More Editing Fun

 

Do you remember when I posted this photo back in May?  It is an ancient ceramic piece called "Standing Male Dignitary" that was on display at the Tucson Art Museum when I was there.  

I thought this might be a good subject to run through some photo editing styles to see what would happen.

Here are the results.  This application made him look a bit like a child's toy.

This one has a cartoon drawing look to it.

This one looks a bit like a plastic doll.

This last one is using that recent effect that I've been playing with.  This one looks almost human.  He looks like a soldier in some type of armored uniform.  I said "he" but it could easily be a woman too.

I am fascinated by the differences in all of these.  

Royal Palms

 

The Royal Palms is a resort not too far from where I live.  I made a short stop there recently and snapped a few photos from around the grounds.  This is the central drive or entrance into the resort.  This view looks out toward the street so you can see how the palm trees line the entrance.

The decor is very southwestern and the grounds are well shaded.  This walkway leads toward the restaurant. 

Here's a sunny spot with a lovely fountain for guests to enjoy.  The outdoor seating is for the restaurant.

Here is another fountain that is tucked away on the grounds of the resort.  There is something attractive to see around every corner here.

Photo Editing....Bloopers

 

Not all of the photos I worked with on my photo editing app turned out well.  Most of the mistakes, I just deleted but a few I saved because I thought they were a perfect example of how artificial intelligence doesn't always get things right.  This photo of a pretty cactus wren turned out a bit macabre with the bird standing on what appears to be another dead bird.

The original photo looks like this.  That bird is actually perched on top of a cactus.

Here is another innocent looking photo of grapes on the vine.  But wait, is that a sinister looking face I see lurking below the grapes?

The original photo had no such face.  It's just part of the vines root base. 

I think my favorite bloopers were all from this photo.  This is a photo I took at the Egyptian Museum in San Jose that I mentioned before.  I like the way I framed the statue with leaves from the papyrus plants.  

It's clear that the AI element of this tool had no idea what to do with this photo.

I tried a different treatment and got this.  

Sometimes they turn out in totally unexpected ways.  

Photo Editing.....Again

 

I opened up that photo editing application that I have on my iPad over the weekend.  The app has been pushing a lot of strange AI stuff lately that I'm not interested in so I hadn't played around with it for a while.  

This time I discovered a new process that looks a bit like a watercolor painting.  I edited two or three photos and I liked them so much that I just kept going and ended up with about 70 edits that I liked.  

Above is a treatment of a photo that I took of the Tower of London last October.  I posted the original here.

To the right is a much older photo of the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford.

This one is from a photo of the Mission Tumacacori in Southern Arizona.  You can see the original photo here.

This one is from a hummingbird photo I posted a few years ago here.

I had a lot of fun playing with this application.  

Cooking With Ola

 

On Sunday, I joined my friends David and Riley for a Thai cooking class at our favorite Thai restaurant, Wild Thaiger.  Here is chef/owner Ola telling us about one of the many sauces we will be preparing and all the wonderful ingredients that go in them.

We helped to make Pineapple Prawns.

Above is Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Chutney.

And this is Mi Dang, a pho-like pork bowl with noodles and fresh veggies and herbs.  

Everything was delicious!  My friend Riley is a super good cook.  I'm betting he will reproduce one or two of these tasty items some day soon.

Sticking With the Theme

 

I mentioned early last week that I have been sorting through my photo archives to do some organizing.  That is how I found this photo taken 10 years ago when I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose California.  I found this painted utility box near the museum campus.

I like that the artist picked up the theme of the museum when painting this box. It's covered with an array of ancient Egyptian symbols.  It's amazing what you can find when you sort through old photos.

Taking part in Monday Murals!

As I Look Around Me

 

There is a Mexican restaurant not far from where I live that I visit about once a month.  It's always for lunch during the week when I'm working from home.  I can get in and out in a little less than an hour so it's a nice little break from work.  Sometimes when I'm sitting there waiting for my food, I see something that catches my eye and I whip out the cell phone and take a shot.  That's how I got these three photos.  

I took this one in September of last year.  I was looking into another dining room that hadn't yet been filled with customers.

I took this one last December, I'm not sure why.  I think I liked the clutter.

I took this one just last week.  I was admiring this painting of a little Mexican village when I noticed that the church in the background had what looked like a smiley face on its back wall.  It made me wonder if this was a real scene or if the artist had a little fun with this painting.  Maybe it was a little of both.

Rainbow Out My Window

 

On Thursday evening while I watching the Democratic National Convention on TV, I kept hearing the wind blowing and the windows rattling a bit.  I walked out on my balcony just in time to catch a rainbow shining over the southeastern sky.  

The storm clouds rolling in were very dark but the rain in my area was minimal.  I'm sure the east valley cities got a lot more rain.  

Pointing My Camera at Plants

 

I have a few more photos pulled from my archives today.  Above is a date palm laden with fruit in the khalal-stage of maturity.  I learned that the fruit of date palms go through four phases of maturity, Kimri, Khalal, Rutab and Tamar.  This photo was taken in Tucson several years ago.

I photographed the big patch of black-eyed Susans when I was in Oregon in 2022.  I can't help but smile when I come across a sunny group of flowers like this.

I took this photo when I was in Santa Fe last year.  I think this might be a flowering plum tree.  It was too pretty to pass up.

This one was taken in Oklahoma City just two months ago.  I saw hydrangea plants blooming all over the city center.  Since I never see them here, they were a treat for my eyes.

It was ten years ago when I was in San Jose California to go to the Egyptian Museum there.  That's where I saw an abundance of papyrus plants growing all over the grounds of the museum.  They fit perfectly into the Egyptian atmosphere.

Santo

 

I had brunch last Sunday with my friends David and Riley and we tried a new place in our neighborhood.  It's called Santo and it's owned by the same people who created Espiritu in Mesa.  I wrote about dining at Espiritu last March when we were in Mesa for an event.  

This new place specializes in Mexican fusion cuisine and we enjoyed everything we tried on Sunday.  

The Restaurant itself is very attractive with a fresh and modern look.  It was the kind of place you want to return to.  

We all decided that we will be back to try more items on their interesting menu.  

Plucked From the Archives

 

I have a few more photos I found while organizing my photo files over last weekend.  Above is a scene from the historic neighborhood in downtown Tucson.  This was taken sometime before 2011.  I know that because when I bought my first MacBook laptop on July 20, 2011, the Apple tech guys transferred all my photos and documents from my old Dell laptop to the new one.  In the process, almost all of the photos lost their metadata and they all now have a date of 7/20/11.  This photo made me think I was exploring an old ghost town but this building is actually in downtown Tucson.  It's been spruced up and restored these days however, I really like the old and crumbling look it had back then.

This photo was also taken sometime before 2011.  I was wandering around the old historic part of Tucson when I spotted these fellows gathered in an alley.  It turns out they are characters in a historic reenactment that takes place at the site of the old Spanish settlement in downtown Tucson.  I just thought this photo was fun because of these men in period dress standing under a modern surveillance camera with a modern parking garage in the background.  I wrote a post about the historic reenactment here.

This last one is a photo of a plant that was also taken in that same downtown Tucson area.  It struck me at the time as very exotic looking.  I had no idea what it was but, my trusty iPhone now says that it is a Ricinus.  If any of you know it by a different name, let me know.  

I don't know about you, but I love sorting through old photos.  They bring back so many memories. 

Memory Lapse

 

I was doing some photo organizing this last weekend when I came across this photo I took back in April when I visited Tucson.  This is a painting I saw at the Tucson Art Museum by artist Brenda Semantic. It's called Corner Market and I recognized the building immediately.  So I took this photo for the sole purpose of posting it on my blog along with my photos of the actual building.  Needless to say, I promptly forgot all about it. 

Here is one of my photos taken in 2012 when I visited Tucson.  This old building has been standing on this corner for a very long time and it doesn't seem to change much.

This photo was taken in 2011.  I didn't take a photo of it on this last trip but I did drive past it and it still looks the same.  It makes me wonder if there are any plans to save it.  All the other buildings in this area have been restored.  

I'm glad I saw the photo of the painting over the weekend so I could post it as planned.  Better late than never.

A Touch of the Southwest

 This desert southwest mural is on the side of a building used by Desert Valley Testing.  I had to look up what they tested and it appears it's mostly marijuana and also mushrooms.  They ensure the "safety and efficiency" of those substances.  That's a service I didn't know was needed.

The desert mural wraps around the side of the building. Life is full of all kinds of discoveries. 

Taking part in Monday Murals.

More Unusual Architecture

 

This is another building I photographed on the day I was looking for Beadle architecture.  I stopped at this place because the Modern Phoenix website listed it as one where the architect is unknown.  This is a bowling alley that has been at this location as long as I've lived in Arizona.  The ownership has changed a few times but it remains a bowling alley.

The architecture is a bit crazy with those soaring rooflines.  It's a shame that we can't give the true architect credit for this very distinctive style.  

Eye-Catching Discovery

 

On the day I was out looking for the different Beadle structures, I happened to find this building. It's located in the midtown area of Phoenix and appears to be an old office building that has been converted into apartments.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what they were until I searched the name.  It appears they are loft-like apartments with open, industrial-style ceilings.  Not something I would want but the outside is certainly eye-catching.

The Beadle Surprise

 

When I went out on my "Beadle hunt", I had the address of this building but wasn't sure what I'd find. It appears that the Modern Phoenix website is not being updated currently and the photos of this building looked like this on their site:

I was afraid it might have been torn down.

I was surprised to see this beautifully restored building looking very fresh and inviting.  It is now being operated as The Beadle Workspace, a shared workspace facility.  Their website has great views of the building from above and inside.  It's well worth a look here! The eclectic work environment made me smile.  

Finding this building was a surprise and a pleasure.  It's so nice to see that someone has thought enough of the history of the place to name the building and business to honor the original architect.