A Study in White

The theme over at Texture Tuesday this week is "The White Edition". I have been working on several images with a white theme...more flowers...hope I don't bore you too much with all of the flower images, but I just love working on them. Here are a few of them; some with actions applied, and all with different textures applied.




Processed using a CoffeeShop action, then added Kim Klassen's kk_plastersquared texture @ 35% multiply.



Processed using Kim Klassen's kkPortrait texture, which I converted to greyscale and added @ 100% soft light.



Processed using my Cocoa Linen Texture converted to greyscale and added @ 70% soft light.



Processed using a CoffeeShop action, then adding Florabella Champagne {warm} @ 26% multiply.



Processed using Florabella Patina {b&w} @ 22% soft light.


Sharing this over at Texture Tuesday and The Creative Exchange


I am still working on my Lightroom review. Sorry for the delay...been real busy lately. Well that is all for now. Have a great rest of the week! :-)

White Muscari

Hi! I wanted to pop in to share a couple of pictures with you. I fully intended to create a post on Valentine's Day, but I have just been so busy. I found this lovely little flower pot bursting full of White Muscari bulbs at my local grocery store and well....I just couldn't resist. Finding these little gems is such a great inspiration to me during these grey, colorless days of winter. I have been finding much amusement in watching the way these flowers open up; starting first with pops of green at the top of the flowers...then as they expand out, the pops of green slowly turn to white.

I have been playing around in Adobe Lightroom, learning all of the panels. The power of this tool is truely amazing! In this first image I was going for a surreal look....I really wanted the pops of green at the tops of the flowers to stand out. The second two images were only tweaked in Lightroom a tad to adjust the white balance.



Processed using a French Kiss texture and also a couple of French Kiss brushes to add the scripting


Processed this one using a lovely French Kiss texture


Processed using Kim Klassen's Cherish Texture along with a gradient mask


Sharing this post over at This or That Thursday and Texture Thursday



Well that is all for now. I will soon be adding my review of Adobe Lightroom under my new Photography Product Reviews tab so please check back soon! :-)

Keep warm out there :-)

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I love to bake, and I most definitely have a sweet tooth. One of my favorite things to bake is muffins....chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, and these apple cinnamon muffins are my favorites. As I have been working on my still life photography lately, I thought I would snap a few shots as I made this last batch and share them here on my blog. Scroll down for the recipe :-)

Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon all-spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled, and coarsely chopped
Approximately 14 standard paper baking cups
Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line muffin pan with paper or foil baking cups.

To make muffins, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and all-spice in a medium bowl until blended. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir just until evenly moistened. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Fold the apples into the batter and mix just until evenly distributed. Do over-do-it with the stirring.

To make topping, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons four and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. If desired, stir in the pecans or walnuts.

Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim. Sprinkle topping over the muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.






Sharing this post over at The Creative Exchange, Favourite Photo Monday and Show off your Shot

Enjoy!! Have a great start of the week!