Back to Central NY and more
Travel back to the great central NY was fun. I usually pop my head up from my laptop for water and bridges. The Dames Point Bridge near Jacksonville is one of my favorites. It is so strong, architecturally pleasing to my eye. Just love it! I usually start taking photos from further away and then just snap away as we drive through. I love this one with the cables welcoming us into the center.
The other bridge that caught my eye this trip was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge in Henrico, VA. This is not normally on my list of favorites but this trip it actually reminded me of a bridge in a movie. I cannot put my finger on what movie but I think I took a cool picture at least😊 If you can think of a movie it reminds you of feel free to comment!
Sometimes we feel rushed to make it from Miami to Central NY or back over the weekend but we do try and do some mini exploring even if it’s an hour to get to know a new place. Not planned but our overnight was in Florence, SC. When we woke up the next morning to leave we did a quick walk because I saw a coffee place that was close. We walked out of the hotel and I could not believe how cute the town was. In the 600 feet it took to get to the coffee we saw, beautiful streets, The Lorax statue, James Allen Plaza, Florence Regional Arts Alliance/Florence County Museum Waters Gallery, and Lula’s Coffee Co. I took some really neat shots through the window of the museum, enjoyed the community square in James Allen Plaza, hugged the Lorax and enjoyed a raspberry white mocha at Lula’s. Lula’s had stunning sunlights and cool art display. So much to squeeze in a small area! I could go into a lot more detail but I will let the pictures tell the story.
Back to central NY! This time we were welcomed by the snow. It makes it easier to deal with the cold when the sun is shining.
My time at home was brief as I spent the majority of the week on the road to NJ and back but I don’t mind! More places to see, photo opportunities, audio books, podcasts and people to catch up with. I am a different type of creative during these weeks. I try to be intentional about looking, not just moving quickly from one thing to the next. But to really look around me, as the saying goes, to stop and smell the roses. Or for this time of year in the northeast stop and look at the snow. The creative mind never stops!!
Here are my highlights!
What I learned this week – Adobe Lightroom – when using masks you can add to the mask. Probably seems very duh to people who know Lightroom well but for a self taught user ever new discovery is exciting! The mask allows you to make a selection in your photo and change color , light, effects, etc in just that selection. When I was editing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge above the sky under the bridge was not automatically picked up. So to resolve this I selected the sky feature and then added a mask with brush so I could pick up the small details. Worked great!
How I was creative this week – photo edits and coloring 💜 being on the road most of the week I didn’t have my paints so to add a little splash I picked up some coloring on my iPad. Actually super cool and relaxing! I used coloring pages from Megan Mitts. I downloaded them to my iPad, uploaded into Goodnotes and ‘boom’ relax the brain, color and create!
Quote of the week –
“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” — Mother Teresa
What I listened to this week – This week I put on a lot of miles, I listened to a few episodes of my regular Goal Digger Podcast. One that sparked my app exploration was Episode 544 Things You Can (And Should) Automate in Your Marketing Strategy. Even though this was focused on marketing I used it as everything I can automate in my daily process. Then I decided that I needed to re-explore productivity tools. I listened to multiple podcasts (can’t find them in my history..), you tube review and started testing.
App/s I have explored – I began testing Monday.com, app and desktop version. I like it, though not sure it is going to be my final. I signed up for Click up, Trello (again), Asana (again), teamGnatt. Testing them all:) I keep digging into Lightroom for editing and Canva for design. I did end up keeping Word Swag for my quotes but that expires in a few days so I will looking for my next app to try very soon. Any suggestions send them my way!
Be Creative By Jenn 