This has been an odd year, weather-wise. After one of the wettest springs ever, we segued into one of the hottest summers (and it was awfully dry, too). A couple of weeks ago it began to rain, finally. The last week or so has been beautifully cool.
With more mosquitoes than I have ever seen in suburbia.
It's sort of scary to go out to hang up the wash, and watch them RISE UP out of the grass and COME FOR YOU.
Sad, when the weather is perfect (mid-70s, blue) and you can't be outside because you'll be eaten alive.
It's ok if you keep moving, but the moment you stop to take a pic, or to sniff, they are all over you.
If we can't stop to take more pics, we'll just have to play with the pics we have.
I've seen other people do things I admired, with the Photoshop "cutout" filter. I'd never gotten results I liked, so I've been experimenting.
This one was laborious and painful -- in the end, the dog, the grass, and the sidewalk were all picked out and made into separate levels, and "cutout" separately. (When I "cutout" the whole image, the darker places on the sidewalk and several places on top of the dog were green. No. Would not do. So I fussed and fussed.)
I'm reasonably happy with this, but not as happy with the amount of fussing..... I'm thinking "cutout" works best, for my taste, when the number of colors in the original are quite limited. This one has too many, I guess.....
It's a piece of cake to apply one filter to the whole image.
Posteredged.
Watercolored.
I like the way just the tip of his tail and the back-most foot are all blown out, in contrast to the darkness of the grass and the shadow.
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2 comments:
The mosquitoes here have been absolutely unbearable and unbelievable this summer despite the fact we have a drought. Maybe it's because we actually have water here? The Boyz and Gracie don't even want to go out into the pasture, it's so bad!
I was emailing with a corgi rescuer in Texas who said she hoped that one good consequence of their drought might be fewer mosquitoes, and so, less heart worm.
Essentially every corgi rescued in Texas has heartworm...... :-(
It surely isn't fair to have drought AND mosquitoes!!! Darned parasites!!! (Come on, bats and swallows! We need you!!!)
I think the Boyz and Gracie need culottes, like their forebears on Île de Ré.....
:-)
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