Every time I go out into the catio I walk into this tiny spider's web. I step out the door, get tangled in her web, look up and there she is either disgusted because I keep messing up her web, or laughing at me because I keep doing the same thing.

I put together three different photos to make this photo.

Teri Dashfield brought up the "Orton Effect" on her blog today which reminded me that while I rarely use the technique the way most photographers use it, I do use a similar technique on occasion the deal with high variations in exposure — today's photo is one of those occasions.  

"Orton Imagery" was developed by Michael Orton in the 1980's by making different exposures, varying the focus, and zoom of the same subject on slide film and then sandwiching the film together to create images that imitated watercolor paintings, as he explains on his website. Creating the "Orton Effect" is a much simpler process with digital photography and image processing software like Photoshop, and the "Orton Effect" is used quite often these days, especially with landscape photography — if you have spent any time looking a photos on sites like Fotoblur and 500px you will have seen photos with the "Orton Effect".

To create the image of the blue moon behind a thin layer of clouds with Mars peaking between the clouds on the the far right side of the photo, I put together three separate photos in Photoshop with different exposures and clarity, aligned the layers, set different opacities for each layer, and finally merged the layers together into a single image. Two of the images are underexposed so they show the clouds, but the moon is overexposed and shows up as a bright disk like the sun, the third image is the moon photographed at the correct exposure, which gives the moon detail, but the clouds disappear in the blackness. I put the brightest image on the bottom layer, the moon with detail as the middle layer, and I slightly darker photo that still shows the clouds as the top layer; when the tree layers are put together, aligned and adjusted I get a moon that has some detail in the middle of glowing clouds with Mars showing up as a bright spot between the clouds on the far right side of the photo. There are a few faint dots in the photo that might be stars, but they are more likely hot spots on my camera's sensor.

I normally think of the process I used to create today's photo more as creating a manual version of "HDR" or "Image Stacking" than the "Orton Effect", but after Teri reminded me of the "Orton Effect" and I reviewed Mr. Orton's process, I see I am using a process similar to his original process, but for different reasons.

stretching and watching

These chicks were in a tree waiting for mama bird to feed them. Mama bird had given each of them an insect she caught, but once I stood close by with my lens trained on the chicks, she just flew by and landed in the vicinity while the chicks waited patiently for her to bring them food. The chicks were big and fat compared to the poor mama bird who was flying back and forth catching insects to feed her chicks.

There she goes

This one tried opening its beak, but mama flew on by

A third chick flew in and they were getting a little impatient waiting to be served

Graham Thomas

Pink Iceberg

Handel

About Face

Iris, Dr Huey, bamboo, cottonwoods, and the moon

I've been feeling like I have one foot in the Twilight Zone† for most of 2016 between the primary elections, politics and life in general, but I really felt like I as slipping into the Twilight Zone when I walked into Walmart to get a prescription filled with a bloody drain tube coming out of my collar into a test tube in my shirt pocket and not a single soul on my way in or out took notice.

†a line I borrowed from a song by the Fools

Selfie done while Laurie is getting gas before going by Walmart to fill a prescription on the way home

Abracadabra, whiskers and paw. Go now tail and stick to Lola!

How'd he do that?

Not too unlike Salvador Dali's floppy clock faces, Dr. Huey flows over, around and under walls, fences, landscape features and gets mixed up with whatever is near him. In Corrales there is a persistence of Dr. Huey where he makes his presence known and has become quite unforgettable.

Laurie checking out other roses under the Dr. Huey that has climbed of the tree in the center of the photo.

Susan photographing Dr Huey way up in the tree.

Our giant Dr Huey back lit by the early morning sunshine

We are doing our 3rd Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey Tour today.  Dr Huey is the root stock used for most roses in the Southwestern US, and when the rose that is grafted to Dr Huey dies, Dr Huey often thrives. Corrales has an abundance of Dr Hueys because of our cold winters and late frosts. While most rosarians don't care for the sight of Dr Huey, we and the Corrales Rose Society love him.

The entrance to the walkway that leads to our front door along the west side of the house. The arch is covered by red roses we got for free, but we don't know their names.

These are a bed of iris I planted all together after I dug them up to run new underground wiring when we got an electrical upgrade in 2012. There is a Dr Huey in the middle of the iris.

Iris and Dr Huey

Lady Banks

Hopper on a Huey

Cherry Parfait

Tuscan Sun

Crab Spider

Stars & Stripes

Tradescant

Fourth of July

Another Crab Spider

Betty Prior

Dr Huey

Rio Samba