Texture Tuesday: Autumn Burst

I wish I had something amazing to write about today. Frankly, though, I feel a little blah. Today was the Home Going service for my son's grandpa. In a series of unfortunate events, I found myself missing from this very important family affair. Try as I might, there was just no way to make an appearance and that is just not acceptable. It's a true epic fail.

Ya wont get the opportunity to really know the man that was his grandpa. At just three years old, his time with him was short and his memory of those visits will fade. I regret deeply that I didn't insist on bombarding the in-laws with my camera. I guess when it comes right down to it, I'm unreasonably shy about snapping away when I'm just coming into an environment. Now my family? They already know - expect - me to come with camera in hand, so though they may not be fans of my paparazzo persona, they accept it as Rachelle being Rachelle. I should've snapped more pictures. I should've insisted on grouping them together for a portrait or two. I should've snuck around a corner in stealth mode and just sniper fired snap shots. I should've... I didn't.

So... there isn't anything to write about. Nothing profound to say. So I'll retreat into what brings me a little peace in my otherwise tumultuous day.


Today's Texture Tuesday challenge was to incorporate the theme "do" with the texture Autumn Burst. First, I love the boldness of this texture offering by K.K. It's divine. I had a mediocre shot of a family of mushrooms (I'm thinking it's a new Smurf estate and condo offering that's not quite ready for market yet). Because I didn't have to worry about faces being distorted by the texture layers, I felt I had freedom to really apply them to the capture.

I adjusted the levels on the original image and chose to keep it on the darker side. I ran Pure PhotoShop Action's Brown Haze, which seems to really pull out the color I saw in the real mushroom collective. I used a "soft overlay" of the Autumn Burst in PS-CS5. I also added Break Free texture (at 35 percent) with "multiply."

I really liked the idea that the mushrooms were bursting from the ground (courtesy of the wet weather of late). Despite the carefully manicured lawn they appeared in, they were doing exactly what they wanted to where they wanted. Plus, their ability to break through the wood chips with complete abandon and freedom is always impressive.


Shared with Sweet Shot Tuesday @ My 3 Boybarians.