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I have traveled some, taken a few pictures and had a good time.

Elizabeth Tower, when it was just The Clock Tower

Elizabeth Tower, when it was just The Clock Tower - 1 May 2004.

I've always thought this shot looked more like an autumn shot than springtime.

This has been run through the "lather-rinse-repeat" cycle of #Lightroom, #PhotoshopCC, #TopazDeNoiseAI, #TopazSharpenAI and #TopazgigapixelAI followed up by further stylistic refinement in Lightroom Classic again, all with it in mind that size reduction for IG would cover a multitude of flaws. Turned out pretty good, I think!

#Travel #Europe #England #London #Westminster #BigBen ##ElizabethTower #Clock #tower #parliament #iconiclondon #2004

Mr. Liu, retired Champion Cricket Wrangler Beijing

Mr. Liu, retired Champion Cricket Wrangler
Beijing, China - 10 April 2009

I wasn't expecting much from the itinerary item, "Presentation by Mr. Liu, Cricket Wrangler," after all, how interesting could an old man and some bugs be? Ahh, well, was he ever a surprise!

Even while speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Liu's presentation was interesting, animated and funny. After showing off his scrapbook of newspaper clippings and photos from the heyday of his cricket wrangling career, he brought out some of his special friends.

In all it was a delightful, and pleasant change from the <bleeping> lunch we had been presented just before. (Traditional or not, there are some things I never, ever need to see on a lunch plate!)

#Travel #Asia #China #Beijing #hutong #crickets #bugs #grasshopper #cricketwrangler .

A rescue helicopter ascends into the Lechtal Alps

A rescue helicopter ascends into the Lechtal Alps near Saint Anton, Austria.
8 February 2008.

I haven't posted in a bit due to a particularly persistent case of CBA (Can't Be Arsed). I may be pulling out of it, but time will tell.

I have always wanted to do something with this shot, but there was just too much motion blur on the helicopter. With my recent acquisition of Topaz Labs Sharpen AI, however, I thought maybe I could finally do *something* with it.

There are two sharpening passes involved. First I removed (or hid/disguised) as much of the motion blur as I could from the copter, then I ran a less severe pass over the whole image to sharpen up the background. Over all, I'm pleased enough with the result, although it isn't by any description a great photo.

I was shooting downward on the helicopter from the summit of Valluga, the highest and most prominent peak in the Arlberg region.

#travel #Europe #Austria #Oesterreich #SaintAnton #SanktAnton #Arlberg #VorArlberg #Lechtal #Winter #Skiing #Alps #AlpineSkiing #Aircraft #Helicopter #RescueHelicopter #MountainRescue #TopazLabs #Photoshop #LightroomClassic

Golden Gate Bridge - as viewed from Lincoln Park G

Golden Gate Bridge - as viewed from Lincoln Park Golf Course, San Francisco - 3 October 2013

Lots of work on this. Low light is not the strong suit of the Panasonic FZ30 with its 2005 technology and tiny sensor. Recently I invested in Topaz DeNoise AI and also Topaz Studio 2. This is the result, and probably the best you can get from that camera, the lighting conditions and artificial intelligence. I have played around before with attempts at using Lightroom's noise reduction without any satisfying results. I'll take this.

#Photoshop #Lightroom #TopazLabs #SanFrancisco #California #GoldenGateBridge #LincolnPark #PanasonicFZ30 #BlueHour #GoldenHour #SFBayArea

Jade Factory - near Beijing, China - April 2009 O

Jade Factory - near Beijing, China - April 2009

On the way to The Great Wall, we made one of the obligatory "shopping opportunity" stops at a showroom/factory/restaurant that had on display a broad selection of jade pieces, as well as a couple of young artists plying their skills so that visitors could see how a rock gets from its natural state to carving. It's all quite interesting.

Of course, I didn't have the resources to buy anything, so it was just a big jade-art gallery to me. There were some spectacular pieces ranging from finger rings to enormous carved sailng ships. I loved seeing it all, but could only bring home photos. The problem was, glass cases and florescent tube room lights reflecting on/in/through them. But I snapped away anyhow.

This very nice horse carving shot had all kinds of reflections and other distractions, and it took over ten years for me to buckle down and get serious about rescuing the poor stone pony from its lighting/display hell.

I had to mask out the entire original background/surroundings, fix the coloring, and re-light and re-stage the scene. It took some time, but less than I was expecting.

Swipe to see the original capture.
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#Travel #Asia #China #GreatWall #GreatWallOfChina #JadeArt #Carving #StoneCarving #Photoshop .

Peking Duck restaurant - April 2009 After a 14 ho

Peking Duck restaurant - April 2009

After a 14 hour flight and a (seemingly) two hour bus ride from the airport across Beijing, before we were even taken to our hotel, we had our first dinner in China at this restaurant. Apparently it's the place where government officials fete foreign dignitaries. It has hosted presidents, prime ministers and royalty. And . . . the food was absolutely brilliant! Everybody was thinking, "This is going to be a great trip! We're going to have some fabulous meals!" You know what they say about first impressions.

Now, the food on the rest of the trip fluctuated between "pretty decent" and "I hope it's better at the next place, because I need some decent food!" We never came close to that first meal during the entirety of our 10 days on the ground in China, and by the last day, I was desperate for a Big Mac and couldn't wait to get home to some familiarity.

#Travel #Asia #China #Beijing #GoodFood #PekingDuck #ChineseFood #ChineseRestaurant #Expectations

Pacifica, California - 18 February 2016 I don't r

Pacifica, California - 18 February 2016

I don't remember if the storm was approaching or departing. There *were* some beautiful clouds, even for mid afternoon.

#California #SanFrancisco #Pacifica #ocean #beach #clouds #waves #seagull #outdoors #iPhonography #Lightroom #Photoshop #LUT

A Path Down To The River - Dunkeld, Scotland - 3 O

A Path Down To The River - Dunkeld, Scotland - 3 October 2019

Coming from Dunkeld Cathedral into the main village we walked past this driveway entrance that looked interesting. I did go far enough in to see that at the other end of the passage was the back garden of several residences. But the path seemed to continue through the trees and down to the River Tay.

I grabbed a couple of shots and went on my way to a little bakery where I got a cup of coffee and a rather large muffun to take along as our whirlwind tour of the Highlands moved forward.

The first one is my b/w conversion, and the second is a slightly processed color version.

#travel #Europe #UnitedKingdom #Scotland #Dunkeld #Highlands #ScottishHighlands #RiverTay #driveway #blackandwhite #colorConversion #monochrome

Dunkeld, Scotland - 3 October 2019 This is the vi

Dunkeld, Scotland - 3 October 2019

This is the view across the River Tay at the edge of the churchyard of Dunkeld Cathedral. The section of the River Tay near the town of Dunkeld is designated as a national scenic area, identified as an area of exceptional scenery, protecting the region by restricting the amount and type of development that can take place.

The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom, with the largest outflow by volume of all rivers in the United Kingdom.

#travel #Europe #UnitedKingdom #Scotland #ScotishHighlands #Dunkeld #RiverTay #river #churchyard #scenic #landscape #bridge #stoneBridge #preservation #conservation

Outside The Terracotta Army facilities - Lintong D

Outside The Terracotta Army facilities - Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China - 13 April 2009

The Terracotta Army exhibit encompasses a fairly large area and contains several dig sites housed beneath giant exhibition halls in addition to a museum that details the discovery and subsequent excavation of the site. Outside the buildings is a large park-like plaza with benches and adjacent food vendors/cafeterias.

The atmosphere was extremely hazy, and my outdoor photographs were somewhat disappointing. Over the intervening years #Photoshop has added features and tools to allow enhancement of many previously unusable shots. This is one of them.

Scroll to see the original material and compare it to the finished product!

3 October 2019 - There is a place in the Scottish

3 October 2019 - There is a place in the Scottish Highlands that seems a bit off the beaten tourist path. When I mentioned that I like "landscapes, old stone cathedrals and castles," our driver/guide said, "I know a place you might like," and almost immediately turned off the main road and took us to this spot. It was worth the brief detour.
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#Travel #Europe #UnitedKingdom #Scotland #ScottishHighlands #landscapephotography .

Party In The Guardhouse Tonight! I saw a day-to-n

Party In The Guardhouse Tonight!

I saw a day-to-night conversion the other day that really made me want to give it a whirl. Thanks to #Photoshop's sky replacement feature, once I found a sky that I thought would work it was then a matter of lighting with some color adjustments overall. Not sure how to hashtag this!

#photomanipulation #day2night #skyreplacement #China #GreatWallOfChina #party

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