First, I have a funny update to my earlier post about our local post office. When I got mail out of the box this morning, I noticed several envelopes with a rubber-band around them. Attached to the bundle was a yellow sticky note that said, “3/10 mailbox full.”
That means they mashed that package in my mailbox, and then took the actual mail back to their USPS office to deliver 5 days later. Funny, right? 😏
Captivating and unique Indiana skies…
The skies overhead in the Hoosier state are amazing. Changing weather patterns lead to dramatic cloud formations no matter the time of year.
Add to that how Indiana landscapes change with the 4 seasons, and you’re sure to catch nature’s beauty with a variety of backdrops without traveling anywhere.
I know. I know. I’m ate up with looking at and taking photos of the horizon from the barndo. You would be too if you went 10 years looking at privacy fences. The skies in Indiana have unique characteristics and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to be able to enjoy the view.
From afternoon to evening…
While I took the above photo yesterday afternoon, the photo below that I took at sunset last night was just as lovely.
Now you know: Up to 20 percent of salmons raised in fish farms are depressed or suicidal. They have been measured to have similar serotonin levels as depressed mammals and will refuse to swim around or eat until they starve to death.
While the phrase, “a picture’s worth 1000 words” is often attributed to Confucius, Wikipedia says it was Fred R. Barnard who deserves the credit. He wrote it in an advertising trade journal in 1921 promoting the use of images in ads. Of course, I’m not advertising anything – but I am sharing a whole bunch of words through images today.
Candid shots are my favorite.
Photos that are unposed capture people as their authentic selves. They aren’t planned or crafted to look perfect.
With my family, candid shots are the only way to capture them without crazy smiles and silly faces.
I do it too… obviously.
Dogs don’t fake smile or pose dewclaws up. 🐶
Even when I TRY to create a posed shot of either of my hound dogs, they never turn out that way.
Humans notice cameras and the second they know they’re being photographed, it takes them out of the moment. Not dogs! Dogs don’t ham it up or pose in a way they think will make them look their best. I’m sure Dharma and Merida have no idea what a camera is… but they do know it pauses whatever they’re doing or what they’re trying to let me know they want.
Dogs remain authentic even when a camera is pointed at them. That’s why they’re almost always candid shots — and one of the reasons I like them so much.
Now you know: All polar bears in Iceland are shot on sight. They are not native to the island, and dangerous because they are hungry after floating over on ice from Greenland. It is too difficult and expensive to return them home.
Over the past couple days I’ve been working on updating websites — personal and business. Primarily this consists of checking and sometimes updating the copyright year, and making certain everything is current. I updated a few photos on the main page of shelleyerwin.com and that was the reason I fell into the Photoshop rabbit hole.
Over the years, I’ve accumulated a bajillion photos.
It’s always fun to scroll through the many photos from years past, isn’t it? What’s even more fun is opening up a photo and simply playing around with it. For example… when Perry brought in the most awesome ham ever, I wanted a photo. At the second I clicked, Mom stuck her head down to smell the smoked creation.
This is what was captured…
I snickered when I saw it on my computer’s photo stash. I figured it might be fun to change the background scene.
Show us what ya’ got AI!
I selected the subjects, and then did a reverse selection so the background was open to be generated by whatever text I typed in. I tried ‘Oregon Trail’ and ‘Santa’ and even ‘New Year.’ I gave it up for something simple… ‘Central Park.’
This is the AI generated photo:
Next I laughed and laughed and sent it to those pesky neighbors by text. The reply?
“Looks like someone dropped their false teeth in bushes.” 🤣
Now you know: Sarah Knauss, who was the oldest American to ever live (born 1880), saw three centuries in her lifetime. She died on December 30th, 1999, at the age of 119.
It was obviously taken after the cleanup, missing the spread of yummy goodness. Being my creative self (ha!), I pulled the photo in Photoshop and told the AI generator to make the background into ‘the last supper.’
Photoshop AI delivered:
All of a sudden, that single photo sort of gave me a spook! It looks like a bunch of ghosts are gathered to eat some headless piece of slithering flesh. Multiple ears appear on heads where they don’t belong and eye placements are ghoulish.
Mom and Carl were untouched by AI, but it appears their expressions have morphed into wary discomfort. Indigestion? Maybe… but it’s more the look of dreaded resolve for the fate that awaits them.
I quickly attempted to get them to a different location!
Like in the movie, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, I pulled them to an alternate universe to escape their plight. I chose a place with serene snow, but one of those ghastly turds traveled with them!
There he is — they can’t seem to shake the faceless dude with blobs for hands. And it appears as if they’ve set up a base station equipped with some sort of communication and sound system to help the others cross over too. You can’t leave those Pesky Neighbors alone for 5 minutes. 🙄
Now you know: The Irish flag is green white and orange because green represents Roman Catholics in the country, orange represents Protestants and white represents the peace between them.
Our little family gathered for LOTS of good food — but more importantly, we had a photoshoot with two photographers in charge…
We started outside. I thought I took a BUNCH of photos but ended up with 2…
Ben complained about being cold and so did Mom. He also let me know that I didn’t know what I was doing and he could do a MUCH better job and have the photos done in 3 minutes flat.
We moved inside and Ben took charge.
After getting a box just the perfect size, he directed us where to stand. I had my camera on the side to capture this photo… so I could learn from the expert. 🙄
After accidentally flipping the camera to the back view, he had 82 photos of a Sam’s Club box (not even joking — it was on burst). We got back in our places for round 2. Of course, Ben made a face in one — and Coco in the other. 🙂
And I got just one of me and my Momma…
Hope your Thanksgiving was amazing and you had a photographer on hand to capture the moments.
Now you know: The Guinness World Records discontinued the “Heaviest Pets” category in 1998 to deter people from over-feeding their pets just to appear in the book.
