Negative Space - Photo Art Friday

Photo Art Friday is featuring work with emphasis on negative space.  I took this picture today from my kayak.  This heron was hiding in the grass and with narrow depth of field I was able to turn the vegetation around him into this colorful, textured negative space.  No additional textures were used this time around.  I duplicated the background layer and adjusted the saturation just a touch.




Lots of interesting and creative work at Photo Art Friday.  It's worth a visit!

Photo Art Friday / Black & White 6/9/12

Wow, the last week has really flown by.  Seems like every moment has been consumed by getting my son through these last couple of weeks of school.  I had hoped to get out and do more shooting, but this week was pretty slow from a photographic point of view.  But I wanted to participate in Photo Art Friday and the black and white challenge.

I found it more challenging than a lot of the other photo art I've done.  I didn't want to go abstract but I certainly wanted it to look like I'd done more than desaturated the color.  There are a lot of layers in this piece with a lot of tweaking and masking.  I used a couple of textures that were desaturated but I also used some art filters in photoshop to enhance the outline of the subject and mute the background.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the other artists have been able to create.




I hope you'll visit Photo Art Friday and enjoy the fabulous work shared there.

Photo Art Friday 6/1

This photo was shot on the same early kayak outing the morning this image was taken.  It was a little soft as it was taken while the light was still a bit dim and the boat naturally doesn't lend itself to great stability.  But I thought it would be a good candidate for a little texture play.  With Bonnie's Mauve Magic and some tweaking in Nik Color Efex 4...I think I got just the right mix of dreaminess and bokah while holding on to the little detail on the egret and water's surface that the soft morning light would allow.




Linking up today to Bonnie's Photo Art Friday.  There are many wonderful digital artists to visit there if you are so inclined.

Also linking to Carly's Photo A Day.

Mental Health

It's a rough week.  Yesterday, we signed the papers to put our house back on the market.  Anyone who was reading my blog a year ago knows we tried this exercise last summer and got nowhere.  The market has not improved and the projected selling price for this place has dropped.  It's dismal and the idea of moving has me torn up inside.

Thank God for photography.  It's my mental health escape.  I can just be in the moment, thinking about what I'm seeing and how to create something meaningful.  I've spent hours wandering around the yard shooting flowers and insects...it's a very convenient distraction.  This morning, I took out the kayak and paddled out into the harbor at high tide.  Our "Bird Island" has such a variety of species and many with babies.  I spent about 90 minutes out photographing the birds with their chicks.  I didn't think about the housing market or the money we've lost or short sales or having to move somewhere yet to be decided.  I could just think about how cute the chicks are and what good parents birds seem to be.



Linking to Carly's Photo A Day

05/26

I wandered down to the harbor early this morning.  It was pretty out and the tides were low so I was looking for shorebirds.  There weren't many, which is unusual.  Just a few of the regulars....egrets, geese, gulls.  But the light was especially beautiful and this guy stayed close and cooperated with an extended photo session.  I have several of him looking sleek and elegant, but I love the dishevelled moments.



Once again, linking to Carly's Photo A Day...

Photo Art Friday

I have a bunch of photos of cosmos and they are just begging for a little digital manipulation.




I did very little to the original image but it has been treated with Bonnie's "Fanciful" texture.  So, I'm linking to this week's Photo Art Friday.  I masked out most of the texture on the flower petals to retain that dreamy look.

Lots of creative digital artists participating here....go check them out!

Also linking to Carly's Photo a Day...

REL & Indie

Arielle is back from her 4 month study abroad.  It is great to have her here, hear the stories and see all her wonderful pictures.  Our world traveler...she visited 11 countries in 16 weeks.  I'm thrilled for her but I have to admit...just a wee bit envious.

Her time home is brief, she's planning on living up in Amherst this summer.  This one chickie is ready to fly.  It's bittersweet.

But, she graciously agreed to play model for me this afternoon.  I've been wanting to do some portrait shooting with a backdrop and some off camera lighting.  Indie is crazy camera shy...he sees a camera (even an iphone) and he usually high tails it out of sight.  He wasn't wild about modeling with Arielle, but if anyone could get him to cooperate...it's her.



I'm linking this over to Carly's Photo a Day...