Something to make you smile

 

How can you not smile with a face like that looking back at you. This is the generally very happy (excepting the occasional teething break), Peregrine Jove. 

Neighborhood Sunset

 

Dust in the sky from the summer fires helped fire up this fall sunset last August. From the "Nothing is Real at Night" series. 

Smokies at Night....or not....

Spooky Smokies at night. Well, at least the way I imagined it with a full moon. Had fun inventing a moon halo and getting the clouds in front of the moon. Trickier than it looks. Part of my "nothing is real" series. 

Nothing Is Real...at Night

I am against sky replacement as I think it ruins photography. But I like to play around. So, nothing is real here. Just keep moving on. Fun shots from way back. The city shot was taken at sunrise back in 2008. The sky picture was also shot in 2008 out in Valentine, Nebraska. That was a great place to visit. I hope to go back there, maybe in 2021. You could see the sky from horizon to horizon. Anyway, just having some photographic fun, turning day into night and adding a sky. Ahhh, the things you can do easily in Photoshop nowadays. Don't trust anything you see in photography these days. Nothing is real, except emotion. (Ok, sorry to say that is not true either. I can change a frown into a smile and even add teeth to a smile. It is just amazing what you can do nowadays. I think I am going to do a few days on a "nothing is real theme". Just for fun.   

Here are the two shot. Amazing what you can do:

Flying Santa before Thanksgiving? NO!

 

The flying car doesn't bother me. But a Santa in the backseat before Thanksgiving? No way!!!

We are all Americans

 

We are all Americans. We all want the same things. Safe families. Growth. A good environment in the broadest sense. We can disagree on the various ways to get there. Some things emphasized more in one party. Some in the other. But the goals are the same and there is no reason to hate if the other side wants to push goals differently or in a different order. Fight for what you want but with respect. I am more in favor of a general Republican approach (less government, less taxation) where possible. But I don't hate other approaches and always like to see if these other approaches can complete these goals in other ways. A divided government means you don't get much of one side or the other anyway. It is tempered. Which is the brilliant set up of our democracy. For Republicans, nothing to fear. We can still fight for our values and goals but just as with Trump, I want a successful presidency as it usually means success for all. So, here is for hope for the future and less divisiveness. Plus, I get to post more flag pictures!!!

Trying Times

These are trying times. It is hard to keep remembering that we are all Americans. Lots of stress going on. Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. All Lives Matter. Blue Wave. Right Wing. Whatever. We are all Americans. Plus, I have a lot of flag pictures I wanted to post. So, this is my chance. Tomorrow, the election might be over, except for the lawsuits and challenges. That's ok. The process is really playing out as it should. I hope the loser is graceful in accepting his loss and works to find unity with the victor. You never know. And I hope the victor will work to support all Americans. Black, white, blue, green, whatever color or race or creed. Anyway, it is always a hope. 

Hunting Elk

 

We didn't encounter any bears in the Great Smokies but some Elk did show up for the tourists in a field on the North Carolina side of the park. Hundreds of tourists got this shot with cars lined up for a quarter mile but I thought I would play with some filters as the shot kinda gave me an old time feel. So, I went with that instinct and added a bit of a color leak to it. Anyway, another Great Smoky Mountain shot.