Ministering Angels

What a few enhancements can do for an image.

 I'm so happy with the editing techniques I'm learning from Kim Klassen.  This time I combined a "recipe" from Beyond Layers with inspiration from Beyond Beyond and Texture Tuesday.

Enhancements include the filters high pass and gaussian blur as well as layer adjustments to levels, saturation, gradient and color fills. This was topped by Kim's texture layer Mary from the Downton Collection.

Cropped only, no enhancements.

 Even though this picture has a cluttered background and a dark exposure, I had hope for it because of the highlights on the angel's head, praying hands and tops of the wings.
Using the gaussian blur helped push the background back and when I erased the angel from the blur layer exposing the focused layer, I gave it the emphasis I desired. (I'm still working in PSE 4, an old version of PS Elements that doesn't have the masking capabilities that new versions have which is why I literally erased the blurred angel.)

There were ten layers when I completed this image.

A few years ago Mom gave me this garden angel to thank me for helping when she had health issues.  I placed it by roses in my garden. One of my sisters and I had a great day selecting the roses. A pretty yellow variety was to remember my Grandma by, but the rabbits and Japanese beetles have taken their toll on it.  I think last summer's drought finished it off.  Obviously, this angel doesn't have mystical powers to ward off enemies in my garden, including the dandelions popping up around it... But it reminds me of Mom and how when we give of our self to others, we may seem like an angel to them.  The Bible tells us that God sends angels as ministering spirits to help us in time of need.

Earlier today I finished a novel on my Kindle called "Not A Sparrow Falls" by Linda Nichols which is a free download from Amazon at the time of this posting.  I wasn't sure I liked it when I was in the first couple of chapters, but I decided to keep going.  Soon I was hooked.  There are references in the book that go with this image very well.  If you have a Kindle, you should check it out.