BeFunky has a generous selection of ” cartooning and digital art ” options.
This photo of Henry, while engaged in a Shaving Cream Fight, has been tweaked with two digital art overlays. )
My first experience with photo-editing was with Picasa. It was quite limited and didn’t include anything unusual with few ways to touch up details in a photo. When Picasa announced that it was closing, I was devastated because “I had figured it out !” I began trolling for a replacement and found Pic Monkey. In the beginning, Pic Monkey was easy to learn and fast to use. I LOVED IT ! But, as happens with many of the things I love in the world of computers, Pic Monkey got smarter and smarter and more and more complicated until I couldn’t figure out all of the upgrades and changes and improvements which were supposedly made for my benefit. When I sought help from the Monkeys, I was sent a three page tutorial which brought my love affair with Pic Monkey to a screeching halt. My simple question had been something like “how do I move my photo into Pic Monkey to edit it?” The changes the Monkeys had made, had changed to path and I couldn’t make it work. The Monkey wanted me to send it/him/her all kinds of “screen shots” and high surveillance photos from drones and secret recordings for which I had no official clearance. That is how it felt and that ended my collaboration with the Monkeys although I dearly loved them, all.
Time passed.
Recently I went looking again. I found BeFunky. I am in love again and for the present time I am able to do fun things with my photographs which I expect will gradually fade away as the Funkies keep improving and making things less complicated for me . . . ha ha. In all seriousness, I expect that to happen because it always does. I have been tempted to send a note along to them, begging that they “leave well enough alone” and refrain from “improving” their services so that older people like me can keep using it.
( Millie and big brother/protector Talmage at Pine View Reservoir for the Annual Family Gathering.
I have used a light “digital art” overlay for this photo.
This tweak makes the photo look a little like an oil painting. )
Most of the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon Rebel with a 75-300 telephoto lens. I have given up using my Canon 50 D camera because it is just too heavy. Since this is my second Rebel, I must say that it is my favorite because it is easy to use and takes great pictures. I used a “hood” for these photos because the day was bright and the water reflected and yes . . . many of us were sunburned at the end of the day.
( This shot of Henry eating his lunch and getting the last drop out of his Capri Sun has been tweaked with a “cartoonizer” .
I LOVE the clarity and the wonderful potential for telling stories, just like a comic book.)
We found a great shady spot under a grove of tall trees. You can see the shade line but you can’t see how very far it was from the shade to the water. Pine View Reservoir is 20 feet below average for this time of year and so the water was quite far from any natural shade and from the parking lot and bathrooms. Our only other option was to put up the dining fly right at the water’s edge but the sun kept moving and the kids were in the water all of the time anyway. Heather and Melissa brought their beach umbrellas along, which sit on the sand and provide great shade. Lunchtime was the only time the kids were out of the water.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Miles and miles of beautiful sand. We decided that a million dump trucks had spread the sand on the beach. All around the reservoir we saw the sand. It had no watermarks and no debris. The sand was covered with footprints, especially those we could see in front of our shady spot in the trees, where the children ran to and from the table with the food and the cooler with the water. There were no rocks to avoid but as the day wore on, the sand was as hot as a pan on the stove and little feet had to be carried over it.
Everyone ran . . . rather than walked and by late afternoon bare feet on the sand were impossible. Even flip flops didn’t offer much relief. The hot sand still touched uncovered feet.
Half in and half out. There were actually shells to examine though no one knew where they came from. They must have been in the sand that was spread on the beaches. Sand that had come from another place. Little Millie Rose loved everything about the day. She loved the water and the cousins and the uncles and aunts and the food and the treats. She was covered with sun screen and frequently wrapped in a towel. She was always carried across the sand and sat on many laps, wrapped in bright towels. She didn’t fuss all day, or cry and make a cross sound. She ate and drank and rode on paddle boards with her brother Talmage and her mother and her sister Olive.
( This photograph is only slightly altered by a digital art transformation with adds clarity to the shot.)
Yes. I took many more photographs this day but they became repetitive. Water, sun, children, food, plastic water bottles, paddle boards and kayaks, bright towels, beach blankets, sunscreen, hats, flip-flops, coolers, snacks, goggles, more sunscreen and more water.
Watrous Family Gathering July 2021 at Pine View Reservoir.
