Monday, August 31, 2009

Out by Billy's

Welcome to the scary shark and Billy's Seafood!

If It Swims, We Got It, is one of the tag lines from Billy's Seafood in Bon Secour, AL. We arrived during a rare lull. I don't think the parking lot was empty for one more second after this photo, below. There was a actually a car behind me, waiting for me to finish snapping my few shots. Thanks to those folks, I got a car free shot.

Please click the photos to see a larger version.

My mom and I took a drive over to see Billy's but we didn't get any seafood. We were mostly just curious about what the place looked like. What I found was that it was incredibly interesting just from the outside.


This is just one of the many piles of oyster shells that are on the Billy's market property. As a matter of fact, the driveway was crushed oyster shells, used like gravel.

A few yards away from Billy's place was a Bait Shop. I loved the list of items that they carried inside. What a hoot!

Here's another pile of the oyster shells. I have to admit. I now have 4 oyster shells from this pile. I have never been much of a shell collector, but after seeing these huge piles, I just wanted to take home a few hundred to see what I could do with them! Four will do. If I feel the need for any more, I'll get them next year when I go back.



Just on the other side of the bait shop I saw this boat and all of these pelicans. You can click to enlarge all of the photos. This is one of my favorite of the entire week.

I think I've only mentioned it a few hundred times, but I use Photobucket for all of my photos. I use the Crop and Resize features more than anything else, but for this photo that I liked so much, I decided to try out a few more features. The one above I used the Border application. I put on the black frame border first, then I added the silver frame next. So the picture is now matted and framed twice! It does help to see what a picture will look like in a mat and frame.

This is the old photo application. It's interesting. The black really shows up in this.

This photobucket application is called Fresco. You can control how much or how little of the fresco application you can use - I use a lighter touch on my photo. Now that I looked back, it's actually called age. I had the fresco age more (make it lighter) rather than have a newer age, where the colors were more brilliant.

This is Film Grain. It darkens the whole picture. I like it. It makes the water less bright. This is the one photo tool from Photobucket that I use the most.


I do believe that this last one was using Color Sketch.

The best part of this is that the photo is the exact same as all of the others. I just clicked on the button that says Color Sketch, for example and this is what shows up. I don't have to do a thing! If I like it, I click on "Save a Copy" and I'm done. I don't have to think, use brushes, or tax my brain at all. If I don't like the look, I just click cancel. Easy.

I keep thinking that I need to get Photoshop, but so far I'm really happy with the things that are available through the free photobucket.

Have a great day!
Kristin

4 comments:

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

GRRRREAT pic's! JUst a few weeks ago my mom and I dug around in that very oyster pile and I took home a plastic grocery bag of sheels for a bowl in my living room. I wish you had gone in Billys and seen the fish and shrimp displayed to nicely. All eyes are on you in that place. Smile. A place with much character for sure!!!

Keetha Broyles said...

Two things:

1) I WANT TO GO TO BILLY'S. That looks like such a GREAT place - - - and I do love sea food. It just looks like a one-of-a-kind local seafood gig. WANT TO GO.

2) Your title is making me SMILE huge big SMILES. Your MIDWEST roots are showing m'dear!!! My BESTEST friends in HS ALWAYS said they were "going by - - -" such and such a place, when they of course meant they were going TO such and such a place. I've not heard that usage since and you are bringing back SUCH Wisconsin nostalgia for me.

You've made me smile, smile, SMILE!!!

Liz Autry said...

I love that kind of unique coastal resturaunt - tons of character!

Jientje said...

That picture with the pelicans is very pretty, I love how they all have a different pole to sit on. Using different effects with a photo shop program can be such fun, don't you think? ( and very time consuming!! LOL!)