Fused: Double Exposure Video and Photo Blender

Good morning!

The other day while fiddling around with some Microsoft apps, I downloaded another free one. It is "Fused: Double Exposure Video and Photo Blender". You use it to merge two photos, almost so it looks like overlays, and you can then use it to blend the images together. They have backgrounds to choose from, or you can upgrade for a fee and purchase even more. But I decided to use my own background and diddled around a little just for fun.

Since winter is on the horizon, I decided to use the following two images, both of which I have shared with you previously.

I used this one for the background...

...and this one for the foreground...

This is the blend.

The words and frame were added with the KVADPhoto+

app that I talked about the other day.

Kind of pretty and was fast to do!...

Enjoy the season,

whatever it is!

I'm back! Who can figure? And with a pretty Zygote cactus!

Hello dear friends! I know that it has been awhile, but lately things have been keeping me busy (please refer to my last post), and I simply have not had the time to post to this blog. I have missed you all.

Aside from other issues, one of the biggest hurdles to my posting has been that right before we were told that Mr. Perch would need surgery, I ordered a new computer. Since my last one was a Dell laptop that was probably almost 12 years old (it ran on Windows XP, if that tells you anything!), and served me quite well, I decided that I would buy another one. Though I have gotten used to Apple with my iPad and iPhone, I did not purchase a Mac mainly due to the cost factor. I probably would have kept my trusty old laptop till death, but Windows XP is no longer supported by many of the programs that I use, so I decided to quit while I was ahead and before my computer crashed altogether. So of course, the new laptop arrived about three days before Hubby went into the hospital and I have had about as much time to connect it, never mind get used to it, as I have had to each chocolate covered bon-bons while watching soap operas all day. So, I've been picking away at it slowly and now feel a little bit of a comfort level. Windows 10 is nice but it is so very much different than XP was. It was almost like having to learn how to work a computer all over again. Then, it wouldn't recognize the scanner on my printer, so I am now going to be using a scanning app. I'll see how it shakes out.

I got a little stressed out when it wouldn't accept my Canon Rebel camera's software either, but then realized that Microsoft 10 recognizes most cameras anyway, and the editing software, though basic, is nicer than what I had before. I don't get that involved with editing anyway on this simple little blog.

But the best part is that it appears that I can just hook up my iPhone to it and upload the photos just as I would my regular camera. I started to do this yesterday, but canceled out when I realized that I have over 3300 photos on my phone, and certainly didn't want them all on my new hard drive. I guess it's time to weed them out!

So here I am, finally able to take some photos, upload them to my sweet new computer and put them on my blog. What a joy this finally is!

Because the gardening season is well behind us, I needed some flower power and my first foray into this new endeavor had to be with a few photos of a new Zygote Cactus that I bought in our little grocery store the other day. You may recall photos in previous posts of the big coral-colored one that I have had for many years, but this is such a pretty little white one.

These were taken with my Rebel,

lazily taken in the auto-focus mode.

It was just beginning to bloom when I bought it.

I love the shocking pink center...

The nice thing (or difficult thing to get used to, depending on how you look at it) about Windows 10 is that there are many apps available that will help you with photo editing.

I edited the photo below by washing out the color a bit

 with the Windows 10

photo app built into the system,

but framed it with a free app that I downloaded

called KVADPhoto+.

I did quite a bit of research before I chose

this one as it seemed quite good.

Framing is only a small portion of

what this app is able to do.

Time will tell as I play around with it

a little more...

As to an update on the Mister, we are in the middle of his being fitted for his prosthesis. It is quite a process, but he should be "up on two legs" again just after Thanksgiving! It would be fair to say that we are both really looking forward to the day!!!

Frozen

Today our world seemed as though 

all was frozen after a bad winter storm. 

There was not much snow,

but the the ice whispered upon the earth.

Welcome to our yard in winter.

But the cardinals braved the cold...

...and so did my husband!

Stay warm, my friends!

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Today I am linking to 

Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party

(even though today is Saturday!).

Why don't you pop over there and say hello

to some of my other friends!

You can find Wen's blog here.

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All of the photos in this post were taken with my 

oldie-but-goodie Canon Rebel T1i

practicing for the first time

 taking close-ups with a 

Canon EFS 55-250 mm zoom lens.

A Victorian Mourning Blouse

An antique mourning cabinet card

Happy Sunday dear friends. I hope that you're having a great weekend!

For Christmas my son and daughter-in-law sent me an Etsy gift certificate. They know me too well I think! In any case, I decided to randomly search for something that was a little special and something that I just wouldn't normally buy myself. In honor of my son, who when he last came to visit thought my art studio was a good source of "props" for photo shoots, I decided to by a Victorian mourning blouse. Why? I have no idea. I don't even know how I found it. And I can't really say that I personally like to wear black clothing. Nor am I a fan of  goth or steam-punk fashions. But when I stumbled upon this beauty for a rather-low-on-sale price, I just couldn't resist. So, I now have one more "prop" in my studio. And although I don't really have any morbid curiosities, I did become fascinated with Victorian mourning dress and customs after purchasing this item. I guess I just love all fashions from Victorian times. You know that I like to use some black in my photo collage work, so I also ended up buying some other items which I will share in future posts.

Here she is. 

She likely dates from the 1890's to 1910 or so.

I am sure that this piece,

which is totally hand sewn and

made of silk with velvet accents,

started out as black.

Over time the silk has faded to a 

gun metal-taupish color, 

but the velvet still looks black.

Considering its age,

its in perfect condition,

with only a button missing in the front.

It still even has the boning sewn inside!

Isn't it gorgeous?...

Here is the back.

I love the button detail down at the waist...

...not to mention the lace at the collar

and the velvet inset with the velvet-

covered buttons used on the entire piece...

Here are some detail shots of the

back at the waist...

And I practiced with one of my new

Canon lenses.

Not the macro lens that I told you about

the other day,

but my 50mm fixed lens,

one that has a very short fixed focal length.

"Real photographers" call it 

The Nifty Fifty!

Since you can't focus it

you must move your body to where

you need to be to get the shot.

It's great for closeups and blurring

the background, very lightweight,

and pretty cheap!...

A shot of one of the velvet cuffs...

I found myself wondering who the lady was that had worn this lovely blouse. 

Who did she mourn for, and how old was she?

The waist on this garment is tiny, about 21 to 22 inches.

Was she very young?

Did she mourn for a child? A parent? A husband?

I read that it was considered bad luck to keep morning clothes in the house after mourning ended.

Is that why you can still find these?

We can only wonder about those that have gone before us.

Though I am a little late,

I am linking to Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday link party,

and you can find her wonderful blog here.

Pumpkins and Crows: Fun with Fakes

Hello friends!

This is the first year in forever that I haven't purchased any real pumpkins to decorate with outside. Fall crept up on me kind of quickly, and since we spent quite a bit of time up at The Wren's Nest this season, with two more trips to come, I decided that we would not be here enough to enjoy them very much anyway. However, I did decorate inside for Halloween and fall.

Do you have anything that you love to decorate with year after year without ever getting tired of it? For me, something that falls into that category is some fake pumpkins that I have had for probably 20 years purchased at Michael's when I lived in Florida. Really! Every year I use them differently and put them in a different spot, and this way they found their way to a vintage wooden beverage box in my entryway. So I decided to have a bit of photo fun with them.

Here is the original photo...

...and here it is after applying the 

Vintage Photo iPad app...

I also have a group of fake black crows

that I usually place on the front porch.

(I love crows,

especially the real ones 

that prance about in our yard!

They are just so funny to watch.)

Since we have been gone so much,

I decided to perch them in the entryway also,

upon an old mantel that we use as a shelf

above the old bench.

Here is the original photo...

...and here is the one edited, again,

with Vintage Photo...

Today is one of those days that I can say

I'm a fake, and proud of it!!!

What old stuff do you like to bring out each year?

Thanks for coming by!

The Colors of Autumn: Apple Trees, Fallen Leaves, and The Posted Sign

Good morning friends!

Here are some interesting weird photos that I took last week when we were in the mountains. Of course, I couldn't resist a little photo editing on them for some fun.

This area is known for its apple orchards.

Here are some apple trees 

that were past their harvest, 

and grew in a remote area 

almost at the end of a mountain road.

They were almost spooky.

If you look closely, you will see

a few red apples still hanging

on the branches...

I snapped this photo of fallen leaves at

Jump Off Rock,

which you can read about in my post here...

On the same road that the apple trees were,

I had to love this old posted sign and fence post.

Don't you think it has a unique vibe to it?

I had to trespass a little to get to it,

but Mr. Perch reminded me that it didn't look

like too many cops patrolled this remote area!...

Not all subjects have to be perfect and beautiful, do they?

Have you taken any photos of less-than-perfect-and-beautiful subjects lately?

Old Books, Hooks, and Baby Shoes

Hello dear friends!

We just got back from The Wren's Nest, our little place in the mountains, where we spent most of our time trying to finish the bathroom remodel before we have to close it down for the winter next month. Consequently, I haven't had much time for being creative in the way of any artwork.

So, I thought that I would take out a few of my pretties and post photos of them today.

I love Victorian baby shoes with their

tiny little buttons.

They look especially pretty when

sitting on top of a couple of vintage books...

Recently, I stumbled upon my newest collectors' item.

Did you ever wonder how the Victorians managed to

fasten all of those tiny buttons

while their little ones were squirming around?

Well, they used boot hooks, 

some of which you can see in the next two photos.

Boot hooks came in all different sizes,

some for children's shoes,

and some for those of the adults.

Some of them had celluloid handles.

And some, made of steel,

were given away at shoe stores as freebies and stated the name

and location of the manufacturer of the shoe.

The three below happen to have mother of pearl handles,

and not everyone likely afforded them.

They are so beautiful in their own right...

Here is a pretty little black shoe with lovely cutouts on the side,

and it has laces rather than buttons.

I also have the mate to this beauty.

Sometimes, though, I buy shoes 

that are missing their mate.

Not everyone and everything has to be

part of a pair to be beautiful!

And isn't the cover to this old poetry book gorgeous?

When buying old books,

I do indeed "judge the book by its cover"!

Even when falling apart I see such beauty in old books...

Of course,

you know that I also have a huge collection

of vintage photos, and couldn't resist

sneaking a couple into these vignettes!

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One of these days I will share photos of some of my other

old books, hooks and baby shoes.

Do you have any special collections?

I would love to hear about them. 

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Today I am joining Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.

Why don't you pop over there and join the fun!

You can find Wen's blog here.

Thanks for coming by!

The Plum Tree Saga

Hello dear friends. 

A few days ago I was admiring the beauty of the blossoms on our plum tree and, knowing that they would soon be gone, I decided to have some fun with iPhone photo apps on one of the photos. Below is the result.

Here is the unedited photograph.

I loved the way the blossoms played against the

beautiful North Carolina sky. 

I framed it using VintaFrame...

For this one I used an app called DistressedFX.

I have had it for awhile, 

but since it is better used

on landscape photography,

I hadn't had a reason to use it.

Not only does it distress your photos with many 

different options,

but it also puts birds in the background

(and you know how much I love birds).

Can you see the birds flying "behind" the tree?

I then framed it with one of the options from 

the VintaFrame app...

For the version below,

I also used DistressedFX, 

but chose a different treatment,

and a different "flock" of birds.

It is a little hit and miss, because you can't 

put the birds where you want them

(unless you know something that I don't!).

I then used Snapseed for the frame. 

I've talked about some of these apps before.

Have you tried these or any others?

I'd love to know!

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Have a wonderful weekend.

Welcome Spring!

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her lovely head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

'Winter is dead'.

Good morning, and Happy Spring! 

Though the season is here, the weather is not. We did have one nice day on Tuesday where it actually got to 80 degrees out, so of course I took advantage of that by spending six hours planting some daylilies that I had ordered, along with some other plants that I had purchased locally. Most of my time out there, though, was spent cleaning out dead pine needles and leaves from the garden beds. Yesterday it was much cooler, but I did manage about four hours. And my aching muscles can attest to the workout!

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I did manage to shoot some pretties of the daffodils, though.

Hopefully spring is coming your way!