Posts for: stavros
Nov 27, 2023 17:30:46 #
For the past few years Annette and I and our family have headed to the Florida panhandle for our annual October vacation. This year as well as last year we chose Destin as our destination.
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is the principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metropolitan area. Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green waters. Originating as a small fishing village, it is now a popular tourist destination. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, over 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million visitors each year visit Destin. The city styles itself "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village” and claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida.
It's kind of funny, but Annette and I are not really “Beach” people. While the rest of the family will spend all day at the beach relaxing and sunbathing, Annette and I prefer to do a two-mile round trip walk along the beach in the morning and the do the same in the opposite direction after we finish our day’s activities in the evening. I guess doing 4 miles everyday helps keep us in pretty good shape despite all the fine dining we indulge in all week.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in October. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is the principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metropolitan area. Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green waters. Originating as a small fishing village, it is now a popular tourist destination. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, over 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million visitors each year visit Destin. The city styles itself "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village” and claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida.
It's kind of funny, but Annette and I are not really “Beach” people. While the rest of the family will spend all day at the beach relaxing and sunbathing, Annette and I prefer to do a two-mile round trip walk along the beach in the morning and the do the same in the opposite direction after we finish our day’s activities in the evening. I guess doing 4 miles everyday helps keep us in pretty good shape despite all the fine dining we indulge in all week.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in October. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
Nov 23, 2023 11:28:03 #
jaymatt wrote:
I like it--what Jack asked.
Thanks. Topaz filters and Dynamic Auto-Painter Pro 7
Nov 22, 2023 18:37:19 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
Interesting processing, how did you accomplish that look?
Happy Thanksgiving to you
Happy Thanksgiving to you
Thanks. Topaz filters and Dynamic Auto-Painter Pro 7
Nov 22, 2023 17:48:57 #
Sep 26, 2023 18:38:55 #
black mamba wrote:
I'm very familiar with Blowing Rock. My first mountain house was about 4 miles outside of the town. My wife and I got to spend a couple of months out of the year there. If you needed a dose of " big city life " you scooted over to Boone. 
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
Thanks for the feedback. You're correct. My PP was intended to create an artistic interpretation of the scenery. I appreciate you taking the time to provide an opinion. And yes, Boone is quite the throbbing metro! Great college town. Got to love Appalachian State.
Sep 26, 2023 16:38:44 #
Annette and I visit the lovely town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina often throughout the year. There are nice shops, galleries, and restaurants on the main street downtown, as well as a beautiful park with a lake and picnic tables. The town also hosts an “Art in the Park” festival which is held on several weekends throughout the summer and fall. In fact, we visit so often that it’s amazing that in the twenty plus years we have lived in this area, we never visited the actual Blowing Rock attraction until this past August. These photos are from that visit.
How the Blowing Rock Got Its Name
The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.
The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” Visible from “The Rock” down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi).
The Legend of the Blowing Rock
It is said that a Chickasaw chieftain, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams. One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in August. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
How the Blowing Rock Got Its Name
The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.
The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” Visible from “The Rock” down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi).
The Legend of the Blowing Rock
It is said that a Chickasaw chieftain, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams. One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in August. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
Sep 3, 2023 17:52:05 #
black mamba wrote:
I really enjoyed this posting....even though it gave me a case of severe color overload. I enjoy doing interpretive work myself, working with rust covered objects. I get into a fair amount of PP work but not on the scale of what you apparently do. I'm in and out of Ashville a lot and never knew the Arboretum was there. Just from a love of plants and flowers, I'm definitely going to catch it next time I'm there.
Thanks. By the way, I really enjoy your work also.
Sep 3, 2023 17:50:48 #
Aug 31, 2023 17:29:38 #
tcthome wrote:
Nice. I like the last 3 photos.
Thanks
Aug 31, 2023 13:51:43 #
srg wrote:
Superb art work.
The writing is too.
The writing is too.
Thank You
Aug 31, 2023 08:08:09 #
Reuss Griffiths wrote:
I like these a lot. It's fun to get creative with what I'm assuming are great floral photos and play with the tools at hand to arrive at images like these. You don't really have an end image in mind when you start but enjoy the process. I found from personal experience that if you don't know where you're going, it hard to know when you get there. You've obviously arrived in a good place. Great job, good show!
Thanks so much
Aug 30, 2023 19:56:18 #
Elfoto1975 wrote:
Nice art work you got 👍 great set , and great reading
Thank You
Aug 30, 2023 18:31:39 #
Toment wrote:
Fantastic!
Thanks for sharing
( I like DAP too)
Thanks for sharing
( I like DAP too)
Thanks
Aug 30, 2023 16:51:16 #
Annette and I stop by the North Carolina Arboretum whenever we visit Asheville, North Carolina, which we do frequently throughout the year. In fact, we visit so often that we purchase an annual membership each year, thus avoiding the daily parking fee. Our membership also includes affiliation with the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Admissions Program which provides free entrance to hundreds of member parks, botanic gardens, and arboretums throughout the country. These photos are from our May, 2023 “Bloom with a View” visit.
The North Carolina Arboretum (434 acres) is an arboretum and botanical garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, southwest of Asheville, North Carolina near the Blue Ridge Parkway It is open daily except for Christmas Day. There is no admission charge, but some parking fees do apply.
Although the idea for the arboretum stretches back to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1898, who wished to create an arboretum at the nearby Biltmore Estate, today's arboretum was established by the General Assembly in 1986, as a facility of the University of North Carolina. In 1989 the site was officially designated the North Carolina Arboretum.
The arboretum is still under active development. It includes many hiking and bicycling trails, a bonsai collection, a holly garden, and a stream garden. Its tree collection includes a fine set of Metasequoias planted in 1950, and now said to be the tallest in the south (over 100 feet (30 m) in height). In 2016, a certification from Bee Campus USA recognized the arboretum's efforts to teach about and support pollinators.
Bloom with a View, is an immersive floral installation on the grounds of The North Carolina Arboretum. Throughout the gardens, colorful and festive planters elevate thousands of blooms to eye-level. It was fun to wander, explore and even lose ourselves among the flowers!
For its introductory year, “Bloom with a View” placed vibrant bursts of colorful hydrangeas prominently, with appearances by elegant calla lilies, with oriental and Asiatic lilies featured! The ocean of color provided an excellent avenue to wander meditatively, frolic among the flowers and take some really cool photos.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in March. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and abstract pastel like painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
The North Carolina Arboretum (434 acres) is an arboretum and botanical garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, southwest of Asheville, North Carolina near the Blue Ridge Parkway It is open daily except for Christmas Day. There is no admission charge, but some parking fees do apply.
Although the idea for the arboretum stretches back to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1898, who wished to create an arboretum at the nearby Biltmore Estate, today's arboretum was established by the General Assembly in 1986, as a facility of the University of North Carolina. In 1989 the site was officially designated the North Carolina Arboretum.
The arboretum is still under active development. It includes many hiking and bicycling trails, a bonsai collection, a holly garden, and a stream garden. Its tree collection includes a fine set of Metasequoias planted in 1950, and now said to be the tallest in the south (over 100 feet (30 m) in height). In 2016, a certification from Bee Campus USA recognized the arboretum's efforts to teach about and support pollinators.
Bloom with a View, is an immersive floral installation on the grounds of The North Carolina Arboretum. Throughout the gardens, colorful and festive planters elevate thousands of blooms to eye-level. It was fun to wander, explore and even lose ourselves among the flowers!
For its introductory year, “Bloom with a View” placed vibrant bursts of colorful hydrangeas prominently, with appearances by elegant calla lilies, with oriental and Asiatic lilies featured! The ocean of color provided an excellent avenue to wander meditatively, frolic among the flowers and take some really cool photos.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in March. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and abstract pastel like painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
Aug 14, 2023 15:38:56 #