Sunday, July 29, 2012

Cephalopod

Made this photo on the day I took the walk with my photo teacher in SE Portland.  At the time, I expected it to be a last minute, throw-away shot since I'd made two other, more "formal" shots straight on.  The straight on shots, though, did nothing for me.  They just lay there doing nothing.  This angled photo, wonky as it is, feels dynamic.  I love the purple bands on each side and the repeating reddish little triangles in the upper and lower corners.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

A Crow on Rail




A photomontage I've been working on for the past couple of days.  Not sure yet if it's a long-term keeper.  There were certain elements I felt I could not control, which seems odd since I put everything in there myself.  Things start out innocently enough, building layer on layer, then changing the blending modes.  After awhile, a certain look begins to develop that I like but when I want to tweak certain things but leave others, I can't find them to change!  Other times, the tweaking sometimes leads to destruction.  Or frustration.

So here's the "settled for" version for now.  In any case--more to come!

P.S.  I can't believe I actually had a crow photo in my Lightroom card catalog to use for this.  Oh, the influence of Carol Leigh!  Before her classes I NEVER shot wildlife, especially not birds.  Now I'm actually LOOKING for crows to shoot so I can put them in my art.  Go figure.

Do click on the photo to see what you think. Please send comments with feedback or suggestions, if you have any. Thanks!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Woman On Tracks, Warehouse District

Made this the day I went walking with Carol Leigh.  Popped it a bit in Topaz Adjust.  There's a lot to see here but I think the placement of the woman and her forward motion toward the right that gives the eye something to look toward, then away from, then back again before wandering around in all the colorful buildings.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Vespa 400

Made a collage on my phone today using Photogene.  We saw this microcar while walking to the park concert last night. Very cute car, huh? Reminds me of the Smart Car.

Rudimentary effort on the collage. Definitely need to practice more with the iPhone apps. Tiny screen work is nerve wracking, though.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Meditation Space

Been thinking a lot about photomontage and what I might put into one with the kinds of photos I like to take.  My teacher, Carol Leigh, has started a new blog that I highly recommend browsing regularly if you're a frustrated artist like me.  Even if you're not!

I made this photomontage from the very corner of a photo of Mexican pots I saw while roaming the streets of San Diego with my friend Judy.  I never noticed the great bench silhouette in the background until the pots photomontage basically was crap.  Added a few other bits to ground the photo.  The wall medallion was already on the wall.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  Moss!  A photo of sidewalk moss I made (we grow it for fun here in Oregon), then copied, then inverted colorwise, then blended made the cool colors and textures.  Oooh!  Aaah!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Urban Waterfall, A Non-Dramatic Photomontage

Found a quiet and calming spot over in The Pearl after walking around near The Armory (Gerding Theater area).  City Garden created this urban waterfall just off the street.  I added some color and texture with two pics--one of a concrete wall, one of red, textured paint on an old piece of construction paper.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Using Topaz Adjust

Found this while keywording old photos in Lightroom and liked its simplicity and style.  I made this at the Palm Springs Air Museum in 2006 on a very hot day which made shooting the indoor antique car exhibits much more attractive than shooting the planes.

I opened the shot in Topaz Adjust and Topaz Clean, tried all kinds of setting,s and got nothing but frustration.  Before giving up entirely I began clicking "I feel lucky!" repeatedly until the above combination came up.

I like that it looks richer and sharper and sleeker with a tad bit of blue sky window highlights and my colored blouse reflection showing in the handle.  I would rather the gold part be a tad lighter and not so gold but I didn't know how to lighten it without bringing out the reflection of my legs in the lower third of the shot.  You can see that reflection in the original photo below.  You decide which version you like best!


Sunday, July 15, 2012

New Eagle Scout

Congrats to my oldest grandson, Zack, on his Eagle Scout Court of Honor this evening.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Ready For My Closeup

My dog's happy face!

Friday, July 6, 2012

City View, Summer


The view of Portland downtown from above Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge.

I've been making variations of this photo for years but still find the view fascinating.

This is the first time, however, I've taken my "real" camera and more glass to make the shot and it sure makes a difference.  Can't hurt, of course, to have dramatic clouds, Pacific Green trees in the foreground, and a sunny summer day.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Oaks Park On The Water

Have been trying to make this photo for five years yet it was only yesterday, while walking my new used dog, that I saw the place to stand to get the ferris wheel to look like a circle.  Awesome!  Oaks Park, on the Willamette River, is over 100 years young.  This shot is taken from the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge side.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Miss Beagle Nose

I got a dog!  Actually, she's a four-legged exercise machine.  It's the first exercise machine I've ever had that works for me.  Well, so far.

This is Maggie.  She's a 10-year-old purebred miniature beagle.  She stands about 11" at the shoulder and, as you can see, could stand to lose a few pounds, just like me.  She's very smart, well adjusted, snores, announces her beagle self to every cat she meets, and thinks humans need to come down to her level if they want to play with her.