Cee Neuner has started a fun foto challenge and her first topic really appealed to me.  Since I had only the one photo of a car and couldn’t find any of Grandpa with his Model A (or T) Ford, I decided to try some enhancements using the filters from Topaz Labs.

I found this truck parked on the street near my employer.  Here it is with only some minor adjustments:

It’s a gorgeous truck and I loved the color.  These trucks are big though – my daughter drives the same type of truck as part of her dog business.  I’ve driven it a few times and I feel like I’m driving a school bus down the road, although I was pleasantly surprised at my ability to park it and stay between the lines.  Of course, I parked at the far end of the parking lots where it didn’t matter if I couldn’t park it right!

Here is the red truck using the oil painting filter.  It’s got a softer look to it with less detail, although you don’t notice any differences  unless you double click, blow it up and look at how the details change.

Here I punched up the detail and increased the strength of the color.  I wish I had a different background, especially a blue sky and lots of clouds.  But I took this for fun when I did the daily challenge last year and it is what it is.  Someday (which unfortunately is not a date on my calendar), I might try putting it onto a different background, but today’s not that day.

Lastly, I tried playing with black & white effects, trying for an antique look.  When I process with the black & white filters, I like having some color peeking through, especially of the focal point.  I like it, but I don’t think it’s a favorite.

Cee has all kinds of challenges to participate in, from this Fun Foto Challenge to Share Your World, a short set of questions each week to help participants get to know each other better.  I haven’t posted in my blog from Share Your World, but I’ve found the questions to be some great prompts for my private journal.

I’m really participating in the various photo challenges this week.  I’m coming home late from work and am very tired.  Going through my photographs and putting together some blog posts from them has been fun and a great way to relax.

It also gives me some quality time with the miniature pinscher, who would love me to cuddle him all the time and remains one of the reasons I don’t get another cat.  See the computer in the bottom left corner?  And how about that tiny paw sticking up.  He is so little, although he certainly has a big enough gumdrop on the end of his nose.  He is quite the super sniffer – just watch after a repairman comes to the house.  He can trace – without error – everywhere the guy walked.

So cute!  So little!  So ferocious defending his Momma against any threat he thinks he can see!  So stay away and be very afraid.

Photography Photoshop & Lightroom Topaz Labs Weekly Photo Challenge miniature pinscher oil painting Photoshop red truck strong detail Topaz Labs Toyota Tundra vintage photograph