February 28, 2014

Pinky's Plight

These photos are of a homeless woman named Pinky.  I've seen her around the area several times and finally decided to ride my bike to find and talk to her and take some pictures.  

She told me she was born 1951 in Richmond, VA.  In the 1960s, she moved with her mother and father to Florida.  They lived in Immokalee for a time.  She graduated from Immokalee High School in 1971.  Her family moved backed and forth from Immokalee to Naples to Immokalee.   In 1982, she and her boyfriend moved into a house in Golden Gate Estates.  That house was foreclosed on and she now lives alone on the streets.  She was vague as to year the housed was foreclosed, but I think it's been within the last couple of years.  She has a huge amount of stuff in shopping carts.  Somehow she manages to push these all by herself.  

Pinky is a sweet woman - more than willing to talk to me.  I printed up some of the photos and gave them to her.  She was happy to have them!






Pinky's story makes me count my blessings - that's for sure!

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February 24, 2014

An apple a day...

I volunteered to booth sit at the Naples National Art Festival over the weekend.  It's a wonderful way to see all of the art; give the artists a break as well as speak to them about their work.  A win-win situation all around!

I "sat" in for 7 artists.  The photo below shows the amazing sculpture work of Kostas Ulevicius.  I left the art festival excited and inspired - ready to get in my studio and create ART!!

Mouse Over to see Original
My original photo was duplicated several times; blending modes, texture, brushes and masks added to make this photo special.
"Purpose" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.
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February 21, 2014

Kayak dreams...

Walking on the Naples beach, I came upon a kayak.  Oh, I dream of borrowing it and paddling in the gulf... 

I love the complimentary colors - orange kayak against the blue shadows on the sand.  (Watercolor filter added my original photo.)

Mouse Over to see Original
Linking to:
Friday My Town Shoot Out
Friday Finds
Friday Photo Journal
Weekly Top Shot
Super Sync Sunday

February 17, 2014

Roseate Spoonbills

My husband and I took a drive out to the Marsh Trail in the 10,000 Island National Wildlife Refuge.  I've been on the hunt for some Roseate Spoonbills.  We found some, but they were quite a distance away...hopefully, next time we can get closer to these beautiful birds.


"Scripted Edges" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.

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February 14, 2014

Reflections of love...

A dear friend of mine gave me a beautifully scented bar of soap.  The wrapping is so luscious, I can't bear to open it.  It will sit on a little shelf in the guest bathroom - the scent is sweet and light.

I attended a DPI-SIG women's workshop last week.  Christina Skibicki gave a talk on how she edits/alters some of her photos.  She also demonstrated how she made reflections of birds in water.


original photo

My method is a little different from Christina's, but generally the same.


Linking to:
Friday My Town Shoot Out
Friday Finds
Friday Photo Journal
Weekly Top Shot
Super Sync Sunday
Simple Things Sunday


February 11, 2014

Love Makes the World Go Round....

A friend from the DPI-SIG photography group, Sandee Harraden, gave a talk on creating Orb Art or Tiny Planets.  I don't usually take panoramic shots so I created my own in Photoshop Elements combining my photos of grass, sky, heart brush and texture.  Once the composite was made, the panoramic is resized to a square and and a few other keystrokes turned my art into a tiny planet.


If you do a Google search, you will find numerous sites on how to make these planets.  The possibilities are endless....