Thank you CWilson

Thank you Mike. By the way your color in your posts inspires me.

yes. thanks for looking.

in St. Louis, Mo. This garden is also known as the Missouri Botanical Garden. We went there because we love good gardens. Also, the garden has an excellent, very informative website that I often use before planting anything. It was developed by Henry Shaw who had become so rich that at age39 he retired and spent the next 50 years making his garden.

(Download)


(Download)


(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

Recently, we have had the coldest days of the year with freezing drizzle followed by a light snowfall - our third this year. Three I hope you find interesting from our mild cold. 23 degrees today.

(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

Almost every response in your post interests me as alearner. Concerning the use of a flower in your composition, in my yard I have newly blossomed Helleborus whose texture and form would add beautifully.

Intriguing idea; thanks. I will study the idea because it might well work.

I don't have Lightroom, and my version of Photoshop Elements doesn't include the dehazing tool. When reading Azpiclady's post "Trying to get where I want to go," the suggestions by R.G. on methods to achieve dehazing fascinated me. Many of my landscapes suffer from the lack of clarity produced by my skill level, both in pp and even the photography itself. The image here is one that I tried to apply his recommendations, and I am pleased with my results. A big thank you for his guidance.

I made a selection of the trees along the horizon, and I applied the adjustments according to R. G.'s guidance. For me they worked. Then I selected the prairie between the near trees and the far tree line. I adjusted this selection slightly for color curves and a bit of enhanced saturation and some slight bumping of contrast. I liked the sky well enough so I did nothing more than what I had done initially in ACR. I also made a selection of the road to adjust it so that it was brought to greater prominence and better its presence in the overall landscape.

I am sure that many will not care for this image in that they would crop it. I am guessing for many there is too much sky. Well, the sky in Oklahoma is so much of our sense of our place here - it contains the winds that come sweeping down the plains. For me it is a huge element of our life. So, I kept it the way I shot it.

If anyone would like to comment and suggest how this image might still be improved, let me thank you in advance. I have learned a good deal at UHH, and I expect to learn more. Thanks again.

(Download)

I like the color version too. I thought it might work in B&W because of the strong lines in the stems. About the color. in pp I was working with HSL and there is significant degree of chlorophyil green in the leaves, but I backed off that try because it "bled" over in the background in a really ugly way. Thanks for looking.

of a Japanese maple in our yard.January is a dry month in Tulsa. Local news last week reported the average Jan. rainfall is just short of one inch. This year we have had a surprising just under four inches of rain. The snow flurries that we got recently become noteworthy. While the amount of accumulation was so little, it became an event that was not the usual. So, I sought the best possible opportunity . Also included is the color version.

(Download)


(Download)

In October my wife and I took a Collette tour in Canada. This was at one of our stops.

Quebec

(Download)

jaw dropping

Artbob, thank you for your comments. Your analysis points to the elements in the scene that drew me. I recognize the verticals since I rely on them often in my compositions. I did not see the other forms which you pointed out. As far as tonal range is concerned, that concept is a skill I am working on. my pp skills- and since I use elements 15 - are a constant effort. Thank you for your input.

You might be right. I was really excited to be there after nearly 60 years and so some of my memory is sketchy. I am in my 70's. I really envy those of you who are able to be there so much as to recognize scenes so quickly.

That is what I saw. I had thought that there was a kind of balance of elements, but I don't think my shot captured it. Incidentally, This was taken the week before the eclipse that crossed the U.S., and the weather which followed was overcast with occasional rain