playing in the digital darkroom

redwoods

It has been a busy week.

Home from New Zealand and back to suburbia, with a quick trip to Scotland and tea at Buckingham Palace thrown in.

Why Scotland?

Number 1 child, currently living in Canada, has recently announced her intentions to get married, and for the wedding to be in Scotland.

Wonderful news on all counts, but there are some disadvantages to the scenario for your truly as "mother of the bride" which I will not trouble you with, related to the distances involved for all parties.

Suffice it to say that I am already having wedding nightmares and there is more than a year to go.......

I will keep a nightmare diary to amuse myself.

Nightmare number 1

The first caterer, when asked how much they charge for corkage coolly replied "£35,000".

It will get worse. Of that I have absolutely no doubt.

Up on Deeside, acting as venue scout, I bumped into Prince Charles driving his Range Rover just outside Balmoral. I was in a custard yellow hire car photographing trees; the best way to keep calm that I know. I didn't get to tell him why I was photographing trees, or why I was driving a yellow car, but I am sure he would have approved of my deep communion with nature.

The forests in Deeside are lush and green. I allowed myself 10 minutes with my camera before pressing on to visit a potential wedding venue.

Forest, Deeside © Caroline Fraser

A welcome sight after a 4am start from Gatwick.

green green grass

The grass is certainly greener and lusher up north.

Deeside

And the roads quieter.

"River Dee"

River Dee

Job done. Progress made. Details secret.


So here are a few more trees.

My current desire is to improve my monochrome photography, so I have had fun playing in the digital darkroom that is Nik Efex Software.


Today I have selected  one image to see what might be done with it.

unadulterated original

the trees are prickly 

vintage camera effect with 'light leak'

 

double exposure effect

Triste 2 effect

Triste seems the most appropriate right now, for I have just become a world cup widow. By the time it is all over I will probably have about 35,000 variations on a theme of trees.