OMG, Ya’ll…

All-you-can-eat children!

And they’re half price!

In Progress…

I spent part of today working on altered matchboxes – this is the beginning (well, after the gesso and paint beginning) of an Edward Gorey box for a friend. Most of  the box ended up being done in pen and ink, but there were a few other touches, including the monogram Shrinky Dink you see in the background.

Catching Up….

I am behind!

I was on the road all day Saturday, coming home from North Carolina, and then… well, things just kind of got away from me. So I owe photos from 3 days, including today. I did actually manage to shoot each day, I just didn’t make it to the blog – though I suppose it’s not such a terrible thing to take a couple days away from the computer…

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

Dimma in HDR

I think I’ve talked previously about how I try to use Photoshop or other edits fairly minimally. Sometimes, though, there’s a technique that’s just too much fun to play around with. With today’s photo, I followed a tutorial aimed at producing images that mimic those created using what’s called HDR – high dynamic range imaging. It’s typically done using multiple exposures of the same shot, but can be fudged in Photoshop. And depending on which photo you start with, and whose tutorial you follow (I tried 3 tonight, and they produced wildly different results), you get a different result every time.

So here’s one technique, using layer masks and frequent adjustment of shadows and highlights:

She’s normally a very sedately colored tortie, but the HDR processing created this awesome pop-art, sort-of -solarized, crazy image – all while retaining super sharp detail in certain areas, which I love.

This is definitely something I’ll play around with more – I think it could be especially interesting on some of my images of cars, which already have really bright color.

Awash in a sea of green…

Not lush plant life, or green beer….

…it’s yet more nostalgia. I loved this when I was little (and I still do).

It’s a recipe my mom found, oh, at least 20 years ago now. During the golden age of Jell-O, I imagine. It’s lime Jell-O on top, with canned pears, and layered underneath is lime Jell-O mixed with vanilla yogurt.

Sweet, refreshing and oh so very, very green!

Textures and Lilies

My mother grows amazing, amazing lilies – and I shoot them nearly every year. I never get tired of them, and they are a little different each time.

Today I was struck by the incredible textures in the flowers – the petals appear to be some sort of exotic fabric, the stamens embellished by nuggets of golden pollen.

Please Go Now!

Buried in one of my boxes was this, probably my favorite Seuss book as a child (though not my favorite book; I think that is reserved for “The Monster at the End of the Book”). It’s a little dirty and beat up, but still ever-so-much fun to read (or shout).

Abstract

Today is day 40 of this little experiment – and my birthday! I have been plotting to mosaic a backsplash for my kitchen for some time – just something simple and geometric. My material of choice for mosaics is stained glass, so today my parents and I ventured out to the little stained glass store here in town as part of my birthday present. I didn’t find what I needed, but I couldn’t resist the picture.

I love how it looks like a super abstract piece of modern art – I’m saving this and a couple of the outtakes for painting references!

And I have to just say thank you to my parents for giving me such a lovely birthday WEEK. I love you guys. </sap>

Not Your Typical Botanical….

I spent most of the day hauling boxes down from my parents’ attic and going through them, sorting junk from things to keep…. I had a LOT of stuff up there. Although I’ve gotten better in recent years, I just don’t throw things away, particularly if they have any sort of sentimental value… which led to this discovery:

This is a flower made out of masking tape and safety pins (as young punks, there were always plenty of safety pins around), given to me by my first boyfriend. You should note not just the fine, fine craftsmanship, but also the very classy Tic-Tac container vase.

It doesn’t make for a fantastically artistic or striking picture, but it gets to be the photo of the day for the sheer nostalgia of it.

And in case you would like to see some rather more artistic work, follow the link…..

Exsanguination