Creating a mood }{ Texture Tuesdays

Do you know one of the reasons I love playing with textures? Because a photo can end up with so many different looks or moods, just with a change of layer mode, opacity, or combination of textures.

Today's Texture Tuesdays challenge was wide open. I chose this recent picture of a flower and tried to create a soft, ethereal feeling.

Adjustments:

• levels, color curves, and unsharp mask
• layer 1: Kim Klassen's "beautiful" on lighter color @ 25%
• layer 2: Kim Klassen's "sweettart" on hue @ 30%
• layer 3: gradient fill on screen @ 20%

Here's the original for comparison:

I also wanted to try adding a grungier look with the textures, but flowers weren't working for me. So I dug up this photo from last year. It's just the side of a old service tractor I found at a park, but I liked the character of the old metal.

What types of looks do you like on your pictures - retro, vintage romantic, polaroid, grunge, soft, hazy?