Scanning Old Photos with a Pocket Scanner

I wanted a small scanner so that I could copy some old photos from the comfort of my sofa. Our home office is chilly in the winter, for one thing, and I like being comfortable.

I bought a Kodak P460 Personal Photo Scanner and I've been trying it out. (The link shows you the description on Amazon but I actually bought it at Kmart on clearance.) It's easy to use and scans at 600 DPI, which is more than enough.  It's doing a good job of scanning some old photos from the 70's.

At Swimming Lessons in Alexandria, VA:
Bonnie Boteler, Tammy Murray, Lynn & Marie Javins, Betsy Boteler

So far the only problem I've had with the scanner is a tendency to attract dust. The plastic sleeve that protects the pictures is especially static-prone, and after scanning a few pictures I started seeing dust spots, and lines on the images. Fortunately, Photoshop provides a choice of tools to get rid of these nuisances.

If you click on the two B&W pictures to enlarge them, you can see the difference before and after editing in Photoshop.

Rejected Photographs

These photos are from my "Album des Refusés" which I put together in the 70's. The album is made up of photos that didn't make it into regular family album, and the name is from the Salon des Refusés, an exhibit in 1863 which displayed work that had been rejected by the official Paris Salon. Some of those paintings were by impressionists who are now regarded as great masters.

My little album does not contain masterpieces, just photos that were too precious to condemn to a storage box. They might have been near-duplicates, or too dark, or slightly blurry, or perhaps someone was making a face or the pose looked awkward.

Marie, Me holding Spotsy, and Lynn

This Evening at the Lake

We endured a rainy day today but the skies cleared briefly in the late afternoon. We walked out to the lake in spite of the grass being squishy-wet and were rewarded with a bright sky at the horizon.

Bird Feeder

My husband caught me feeding the birds. They need extra food on cold days.

We have several feeders in view of our living room windows so we can enjoy watching them and I get the opportunity to take their photos.

I'm thinking of planting a small tree in that area so that their portraits will appear more natural!

Finch

The red on his head is a reflection. 

Mission Style Lamp

My husband gave me a pretty lamp for my birthday last month. I love the warm colors! (Actually, I picked it out myself on Amazon and he ordered it.)

Linking to: Orange You Glad It's Friday

Skyline Drive on a Cold Evening

My Skywatch Photo

 We drove to Luray today, had lunch, explored Jewel Hollow Road, and returned home via Skyline Drive in time to view the sunset. Temperatures were below freezing so we didn't get out of the car but we did enjoy the scenery.

It was quiet up there. We only saw one car, one deer, one squirrel, one owl, and two crows.

After we got home I read that the drive is closed tonight because the park service expects it will get dangerously icy. There's rain and "wintry mix" in the forecast.

Front Royal at Night

Linking to: Skywatch Friday

Books in the Family

Sue's husband Doug Boyles has published an e-book of movie reviews called I'm Not Mad, I'm Just Disappointed: 233 Movie Reviews from Tacoma's Favorite* Film Critic. Look for it on Amazon.

Meanwhile, my daughter Marie Javins is still writing and editing books. I enjoyed her Iron Man: Extremis Prose Novel. Marie has a long history of working with Marvel. See Marie's Page on Amazon.

Geese on a Pond within a Pond

We just had our coldest day of the year so far. Temperatures peaked in the 20's (Fahrenheit), and when we went to bed last night the thermometer read 0 (zero), which is pretty cold for Virginia. Much of the lake is frozen, with an open area of water in the middle and a narrow channel near the shore. (In the first photo, the ice appears dark gray and the water very light.)

The Canada Geese don't seem to mind the cold. They alternate between standing on the ice and swimming in the water.

I took the pictures from a window. Thank you, zoom lens!

Link: Black + White Wednesday

Visiting Gulls

It was bitter cold this morning, well below freezing. I was surprised to see a couple of gulls fly in for a visit on our lake.

They kept their distance from our resident geese and rested a few minutes before flying off.

Linking to: Wild Bird Wednesday
and the BIRD D'pot

Museum of the Valley in Winter

Museum at 901 Amherst St., Winchester, VA

Barn on Museum Grounds

Link: Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

A Little Snow, A Little Flare

I like to shoot toward the sun. Yes, it's against the rules because you may get the dreaded lens flare. Usually I avoid it by standing in the shade but that's not always possible. So in this case, let's just call this a special effect.

Snowy Day Bird Watching

Suddenly our back yard is very popular! The snow has covered the usual food sources so the birds are flocking to feeders.

As the snow was falling, I noticed that the seed bell was on the ground, probably because a squirrel had swung on it until it came off it's hook. I went out and placed it on a flagpole bracket.

Some birds hang on the wire bell and chip away at the seed, and they quickly devoured most of it. Other birds prefer to stand underneath and try to reach the seed. The gray and white junco just waits patiently until seed drops to where he can reach it easily.

Our other feeders attract a variety of birds too, including this bright-colored finch. I was lucky to catch him looking my way!

Fence, Hill, Snow

Winchester, Virginia

Linking to: Friday Fences

Winter Evening, Front Royal

Front Royal, Virginia

The old feed mill on the right is now a restaurant. I took this photo a week ago when there was no snow on the ground.

Linking to: Skywatch Friday

Cold January Weather!

We had a snowstorm yesterday but fortunately we were on the edge of the weather system so we only got a few inches. It was enough to be pretty but by today the roads were fine.

Temperatures are uncomfortably low, considering this is Virginia. They've been well below freezing and right now it's 14°  Fahrenheit outside. B-r-r-r!

New Year's Dinner

My sister and her beau came over on New Years Day and we went out to dinner. The flash did not fire on my little point-and-shoot camera, and as you can see, the lights gave off green and yellow tints. 

I changed one image to black and white in Photoshop. Then I saw  the single picture that Bill took (shown below) and the colors look great! Sometimes a flash is better than ambient light.

In any case, we had a nice visit. The best thing about the holidays is getting together with special people.

Linking to B+W Wednesday and 

Orange You Glad It's Friday

Photo of the Year 2013

City Daily Photo invited members to post their Photo of the Year. I've gotten input from fellow bloggers and Facebook friends over the past couple of days and in late December. I want to thank everyone who helped me narrow down the choices and come up with a Number One Photo for 2013. Here it is!

The View from Culler's Overlook

This is such an appropriate choice because it shows part of the Shenandoah Valley, the river itself, and the Massanutten Range in the background. Our beautiful Shenandoah Valley is a main focus of this blog, and we can see the Massanutten Mountains from our living room.

For those who live in Virginia or travel through it, don't miss Shenandoah River State Park between Front Royal and Luray. It's easy to drive by the road to this overlook so watch for the sign. You can also see this view from much farther away on the northern section of Skyline Drive.

Favorite Views from Our Yard

I've been trying to pare down candidates for my 2013 Photo of the Year and yesterday I posted bird pictures and in late December I posted theme day images, Skyline Drive views, and Shenandoah photos. Here's my final category: The View from my Back Yard.

Yes, we are lucky to have a great view from our yard! But it wasn't luck that brought us here, for I watched real estate listings for a long time searching for the waterfront property that my husband wished for, at a reasonable price and in a convenient location. Our previous home had a beautiful mountain view so we weren't ready to give that up just for the convenience of living close to town.

I'm happy to share our view with you! Let me know which photo one you like best.