...the first dandelion of spring.
my best friend had the day off today, so she took the train out to spend the day with me. it's been over a month since i've seen her, so it was really great to spend the day with her! we took a nice walk in the beautiful weather through a nature preserve that i visit often. {more pictures to follow—and they are not your ordinary pictures, either!}
anyway, as we were walking, she saw this dandelion and shouted out, "look! the first dandelion!" she was right! there were none to be seen anywhere, and this was the first we had seen on our entire walk. in fact, for each of us, it was our first we've seen so far this spring. i got excited to hear her words, see it myself, and know she was just as thrilled about it as i was. she had no idea the sentimental value that the first seen dandelion of spring had to me.
i grew up hearing my mother always get excited to see her first dandelion of spring. most people hate dandelions, but my mom loves them, because they signify warmer days and the arrival of spring. she also loves their resilience! so she always cherished that first one she saw after months of winter.
now, whenever i see my first dandelion of spring, i think of my mom—immediately. i love that. so i had to take a picture.
today on shutter sisters, the post was about photos that have been processed in such a way to create a vintage or aged feel—which in turn creates a nostalgic mood. i always love this when i see it in a photo. and i have to admit, i have no idea how people create this.
but i tried anyway. because of a tip from my talented friend, char, i knew to add some cyan and yellow to the photo in order to achieve this effect. i did this, as well as crop it to a square and give it the white border to help the photo seem vintage.
i thought this would be fitting for this post and the memories i have of my mom, growing up and all the first dandelions of spring i have ever seen.
{p.s. if anyone has any tips for me on how to process with the nostalgic touch, please do leave a comment!}
9 comments:
I can't wait to see my first dandelion, now that I know what it represents....
and layering with textures and adding an old frame are the only vintagey things I've accompished...
although, do have that japanese site that turns your photos instantly old in scratchy black and white ???....that's a good one,too...let me know if you need it and I'll send it to you !!!
I think you did good considering you didn't use photoshop for this one. there is this one free site: http://www.dumpr.net/lomo.php that gives your shot a "toy camera" effect that can be considered vintage too.
thanks Beth, and Char. i'm going to check out your site suggestions! i'm so excited.
Beth, yes—i would love if you could send me the info. thanks!
i love a dandelion too! for the same reason, it screams spring at me. what photo program do you use? i could only help you if you are a mac user, i am afraid i don't know much about windows.
hi g,
your blog has changed into something special since i was last here. i exchnaged autumn for spring and my heart is happy to be back here.
oh wow, Claire!
it's so good to see you again.
you have been missed.
it's good to have you back.
I love dandelions too! So exciting to see, for sure!! :) Thanks for sharing and it's a great pic!
they're downright pretty. and they are like the Lord's mercies...new every morning. :)
I like the dandelion photo :) Another thing I tried the other day was dropping the blue levels 10% or so. I used it on a photo in a simple editing program, and loved the result! (haven't tried it in photoshop yet, though...)
Post a Comment