Before and After .3 /  by Dave Hileman

These AI functions are smart and getting smarter. But they are not a substitute for you. This is a quick snap I made in Burnsville, NC of a sign. Note the extensive wires in the photo. ON 1 has a delete wires section. And it did a good job of the wires. But, it also removed the smile from the girls face and the ribbon trim. I did not notice it highlighted that small “wire” but it did and, presto, smile is gone. It is none-destructive so, I could retry or undo and be more careful. Note as well that it did not take the pole. It was not supposed to do so. However, when I just painted over it to remove the pole with little care, it did not do a good job. To really removed it would require sections of the work and, likely, some retouching. I did not do either of those as this it not a photo I really wanted to spend any time on. It did illustrate that you need some care with these tools but the wire removal, fast and very clean.

So, why did I take the photo? Just for the sign, I have a collection of old, unusual, interesting or just caught my attention signs.

untouched photo

Just wires —-oops.

pole with no effort to make it really neat.

This would be the image I was going for with the shot

Here the wire removal tool, used more carefully, produced an acceptable, not perfect, image. It took care of the one that crossed the sign and removed those in the street to the right. You could also, if the photo was really worth the effort, fix the bricks.

Before and After .2 /  by Dave Hileman

In this photo, also in Scotland, of the Eilean Donan Castle I removed some of the people by the same method as yesterday. It is a simple step if it works well. In this case it did. The person on the left side required a bit of touch up on the wall. The lady in the foreground worked very well with the shadow of the wall filled in correctly. I also remembered this time to remove her shadow. I did not remove every person as I did not think the remaining ones were distracting. I did try something I have rarely done and that is a “sky swap” In this case the clear blue sky was changed for a more dramatic effect that I think suited the castle. Or at least I liked it. I think the sky swap was very well done around the edges and between the trees. So, point two of four, sky replacement.

Before and After /  by Dave Hileman

This week I am going to share some of the techniques I am learning to use with my editing software. I will share four different photos that use at least one newer process. Please remember the “I am learning” aspect of this theme. There are lots of subtle adjustments and skills to master to really do a good job and not the least is knowing what needs done for your own vision or enjoyment of the photo. I also tend to overdo so I am also trying - with limited success, to reduce some of my more exuberant efforts. The software I use is ON 1 Photo Raw 2025. As I have shared before, that this is the most catchy name they could come up with after years of research is a bit worrisome for a creative company:). I like the format, the company does what they say they will do (not all of them fit that category), it is full featured along with a robust way to catalog your photos, and it is fairly priced. I subscribe to a second tier that provides additional learning videos and they give something as a bonus each month. ON 1 does far more than I know how to use but I am whittling that list down. I also follow two YouTube fellows, Free Will Photos is a prolific poster and careful with his instructional work. I use him a lot. https://www.youtube.com/@FreeWillPhotos The second guide I use is Scott Davenport https://www.youtube.com/@ScottDavenport who provides a very measured approach with an easy to listen to manner. Coupled with the videos from ON 1, I can spent a lot of time just learning about the best practices and the myriad of ways to accomplish what you wish in a photo.

Here is the first of the photos with the after, then before shot. The photo is from the Isle of Iona in Scotland and is the front of the 12th century cathedral. i did some basic work on the facade of the building to bring out a bit more detail in the shadows but the new technique is the “generative erase.” Here you highlight what you would like removed, four people in this case, and then AI does something with a wand, rabbits and a hat and, presto, they are gone and the area behind filled in appropriately. I had to do this a second time because I forgot the shadow of the person on the left that crossed the path. Overall, It did a nice job.

/  by Dave Hileman

My Dearest Readers

This has been a most challenging period that had extreme heat, a near arrest, more hours in a car, some exotic food and a grand celebration. Whew.

First the heat. My goodness “help ma boab.” I confess I had no idea that it would be this hot. My tail feathers have wilted. I don’t read the fahrenheit scale well but I would guess it has been over 200 celsius. At least. I lay down in the charged cool air and understand fully why the colonies are air conditioned. No one would survive otherwise. And I am told, not sure it is possible, that it gets even hotter.

Second, the lad nearly got arrested for stealing beverages. Well, he ought to have anyway. We stopped at one of those ostensible food places that blot the landscape for a beverage. We sat down inside and drank the cool liquid and then, the lad, went and filled up his cup again with no pretense to actually pay for the drink. I was mortified and more than a little bit frightened as I have seen American TV and the police often shoot miscreants, though on reflection I never did see one gunned down for a beverage. Still a brazen theft that would make one reconsider one’s employment. Of course, I did feel better when the lass did the same, so, perhaps, they bought some esoteric level of cola usage. Yes, I will go with that.

Finally some food. We have eaten in many disparate places. A nice hotel, a barn, a wedding venue, restaurants and, thankfully, a bit here in Tennessee. The hotel was a delightful place that my employers thought very old. Smirk! It only went back to 1833. Good food both for dinner and breakfast. And lots of breakfast, all you could gather. Amazing. Then we ate in a great big barn like affair something called Bar-B-Que. This included a huge pile of shredded pork that you could sauce with any of 6, that is SIX, different bottles of sauce left right at your table. I was appalled at the indifferent way it was presented. No actual silverware, tin sort of plate, big table and yet, I liked it. Please do not report that to the Scottish Restaurant Board. But it was good, very good, nay, great. Maybe the USA is going to be okay. We also had some fine seafood and a delightful pasta. The well presented foods were served to us at 22 Queen and Zynadoa. I don’t understand the fascination of the locals with royalty - I thought they wanted rid of such attachments.

We also got to attend, the lad seemed to have a role in the production, a wedding. The customs were different but even so there was dancing (with odd costumed creatures) toasting, cake and delicious food. That, too, was a great time. Oh, I nearly forgot we also had wha they call a picnic up on hills that look a bit like home, the Blue Ridge, I believe. That was nice too.

So, to recap: Bar-B-Que = good, Weddings = good, nice restaurants = good, picnic = good, heat = not good.

If I survive and if the lad is not arrested, I will be back in two weeks with more food reporting in the meanwhile, I remain,

Your humble servant, 

Respectfully submitted, 

Miss Rowena Brambleglen

A happy anniversary lunch on the Skyline Drive.

If it is Saturday it must be about food. /  by Dave Hileman

Jill and I spent a couple of nights in Burnsville, NC. This small mountain town is about 40 miles north of Asheville and an hour south of Johnson City, TN. We stayed at the restored Nu-Wray Inn that was first built in 1833 and recently renovated top to bottom. Literally the bottom as they are turning the basement into a “speakeasy.” We had a lovely dinner here and excellent breakfasts that were provided with our lodging. We also ate a really good meal at the Pig & Grits a long-time local favorite BBQ. It was super clean, generous portions and really good food.

Closer to Home .4 /  by Dave Hileman

There are excellent opportunities to see animals and birds in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park but it is in Cades Cove where some of the animals are easier to see. Here are three of them all photographed in this section of the park.

Turkeys seem to abound here.

This deer appeared by the road and I trailed it for about 200 yards before it bounded off into some thick woods.

Couple of years ago this bear emerged from the woods and ambled right in front of my truck, not bike. I never did get a decent shot as my settings were not compatible with this shot and I did not have a moment to adjust them. But a neat experience anyway.

Closer to Home .3 /  by Dave Hileman

Still in Cades Cove but from an earlier shoot ( and earlier morning, too ). The sun is barely up and the mist is still rising. This is a great time in the early fall to visit the Cove when the road opens at 7 or walk in before seven and find even more great places to photograph.

Closer to Home .2 /  by Dave Hileman

Cades Cove is over the right side of the second mountain range in the not-to-distant ridges. This is a shot I took coming home from a ride and decided to go a bit west on the Foothills Parkway. Back to the cove tomorrow. Bonus bear photo from a Wednesday ride if you did not see it when I posted two weeks ago.

Closer to Home - Great Smoky Mountains National Park /  by Dave Hileman

I have been riding the Cades Cove loop on Wednesdays on my bike as the road is closed in the summer to auto traffic. I start about 5pm and it seems pretty perfect for crowds, heat and scenery. This week a few photos from the area a mere 45 minutes or so from the house. I need to take more advantage of the proximity of such amazing scenery.

First Report from American Soil. (or is it?) /  by Dave Hileman

I confess that I feel a bit dafty writing about the first food encountered in the Americas. It may not be representative of colonial reality; the fare has been pure dead brilliant. However, it is important to note we are barely in America. I mean, that is the Atlantic Ocean at the door so, perhaps, we are still influenced by the high standards of Scottish cuisine. Indeed, that must be the correct understanding. A contributing factor may be that I have been in an automobile for hours and hours. The endless road has much traffic, many lanes to choose from, and fences to keep you from the opposite lanes of traffic. There are also great belching trucks the size of ocean liners by the hundreds. Everyone is traveling near the speed of sound. One is bound to be befuddled by so much movement and discombobulated by the change in locations. I have traveled further in two weeks than the first 20 years of my life. Why? Well must be on with my brief.

A most impressive meal of my first American experience was found in Charleston, a very proper spot on a tree lined street. The second good dinning occurred in a shop stuffed between a grocery and a nail salon! It was actually excellent food and not a chippy shop or kababs. Why? What possessed the owner to insert a quality dining establishment in such an unlikely place? 

In Charleston we dined at a restaurant named 22 Queen. Why the Yankee Doodles would think of 22 queens, another perplexing moment. The restaurant does have a long tradition of excellence. The fare included: braised short ribs, a delectable duck dish, a clever medley of sea food and pasta and flounder. We can all guess who ordered the flounder.

At the nearly indistinguishable restaurant (by a nail salon!!), Long Island Cafe on Isle of Palms, fish and seafood were the prime attractions. We were joined again by the lass's daughter and husband.  The ladies had their favorite, fried oysters. The husband an oyster and scallop speciality The lad who, again, was repetitious, had flounder and french fries. There may be no hope here.

A most pleasant surprise so far was the fine meals prepared in the beach lodging. We ate well. As I recall, among the dishes were: Oysters Rockefeller, shrimp and grits, and shrimp pasta. I still am uncertain what a grit might be, regardless, it is rather tasty. I will look it up. However, I must add that luncheon is still pitiful. I did not mention that the lass and the lad also ate from a truck in a parking lot. I was appalled. I canna believe I am about to pen this sentence, the food was actually quite good. Tacos I believe they are called. Why did they appear from the truck? Who cooked them? Help me understand this custom. So confused. 

I am also flummoxed by the staggering number of beside-the-road eating stops that pockmark the landscape with pure hackit. Yet, we stopped at one - again. Of course, the establishment had no seating inside the shop, so eating outside on a steel chair by the curb was the single choice. Unbelievable. I am grateful we ate in the car with the car at a standstill at least. This habit is not conducive to proper enjoyment of food. Even though the food was not too bad. Did I really say that! Ouch. 

Well it is back in the automobile for another few thousand miles of travel. We will most certainly be inland so the real America is about to be unveiled. I may pack a snack to two from Charleston, for I may not eat well again for weeks. Do not fear, gentle reader, I will report in two weeks from the hinterland. I press on regardless in the tradition of all puffins everywhere.

I remain, your humble servant, 

Respectfully submitted, 

Miss Rowena Brambleglen

Splash .3 /  by Dave Hileman

Yet another spot on the Rocky Fork River. This petite cascade shot has a nice range of color and texture with some dappled sunlight illuminating parts of the water.