I was fooling around with my editing software today.....still coughing, thank you....
These photos were taken last year sometime.....spring, I think. I had seen a Flickr
photographer's work that I was really liked. That photographer has Photoshop and
a couple of other editing software in place, so mine didn't really look at all like his, but
I did get a couple of kind comments from him on my attempts to try something a little
different. He does a lot of 'texture work". Pretty effective. With Picasa it was pretty simple.....click 'sepia'. Done. With my present softward, I have a lot more control over what the results will look like. Double edged sword. But I sort of
like the results for a bit of a change. I think I should try it with some old building.....maybe a
barn. It will have to wait a while till I get over this dumb cold. I've had to cancel a few
dates I had set with friends and I am now ready to move on......enough, already!
Cough drop, anyone??

FEBRUARY SUNSET

These are the only two photos I shot yesterday. A annoying cold and throat has me feeling like I don't really want to go out and make it worse. I was just finishing up something in the dining room last evening and turned around and was happily amazed to see Mother Nature back to playing her old tricks again while my back was turned. Ran to get my camera, changed the filter, and started snapping. The top one is looking more or less south. The second is to the north-west.
Today is Super Bowl Sunday for those of you who care about that sort of thing. I'm still mad that the Minnesota Vikings aren't there instead of the Saints so my heart isn't much into it.
Well, there's always next year. But Norm is happy sitting in front of the TV now, eating his rarely given but always welcome snack, "Addiction". He wants to bar-b-que some hamburgers for dinner.....I guess that qualifies as a tail-gate party, maybe, huh?
And, Hey!! Wasn't it wonderful to see the sun out again today?? Such a nice day! My evergreen clematis is just popping more and more blooms! I received and planted a new rose plant today (bareroot) that I have high-hopes will be a gorgeous color and hardy bloomer.
I hope the weather stays nice for a while. I think we all could use a good dose of a beaming, happy-faced sun.

THE BIG ONE

I can't resist taking yet another shot of a wave making a big splash against the rocks down on the dock. This one went soaring and sending lots of sea foam flying all over. There's just a sense of excitement, for me anyway, at watching the powerful Pacific show off. Never-ending, always unique show.

ALWAYS SOMETHING DOWN ON THE DOCK

I never get tired of visiting the dock area. Either from above at one of the bluffs or down next to the rocks and waves. I took these yesterday when the skies were beginning to look threatening and the wind was gaining in strength. The first shot, with the gorse in full bloom, makes a nice contrast against the ominous sky and background of Humbug Mt. I'm glad to see it didn't turn out blurred because the wind was making it impossible for me to stand still.

The second shot is, of course, the 'gate' taken from down on the dock. There was another man down there with a camera and a tripod. I didn't want to stare but was curious about how he was going to keep that tripod from blowing over. Hopefully, he would keep an extra hand on it. In this photo, that little strip of blue sky was the last we saw of it for awhile. Today, the sun is weak but it's actually making an appearance. I'd almost forgotten what that funny yellow stuff in the air was.

GRIFF'S

For those of us who live in Port Orford, there are few, if any, who have not eaten at Griff's down on the dock. For visitor's to our little 'burg', it offers a real dockside atmosphere and menu. A gift shop inside has a wide assortment of various coastal paraphernalia for sale, as well as a well-stocked fresh fish market. Open for lunch and dinner, it's casual dress and atmosphere. There is a large window surrounding the dining room where diners can watch some of the winter storms come in, splashing water up high when it hits some of the rocks beneath the dock. Many days, like today, you'll see large and small 'fluffs' of sea-foam flying through the air in strong winds. And the wind can blow!! There have been a few times when I had a hard time pushing the car door open to get out!! But that wind keeps our air clean and the fog out. A good trade off, I think.

HIDE AND SEEK WITH THE SUN

Today was a nice day.....because of the company we were with.....NOT because the sun was again playing 'hard to get'. We had lunch with some friends up at the new Phoenix Grill I mentioned a couple of days ago. I tried something new and it was very good. Now I'll try my hand at trying to fix it at home. The photos here are from the other day. One last shot of the China Creek Marsh. The second one is one of my favorite places. Don't ask why cause I have no idea. When we drive back from Coos Bay, we generally take the back way via River Road into Bandon. One of the first places of water I really get a good view of is of these old pilings. The water is shallow and frequently filled with gulls and crows. Maybe it's the straight line up of pilings....sometimes in reflection, that attract me. Just a little further down are more pilings that one can really get an interesting perspective of if you look straight into them and see how they seem to widen as the move further out into the water. I got a new polarizing filter the other day that is supposed to help saturate the colors more and if you want to see beneath the glare of any water, maybe to see some rocks, it will help with that also. And maybe it's my wishful imagination, but in the lower photo I think I can see some small rocks in the foreground. Can you?

SEVEN DEVILS STATE PARK

Found a new 'haunt' today. Seven Devil's State Park. We always wanted to see what was down the road from our usual route home via "the back way" from Charleston and Coos Bay. We didn't have anything that couldn't survive without the freezer, so off we drove to see what we could see. As you can tell from the photos, it led us to the ocean......a fairly deserted beach; flat and large waves flowing onto the beach. It looks like it will be a nice place to explore when the weather turns nice again (EVER?)

Even with the gray day, I like the way the colors show up.....I like the contrast. I love wondering what I might find tomorrow to shoot.....some days, nothing inspires me. But today's little side-jaunt has me anxious to explore even more.

CHINA CREEK MARSH

These are a few shots from China Creek Marsh. I couldn't decide which I liked the best so included both. I told you we had that little window of blue sky yesterday and there was no wind so the reflections turned out well, I think.

China Creek marsh looks to me to be a location that will have many moods to try and capture. I've seen it equally beautiful in gray, showery weather, where the ghost trees seem to just blend in with the gray water and sky seamlessly. And in early morning I've been told that when the mist is rising, it's particularly beautiful. IF I can ever get up there early in the morning. I'm not much on rising early.

ELK RIVER

This morning the sun actually came out for a while. It was a little on the weak side, but I definitely saw some blue! That was enough for me and I jumped in the car and headed to some places I've wanted to stop and do some shooting. (And I found plenty of places to pull off along the road, in case you wondered) First stop was the Elk River. This first one is looking east from the overpass. I have a couple more of the river that extend further up and show the mountains in the distance, but I've seen that particular view many, many times. So, this is a little different in that it's been cropped and honing in on just one section. The second photo is the Elk River looking west off the other side of Hwy 101. And I'm very pleased with this view. I like the contrast of the bare trees against the evergreens. Some nice reflections... And the little red-roofed barn just adds the right touch. I'll be showing more of my travels up 101 to Bandon in the next few days. Guess we're due for more rain again tomorrow but it sure had me appreciating the bit of blue that today brought. A little blessing. Hope you enjoyed it, for those that live on the south coast.

TODAY

I didn't get out much today....not only the weather, but a friend came over today to show me a much more efficient way of handling photos from camera-to folder-to Adobe-to where ever. One of the photos I already had in the camera was of Willie, the Queen Mum of our household. I don't know why her eyes turned so green. They look a little out-of-this-worldish, don't they? Norm would readily agree she might very well be the Devil Cat disguising herself as a pet.

The second pic is of me, in case you didn't know....HA! I was badly in need of a new profile photo. So......there ya' go.

BTW.......for any that might be interested, I'm working on getting together some of my photos as greeting cards. The photos will be 4" x 6" placed on 5" x 7" cards, with envelope. Price is $3 each or 6 for $16. You can check out my Flickr photostream to pick any photos you might like. Just go to Flickr.com and my 'handle' is Snap-Smith, same as this blog. And of course, you can always get a hold of me directly either by email or comment here.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!

Yep!! 37 years!! Pretty good, huh?
We went to lunch at a new restaurant in Bandon......it was really great!! I highly recommend The Phoenix Grill
and I know you won't be disappointed. A very good menu with good, fresh ingredients and a A-One view right on the Coquille River.
It was hard for me to get too enthused about photo taking today (I know!! Is that really me that said that?) but this ever gray weather doesn't help. No clouds or blue sky....just gray. I did fairly well, though. I put a few on Flickr if you want to check that out. As soon as the sun comes out though, I'm off to take shots of many of the places that I can only go to alone......at least not with Norm.....my wonderful husband of 37 years! He's good at stopping for me, even pointing out things that I might miss. He does have a limit though. Says he can't just park on the highway. I can. All you have to do is move over to the right a little and you'll be fine. In the meantime, the ducks in photo #1 are ones that are seen frequently out on the road to the jetty in Bandon. They were pretty happy poking around in the mud looking for 'duck food'.
The second photo is from a clematis out on our deck at home. Nancy and Ed Dowdy gave me a start and it found a happy home climbing up a trellis and weaving through the slats. I even saw a couple of trees starting to bloom today! That surprised me! I think we're going to have an early spring. But watch out for late winter frost.

INNER WORKINGS OF PRE-1906 BOARDING HOUSE

A few days back I posted a couple of photos of my great-great grandmother's home converted into a boarding house for gentlemen. (remember the young unmarried daughters). I told you the the roof, and then the top floor could be removed and that the jeweler who carved this art, replicated even the inner workings of the household. The top photo with the measuring tape is of the ground floor. At the far left is like a receiving room....Aunt Lily at the piano and my great great grandmother at the base of the stairs (I don't think you can see her from this angle) A few more bedrooms and then back to the kitchen and beyond that is a back porch with various necessities. The second photo is of the top floor which housed all the gentlemen. All the little details that were a part of daily living back then. Really an amazing piece of San Francisco history and folk art.

COQUILLE RIVER #2

These are a couple more shots I took yesterday on the Coquille River. I was facing a different direction....west rather than east. Quite a difference in appearance, don't you think? It's practicially a black and white because I was facing the sun. I only did a minimal amount of 'tweaking'. Here the low tide actually adds interest with the muddy bank showing off different variations in texture and light.

Tomorrow I'm going to take us both back to pre-1906 and take the roofs off my Great-great grandmother's little house. I think you'll find it pretty interesting.

COQUILLE RIVER