Calla Lily Bizarro.......

 

Sometimes when I start to do something normal in my photo editing, I am not sure how, but I get side tracked, and before I know it, I am off the rails again when I get playing with the various software. For sure, the makers of the said software probably never envisioned that some old nut would use it to totally destroy a perfectly lovely image, but such are the workings inside my old noggin. But for some weird reason, I find it a totally relaxing way to spend a half hour or so.....enough said. Time to hit the hay.....Cheers!

Still Life Painting..........Sort Of?

 

Tonight I thought I would try out getting some sort of handle on an older version of Corel Painter software. The image is from some testing I was doing out in my "cave" one evening a while back. It is the sort of thing, that if you don't do it often, then it is very easy to forget how to make the proper adjustments in the camera menu, and hook up to the laptop for tethered shooting. Anyway, this isn't intended to be a work of art or anything, just a way to pass an hour or two, as there is absolutely nothing of any interest to me on the TV. It was a wee bit of fun....hope you enjoy it also. Cheers! 

P.S. The Monarch butterfly was one that gave up the ghost in my very hot truck one day when I went out to lower the windows..... 

Fairy Tales.....

A couple of nights ago, during a moment of "mind drifting" I decided to enjoy a late evening cup of tea on the front veranda as it was a beautiful night. These two clay fairies were sitting on the rail, and I thought there might be a story of sorts to be had. So I placed them on either side of a solar light on a post, and they appeared to be in conversation.....yeah, I know! Anyway, I went into the house and grabbed my camera, which caused an eyebrow to be raised by my better half, and went outside to take a few snaps. The lens was a 20mm to 70mm zoom, and the ISO was set to Auto. It was shot at f 4, and I did not record the shutter speed......it's too late tonight to look it up. Anyway, here is the result of my late night bout with my PTSD demons. It is just a fun bit of whimsy, and not intended to be anything more.....hope you enjoy!! Cheers!

Olde Man River.....

This image tonight is the result of a song that came to my mind....Old Man River. It is a combination of a recent portrait that I had done, and an image of the French River that I had turned into something resembling an impressionist painting. I gave the same treatment to the portrait, and blended the two using  Corel software. In my mind it echoes of possibly some of the old Coureur des bois that travelled up and down in their canoes during the fur trade era. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers!
 

Black & White Bouquet.....

This little image is a result of my mind wandering during the hockey game last evening. I love the playoffs, but sometimes I am driven to do something else while the game is on. So I broke out my flash and silver umbrellas, and set up this bouquet of all white flowers against a dark background. The umbrella flash was triggered by the on camera flash, and was placed slightly behind to give it a bit more texture and tones. Then tonight, I decided to convert the image to Black & White, and post it on here. Hope you enjoy. Cheers! 
 

Richard.....

A short while ago, I attended a ceremony at a church, and found a seat near the rear, close to the door,... just in case.....It has been many years since I saw the inside of a church, as I usually find my inspiration somewhere out in nature. When I looked around, I saw this gentleman with snow white hair also sitting near the rear, and I knew I would have to take his picture before I left that day. So, after the ceremony was over, I approached him, and after introducing myself and my desire to take his photo, he said he was just fine with that. The image was taken with a 35mm, f1.4 lens attached to my camera, and I was using ambient light for the image. There was a window behind him, and some other items also, so when I was doing the editing of the image, I decided he would look great as a B & W rendition. Then I swapped out the window, etc., for a black background, and this is the result. His name is Richard, and he is in my opinion, a very distinguished looking gentleman. Cheers!

Gerber Daisy Abstract.....Happy Easter

This image is a result of some experimenting with light painting, which is to set up an image of whatever, and turn out the lights, and painting it with light from a small LED flashlight. It takes a few attempts, but after a while, you get the feeling for it....somewhat. Anyway, after shooting the image tethered to my laptop, I did a bit of editing in Corel Paint Shop Pro, and then transferred it over to Corel Painter software, where I was able to apply an more painterly effect to it. It was a fun experiment for a few hours, and it probably will not be the last attempt at this. Here's wishing a very Happy Easter to everyone....Cheers!