To Mask, Or Not To Mask?

After the prior post, A Gift For No Reason, some wanted to see the sunflowers after I brought them home. This is the view I have when I sit at my computer.  It has been 4 days now, and I am still uplifted each time I see them.

If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy flowers, for although the bread will nourish your body, the flowers will nourish your soul.

In Photoshop Elements, I played with the image on the right by:

*Making a copy of the original photo

*Applying a mask to the portions I wanted to retain color

*Creating a New Adjustment Layer (Hue Saturation)

*Moving the Saturation slider all the way to the left to remove the color

I like each of these images for different reasons, and I would like to get your thoughts about them. Do you prefer one over the other? If you care to elaborate, please tell why.

Labels:  Sunflowers, Mask, Photoshop Elements

sunflowers
mask
Photoshop Elements

A Gift For No Reason

Early this morning I ventured out to the new Farmers Market open on Saturdays from 8 till Noon.  A  few vendors had booths in a sectioned-off area of a parking lot of The Galleria -- a center of shops and cafes and a bank or two. I didn't plan to purchase anything, for I was to meet a friend elsewhere in a little while, but I wanted to see what was there so I could plan a little for next Saturday.

There were locally grown tomatoes and corn and bell peppers, stalls of onions and brussel sprouts, radishes and dandelion greens,  kale and organic coffee,  dried pasta in colors and shapes, plants of basil and others I couldn't name, handmade soaps and handmade jewelry. A well-coifed woman walked a well-coifed dog. An elderly couple held hands as they strolled past. Two women were in serious conversation about the merits of raw honey. All, I thought, deserved some more attention. But next week would have to do.

And then I saw the sunflowers.

I knew I would have to go back home to put them in water. I knew this might make me late. I knew I had to have them anyway.

"Seven dollars per bunch, or two for ten."

"Just one, please."

As I walked back through the lot towards my car, I knew I was smiling. I felt nourished, content, and like a mademoiselle in a French countryside with a basket of  an apron filled with rare truffles. What is it about that sudden something that catches us unaware--that simple thing that makes us glow with pleasure? It's a gift for no reason,  a blessing undeserved. It's like when your Love winks at you from across the room, or God winks from across the Universe.  I wished someone were with me so I could say, "Hey, take my picture with these!" I imagine the flowers would be beautiful in that photo.  And, just maybe, so would I.


Labels:

A Gift For No Reason
sunflowers 
farmers market