevy Impala convertible. Tame Impala is the name of a band I really like too. I spotted this hidden gem on one of my neighborhood walks.

KC Arts.

I live near Kansas City- I like the downtown area & surrounding- near the urban core. This newspaper blackout says why. 

Image by Eric Rogers 
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Keep Creating.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I was very close to not posting anything today- because I'm just that tired. I really had to force it. The picture I used was one that I figured was unusable- I shot an old tire some people had placed in front of their house as salvage. The sun was bearing down right then so the shadows were horrible. I have to keep playing this quote through my mind, to keep creating even when I don't feel like it.

Explore Your Surroundings.

I shot this picture while visiting my husband's family's cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in northern California. This view is just down the hill from the house. I came up with this quote while on one of my frequent walks around my end of town. It's one of the ways I do my best thinking.

Recycle.

Live For Today

Another cemetery post... kept it simple since I didn't have much time to throw something complex together. My husband and I on a whim decided to hit a pro baseball game tonight. The cemetery reminds me to have fun now; because one never knows when it'll all be over with.

150 Year Old Cemetery.

Just around the corner from my house is a cemetery that has been around for over 150 years. There are Civil War soldiers buried there who died during the war. A couple of our state governors are buried there as well. This is one grave that has always taken my eye.

Mocha.

So as I was washing dishes this morning, I had a couple of glasses that had some dark chocolate syrup & soy milk stuck to the bottom from my husband making us homemade iced mochas this week. I put some hot water in each glass to let them soak before putting in dishwasher, and one gave me an unexpected, randomly cool effect once the chocolate & milk started to loosen up. Add in some Photoshop, and this is what I have.

Plan B.

So this post isn't what I initially planned. I had this cool 3D text thing but I had a bit of a fail. I used a Windows laptop today instead of my Mac with no way to configure the video to make it work. This is a quick shot of my bar chips I didn't eat while with some friends tonight. I applied a cool filter with an app on my phone.

How to be exceptional.

Great quote. I felt that a bucket of locks fits it perfectly.... the locks symbolize one's inhibitions to do awesome stuff.

Another Cat.

Here's another shot of one of the shelter cats from the photo walk last night. I decided to have some fun with this image, which initially didn't turn out great. This little guy was quite the feisty kitty, but he did sit still long enough for me to get a few shots. That's the beauty of Photoshop, you can turn a not-so-great shot into something totally unexpected.

Getting ideas of how I can pester my own cats more with the camera...

Photo Walk.

Tonight my husband and I did a photo walk at a local no-kill pet shelter with an Adobe enthusiasts group for creatives that we belong to. We spent the evening shooting pictures of the facility to donate back to them for marketing materials, and whatever else they need pictures for. This precious kitty was willing to pose for me. If we didn't already have 2 in our small house, I think we'd go back this weekend to adopt. It was a moving experience.

Give Me Evergreens.

This is my favorite line from one of my very favorite songs: I Don't Want to Live There by The Lonely Forest.  The band is from the Pacific Northwest and this song is an ode.