Three Roses

Speaking of Instagram, here are three versions of the same rose being posted on Instagram today.  Usually I only do one pic a day, but I upped my game a little today.

Instagram

Many of my photos are in the square format and that's because many of my photos are posted on Instagram.  I posted the Autumn scenic, shown here, today on Instagram. It's a great way to get your art and photos out there with just a little effort. And that works out perfect for me.  I've put up over 700 pics and art on Instagram. At this time, I only post a pic a day. Again, that works out just perfect for me and it's a lot of fun. You can find me on Instagram by typing in "Fauxhead".

Topaz Labs

I bought up a couple editing programs from Topaz Labs. These programs work with Photoshop and offer an unlimited combination of effects that can be applied to photographs.

The flowers, shown here, had simplifying and softening effects applied to the background.  The main flower was left alone.  So, this one is similar to a color splash, except the background is not all the way to black and white.  I really like this effect.

Monster's Bride

Elsa Lancaster portrayed the Bride of Frankenstein way back in 1935. I used a still from that classic movie to create this portrait using vector art.

Vector art is one of many artistic avenues I have been pursuing over the years. I would like to find my path and stay on that path. But my interests are are all over the map. I have ideas for creating characters to use in a comic strip. I also want to try more photo manipulations. There are also plans to build articulated characters out of brass, metal findings and exotic wood. 

Back to Elsa, this project was a lot of fun and there may be more vectors in my future.

Mushrooms part 2

After getting my mushroom pictures and running the errands, I headed home, going back the same way I came.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw more shrooms on the opposite side of the road.  The lighting looked to be better; soft lighting in shadow.  I'm not a big fan of direct sunlight.  Diffused, soft light, makes for more saturated colors.  This mushroom, along with the one shown on my last post, we're both taken on my way back home.  I didn't know these shrooms were on the other side of the road.  It was a happy accident!

Mushrooms part 1

While running some errands a few days ago, I spotted several large mushrooms off the road under a line of pine trees.  It was raining steadily, so I made a mental note to take some pictures the next morning.

Early the next morning, the sun was rising, so I grabbed my camera and off I went. When I got to the spot, I pulled off the road and what I thought was maybe half a dozen large mushrooms was actually more like 100 mushrooms.

Whisperly Rose

I took this shot a couple years ago, but it's just been sitting on my hard drive waiting to be rediscovered.  One of the reasons it was never used was that I was unable to nail the colors right. This was originally a red rose, but after a softening filter and 80 percent of a desaturation filter, this is the finished product. There are still some subtle adjustments that would make this one perfect.  I'm really looking forward to applying these effects to future projects.