One Good Turn Deserves Another...2B Take Two

Wow...that Autumn Edit from Kim's class was so fun...I wanted to try the preset on a "not so orange" photo, compared to the one I used on my first try...

...and this leaf was magically on the windshield of the van this morning as I waited for Edster to climb in.  This is the original photo.

Then with the autumn edit preset...MAGIC!

Whatchya think???

Autumn Processing with Kim Klassen - 2B Day 31

I am writing this blog post as West Virginia gets slaughtered by Baylor...so mea culpa for any typos...and I'm not EVEN going to try the before/after mouse-over coding...

So...this is the original photo...RAW...with no edits -- straight out of the can (SOOC).

Kim took us through an autumn edit she did, and provided two Lightroom Presets from her edit.  You can see this photo already has a lot of yellow/gold tones in it.  But after a crop and running one of the Presets...

and a little tweeking...this is my final image.  I can hardly wait to try it on a less gold image....stay tuned!

And now on to the second half of the game...Lord, help me.

Silence, Serenity, and Solitude - My Friday Find

Vacation is to be stress free...but (at least for me)...in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia where the leaves are on fire...there is a tension.  It is wanting to explore and travel to see and capture everything...but also realizing that part of my renewal comes from taking time to be silent and reflective and still.  I found that today...

There are two Adirondack chairs sitting outside on the property of our two-week home...calling my name.

They sit along a small creek that sings as it flows by.  I turned off the news...filled my tote with my Bible, journal, and a book...along with my camera.  I would not wander today.  I would take advantage of the down time and seek that which my heart and being craves...and seems so elusive in my work-a-day world.

My devotional today was amazing...

When many things seem to be going wrong, trust Me.  When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank Me.  These are supernatural responses, and they can life you above your circumstances.  If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism.  Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral, by darkening your perspective and mind-set.  With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth (and mind).  Each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral.  The lower you go, the faster you slide; but it is still possible to apply the brakes.  Cry out to Me in My Name!  Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel.  Thank Me for everything, though this seems unnatural--even irrational.  Gradually you will begin to ascend, recovering your lost ground.  When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective.  If you choose supernatural responses this time--trusting and thanking Me--you will experience My unfathomable Peace.

                                                                            from  Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

So I read some Bible verses and wrote some reflections in my journal.  Sometimes I forget how cathartic the physical act of writing is for me.  And I found silence and serenity in my solitude.  Then I noticed...

These leaves...one by one...occasionally...would drop on me from the tree above.  And I took photos of where they would land.

And it continued...even when I took out my book by Senator Jim Webb, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Formed America.

One...like a butterfly...even landed on my hand.

And other things fell...

And some did not land on me or a book...

Treasures from heaven...both the leaves and the words I read...on one of the most calming, peaceful days I've had in some time.

Sometimes the FIND is worth the time it takes and the sacrifice of leaving other things behind.

A Leaf and a Texture

A little leaf with a dash of Kim's culligan scripted texture for Texture Tuesday...

Fall in the air!

Autumn's Entry

Autumn has arrived at the Fabian's...

And how welcome it is...and how fleeting it is.

The sun is lower...the shadows are longer...and the sun is setting sooner and sooner.

I took some time around the garden...and I see that Autumn has arrived.  My zinnias are fading, yet they try to hang on to their color for as long as possible.

Perhaps they are jealous as the mums become the star of the show...

With their pockets full of gold...

And the orange of the pumpkins will outlast them all.

Breathe it all in...embrace the moments...it goes by quickly.

Three Gifts Redeemed ~ Day 6

I'm a little behind due to technical difficulties with my blog...but hopefully you have found me!

SO...three gifts redeemed...from the October Joy Dare challenged by Ann Voskamp.

I must admit that this one stretched me a little...less concrete...but I just needed to look...pay attention...see!

• My blog - redeemed!  I am so thankful that, despite the technical challenges I was having with it hosted on another site, God provided a successful transfer to a new location, losing very little of my past posts, links, and other goodies. 

• A rainy day redeemed.  It is hard when you have awaited for months for a much needed vacation, for a cold, rainy day to be the weather forecast and plans are altered.  Edster and I laid low today...I gave him extra time to lay down to get his chronic pain under control...then around 3:30 p.m., we wandered on one-lane backcountry roads throughout Tucker and Randolph counties.  Because it had rained and it was cloudy, the color was astoundingly brilliant with saturation.  An ideal alignment of details for a photographer wanting to capture Fall color.

• The redemption of a broken life.  Because of a mostly-inside day, Edster and I watched the movie, Amazing Grace ~ the story of William Wilberforce and his impact on the end of slavery in the British empire.  In the story, a man, John Newton, a former slave trader, who came to know Christ, and influenced Wilberforce in his long battle to abolish slavery in England, is featured.  John Newton wrote the words to the well known hymn, Amazing Grace.  And while the composer of the tune is named as "unknown," many believe that it was an African tune Newton had heard his slave cargo hauntingly sing in the bowels of the ships that carried them ~ the scale is consistent with African music of that time.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I'm found;

'Twas blind, but now I see.

 

This is my story as well...to be redeemed, salvaged, healed, restored, found, saved, renewed, a new creation...though still imperfect and sometimes a mess...God's amazing grace continues to redeem me!







Fall Frolic Full of Remembering ~ Part 1

Last night after work, Edster and I (and yes, my stepdog, Bruno) took advantage of a cool, mid-September evening.  We strolled around the Brandywine Falls area...part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park about 15 miles away.  It is full of sentiment for both of us.  Photos will be coming soon...promise!

But it amazes me how something so simple like being quiet and outdoors and slowing down and be so refreshing!  I knew rain was coming for the next day or so -- so I wanted to bank on this opportunity.

As I strolled along, I thought about God's mercies...his daily gifts...and added them to my list:

 

• The comfort of predictability and routine - seeing the leaves start to tire and lose there green-ness, without yet turning into vivid color, knowing that life is as it should be and that some things are always dependable.

• The ability to have the health and stamina to stroll through God's wonder.  Four years ago at this time, we were not sure if Ed would be able to keep his leg.

 

• The subtle orchestra of quieter birds than in the spring, with the backdrop of dancing water.

 

• Having a hand to hold.

 

• The gift of remembering and someone to remember with.

 

• The comedy of "smellies" that wanted to play with Bruno near the fence...aka  chickens.  Edster and I call them "smellies" from a line in The War Bride, a great movie on Netflix.

 

• Quiet.  (I have a great article about the Gift of Quiet I must share sometime...)

 

• The freedom from fear.  Between what we see on computer screens or television screens with 24-hour news, there is a lot of fear fueled in our society.  It reaches into our homes and grabs us by the throats.  But I'm grateful that during these moments fear was gone, and there is no fear in love, so we are free as we trust the One who loves us.  We have so much.

 

 
• My camera. 

Mercies are all around..you just have to look!  All is grace ~

 

5 Fact Friday ~ On Friday!

It's that time again...and I'm actually posting it on Friday!



Well, as the summer ebbs away...and the autumn winds seems much more apparent...there's a bittersweet feeling, a touch of melancholy, in my anticipation of the season of colored leaves, the smell of apples, the glory of the mum, and the glow of spiced candles.

So today...my 5 Facts are about what is disappearing by October.

 

1.  One of my favorite things to witness in September is "whirling birdies"...a fun way to say goodbye til spring to these flying cigars.

2.  Bees, bugs, and dragonflies will no longer be found in my favorite bog.

 

3.  The blooming sunny sunflowers are now seeded heads, bowed over with frequent goldfinch visitors or headless, as the squirrels have chewed them off, scurrying off with their spoils, gleaning the seeds as they sit on the backyard fence.

4.  The butterflies are no longer frequenting my frontyard butterfly bush.

5.  I'm no longer hearing the sweet song of the brilliant Indigo Bunting.

But it is as it should be...all things are beautiful in God's time.

 

Summer Wanes and Beyond Layers

On Wednesday after work, Edster and I, along with my stepdog, Bruno, went down to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to walk the towpath, enjoy the weather, and of course, take photographs!  The towpath goes along the former Ohio and Erie Canal and has become the jewel of Ohio...33,000 acres of green between the metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Akron.

Kim challenged us, on Day 60 of Beyond Layers, to use scripted textures and a special recipe to create some warm, scripted images.  Her inspiration and God's gifts of nature just on the cusp of the weather changing to Autumn winds, produced these three.

 

Doll Eyes in August

 

Waning Summer

 

Solitary

It was a beautiful walk while it was in the 80s and fair, you could sense the green in the leaves were getting tired and the trees on their last leg just before the Autumn wind down...and bright goldenrod left no doubt that change of the season is just on our doorstep.

With gratitude,