Choca Mocha - Free texture & New Flickr group!

So today I'm highlighting another freebie, a lovely warm, scratchy texture which can be used in lots of ways...it can give your pictures a warm creamy effect, like this picture I'm sharing with you here today...it can also be used to give a grungy effect depending on the blend modes used...I'll share more examples soon to give you ideas...

'Choca Mocha' Free texture

Click here to download this freebie! And when you've tried it out, why not share your finished work in my new flickr group...RH West Photography Textures...this group is open for anyone who'd like to share their creations using any of my textures, both the freebies and the collections...come on over and share, you might get some inspiration while you're there!

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Bluebells and a new camera bag...

As I mentioned last week, I was really lucky to find myself a new camera bag...I've been looking for a new one that's got a bit more character than the black generic ones...too boring for me! But it's been hard to find the right one...until a week ago when I was pootling about on ebay, looking at Fossil bags (love their stuff...) and I came across this bag, the 'Fossil Terrain' camera bag...yes, unfortunately I can't link to it as it's last season's design, so is difficult to find...this one is perfect for my needs and I took it out for a walk up to our woods yesterday to test it out :)

'Serenity' bokeh overlay - collection 2

Yes, it's a 'man bag' but I love it, perfect for a camera and an extra lens plus a few outside pockets for the bits and bobs...and because it's a man bag, the strap is good and long and the bag really well constructed, so is really comfortable!

Of course, I had to share with you the Bluebell picture too, not my best work, it was very windy and very low to the ground...I'm just sayin'...

Pixlr and textures...

Yesterday I decided to try out my new 35mm prime lens...it's been dark, stormy and raining most of this week, so inside shooting was the order of the day and it was extremely dark...one great point about the 35mm is that it opens wide to f1.8...which is great for low light conditions! Something that wasn't a deciding factor for me in buying this lens has already been working in my favour! Below is a picture of one of the Ranunculas after I rescued them and brought them inside from the storm to drain out a bit...

'Amethyst' & 'Old Times' frame - Collection 1

I used my 'Amethyst' texture, two layers, one on 'soft light' and one on 'multiply'. Then I uploaded it to Pixlr-o-matic and added one of the effects, then added my free 'Old Times' frame from collection 1 in 'overlay' blend mode, which gives a translucent frame effect, pretty cool eh? I love playing in Pixlr-o-matic, it's fun and easy to use...why not give it a try?

There are 2 free textures up for grabs on my Facebook page, go get 'em!

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Facebook free Photoshop textures...

To celebrate starting a Facebook page (about time I hear you cry!) I've got a couple of free textures up for grabs over there...I'm highlighting one today called 'Marshmallow' which is a lovely combination of pinky tones, texture and scratches too, it's a lovely one, I used it here on the example below...

I used 2 layers of my free texture 'Marshmallow'

...we've had really dramatic weather here for the last week, hailstones, thunder storms, sunshine and more rain...every day...also, rainbows and these delicate raindrops falling and catching on petals and this dandelion...this is why us Brits talk about the weather so much, we have so much of it!

to download this texture, click here

I'd love it if you visited my Facebook page, I'll be adding to it regularly now with ideas and experiments...

Patty's Plum Poppy...

Today is my birthday...43...three years ago I was given a point and shoot by my partner and my family, everyone clubbed together so I could get back to photography after a major break from creativity...we didn't have a lot of money for 'extras' back then...this picture is one of the first I took nearly 3 years ago, a beautiful poppy called 'Patty's Plum' in our garden...

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A lot has changed over those 3 years, reclaiming my creativity has changed me in many ways, some more obvious than others, this birthday sees me with a new awesome camera bag and a 35mm prime lens for my Nikon...more on those soon!

A small piece of advice for anyone reading this with 'only a point and shoot' (I hear this a lot)...get out there and take some awesome pictures, you don't need the fancy equipment to get creative, and a lot of the time, it's making a start that's the most important thing of all, when I took this, I remember taking it into photoshop, learning how to do spot removal and it all felt like a lot...now photoshop is my second home and my partner tells me how advanced I am...I just feel it's one step at a time....anything's possible if we just start!

Watercolour texture effects...

I always used to love painting with watercolours, the way the rich colours run into each other making colour combinations I could never quite replicate...I think this is why I really enjoy making my watercolour textures, being able to combine my photographs with the textures to get a feeling of a painting...it's funny how our paths in life often follow patterns and I see now that I've come full circle, combining all that I've learnt over the last 30 years in my artwork and experimenting that I'm doing now...combining the art with the photography in ways that I never would have imagined possible back then!

'Berry' texture from collection 1

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Shabby chic effects with new texture 'plaster'

I've been admiring some beautiful photo's on your blogs of the spring blossom that's finally opening up...so wonderful! Our small cherry trees are now just blossoming, so with the blessing of some sunshine and some time I got outside earlier today...

 I used my texture 'Plaster' and a layer of the free bokeh overlay 'Rose Quartz' - from collection 1

Here I used one layer of my texture 'Plaster' - collection 1

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Of course I had to take a few pics of the Ranunculas too! This one above is just opening now, they've done so well, enduring lots of weather this week including several heavy showers of hail -ugh! I preferred it last year when April was hot and summery...

The power of a single word...

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An artistic effect...

It's great to experiment with textures, finding the right combination of image and texture, playing with different combinations to find new and interesting effects...

 I used two layers of  texture here to give a stronger textured effect

A little blur to give a painterly effect to the greens

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It is a texture that's really easy to use and works well on a plain background, I'm finding the more I use it, the more I love it!

Narcissus macros...

"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares, and takes the winds of March with beauty"

                                                            

                                                                 - William Shakespeare

 I desaturated this one to leave the texture with less colour

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These beautiful narcissus are sitting next to me as I type, I bought two bunches last week and they're opening to reveal beautiful orange and reddish pink centres, these are my favourite kind of daffodils...I got a chance to take a few macros yesterday as the light was good...

I hope everyone has a great spring weekend and/or Easter, let's hope we can get outside for at least some of it and take some more pictures :)

New texture 'crush' and Ranunculas

So, I've been taking pictures of the beloved Ranunculas almost daily as they're just outside the backdoor and they catch the sun in the afternoon, looking gorgeous! I wanted to try something a bit different today...

I used my texture 'crush'  from collection 2 on  a sepia adjustment

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