It seemed like I should zoom out some of the road in the foreground so I took the next picture second. But I prefer the featured photo, with more road rather than less. I don’t know why. I guess I like the road, it’s inviting. I like lots of power poles and wires, too.
To shrink the photo to fewer pixels in Photoshop Elements, use Image->Resize->Image Size, then check the box Resample Image then change the Pixel width to 1000 (or X). The height adjusts automatically because Constrain Proportions is checked by default. Changing the pixel size is not available until you checkĀ Resample Image.
In the feature photo and in the one below, all the Photoshop Elements auto processes from the Enhance menu were applied except Auto Red Eye Fix.
The featured image was enhanced with Photoshop Elements using Enhance->Auto Smart Fix and Enhance->Auto Sharpen. (The latter because the image, when cropped, was a little blurry.) The featured image shows how the grass really looked. White balance and the other enhancements below threw off the color. Conclusion: GIMP white balance doesn’t work with fields of green. The Photoshop enhancements in the last picture are pretty good, but at the expense of all that lovely green. Green doesn’t last around here, so it is to be appreciated, not minimized!
The next pair show, first, the GIMP Colors->Auto->White Balance and Colors->Auto-Color Enhance and the second, Photoshop Elements Enhance->Auto Smart Fix, then Enhance->Auto Levels then Enhance->Auto Sharpness. Before all of the color fixes, Image->Crop was used and the automatically selected area accepted (by hitting Return).
The featured photo has been enhanced using GIMP Colors->Auto->White Balance followed by Colors->Auto->Color Enhance. It is the featured image because it’s more intense, but there is too much purple in the roof, and, arguably, in the fog. Here is the original.
This is a close up, not enhanced. (Because it is all fog, the over-purple effect of white balance and color enhance ruined it.)
In the next set, the first is original, the second, enhanced with white balance and color enhance. Very different feelings.
Software tips follow photos.
Well, as everyone who follows this blog knows, I am an avid follower of Leanne Cole’s Photography blog. (That link takes you to her latest post.) Now, Leanne is a professional artist. I am an absolute beginner. So why do I offer tips? Because I think there is value in the little things an absolute beginner has to offer to other people who might think like her and be in the same stage. Even if it’s only one other person out there in the blogisphere, who thinks like Nia Simone and finds value in her little trial-and-error discoveries on the way to someday, 20 years from now, actually being any good.
Leanne has talked about Nik software and Silver Efex. I recently Ā have acquired a Bamboo Craft. An amazing digitizing device. It was $50. (Another thing you’ll notice about Nia Simone’s blog, is everything has to be free or very inexpensive. I think actually, a lot of people can relate to that part!)
Anyway, the device is unbelievably wonderful andĀ so is the software that came with it!!!!Ā Corel Painter Essentials (heaven), Photoshop Elements (frightening, but I haven’t done the tutorial yet) and Nik Color Efex (Ā very hard to find – Ā it is under the Layer menu in Photoshop.)
The photo in the Featured Image of this post was taken in the evening with my DLSR propped on the top of my Subaru. (Tripod anyone?) The first photo in the post has had the Color Efex Ā layer applied. I lowered brilliance and warmth, merged the layers, and saved as JPEG. Then opened it in GIMP to scale it to 1000 pixels, my standard for this blog. I could not figure out how to do that in Photoshop.
In appreciation for Owl McCloud’s 10 Most Beautiful animals, and for ranking the wolf as number one beautiful animal, here is a wolf chum of the family dog (photos taken in the 90s):
Note: Wolves can’t be kept as pets in the US. This one was taken from its owner. I hope and like to think Kona was taken to Wolf Haven.
People can have wolf-dog mixes though, and the owner went on to have mixed pets, also magnificent animals.
However there is a lot to be said for a thousand years of breeding. (Owl McCloud loves dogs too, so here is our last dog:)
Best friend of childhood:
6/28/13 update to readers: I had an injury to my forearm, not long after this. Not from the program though! From lifting a heavy dumbbell out of an awkward position in the garage. I am now a member of the YMCA! Much safer… the equipment is all laid out neatly so you can square yourself before lifting it out of the rack. Also, the barbell rack makes a huge difference for safely getting the barbell onto your back Ā once the weights start getting big for things like squats and step-ups. I rested a few weeks and then started over with Stage 1. There is no rush. Life is long.
Starting Stage 3:
Link to first two book reviews:
Lou Schuler,Ā New Rules of Lifting for WomenĀ and
5 Reasons I Love Men: Book Review of The New Rules of Lifting for Women, by LouĀ Schuler
ALERT: When Summer Comes is on sale for $1.99 (instead ofĀ $6.99)Ā across all digital platforms for a limited time only. This is rare for a front-list book. Grab it.
PRIZE: Go to Brendanovak.com for a chance to win. Have some fun too, all you have to do to enter is answer the question: What would you do this summer if you thought it was your last? The winner will receive a $1000 travel voucher to ANYWHERE. Winner will be drawn on April 30th and notified by email on May 1st.
An interview with this New York TImes bestselling author follows the review.
She’s done it again. In this compelling and wonderful installment of the Whiskey Creek series, Levi, the hero, as a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, has unfortunate but realistic motivation for his conflicts. In fact, realism pervades Ms. Novak’s work and, along with naturalness, is one of my favorite things about her writing. It’s a connected series, meaning you get to know the characters and the town, but you don’t have to read them in order.
Since I don’t know how Brenda does her magic, I decided to ask her, and she agreed to answer some questions for this blog.
Before I get to this wonderful interview, I would like to state the obvious: I’m a huge fan of Brenda Novak. Obviously, of her writing, but also of her, as a person. I’ve had the privilege of meeting Brenda a few times, always when she was extending herself to help other writers or readers.
She is a generous person and one who makes a huge difference beyond her writing. Brenda used her success as an author to create, develop and nurture an online auction to fund diabetes research.
She started with an idea, did it, and, over the years has raised $1.6 million (so far!) to help improve the lives of people living with this disease.
How many people do you love have diabetes and how many people do you know have a loved one with this disease? I counted nine for myself, in less than a minute. I’m sure there are more in my life or one or two degrees of separation from me.
Research scientists have made some impressive progress on this disease. I have read about exciting breakthroughs in research, improvements in treatment and glimmers of hope on the horizon for a cure. None of that progress would have happened without funding.
Of course, other people have given generously to the auction, and it has grown so large Brenda has someone helping her with the administration now, but today I want to celebrate the person who not only writes wonderful, uplifting, entertaining books, but who also created this auction and keeps it going year after year.
So, let’s hear some from Brenda:
Brenda, the cover art on When Summer Comes is radiant. It reminds me of you! Were you happy with the cover?
Yes! Of the first three books in this series, this was definitely my favorite. When I look at the cover, I feel the warmth of the sun. I like that. ļ
Can you tell us what inspired you to write this book?
I had a very close girlfriend go through something similar to the heroine of this book just after college. She was young, beautiful, healthyāand then diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We couldnāt believe it when we received the news that she would die without a transplant. She looked and acted as if she was fine. But slowlyā¦the lack of a functioning liver started to take its toll. Luckily, my friend did receive a new liver (many thanks to the donor and the system that made this possible). Itās been ten years since then, and sheās just as beautiful now as she ever wasāsheās also thriving, and that makes me so happy. I wanted to give Callie a wake-up call, something that would make her change her outlook on life and also be open to what she does for the hero.
Your natural style is my favorite thing about your books, well… besides how they always touch my heart. From listening to you in the past, I know that you are a āpantserā by which we Romance writers mean you āwrite by the seat of your pantsā rather than āplottingā out every detail in advance. I think this adds to the appeal of your stories, because romance evolves naturally from the characters rather than feeling the author’s hand in the story. Did you ever try plotting everything, in the early days, or were you always a āpantser?ā
Thank you! I did try plotting (or my version of it since Iām not even sure how). But I quickly ran into a debilitating problem. Trying to force the story in the direction I thought it should go resulted in a lack of emotional intensity. And if it was a suspense novel, Iād give away too much information (who the killer was, for instance). I guess, at heart, Iām a blabbermouth, because I couldnāt hold back. LOL So I finally realized I needed to let the characters speak for themselves and just go with it. Iām surprised that this method doesnāt require more re-writing than it does. I think my subconscious knows the end of the story before my conscious mind, and that helps direct me.
Brenda, you once told me the conflict is the engine that drives the book. When you come up with an idea for a book, do you think of the conflict first or do the conflicts come from the characters?
I definitely come up with the conflict first. The characters spin off of that (what kind of characters would be most interesting faced with such a problemāitās usually someone who wouldnāt handle that problem well). And the plot grows out of the character. So itāsā¦one, two, three for me.
Those of us who participate in your auction know your youngest son, Thad, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when he was five. When did you have the idea for the auction and what gave you the idea for this particular fund-raising method?
I had the idea for the auction about eighteen months after he was diagnosed. Heās had diabetes for eleven years. Iāve been doing the auction for nine of them. I was a young mother, with a young career and no resources. I was searching for a way to get involved and fight back. But I couldnāt come up with anything that was plausible for meāuntil I attended a silent auction at his school. Then, as I was standing there looking around, it occurred to me that there had to be an easier way to raise funds than to try and get everyone to come out to a physical location all at once (and to feed them all!). Thatās when the light bulb went on and I realized that I could use my website as the destination for a fundraiser where people could shop at their leisure.
Does the auction only offer items interesting to writers?
The auction offers all kinds of itemsātrips & stays, jewelry, handmade items, autographed items, Coach purses, antique or retro items, etc.
You have raised $1.6 million so far. What is your goal this year?
We are hoping to break the $2 million mark!
How many people help you with the administration of the auction?
I just have one part-time assistant and two wonderful and dedicated volunteers.
Here’s where you can find Brenda, the auction, When Summer Comes and all of the Whiskey Creek series books:
Nicci Carrera 