Magnolia and Bee

The other day as I was leaving my yard, I notice that the magnolia blossom had finally bloomed. This was tremendously exciting because it is the second magnolia tree that I planted and I placed it in the ground this spring.

You can see from the photos that I literally jumped out of my car to take in this fascinating display of nature. To my surprise I found a bee absolutely molesting the stigma of the flower. The bee was stuffing pollen into a huge sack near its back feet. I stood mesmerized and felt as if I were watching a nature film.

When I returned later that day, the lower part of the stigma lay in total disarray at the base of the petals.

This is what I captured with my camera.....

See if you can see the sack of pollen.......

Art to Change the World

JR, a French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face. He makes his audacious TED Prize wish: to use art to turn the world inside out. A funny, moving talk about art and who we are. Take the time to watch......



Learn more at www.insideoutproject.net

Makeup Artist

Recently I was invited to be one of the community members of Spiritual Cinema Circle to discuss the monthly selection of films with co-founder, Stephen Simon.

In the process of getting ready for the camera, I was introduced to the art of makeup.

Sherrie Duncan is an artist who paints on faces! She arrives with a huge case of colors and brushes, and sets up in a well lighted corner of the studio to perform her art. Like any artist, she has an array of brush sizes for each area of the face as well as paint-like boxes of colors. I was the subject matter!


Sherrie blended colors to make my face look natural without the shine for the camera, and brought my eyes out with color and line. A very gifted artist!

Pleased with her creativity, I was ready for the set.


Here I am behind the cameras.....


Stephen Simon, who is studying his notes, and myself in between discussions of the four films selected for June.



Each month subscribers receive a DVD with three short films and one feature film. Now these films are not "Hollywood" type movies, although one of the movies I discussed with Stephen won an Oscar for best short film. Spiritual Cinema Circle movies have heart and soul. They provoke thought and celebrate the human spirit. Plus, you keep them for your library and you can share anytime with friends and family.

I was invited to discuss the June selection of movies with Stephen. You can sign up on the website for a free month.

Sign up in June and watch me on YOUR DVD.

Sherrie made me look fantastic! Thank you, Sherrie :)

The Beauty of Sleeping Babes

My grandson, Haeden, had his first sleep over at Nanna's house. I could not resist picking up the camera to snap photos as he napped.

What is it about sleeping babies that is so incredibly beautiful?

Morning nap


Afternoon nap in the kitties' favorite sunspot



Maybe another painting......

RGB Vs CMYK

I just learned something about the printing of colors. Have you ever wondered why your images onscreen do not come out looking the same when printed?

My watercolor painting, "Garden Art," has been a challenge to print because with some printers it will print blue instead of purple.

I think I now have the answer!


RGB Vs KMYK:

When we create an image with a camera or a scanner, we create one using technology which uses the RGB color model (an additive model - where light is added to create the colour). If you want an image printed the printer needs a CMYK color model (a subtractive model - light is subtracted to achieve the colour before it meets our eyes). This is one of the reasons why what we look at on the screen does not print out quite as we expect. Colors can look off or lose their intensity.

Another reason is that the RGB model actually has a higher number of hues than the CMYK model.

You can convert a RGB model to a CMYK model without loosing any color quality, however the inverse does not work.

For a great explanation read Katherine Tyrrel's blog, Making A Mark.

Here is an online website where it is possible to convert your photos.

New Camera

After days of research and reading reviews, I finally picked a camera. This point and shoot camera appears to be the leader for image quality, lens quality, ease of use, and many other important criteria. I decided on compactness over the digital SLR cameras.

THE WINNER: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

I have been having fun!

Here are some photos of my happy Gerber Daisies.....






I love the shadows in this one.


Maybe a painting soon....

Photos Along The Trail

On a daily basis, I walk the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington with my buddy, Ebony. She does that "happy dog" trot with occassional time off to sniff. I, in turn, have been enjoying the budding of spring and have shared this in previous posts.

Today was an outstanding day for taking photographs, but unfortunately I left my camera at home. Next best thing, the phone camera.

The native Trillium are out and I found lovely specimens. I also enjoyed the curling of the fern fronds.

The phone photo gallery: