Rust Bucket

This steampunk tank thing was rusting outside one of the antique shops in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. Never seen anything like it!

The approaching storm clouds were also taken by me.  Clouds and tank were merged in Photoshop and given an HDR treatment in Topaz.

Drippy Tulip

I have so many photos of flowers, but it takes some time to "clean 'em up".  This tulip has been sitting in my computer for months and it's not too bad.

On the Run

This jackrabbit appears to be running along my young sons' hand in this photo manipulation.  The rabbit, hand and background were all taken with my Samsung G3 and put together in Photoshop.

Violet Orchid

I have hundreds of floral photos.  I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show this year along with a visit to Longwood Gardens.  This orchid was taken at Longwood.  The background is actually an out of focus sunset that was modified slightly in Photoshop.

Walnut Forest

I got the bright idea of photo manipulating things into nut shells and calling the series "In A Nut Shell". This is the first one, a bonsai forest in a walnut shell.  I was delayed a week trying to find someone to hold the shell.  In the end, I just used my own shriveled up fingers.

Water Drops

I tried getting a couple macro photos of a water drop on a peacock feather.  They turned out alright, but would have been better had I taken the shots outside with more light and a greater depth of field.  They are are colorful, though, as you can see.

Sunset Dragons

There were two shots of these bearded dragons, one with the left dragon in focus and one with the right one in focus.  They were merged together in Photoshop along with a sunset shot I got from the tower at the Philadelphia airport.

Mums the Word

I've posted some pretty cool stuff on Instagram and deviantART over the course of the last few months, so we have some catching up to do here on my blog.  Pictured below are two versions of mums I took at the beginning of the spring planting season.  The second one, as I'm sure everyone knows, is a color splash of the same photo.

Fin

I know my blog posts have been few and far between as of late.  I was burned out and needed to take a little break.  But, as the indian chief said in the Outlaw Josie Wales, "Endeavor to Persevere." So,  I am endeavoring to do just that.  Fin is not the end of this blog, but is the name of this fancy goldfish.  The background, which looks a little fishy, is actually a tie-dyed t-shirt.

Pink

This plant must be some type of flower, but the pink petals look like leaves.  In either case it is a stunning creation!

Twins

I did a little experimenting with the background for these pitcher plants.  It doesn't look too bad.

Pitcher Plant

Here is the pitcher plant I photographed and used for the dewey spider web posted yesterday.

Pitcher Plant Web Drops

This spider web is a beauty without a spider in it.  A pitcher plant photo I took a couple weeks ago was used to make these drops in Photoshop.

African Violet

Not all African Violets are violet. :o) Here is a very attractive pink one.

Wet Beetle

Armed with my spray bottle, this awesome beetle got a shower on a chunk of exotic wood.  Using three different exposures, it was also given the HDR treatment.

Baby Squirrel

We found this baby squirrel last thursday hurt and with a bloody nose.  We nursed him back to health and watched a couple days later as he climbed back up a large tree.

Old Drawyers Church

HDR stands for high dynamic range in photography.  It allows for a greater range between the lightest and darkest areas of a photograph than standard imaging methods.  This HDR photo of Old Drawyers Church in Odessa, Delaware was taken at 3 different exposures that were merged and run through HDR processing.  The intensity was juiced up a little further before saving.

This second photo shows the same scene, further altered with a Topaz filter. 

Watch Guts

These are the first photos using my new macro lens.  They were edited using Topaz filters.

Happy Easter Sunday

My wife and I went out last night to get flowers for our moms.  I took a couple snaps of the flowers before we gave them away.  This is a macro of one of the tulips with some very light editing.

Pink Orchid

I can't show you a green orchid without showing a pink orchid.  So, here ya go.

And, for your viewing pleasure,  the black background version...

Green Orchid

I took a photo of this amazing green orchid at the Philly flower show and added the background in Photoshop.

Hip to be Square

Remember that Huey Lewis song many years ago called Hip to be Square?  This has nothing to do with that.  This is about Instagram.  All the photos are in the square format and I just love it!  And now many of my photos and art are square.  You can find more of my art and photos on Instagram by looking up fauxhead.  Here are a few squares...

Pastel Succulent

I'm not positive, but I think this is a succulent known as a flowering Echevaria plant.  It's been featured a couple times on Instagram and entered in a "Pastel Challenge" internet contest.  The winners are to be announced today!

Delicate Orchid

I love this photo; captured it at the Philadelphia flower show.

Lionfish

I nabbed this photo of a lionfish at the pet store.  That doesn't really seem fair, does it?

Pink Anthurium

First, let me say I'm very sorry for the delay in new posts.  I was so burnt out with everything and needed to refocus and take a little break.  But, I'm back in the saddle again and ready to post some new stuff.  This shot of a pink Anthurium was beautiful to begin with, but after a little editing with the background, the colors of the blooms really seem to pop.

Green Leaf Hopper

While putting together my bug collage, this little guy got left out.  The veins on the wings mimic the veins on a leaf perfectly.

Just the Flame

I moved in a little closer on the candle from yesterday's post and brightened it up just a little.  This would make for an easy and interesting vector project.

Cat Belly

This may look like a candle to the casual observer.  In reality it will eventually be the belly of my steampunk cat with a steampunk goldfish "swimming" inside.  Several glass "bellies" were tested for the steampunk cat.  Some were too thin, too fragile, or not shapely enough.  This one is the right size with the right shape and has the right "temperment".  And this candle smells like fresh-cut pears.  Yum.

Pedal Car

I have several pedal car Christmas ornaments and thought it might be cool to try recreating one or two using vectors.  This one is a 1938 Garton Lincoln Zephyr.  I know I have 3 or 4 projects going on all at once.  Why do I do that to myself?

Extra Creepy Extras

Since I've been lax in my postings lately, here are some bonus creepy crawlies I happened upon this past year.

Cricket Parts

Most of my cricket line work was separated and duplicated.  These line drawings are taped onto the color paper/cardstock.  I use an X-acto knife to cut out all the shapes using these line drawings.
On a personal note, after 20 years of using X-Acto knives, I've never cut myself.  Not even once.  Now you know I'll be slicing the tip of a finger off any day now.

 

Steampunk Cricket

Sorry for the gap in posts.  I really needed a little break.  This project should be done in a week and the steampunk cat will be done by the end of the month.

This is the line work for a steampunk cricket.  It will be a paper sculpture with "metal" leaves and a cricket with antique watch parts.  I looks great in my head and hope it looks just as great when it's finished.  The background shown here is just to dress up the sketch a little.