Waiting for the White
We haven’t had snow yet this winter- or rain either. Just putting this little winter wish out there for a day or two of snow this winter . . .
Playing with Fingerpaint
I like to play with my camera- especially when I am a passenger in a car on a road trip. Besides taking standard photos through the window, I sometimes like to try to get some intentional camera movement shots, letting the car provide most of the movement.
The image below is of wild flowers with a forest background taken from the car when we were in Alaska. I kept coming back to the original shot because I liked the colors, and today I decided to play with it. I worked with it using TK actions to separate the tones a bit, added a gradient map with similar colors to the original and a gradient fill. It still needed something, so I took it into Topaz Impression with the thought of using a Monet filter. But I ended up liking what happened when I applied a fingerpaint filter- yes, I have spent my life working with young children! I experimented with blend modes and ended up with this:
I don’t think I’ll be framing this- but it was so much fun to work on.
Here is the original:
Palm Tree Play
I have always loved how palm trees line Benicia’s First Street and especially love how they look at night lit up with twinkly white lights. After photographing sunset there a couple weeks ago, I took a moment to take some photos looking up at the palm fronds.
The below image started as an in-camera multiple exposure- and then I went a little crazy . . .
Late Afternoon Abstracts
These blinds have become favorite subjects of abstract photos over the years. I don’t like them as blinds, but there is something about the light and shadows that captures my attention and makes me grab my camera.
Winter’s End
Just a couple more winter images before it’s springtime!
This one is another intentional camera movement shot from Eklutna Lake in Alaska- with a bit of Photoshop magic:
The image below is a composite of a few iPhone shots from icy Alaska- and snowy Prescott- edited with iPhone apps:
Icy Abstract
In the fall, I put a leaf in the freezer in water. In January, I photographed it. And a couple days ago, I edited one of the images.
Yes, all one leaf photo, duplicated and layered in Photoshop. 🙂
Alternative Landscapes
Editing photos for creative expression, relaxation, and just plain fun is an essential part of my photography life. I don’t paint or do crafts- so I create with the camera and the computer. I respect and enjoy traditional photography, but I sometimes like to tiptoe a bit onto the photography wild side.
Yesterday I revisited some of last summer’s photos from Alaska. At the time, I was fascinated with the stark shapes of the rocks and peaks jutting out of the sea, but I was disappointed in many of the resulting shots when edited traditionally. But I had so much fun creating the “alternative landscapes” below.
Red Cliff Echoes
I woke up way too early this morning and got up to have a play with some images from our Utah trip back in 2014. Last weekend I had been re-editing some Moab shots for class and to possibly use in an upcoming show- so these red cliffs have been in my subconscious waiting to be turned into some photo art just for fun. I have been playing recently with some phone apps (Fragment and Tiny Planets), which take chunks of your photos and re-arrange them, and wanted to see if I could do something similar in Photoshop in a more controlled way. Fun!
Christmas Lights
For the last four years, I have photographed the lights at Courthouse Square here in Prescott. Some of them can be found here and here. This year I decided to use multiple exposures for an impressionist interpretation.
Bare
When we first moved to Arizona, I missed trees! Over time, I have learned to love the open landscape and find myself drawn to its bare beauty.
Wiggling the Camera
I have spent perhaps 4 days editing the photo I’m using for the final in my photo group. It is sharp, sharp, sharp- but, other than that, the project was pretty much a disaster. The editing time was basically spent trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. More cloning than anyone should have to do in their entire life! I am hoping the result is adequate. No, I’m not yet posting it.
To recover, I spent an hour in the land of blur, producing some ICM images- abstract or impressionist landscapes, I’ve discovered they are called- achieved by long exposures and camera wiggling.
Here are two edits of my across the street view. I think the black and white looks like an ocean view.
Morning Blues
The other morning I woke up early and looked out the window to see blue stripes of clouds in the pre-dawn sky. I threw on some gym pants and slippers, grabbed my camera, and headed out to the driveway to shoot some pictures before the sun came up. I ended up crossing the street to get this view of the peaks and hills in the distance. I took multiple exposures as well as intentional camera movement shots and had a great time- until I realized that the sun had come up and I was across the street in my nightclothes, with a wild bedhead- and was waving my camera around like a madwoman. This is how I am earning my reputation as the neighborhood crazy person!
Below is what looks like a multiple exposure- and I guess it is- but it was shot by moving the camera around during a long exposure (intentional camera movement).
Hotel Abstracts
When we were in San Francisco last month, I snapped a few photos of the lobby art and lights, which I think make some interesting abstracts.
San Francisco Architecture- Then and Now
THEN:
The beautiful and ornate Southern Pacific Building (completed in 1916) was right across from our hotel at the corner of Market and Embarcadero. This was taken through the window in Carol’s room.
NOW:
This reflections in this skyscraper seemed to create a column of Japanese Kanji running down the side of the building- fascinating!
Home Grown Abstract
It was sooo cold when I went out front to shoot these curly tendrils on my spiky plant (someday I’ll find out what its called…) with my macro lens. Although I’ve photographed them before, my attention was caught by the combination of curves and lines hit by the morning light. The colors you see in the background were present in my photograph and accentuated by the Color Burst preset in Topaz Texture Effects, turning it into a little bit of art for a Wednesday morning.
