My perfect day would be sunny (around 72 degrees), with a slight breeze to cool my face without ruffling the flowers I’m trying to photograph. It would include good coffee, a perfect apple muffin, and no time constraints.
Most days aren’t like that, though, so I take them as they come. Photography sometimes calls for a detour, too. An image may look great on my camera’s LCD screen, but stink when I load it onto my Mac at home. Certain images beg to be used as is; others ask for a little tweaking or in the case of the images I’m sharing today–a total makeover. I don’t know why I paint some and leave others alone, but I suspect it has something to do with the mood I’m in on any given day. Using an aging version of Photoshop CS and my trusty Wacom tablet, I like to stretch the boundaries of natural color by adding a little paint here and a layer or two of texture there.
In my dreams, fields of flowers never droop or turn brown. Hydrangea petals display colors unheard of in a Crayola box. Waterscapes reflect a sky in ever-changing, shimmery hues. Yes, it’s stretching the truth a bit for you purists who prefer your art perfectly genuine and true to nature, and I halfheartedly apologize. But for those of you who enjoy a surreal detour now and then and find it fun to experiment with color, this post is for you.
This side of heaven, I can still dream, can’t I?
(*Click images for print info)
Photo Buffet 