Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Topaz Labs

(+6 insets…please be sure to look, there are some pretty views of the park and waterfall!) Trip Talk: Enjoying Beautiful Englishman River Provincial Park There is something extra wonderful about the parks on Vancouver Island. I believe the forests here are healthier because I feel such strong and vibrant energy from them. Don't get me wrong--the forests we visited in Oregon and Washington were also glowing and rich, but it seems that global warming has not affected this place as much as others. Or whatever it is…less people, a more wild state…I cannot tell you exactly what it is but I do know that the feeling of immersion was remarkable and has stayed indelibly in my mind. Established and protected in 1940, Englishmen Provincial Park has always been a very popular destination for locals and tourists alike. Visitors are drawn by its pair of gorgeous waterfalls and lovely forest trails which give hikers a glimpse of the park's 240 acres (97 hectares). For some historical background, Wiki says the following: According to a local legend, indigenous people in the area found the skeleton of a Caucasian man near the waterfalls, thus giving the river its current name; the river was given its name because "an Englishman was drowned while attempting to cross." Spanish mapmakers originally named it the "Rio de Grullas," presumably because of the large number of great blue herons living at its estuary (grulla being Spanish for "crane")." I must admit my confusion regarding the two waterfalls because Steve and I only saw one. I wasn't sure where the other one was but apparently we missed it. However, when I was looking up historical information for my post today, I suddenly saw the answer to my question! There on the wiki page was a picture of the second waterfall…and when I looked at my pictures, I was delighted to see that I'd gotten a wonderful picture of it after all! The only difference was that there was no water flowing over the falls in my picture--in other words, the water level had dropped by the time we visited in August…which of course makes sense! Many waterfalls cease to flow in the dry months of the year. (I have included a picture of the second waterfall with an attribution to the author-- DG Brown --noted on the picture) Today's Pictures My main picture today features one of the two bridges that cross the Englishman River on the way to the top of the waterfalls. The picture by itself wasn't all that interesting so I took some creative license with a few filters--I hope you like the outcome! I thought it would be perfect for the day--HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY! My first inset shows the second waterfall--without the waterfall! I laughed out loud when I found the picture on Wikipedia because I instantly recognized the rocks and deep canyon that form the area. You'll see my added inset from DG Brown that shows what the waterfall looks like. The cool thing to me is that the huge rock jammed into place, which is the basis for the waterfall, is really neat looking and something you'd miss when the water flows over it! Other insets include a picture of water rushing down the narrow canyon, complete with logs stuck in place; there's a close-up of water crashing over the waterfall, a view of lovely water making its way around rocks in a slower part of the river, and finally, another breathtaking forest view that we saw along our hike. I hope you like the show! :) Pam, I was amused to learn that the photos in the link I sent you were from an area not even remotely close to you. *wipes egg from face* LOL, oh well! Thanks for the info on the place that is actually near you, what a bummer that it's not a very impressive, boo! Well, hopefully you can enjoy some watery beauty through my photography and tales! Anyway, it's an absolutely gorgeous day here which started with sparkling frost and promises to warm up to be tee-shirt weather! Maybe your day is equally lovely! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 2/21/20; highest placement #1.

Steve and I are very fortunate to live in a very beautiful area of southern Oregon, within just a few miles of the lovely Upper and Lower Table Rocks. I took this picture from the top of the Lower Table Rock, showing the Upper Tablerock and Mt. McCloughlin in the distance. As I was processing this image, I took a look at Topaz Lab's Black & White filter set, and found this sepia tone filter with vignette that give this image a cool vintage look! :)

For this picture, I decided to use Topaz Labs' Black & White Effects , which is an ENORMOUS suite of filters in black and white and mono- and duo-tones, plus many specialized filters too. Powerful, fun, ultimately customizable, I always love to have the excuse to use this fine set of filters! This particular filter was in their Cyanotype collection, called "Yale Sky." By the way, if you're interested in trying this amazing set of filters out, Topaz gives out free trials to let you try their products. If you like playing in black and white, you will LOVE these filters!! Topaz Labs: Product Downloads