A few days ago I took a couple of pictures of our bathroom sink -- specifically, the reflection of the yellow bar of soap in the faucet handles. I liked the colors and shadows but the photos themselves showed a little too much "reality" when it comes to the lime-encrusted, water-spotted, stained and streaked sink (which is quite old). I put them through my Waterlogue app, and voila! All those flaws vanished!
Similarly, I took a photo of Olga waiting outside the back door a few nights ago. The photo showed a little too much of the grimy back door mat. Waterlogue, though, hides a multitude of housekeeping sins!
Yesterday was a slow day. I was in kind of a funk, honestly. I guess having the holidays well and truly past has left me looking ahead to bleak January with not a whole lot of enthusiasm. I don't go back to work until next Monday, but I think I'm pretty much ready. Of course, the minute I get there I'll be complaining about work again.
I walked Olga in the morning and found that the fallen branch in yesterday's post has been cut up and stacked at the side of the road. I tried to walk her again in the afternoon but she wasn't particularly interested, so I set out on my own quick jaunt around the neighborhood, just to stretch my legs and take some pictures.
Her dog walker returns tomorrow, so I won't feel quite so chained to the house all day. If I know she's getting a walk I'll feel better about going somewhere myself, sans dog. Today I have some errands to run and activities planned so I'll be out and about more.
Oh, and no one picked up our dead TV yesterday. It's still sitting out at the street, now soaking wet from yesterday's rain. Despite the trash collection web site suggesting Jan. 1 to me as the first available pickup date, and allowing me to schedule a pickup and even confirming it via e-mail, apparently the workers were in fact not working. I wasn't surprised, really. So I have to contact them and reschedule that.
Once again, my mom's favorite expression comes to mind: "Everything has to be done at least twice."
Just for the fun of it, here's one more Waterlogue-processed picture that I thought turned out well:
You may remember that photo of the red door. A sad endnote -- since I took it less than two months ago, the cordyline tree to the left has been cut down. So those picturesque shadows will never darken the steps again. A shame.
That app is an inspiration! The faucet and reflections are worthy of framing , treat the bathroom wall to art❤️ the darkness and steady rain is not especially conducive to feeling jolly. We struggle, but then we remember that just down the street there are pies for sale! All better.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this app. May have to try it... especially for my lime-diseased bathroom fixtures
ReplyDeleteGreat images - especially the tap. The word "funk" is interesting. I cannot think that I have ever used it... "a style of popular dance music of US black origin, based on elements of blues and soul and having a strong rhythm that typically accentuates the first beat in the bar." or "a strong musty smell of sweat or tobacco".
ReplyDeleteI am still in two minds about the app...but I do like the door picture
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this app and will now look for it: why clean a window when I can app the grime away! 😁
ReplyDeleteI love the one of Olg and The Red Door one.
I need to add the waterlogue app to my phone. I wish you could put it on the computer -- maybe by now you can. I love all of these. You're right -- it hides a multitude of sins but it also adds a wonderful interest to the harder lines of a photo. Yesterday was a lazy day here -- we went to Maestro, I started a puzzle, finished thank you notes and cleaned the fridge, so I guess it was productive enough. No one was at the movies -- we were the only two people in the theatre and there were precious few lined up for concessions or tickets to anything else. (It was much the same on NYEve when we went to "The Boys in the Boat." Maybe they were watching Michigan beat Alabama to go to the championship game. I'm not a big football fan but I was glad to see that.
ReplyDeleteI always excitedly look forward to the days following Jan 1. For me, activities are few and far between due to the expected cold, crappy weather so I try to catch up on reading and enjoying fires in the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteAI generated "art" makes me feel somehow sick to my stomach. I mean- I just really do not like it. BUT the watercolor app pleases me. Who knows why? We are all different. I especially like the one of the faucet and soap.
ReplyDeleteI love the waterlogue photos. I need to get that app back again. I lost it when my laptop crashed and had to be reconfigured. The faucet photo looks like a perfect watercolor painting.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about that app. Those are lovely photos but I hope people don't use the app to replace actual artists.
ReplyDeleteI've seen other bloggers use that app on some of their photos and it is interesting. some I haven't cared for but it does seem to make something more mundane, like the faucet handle and soap, more arty.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the holidays are over. it's always too much of everything. woke up this morning ready for life. we'll see how that goes.
January is not the best weather month with clouds, rain, wind and even sometimes snow predominating. When the sun shines, we will all feel better. One year in England for a damp December and January, I loved high tea. My favorite was with my Aunt Gladys in a hotel dining room with a grand piano providing soft background music. If I was in England today, I'd invite you for high tea.
ReplyDeleteI have learned a new thing: Waterlogue is a viable alternative to housework. Steve? You are the BEST!
ReplyDeleteI always claim that when you look at reality with blurred lines rather than sharp and clear lines it looks more beautiful. Here is the proof.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite the piece of photo processing software, the effects are really good. Very "arty". :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a really cool app. It hides a multitude of sins. It's unfortunate that the tree that shadowed the red door is gone. It made nice shadows.
ReplyDeleteI love that app, but haven't used it in ages (since most of my photos are of ME, why bother - ha!). Too bad about the tree.
ReplyDeleteI'd really people learned to paint, if they can, than use an app. It misses the point of art by so many miles. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you're in a post holiday malaise. January's a tired sort of month, especially with everyone thinking they have to embark on new activities and ideas. I sound a bit tired too, I now realize!
Love That Capture With Olga Girl
ReplyDeleteWell Done,
Cheers
I like how the photos look using the waterlogue app. Maybe we need an app like that for real life - something to hide the dirt and grime.
ReplyDeleteThose photos are a work of art. I've tried the waterlogue act but my pictures never come out anywhere near to yours.
ReplyDeleteI like the impressionistic look of those! I've never used that app(?). I like when the holidays are over and life gets back to "normal," whatever that is. :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing about the old tv, nobody will be picking it up and taking it home.
ReplyDeleteIt does at times feel like everything has to be done twice.
I wonder if Waterlogue could hide my wrinkles as well as it hides the water spots. If so, I might investigate further :)
ReplyDeleteOn New Year's Day NOBODY wants to go to work, least of all rubbish collectors, I suggest just leaving the TV for a few more days and see if it is collected without the rescheduling.
ReplyDeleteWaterlogue seems to be a handy feature, I like that last image very much.
Linda Sue: I was very pleased with that "art" of the plumbing!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Ha! Who needs housework when you can have Waterlogue?!
YP: If you scroll down the online dictionary there's also this one: "(North American) a state of depression." As well as: "(British) A state of great fear or panic." (That one's new to me!)
GZ: I get it. If I were an artist I'd also question it.
Bob: Just don't let "Snoopy Sniffer" visit to check it out in real life!
Jeanie: I wonder if Waterlogue runs on a computer? I imagine there are filters in many photo-editing programs that will do similar things. I haven't been to a cinema in months and months. I can't even remember the last time!
Ed: It IS a good time for that, definitely. I think I'd be enjoying it more if I hadn't just come off a week of that at the beach. I'm starting to feel restless.
Ms Moon: I am simultaneously intrigued and repulsed by AI art, but yeah, I like Waterlogue more -- I suppose because it does start with an original "artwork" (sort of) and merely enhances it.
Sharon: It's worth buying it again! Could it be backed up somewhere? The cloud?
Ellen D: I understand the concern! I'm sure human artists could do much more, and with more variety and individuality.
Ellen: Me too. Get me back to normal!
Susan: And I would take you up on your invitation! Indeed, we all DO need to find ways to get through these dreary months. (I think it's why so many people in northern climes like Britain and Scandinavia often drink so much.)
Debby: Ha! Viable as long as no one checks your source material. :)
Yael: It's true! And I think blurry lines are often more reflective of reality anyway. Very few things are absolute.
Jim: I agree. Erstwhile blogger Vivian introduced me to it years ago and she was a painter. She wondered how it would affect her livelihood as an artist.
Allison: I was SO sorry to see it cut down. They took out a bunch of landscaping including that. Maybe they're reconfiguring the front garden somehow.
Bug: It doesn't do people well, in my experience!
Boud: Well, it's not really "art." There's no artistic interpretation or style -- it's just a straightforward rendering.
Padre: Olga is always a willing (though sometimes complaining) subject.
Kelly: Wouldn't THAT be nice?!
Catalyst: I've found that good candidates for Waterlogue pics have strong light and shadow, good colors and not too much detail. If that helps.
Margaret: I guess that's partly what holidays are for -- to help us appreciate real life when it returns!
Andrew: I wouldn't think so! Unless someone wanted it for parts or components that they could re-sell?
Jenny-O: Ha! There are filters to do that on Instagram! Not that I've tried them. I like my wrinkles, personally.
River: And THAT was ultimately what I did -- and it worked! Good call!