Mike Houge

The above winter scene is from north of our home and one I drive by often. The image by itself was rather dull so I made two of layers on a  software program from JixiPix and then merged them to arrive at the above image.

My friend Dan Ruf (at www.danielruf.typepad.com) and I visit often about what a photographers vision is and should be. One belief we both share is that the work only begins with the camera and where your vision leads you from there is often different for everyone. For me- sometimes when I click the shutter most of my vision for that capture is finished but more often than not I may spend hours or days reaching my final vision for that image.

The image above has taken on many changes over the years and as my talents improve - my visions also change. One thing I've figured out- is if you feel an image has possibilities -let it rest for awhile and come back later (sometimes years later) you never know where it may end.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

 

Forest floor:

Here's another image for those of you starting to miss fall. I read the other day this comment " the beginning of fall is the the beginning of spring". Both are something I truly look forward to each year and deeply miss when they are over.

The above image is a blended image using several images with a final software adjustment using the JixiPix software. I hope you've been able to get out and enjoy the fall season. As always- thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Pam's maple:

While we were visiting some Duluth area nurseries a while back- we picked up this Japanese maple tree. I had some time this weekend to play around with it and finalized on the above image. This is a combination of several soft wares including JixiPix and OnOne software. I hope you like the look.

I've been watching this wreath for a week or so and decided now was the prime time. This image was processed using Snap Art software , a few tweaks in photo shop and some final touches in OnOne software.

The above image was processed using JixiPix software along with some tweaks in photo shop. I've had some extra time to work on images and finally have Typepad accepting my images again. Found out that I had to change my browser to Firefix, they didn't like the one I had been using- geez.

As always-thanks for stopping by.

Here's a couple more images from my recent trip up north. I missed the best fall colors by at least two weeks but I was still able to find pockets of color. It seems I'm on a mission to capture as many birch trees as possible, before they're all gone. It's really sad how few are left compared to ten years ago.

The above image was something I've been working on for a few days. My friend Dan Ruf (www.danielruf.typepad.com ) mentioned a new software he found from JixiPix and I've really fallen in love with it. The above is a woodcut look and I thought it worked well with the birch.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great week.

New techniques:

I've been having fun working with some new software from JixiPix. My wife wanted me to come up with a woodcut look for the Grand Marais light. It took some work to get the feel of what I had in mind and of course the colors had to blend with our living room ;-) . I hope you like the above image, it was fun doing something different.

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a great week.