On the move . . . .but this time only the blog

After a really stressful year what with changing countries and a bout of ill health I'm beginning to get my zing back . . .:-)

 So I've decided to start a new blog on a new site.

It will be mainly photos  . . .and I'm happy to share my way of working if anyone has any questions

This is the link  My new blog

Hope to see you there . . .  and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing.

Love and hugs x

Oh yes and a little something I hope cheers you up on these cold winter days :-)

Smoothing out textures . . .

On the face of it this seems an odd thing to want to do but when I mentioned this tip on my Facebook page Teresa Pople Photography somebody asked me if I could give instructions . . .so this is for you Kathy and anyone else who may be interested.

This is the original shot on which I did the preliminary work. I always shoot in Raw so I made the exposure adjustments I wanted to, sharpened the areas of the photo I wanted to enhance and then started to apply the texture.

I find it's quite hit and miss deciding which texture to use, sometimes a certain colour is what I want and I go with that but at other times I just experiment and may open 4 or 5 different textures before I get something I can work with.

I never feel that I have to complete a layer before moving on to the next one and  usually only do a bit of work on the first layer before I duplicate the texture and try a different blend mode, I like to quickly build the image before refining it. Each layer can be worked on as and when you want and  you can jump around the different layers masking and  revealing a little here and a little there . . .I find it difficult if not almost impossible to finish with one layer before I start another.

Here's the layers panel for this image

So . .. I reached a stage where I wanted to intensify the colour but not intensify the texture . . .and this is one of the snags with using multiple layers of texture . . .it can become too texturised.
 I found the effect I wanted which was linear burn blend mode at 45% and then blurred the texture using the gaussian blur filter. This gave me what I was looking for.
To do this simply click on the particular layer of texture you want to blur, select filter . .gaussian blur and decide how much of a blur you want . . .check the preview button and click ok. If you decide you then don't like it just undo. It's that simple and can produce some beautifully creamy effects.

I hope this was helpful . .if anyone wants any further info just let me know.

Love xx :-)

Settled . . . . . .

Well . . .we've moved countries,houses,flown over to the UK with the dog in the hold of the plane and we're at last settled . . .I can breathe a huge sigh of relief and look forward to getting back into a routine.

It was all ok actually and everything went to schedule except the telephone and internet . . .when the man came to connect us there was no cable in the ducting so we had top wait a few more weeks for this to be done but all is finished now.

I'm going to redesign the blog and start to included little tips I've found useful when I use textures . . .quite a few people have asked if I would do this . . . so I'll give it a go. If you've got any questions about how I do things I'm very happy to share with you.

Ok . . .see you all soon . . . . big happy sigh . .:-)

Oh and I couldn't go without sharing one of my recent pieces with you could I . . .

                                                                                    "Lily Pond" (textures by French Kiss Textures)
Love . . .xxx

On the move . . . ..

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be around much for the next few weeks . . . we've recently sold our house here in Greece and are relocating to the UK. So, what with the move, house hunting and trips backwards and forwards I'm not going to have much time for anything else.
As soon as we're settled I'll start posting again . . .but it may be a couple of months before I'm back in the swing of things.
Love to you all . . .see you soon . . xxx

Back to normal . . .

Well the telephone company came to the house and I think they have finally sorted out my internet problems . . .what a relief . . .The two young men who came were very helpful and thankfully, spoke good English.

It was always my intention when we came here to speak Greek fluently but I haven't progressed past the basic stage and I've  finally had to admit that because we speak English at home I'm not immersed in the language enough to be really fluent . . .I have found it a nightmare language to learn but fortunately the Greek people are so encouraging when a person tries to speak their language that it makes it really worthwhile. . . .so I have my "pidgin" Greek conversations whenever I can . . . :-)

But back to the main purpose of this post which is Texture Tuesday  over at Kim Klassen's. The theme is to use Kim's texture "Felicity" as part of the processing. I've chosen a shot of my little roses in a vase with a quote from Henri Matisse. . . . .

"Cheery"

                                             . . . .and here's the workflow 

The weather is due to warm up in the next day or so . . . .happy days . .. 

Happy Tuesday everyone . . .Teresa xx :-)

Happiness is . . . . . . . .

What a week . . .violent storms . . .no electricity for 20 hours and no telephone and internet for 3 days . . . internet still not fixed properly yet . . . phew !!!

The weather this winter seems to mirror the turmoil that the country is going through and whilst I am unhappy about the inconveniences I have to put up with, they really are quite insignificant when compared to the very real suffering that some people here are experiencing and that more will certainly experience in the future. . . . very difficult times for a lot of people . . . ..

Actually I'm really on the wrong tack here because the challenge this week at Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday is happiness . . . . .and I thank God that no matter what,  there is a place where I can be at peace . . . . .wonderful . . .

For my entry this week I've returned to flowers . . .

"Happiness is Togetherness"

  . . . . .this is the workflow . .

Hopefully the internet will still be up tomorrow when I come to post this on Kim's site and I'll be able to visit you. It tends to be up and down like a yo yo :-)

Happy Tuesday everyone,
Teresa :-) xx

Sugar and . . . . . .more sugar

At my favourite cafe they have the little sugar sachets in a stainless steel pot which caught my eye the other day as the sun was shining on them . I had my camera with me so was able to snap away.

I used Kim's "poetic" texture and then converted it to b/w and selectively added a little colour back to the sugar sachets. I think I added a "magic" texture as an edging but I didn't make a note of it . . . . :-(

"Sugar and . . . ."

I used the texture at soft light 100% and mutiply 34%.

I'll be posting this at     and I'm looking forward to seeing some lovely work . . .

It's blowing a gale . . . literally . . . . as I write this . . the chimney is whistling and the shutters are rattling . . ..but I picked my first narcissus toady . . .oh the fragrance :-)

Teresa xx :-)