Yes, dear readers, this is my 1000th blog post...hard to believe. On the other hand, I've been blogging since 2005...which now that I think of it, is equally hard to believe. Thanks for suffering through my ramblings, observations, frustrations and triumphs. I always hope that you will find something of interest, help or beauty here. And since this seems a momentous occasion, I think I should offer a little giveaway to celebrate. I have a favorite number...it is not too high...and that number comment to this post will receive a little gift. Since I moderate comments before they appear on the post, you won't know where you are in the queue, but I'll know when we reach the magic number.
I had other things I was supposed to be doing today, but instead I played with the above photo of one of those "ghost" leaves I talked about here. (click on any picture for a larger view) I found this last weekend as I was enjoying the warmer weather, out and about taking pictures. This is a posed shot, one that excited me because of how clearly the lacy-ness of the leaf showed up in the leaf as well as in its shadow. I take most of my shots on a 1600 x 1200 dimension setting and the finest resolution so that if I choose to zoom in to an area for cropping, I still have a clear image. Although I liked the framing of my original shot, I got to thinking there must be some areas I could zoom in on for interesting crops. So here is what you can come up with from a single shot.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9yRU99X1WNdYRe1aA0BDjWWIfPmjHoo3T5lYxNqV2uK4D-Y47OnxxpNAY8LkmmxqY_nw2kkdBzI_acZimyV4tgzahPgWfUlJaFOMN4ficdzNawVtVtfmqPlDXaPP_Tysj-Jp/s320/L1000575+crop4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHvQeY0iYFs17mFcq23L-7CsXz6M7UllFicStegGT4_S5lEppNSBQozzDACoPWSfuXf6g0rk9uST2Ym-KWJtci4bqNUZhdHrNDDhR1f9HwBKE7NC4_RzMwbrdk-JOUaf0Qgz4/s320/L1000575+crop2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9esZIQAtGWsVLS0_wCo_hN6IMz1iorQR2gsagx9gMxZyErjM3EcSgCsZ2suAYRAcnZ_NOwTSJd5cDO_z_EPnwrx2CuzNCyx3ilGlY-oOefYjYUgaqiwYguPaGpjn5jUDVg6AF/s320/L1000575+crop1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1T73DpjdO0uMIpJ5FjetLwa_KOhh0dIEhGqOXyqETG3zRH_2suGAgzuOnnCj3sP7G0FXHV6EwvGVXgIFDg9ogQZjaYh2INDVUeM5embqqien-fGkgLINSX0aVcCHB6e57hH1p/s320/L1000575+crop7.jpg)
And if you've been following me for any time at all, you know I can't resist running photos through various filters in my Corel Paint Shop Pro program. I started with a similar photo that angled the leaf slightly more and incorporated more variety in the stone backdrop. Here are some of the more interesting ones.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1pqCYbS0jQOxljpgpT14egJVQ87gaDzXOlTJKikAODYIT7d3aJnmPyvFmqPnzCBMPp4UKDR3FAps_91VqXoIw5vJ9B236xbmoEV7vG5kO8xGo6k3OdEt5Cu573HfAzVhnh3Z/s320/L1000576+seamless+tiling.jpg)
Seamless tiling.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxgs5jLTZrG51COpusJbY4YRBxE6UPTsV0BO0yheNljVwTMwo5WaAyaS_VBMd2XUq5-wpVYos9DqgLyoowNkqJGZUHEK7w2TZPK-20Ff_UNCbyiWW1FKdchv4M0fo4ceA762S/s320/L1000576+polar+coord.jpg)
Polar coordinates, rotated.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh89DGenDgzAmizKbw7j5KWRtRcX0XX2CMbxlEwwgHP7Uu8OlQYuWsbsSlz5ca7aLPRhKhJIUF0W8eh01o8vhU7d3KJIpoAJJtd_INPmNUBGHXS6nZU2xhBQ6FVcFZ_uG6OEaJ/s320/L1000576+vert+persp.jpg)
Vertical perspective
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhO5VmLLJyejFw-wJt6DlmXMdRGiZZdgFxbmZFF1iYXUWfZoOzbV6f4POwbm5qhFQcbaZGZflJw9VRsrgDF4uqLw36Jq0CrlOUdC4skewZ1ycrTq2a6P04UWxR7QKoj4oWOqdK/s320/L1000576+twirl.jpg)
Twirl.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTP_h07Ej49DElOcgu9CEgRheBtqaJ5g1I5T61v4PxeYHfmTgs4cfMZUOaAtUWuKFBqtvxJ0gEWHpVDpLL2OckBfuuFcGVpX-AVhClu3boggP_s02CHm9f4i9ukEzlbq_41OBr/s320/L1000576+lights1.jpg)
Lights.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcsIPyG3KB9FdSBpbLN5M3dSWVvFdNG9tkRVPMZMKLV1SOK59ATft3pcnBHtSE1QCLlHlR0-5ObRoTTLmovOlOg4m9CmZ7pK_B_zdtvdYvLK__HpChYVGxU3r6V0mJAgGz-BBZ/s320/L1000576+kaleidescope1.jpg)
Can't stop until I've tried my favorites - first Kaleidoscope
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98syceC72FqOPMrdigrQaWId1KV-sY9k7upGFUwtd6H8O1wGfh3_hJRnKWRh0AGqkRehcjgc1dVrnQWyzNIDNft_h5Hn8K_mX2E5LoXnITqcjnl7sILki-b8rg9ldUJS6hyphenhyphenYu/s320/L1000576+pattern1.jpg)
Then pattern.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94oOZTLlQtaPLuDETlNyQM6qc3y-Bl2oul3IovbgWNvJw5KJwgAH6qGqo15jGXVY3yJ6wXCD_p5JdqKg6HcTOp79VWTo_NuRj7JNVrepf3NyIiRlFs-C3e5XaF7YhmXZtoPS-/s320/L1000576+mosaic1.jpg)
Finally, I was fascinated with the colors showing up beyond the darker center in this mosaic.
Hope you enjoyed this photo manipulation tour. Don't forget to leave a comment!
I had other things I was supposed to be doing today, but instead I played with the above photo of one of those "ghost" leaves I talked about here. (click on any picture for a larger view) I found this last weekend as I was enjoying the warmer weather, out and about taking pictures. This is a posed shot, one that excited me because of how clearly the lacy-ness of the leaf showed up in the leaf as well as in its shadow. I take most of my shots on a 1600 x 1200 dimension setting and the finest resolution so that if I choose to zoom in to an area for cropping, I still have a clear image. Although I liked the framing of my original shot, I got to thinking there must be some areas I could zoom in on for interesting crops. So here is what you can come up with from a single shot.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9yRU99X1WNdYRe1aA0BDjWWIfPmjHoo3T5lYxNqV2uK4D-Y47OnxxpNAY8LkmmxqY_nw2kkdBzI_acZimyV4tgzahPgWfUlJaFOMN4ficdzNawVtVtfmqPlDXaPP_Tysj-Jp/s320/L1000575+crop4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHvQeY0iYFs17mFcq23L-7CsXz6M7UllFicStegGT4_S5lEppNSBQozzDACoPWSfuXf6g0rk9uST2Ym-KWJtci4bqNUZhdHrNDDhR1f9HwBKE7NC4_RzMwbrdk-JOUaf0Qgz4/s320/L1000575+crop2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9esZIQAtGWsVLS0_wCo_hN6IMz1iorQR2gsagx9gMxZyErjM3EcSgCsZ2suAYRAcnZ_NOwTSJd5cDO_z_EPnwrx2CuzNCyx3ilGlY-oOefYjYUgaqiwYguPaGpjn5jUDVg6AF/s320/L1000575+crop1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1T73DpjdO0uMIpJ5FjetLwa_KOhh0dIEhGqOXyqETG3zRH_2suGAgzuOnnCj3sP7G0FXHV6EwvGVXgIFDg9ogQZjaYh2INDVUeM5embqqien-fGkgLINSX0aVcCHB6e57hH1p/s320/L1000575+crop7.jpg)
And if you've been following me for any time at all, you know I can't resist running photos through various filters in my Corel Paint Shop Pro program. I started with a similar photo that angled the leaf slightly more and incorporated more variety in the stone backdrop. Here are some of the more interesting ones.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1pqCYbS0jQOxljpgpT14egJVQ87gaDzXOlTJKikAODYIT7d3aJnmPyvFmqPnzCBMPp4UKDR3FAps_91VqXoIw5vJ9B236xbmoEV7vG5kO8xGo6k3OdEt5Cu573HfAzVhnh3Z/s320/L1000576+seamless+tiling.jpg)
Seamless tiling.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxgs5jLTZrG51COpusJbY4YRBxE6UPTsV0BO0yheNljVwTMwo5WaAyaS_VBMd2XUq5-wpVYos9DqgLyoowNkqJGZUHEK7w2TZPK-20Ff_UNCbyiWW1FKdchv4M0fo4ceA762S/s320/L1000576+polar+coord.jpg)
Polar coordinates, rotated.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh89DGenDgzAmizKbw7j5KWRtRcX0XX2CMbxlEwwgHP7Uu8OlQYuWsbsSlz5ca7aLPRhKhJIUF0W8eh01o8vhU7d3KJIpoAJJtd_INPmNUBGHXS6nZU2xhBQ6FVcFZ_uG6OEaJ/s320/L1000576+vert+persp.jpg)
Vertical perspective
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhO5VmLLJyejFw-wJt6DlmXMdRGiZZdgFxbmZFF1iYXUWfZoOzbV6f4POwbm5qhFQcbaZGZflJw9VRsrgDF4uqLw36Jq0CrlOUdC4skewZ1ycrTq2a6P04UWxR7QKoj4oWOqdK/s320/L1000576+twirl.jpg)
Twirl.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTP_h07Ej49DElOcgu9CEgRheBtqaJ5g1I5T61v4PxeYHfmTgs4cfMZUOaAtUWuKFBqtvxJ0gEWHpVDpLL2OckBfuuFcGVpX-AVhClu3boggP_s02CHm9f4i9ukEzlbq_41OBr/s320/L1000576+lights1.jpg)
Lights.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcsIPyG3KB9FdSBpbLN5M3dSWVvFdNG9tkRVPMZMKLV1SOK59ATft3pcnBHtSE1QCLlHlR0-5ObRoTTLmovOlOg4m9CmZ7pK_B_zdtvdYvLK__HpChYVGxU3r6V0mJAgGz-BBZ/s320/L1000576+kaleidescope1.jpg)
Can't stop until I've tried my favorites - first Kaleidoscope
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98syceC72FqOPMrdigrQaWId1KV-sY9k7upGFUwtd6H8O1wGfh3_hJRnKWRh0AGqkRehcjgc1dVrnQWyzNIDNft_h5Hn8K_mX2E5LoXnITqcjnl7sILki-b8rg9ldUJS6hyphenhyphenYu/s320/L1000576+pattern1.jpg)
Then pattern.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94oOZTLlQtaPLuDETlNyQM6qc3y-Bl2oul3IovbgWNvJw5KJwgAH6qGqo15jGXVY3yJ6wXCD_p5JdqKg6HcTOp79VWTo_NuRj7JNVrepf3NyIiRlFs-C3e5XaF7YhmXZtoPS-/s320/L1000576+mosaic1.jpg)
Finally, I was fascinated with the colors showing up beyond the darker center in this mosaic.
Hope you enjoyed this photo manipulation tour. Don't forget to leave a comment!