Paul Lester Photo

Well, week one of my summer vacation is complete. The week started with a bang. I went to Atlanta, GA for the Radiant Vista inspirational Weekend. This was the first ever such weekend, especially given the fact that Radiant Vista just started. If you’ve not been to the site, you should go. There is a wealth of free information about Photoshop.

I had the pleasure to meet Craig Tanner, Mark Johnson, and Matt Gibson, the founders of the site. All three were very nice and engaging and I will certainly attend the next one.

From Monday on, the rest of the week I found myself still in the hurry-up mode. I cleaned the house, walked the dog, took photos, worried about going to take photos in the evening, etc.

Now, here we are in week two and a little bit of the adrenaline is starting to bleed off. This morning I took a nice leisurely stroll through Latta Plantation Park. I got there much later than I would have liked, but so what. I’ve got nowhere else to go.

On the way back, I was driving at a nice, comfortable pace. Further, I noticed that even though I was going the legal speed limit, people directly behind me seemed quite perturbed. Everyone is in such a rush … gotta go here, gotta do this, gotta do that. No one takes the time to stop, look, and listen to the rhythms of life, or for that matter stop to listen to the birds, the buzz of the bees as they go about there business, the rustle of the leaves where the squirrels are playing, or the wind soughing through the trees.

Sure, I have no where to go and don’t have a job, you might say; however, my wife and I planned this … so, the question is, what do you want? What is your desire? Mine was to get off the hamster wheel for a while and enjoy every precious passing moment of my life. Mine was to look at the now, not at the past, or at the future … for when you are looking there, you can’t see “now”.

Simply the best. She’s been by my side for 15 years. She’s my most ardant supporter, my biggest fan, my one and only. What can I say, she’s everything. She’s my soulmate and a beautiful spirit. She’s the best! She my Phenominal Woman.

Maya Angelou said it best:

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,They think I’m telling lies.
I say,It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a womanPhenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,And to a man,
The fellows stand orFall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a womanPhenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touchMy inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a womanPhenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Well, we were almost a Cinderella team. Tonight, Tony’s team, the Charlotte Suns, squared off against a team, the Carolina Flight South. In our last meeting, they beat us pretty badly. If memory serves me, by about 40 points!

This time, when they walked into the gym they thought that this game was going to be gift wrapped and presented to them and that they could look forward to their next game, but that wasn’t to be. For the first half, we played them tightly and we were winning 19-16 at the half.

Unfortunately, Cinderella left at half time, but we still made a game of it. In the end, the final score was 51-40. We had them on the ropes and they were scared. Anyway, this shot is one of the highlights of the game. Unfortunately, or guy isn’t the one on top, he’s on the bottom, but man was this guy sky high!!!

Paul

OK, here is a different look at another photo. I was able to pull this off using Photoshop CS2. I downloaded a 30 day trial version and with Michael Brown’s suggestion, tried the Orton method for artistic blending. This makes the photo look even better. It’s my first attempt, and I would like to try it on a few other photos, as a way to learn more about PS.

I must admit, the optimized for web version doesn’t look nearly as good as the .PSD file, but hey, I gotta be kind to the bandwidth. Oh well, more experiments to follow!