Pink Rosebud

Title: "Pink Rosebud"

Nikon D40 Micro Nikkor 105mm
digital photograph 8"x8"
© 2009 Christine Pierce

Our roses this year have been somewhat few and far between, but this pretty pink bud captured my attention this morning.

Dandelion Puff

Dandelion Puff, v. 1

I took a close-up photograph of a dandelion puff to submit to an art competition featuring "weeds." The photo, above, received basic color correction. The next photo, below, was tweaked a little bit more in photoshop.

Dandelion Puff, v. 2

This final image, below, resulted when my son, T., suggested really cranking up the darks and lightening the lights:

Dandelion Puff, v. 3

© 2009. Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

Macro Sunflower

Title: Macro Sunflower
digital photograph, Nikon D40, AF-S Micro 105mm
(please click on image to enlarge)
© 2009 Christine Pierce

I realize it's cliche to take macro photos of sunflowers, but I wanted to try out a new lens and this flower was one of the first things my view-finder landed on... If you click on it, you may be surprised, as I was, by the clarity of detail.

Contrasts

TGV Train Station, Avignon, France
Nikon D40
© 2009 Christine Pierce

One of the things I love most about France is that it is such a study of contrasts. In the photo, above, we see the ultra-modern TGV train station in Avignon, Provence.

Below is a picture I took a few days later, in Paris:

Palais Royal, Paris, France
Nikon D40
© 2009 Christine Pierce

Darling Dogs of Paris

Dogs of Paris
Digital Photos, Nikon D40
(please click on images to enlarge)
© 2009 Christine Pierce

The dogs in Paris were as well-behaved and darling as ever. It seemed to me, however, that I saw fewer dogs than on previous trips to the city. Nonetheless, they were all clearly doted-upon by their owners and they were a delight to observe.

Paris Ferris Wheel

Title: "Paris Ferris Wheel (La Grande Roue)
at Night"
digital image
(please click on image to enlarge)
© 2009 Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

Walking in Paris at night presents us with beautiful sights and sounds that might escape us during the daytime. The Paris Ferris Wheel at night is one such magical sight.

St-Paul-de-Vence

Pink bouganvilla and blue sky

Here are some photos from the morning we spent in St-Paul-de-Vence. This picturesque medieval town perched on the side of a hill is filled with steep, winding cobblestone lanes and darling boutiques and art galleries. The bright pink bouganvilla (above) looked lovely climbing up the ancient, sun-bleached stone walls.

Grapevine archway


Cobblestone steps and art galleries

View from the village

Blue shutters and bluer sky

More pink bouganvilla

© 2009 Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

Lacy Ironwork of Eiffel Tower

Title: "Lacy Ironwork of Eiffel Tower"

The open-lattice wrought iron of the Eiffel tower looks surprisingly lacy and delicate when seen up-close. If you click on the image, above, you will see what I mean.

Title: "Avenue Gustave Eiffel"

Title: "Beneath the Eiffel Tower"

Unlike novelist Guy de Maupassant, I love the Eiffel Tower and have yet to grow tired of it. (Monsieur de Maupassant, who claimed to hate the Eiffel Tower, is said to have eaten lunch in the tower every day. When asked why, he replied that it was the one place in the city where he could not see the "horrid" structure. — via Wikipedia).

While I have not eaten lunch in the Eiffel Tower, I would be happy to do so. Not to avoid the tower, but to enjoy the fabulous view!

Title: "The Eiffel Tower"

© 2009 Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

Eiffel Tower

Title: "The Eiffel Tower"
digital photograph
© 2009 Christine Pierce
(please click on image to enlarge)

I think the cloud formations gave the Eiffel Tower an interesting look the day I took this picture...

Doors of Provence

Title: Blue door with pink flowers
digital photograph
© 2009 Christine Pierce

The beautiful doors in Provence could be a study unto themselves!

I came upon this blue door (above) in the picturesque town of Lourmarin, one of the Luberon hill towns of Provence. (This is the charming town where Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, lives).

This lovely green door is in Gordes, Provence:

Title: Green door of Gordes, Provence
digital photograph
© 2009 Christine Pierce

And here are two doors from the ochre-hued town of Roussillon:

Title: Roussillon Door, Provence
digital photograph
© 2009 Christine Pierce

Title: Another Roussillon Door, Provence
digital photograph
© 2009 Christine Pierce

Grapes on the Vine

These grapes were growing in an old vineyard above the castle ruins in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Provence.

Large round stones at the base of the vines absorb heat from the sun and help keep the roots warm at night, thereby ripening the grapes more quickly.

© 2009 Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

Lavender, Sunflowers and a Poppy

My wish came true: the lavender was in full bloom during our trip! The fields looked like a rolling sea of purple buds and nearly took my breath away:

The butterflies were happy, too:

We were delighted to discover that the sunflowers near Roussillon were also in full bloom:


And my dream of seeing poppies, well, a poppy, blooming in southern France was also realized:


All in all, it was a spectacular day of blossoms and blooms!

© 2009 Christine Pierce. All rights reserved.

French Riviera Photographs

Title: View from hilltop in Nice, French Riviera

© 2009 Christine Pierce

Title: View of beach in front of the Promenade des Anglais
Nice, French Riviera
© 2009 Christine Pierce

I am home from my whirlwind trip to the French Riviera, Provence and Paris. We had a wonderful time driving around the countryside, eating delicious food and seeing gorgeous scenery along the way.

Above, and below, are a few pictures from Nice. The water was a spectacular aquamarine hue and the sky was deep azure.

Title: Sailboats in Mediterranean Sea
Nice, French Riviera
© 2009 Christine Pierce

This photograph of Old Nice shows the true, (un-retouched) color of the sky:

Title: Old Nice, French Riviera
© 2009 Christine Pierce
(please click on image to enlarge)

One night we went to a restaurant called "Le Château de la Chèvre d'Or" (The Golden Goat) in Eze.

Title: La Chèvre d'Or, French Riviera
© 2009 Christine Pierce

It was situated on the side of a cliff (corniche) and offered a spectacular view of the Mediterranean Sea and the French Riviera:

Title: View from Eze, French Riviera

© 2009 Christine Pierce

Title: View of Mediterranean Sea and Saint Jean-Cap Ferrat
from La Chevre d'Or
Eze, French Riviera
© 2009 Christine Pierce

Next: Lavender fields...

Purple Orchids

Title: "Purple Orchids"
12"x12" digital painting
© 2009 Christine Pierce

The Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Honolulu has an entire wall covered with live orchids. I have never seen so many beautiful orchids in one place. Here is a picture I took after we enjoyed lunch there recently. The wall is two stories tall (although for some reason this picture remains small when clicked on):

Title: "Wall of Orchids"
Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hawaii
© 2009 Christine Pierce

But, lest I think I've seen a majority of orchid varieties at the orchid wall, here's a fun fact from Wikipedia: There are about four times as many orchid species in the world as there are mammal species. That's a lot of orchids!

Beautiful Blossoms in Portland

Title: Crab Apple Blossoms
Nikon D40 (please click on image to enlarge)
©2009 Christine Pierce

My husband and I took a walk around Northeast Portland last Saturday, and the blossoms were blooming with gusto! I had thought cherry blossoms were my favorite tree flower, but the crab apple blossoms and pink dogwood blooms are giving them a run for the money!

Title: Pink Dogwood Branch
Nikon D40 (please click on image to enlarge)
©2009 Christine Pierce

This little pink dogwood blossom looked so demure, with its little leaves crossed just-so:

Title: Shy Pink Dogwood Blossom
Nikon D40 (please click on image to enlarge)
©2009 Christine Pierce

Upon further reflection, I guess my favorite blossoms are whatever flowers are blooming at the time...

Digital "Major"

"Major-1"
digitally adapted in Corel Painter 11

Recently, I read that one of my favorite artists has gone digital. David Hockney, age 71, has embraced digital technology and has created some phenomenal pieces for his current exhibit at his gallery, Annely Juda Fine Art in London.

“It’s probably only in the past year that the computer’s got quick enough to keep up with the draughtsman,” said Hockney. “It’s a very new medium and it’s turned out to be a fantastic medium.” (To read the rest of the TimesOnline article, please click here.)

I love that this renowned and seasoned artist is continiously experimenting with new media. He has even begun creating art on his i-Phone!

Inspired by Hockney's embrace of digital art, I have spent the last two days learning how to use Corel's Painter 11 program. As my subject, I used a photograph of Major, whose watercolor version you can see here.

The picture of Major, above, is the result of some doodling around with Corel Painter. The picture of Major, below, takes the above picture into Photoshop and adds some plug-in filters.

"Major-2"
further adapted in Photoshop PS4 with Cutout Filter
and Topaz Adjust Filter

I am VERY new to this, but I am already hooked. I won't be hanging up my micron pen and watercolors any time soon, but it is nice to have some new artistic toys to play with!

Lilac Blossoms

Muted Lilac Blossoms ©2009 Christine Pierce
Nikon D40 with Silver Efex Pro filter
(please click on image to enlarge)

Last week we celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary and my dear husband gave me a gorgeous floral bouquet filled with fragrant lilac blossoms and star-gazer lilies.

I was going to paint a picture of the bouquet, but then I got side-tracked taking pictures and experimenting with different Photoshop filters. My favorite filter of-the-moment is the Nik Softwear Silver Efex Pro plug-in. This filter lets you create fun black and white photographs with the push of a button. I am currently using the 15-day free trial, which is a great option to try-before-you-buy.

For comparison, here is the original, unretouched photograph:

Lilac Blossoms, unretouched ©2009 Christine Pierce
Nikon D40
(please click on image to enlarge)