25Apr13 - Fly Like a Kite
By Smoky
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Fly Like A Kite
"Less than perfect" photo challenge
I took these photos of a mated pair of Mississippi Kites in my back yard one summer. The sky was bright blue with bright sunshine, the lower branches of the trees were in shadow. I played with the curves, the levels, the contrast, etc., but almost everything I did that brought out the detail and lightness of the kites resulted in a blown-out sky. I found the best result by merging the small photos onto the main photo (with frames and shadows on separate layers) and then layering the main photo onto two different blue papers, with the "hard light" filter applied to the photo. Still far from perfect, but it will have to do.
P.S. I hate to point out that those are baby songbirds in the nest, but just pretend they're baby kites. If you squint, they kind of do look like half-grown kites. 
Journaling reads:
I don’t remember when I first realized that there were some unusual neighbors
living next door. Sometimes, I would hear a piercing cry just over the back yard
or driveway. The cries often came from the huge oaks next to the neighbor’s house.
Eventually, we saw the pair of small, pale-colored falcons. They were very curious
about us and would fly over anytime we were outside. Once, when we were
swimming in the pool, one flew low over us with a long, slender, green grass snake
in its beak. We made eye contact as it flew over, and I threatened it to not even
think about dropping that snake in the pool with us!
Each year, they would arrive at their home in the oaks in March, tidy up, raise a
pair of babies, and begin their journey back to South America in September. We
worried about the babies constantly, and if the noisy little things ever went silent
for more than a few hours during the day, I’d walk next door to see if they were
alright. As soon as they saw me, they’d start squeaking and chirping, which would
put me at ease. It was exciting to watch the parents teach their babies to fly! Our
back yard was their practice area. We were so proud when we first saw them gliding
high overhead. Every chick they raised reached adulthood. They would
congregate on the corner with other kites, no doubt some of their older children.
One March, they returned to find the street torn up, full of dust and
machinery. They found a new home and never returned to the oaks. They still fly
overhead, but we miss having them as our neighbors.
Supplies used:
JCO_BlueBreeze_SuperMini_BluePaperSpecial (coordinates with Blue Breeze Collection Super Mini) - bright aqua paper - 16% opacity, layered onto white background and
ACA_SSPaper_Earthy_Special (coordinates with ScrapSimple Paper Templates Earthy) - scratchy blue/yellow paper - 100% opacity
KME_MagneticaAlbum_Paper_Special (coordinates with Magnetic Album Paper Mini) - frames, used four out of six
MRE_SSEmb_Threaded_Special_Emb (coordinates with ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates Threaded) - curly kite string
EBA_CollectionSuperMini_Click_Emb_Special - kites, not sure what collection this goes to?
LSH_BoldLove_Emb_Wing (from Bold Love Collection Biggie) - red wing, one recolored yellow
BMU_Mossy_EMB_Twig (from Mossy Collection Biggie) - bare twig, copied and flipped several times
ABL_NaturalistsJournal_Emb2_Twig (from Naturalist's Journal Collection Biggie) - mossy twig, copies and flipped several times
ABL_NaturalistsJournal_Emb1_Nest (from Naturalist's Journal Collection Biggie) - nest
ABL_FeatheredFriends_BabyBird_Special (coordinates with Feathered Friends Collection Biggie) - baby birds, duplicated and flipped
BMU_Paper_Vellum_Special (coordinates with Vellum Paper) - vellum, 3 layers merged
VRA_Hardware_Staple4_coppershiny-crossed - staples, retired
Alpha by Mo Jackson
Fonts: Bradley Hand ITC (on frame) and Gabriola (journaling)
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