~ Please Note ~

Unless otherwise noted, all photographic images in this blog are the sole property of Kim L Branson and therefore may not be copied or used in any way without expressed permission by the owner. Thank you.

Welcome to CLIQUE!

I can trace my love of photography back three generations, to the early 1900s and my paternal great-grandfather, Henry Mattson. I have a really cool photo that he took of the old family homestead in Minnesota, sometime before 1910. According to family history, Grampa Mattson frequently took photos of his world - the people and places that he loved.

It warms my heart to know that this love of photography didn't skip any generations as it passed down to me! I am blessed to have such a legacy and I hope to pass it on to my own children and grandchildren some day.

I experience a physical and spiritual thrill whenever the Lord shows Himself in His marvelous creation around us and in the people I meet. My dream vacation would be to spend a year or two just traveling around the US, stopping at little out of the way places and photographing the interesting characters and the beauty of nature to be found along the way - those things that draw me closer to GOD and help point others to Him, too.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Texture Tuesday 2/28/12 ~ The White eDition

This week's challenge for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday group was to use at least one of Kim's textures and the photo must represent the word or concept of "White." I thought winter-time images would be perfect for this challenge and I actually chose this photo from the same group I used last week -- one of many shots I took at Mirror Lake in Chugiak, Alaska in November 2008. First is the straight-out-of-camera image, followed by the edited image and formula for achieving my results. Following that, there are a couple more shots taken during that photo shoot.

SooC

Formula

* Cropped original image to 10x8, 300 dpi
* Levels adjustment layer
* Changed color image to B&W (Ctrl + U to bring up Hue/Sat menu; slide staturation bar to far left)
* Increased contrast
* Filter > Distort > Diffuse Glow
* Watercolor texture by Karen from Texture Tuesday - Soft Light @ 79%
* kk_Providence texture - Multiply @ 63%
* Merged all layers
* Clipped photo to mask made by me w/brush from "Grungey Lines by Meth"
* Added caption - CK_Ali's_Hand_Offical font







Thanks for looking! Now, hop on over to Kim Klassen Cafe and check out all the other lovely and creative entries. See you next week!

~ kimB

Monday, February 20, 2012

Texture Tuesday 2/20/12 ~ The Felicity eDition

For this week's challenge at Kim Klassen's "Texture Tuesday" group, we were to use at least one layer of her new "Felicity" texture. I used two layers on my image, which was taken Nov 2008 at Mirror Lake in Chugiak Alaska. There had been an ice fog hanging around for a day or two prior to this day and it gave the trees - well, everything, really - such a nice frosty covering that was stunningly white under the deep blue sky!
SooC

Formula

* Cropped original image to 8x10 300 dpi
* Levels adjustment layer; added Diffuse Glow filter
* kk_Felicity texture - Multiply blend mode @ 17%
* kk_Felicity texture - Vivid Light blend mode @ 15%
* Merged layers and clipped to a mask made with "Grungey Borders by Meth"
* Added watermark; Fonts: VeggieBurger and Century Gothic



This image above was done in a more whimsical style! As I was browsing through the various blend modes, I clicked on the Saturation mode and loved the rainbow effect it had on the snowy ground :)

Formula

* Cropped original image to 8x10, 300 dpi
* Added Levels adjustment layer and Diffuse Glow filter
* Duplicated background layer - Soft Light Blend mode @ 72%
* kk_Shine texture - Soft Light @ 25%
* kk_Finale texture - Saturation @ 100%
* Clipped to same mask as listed above
* Added "Winter Wonderland" - Fonts - Beyond Wonderland & CK_Ali's_Hand_Official
* Added watermark in same fonts listed above

Thanks for popping in and please don't forget to visit Kim Klassen Cafe so you can see all the other fun and lovely creative work by our participants :)

~ kimB

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Texture Tuesday 2/14/12 ~ the Happiness eDition

This week's challenge is all about Happiness -- What makes me happy? Brings me joy?  Many things, really... Getting lost in a good book. Singing along to my favorite praise & worship songs. Going on a photo-shoot. Glorying in the wonder of GOD's creation. Spending time with my Hubby. Hanging out with my kids. Creating digital artwork.


For the past 29 months I've found great happiness in my role as "Gammie" - with the birth of my granddaughter, Amelia, in 2009 and my grandson, Adrian, in 2011 life has become brighter, richer and more joyful! This photo is one I took with my iPhone over the weekend. Neither are really smiling, but I just love the B&W image and their adorable little faces. Of course, just seconds later they were laughing and squealing, out of sight of the camera :)

SooC


Amelia, 29 months; Adrian, nearly 5 months. Feb 2012

Formula

* Resized original photo to 6 x 6, 300 dpi
* Adjustment layer for levels
* Smart Sharpen filter
* Diffuse Glow filter
* kk_Felicity - Linear Light blend mode @ 45%
* kk_Fall In - Linear Burn blend mode @ 74%
* Font: Rider

Don't forget to visit Kim Klassen Cafe to see the rest of this week's fun and lovely challenge entries!

TFL :)

~  kimB

Friday, February 10, 2012

In Every Place

Latest textured photo. I took this one in Sept 2010 at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.
* I used three digital textures by Kim Klassen - Stained Linen, Serious Magic and Canvasback.
* Clipping mask made from a brush from "Grungey Borders by Meth" and...
* Corner flourish brush from "Brushes by Kaffaleen" - both found at Brusheezy.com
* Fonts for quote are Maiandra GD and CliveBarker
* Fonts for watermark are Beyond Wonderland and Tekton Pro

~ klb

Monday, February 6, 2012

Texture Tuesday 2/7/2012 ~ The Free & Easy eDition

This week's challenge in Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday group is to use at least one of any of her digital textures on one of our images. I took this photo at the Town Square in downtown Anchorage, Alaska on June 8, 2008. See my processing formula following the photos --

SooC


Formula

* Cropped original photo to 12 x 6, 300 dpi


* Made a levels adjustment


* Duplicated original layer; set @ Soft Light blend mode, 65%


* Added kk_Revolution texture by Kim Klassen - Color blend mode, 35%


* Merged all layers and clipped to photo mask I created using brushes from "Grungy Lines by Meth" and "Grunge Edge pack" (creator unknown), both found at http://www.brusheezy.com/


* Added text using CK_Alis_Hand_Official and Arial fonts


* Added watermark (Beyond Wonderland font)
 
Be sure to check out all of this week's creative entries at The Cafe