Saturday, December 8, 2012

Just a Tree


Inspiration Avenue's challenge this week is "peace". What does peace mean to me? Of course I am dreaming of world peace, and I suspect that this dream will never come true. However, I will never loose hope on that one - never. Call me naive if you like.

But there is more to the word "peace". My inner peace. Being at peace with myself (which I am often not, but compared to when I was younger this feeling at peace has certainly improved). There are places of peace for me, or to be more accurate, places that give me peace. Where I feel at peace, my worries are forgotten for a period of time, and all I feel is utter peace.

This linden tree and its surroundings was one of those places for me when I still lived in Germany. It was about an hour's drive from my home, and I often went there on weekends. It was up in the hills of the Schwaebische Alb where more often than not a chilly wind was blowing and especially during the winter it was very cold. That was my favorite time to visit the linden, when the area was almost deserted, only a very few people took a walk there then. Up on that hill it was rather flat, there was another little hill rising with a small chapel on top.


I could walk here for hours, I would always return to the linden. In summer I would lie beneath or close to it and just dream. I would sit and read a book, but most times I would just watch, observe the birds and just enjoy this beautiful feeling of being at peace with myself and the world.

Since we're getting closer and closer to Christmas, I couldn't resist to alter the top photo in Photoshop:


For those of you who want to know how I did it, here's the recipe:

Levels adjustment
Copy that and use blending mode Multiply at 100%
Gradient Map adjustment in copper
Kim's texture "coffeeteaorme" in soft light at 100%
Hue/saturation adjustment
Bonnie's texture "Starburst" in Lighten at 85%
Brightness/contrast adjustment
Add text





15 comments:

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

Liebe Carola, Dein Foto vom Baum ist wunderschön. Und auch Deine Gedanken und Zeilen dazu. Ich möchte Dir einen Spruch von Antoine de St.Exupery nicht vorenthalten: "Der Friede ist ein Baum, der eines langen Wachstumes bedarf." Viele liebe Grüße Synnöve

Sally H said...

Just breathtaking... Trees give me inner peace too x

Elephant's Child said...

I don't believe that there is any such animal as 'just a tree'. I find an amazing sense of peace beside them, among them, and their beauty (regardless of season) sustains me.
(I haven't given up on world peace either.)

windrock studio said...

Well, I thought this tree was just perfect but I really love what you did with it! You know that we share this deep desire to be close to trees ... this one looks like it could be around your home now instead of in Germany!
I'm wishing you so much peace for this holiday season, enjoy it all with your family.

JoZart Designs said...

A very moving post... such a beautiful tree, a special tree. I bet you'll go there again... and again.....
love Jo x

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I love, love, love your photoshop altered version of the tree. It looks as if it was lit by thousands of lights. Blessings!

CherryPie said...

There is no such thing as 'Just a Tree'.

Trees are wonderful and amazing :-)

Diane ~ said...

i LOVE your post!! and the tree is simply beautiful! thank you for participating in the challenge!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I love the large, wide landscape photo and your altered tree photo. Your reflection makes them even more meaningful.
Thanks for sharing,
Rinda

patty said...

Carola, how lovely that you have all these memories of the tree and the surrounding area and the photo to go with it! I can understand how it exudes peace for you.
Your edit is very ethereal looking...

Kim Prowse said...

Thank you for taking me on a peaceful walk with your Linden Tree. I agree when worries vanish, peace grows.

Rosemary Aubut said...

Beautiful post!

Ginnie Hart said...

Oh, Carola, this is beautiful. I could picture you using this at V&V one day. It's such a powerful post!

Darla said...

The image you created is really beautiful. I don't know the first thing about altering photos, maybe one day I'll tackle it.

Darla

Lou Anne Hazel said...

Trees are such quiet beings. Your images are beautiful. There is so much peace to be found in nature.