31:365:2011

Sometimes you just have to "go with the flow"...

I know... it's sort of a lame saying... but every now and then it rings true.

(as my mother-in-law was oft to say... "even a broken clock is right twice a day").

These past few days have been sort of a blur to me. I had a bad allergy problem a few days ago... took some benadryl for it... and have been in sort of a stuporous state since. If I'm awake... I'm a mess.. sneezing... wheezing... and blurry eyed. Or... I am dead asleep.
But... I think it is all finally working it's way out of my system... and the fever I have tonight is actually a blessing in disguise as I think it is helping to burn off some of the effects of it all.

And so. I am trying to relax... and just let things work their majik.

The photos for today's post... are ones I took in Placitas on the 19th... but re-worked today.

The top one, is a portion of a picture encased in a shrine at the Placitas Cemetery. I love it.
The bottom photo, is of the Sandias as we were heading out towards Placitas on Highway 25 North.
I have been fooling around a little with some texture layers ... which are sandwiched on top the photos to make a new image. In a way... they remind me of the old Polaroid prints where you peel off the top layer to expose the print....

which was always alot of fun :)

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

167:365

-----------------------------> Original photo; taken in PA of a pink dogwood tree in bloom


Sometimes I am an idiot. Seriously stupid.

About a year or so ago... I briefly had a Nikon D70 (2nd hand equipment, bought from a friend). Before that; I only shot photos with film. I love film. At one time, I specialized in hand coloring of infrared photos... and it was awesome (note to self... do more)... but I digress.

Last September, all my Nikon equipment was either stolen, broken, or hopelessly worn out. Selling the remains, I was able to buy a Kodak Easyshare camera... a simple "pocket" digital camera ... for about $140. And... this is the only camera I have used since. (so yes, all the photos on my blog and such were shot with the Kodak).

I mention this only to show that my experience in the world of digital photography is pretty slim.

One of the types of photography I absolutely adore; is TTV. Through the Viewfinder photography is simply that... you take a photo.... through the viewfinder of another camera (*usually an old one... I have a Kodak Duaflex for this purpose). Since getting the Kodak, it is darn near impossible to get a good shot TTV with the Duaflex because the focal abilities on the Kodak just aren't what they need to be for this kind of thing.


-----------------------> 2nd stage. Photo is cropped and the color somewhat overly tweaked, etc....

So... missing this type of photography very much... I decided to explore other ways to get that look. Using PhotoShop or some such program (I use a free program online called FotoFlexer)... you can get this effect by using a "layer" on top of your photo that you want to make look TTV. This "layer" is actually another photo that you essentially collage on top, and then lighten so that you can see through it to the photo below.

But to find a TTV photo frame to use as a layer..... ah. FlickR! There are tons of textures and layers available for people to use. However; most of these images come with copyright rules and regs.... so you need to be aware of that. Or... you can make your own layers/ textures... which frankly... I have never tried.

I have been using a TTV texture with my photos these past 2 weeks ( I also used it once about 7 months ago for a project... then quickly forgot about it or where it was from). I thought this layer was free from copyright laws... and I was madly in love with it. But last night I discovered that it was copyrighted work. What to do? I certainly have the utmost respect for artists and creative people everywhere and completely understand the importance of copyrighting your work. I did not want to offend anyone, or use anything without permission. I was awake all night worrying... and sad at the thought of not being able to put these photos in a show ... or to potentially sell them should the occasion arise... and then... thinking that maybe I shouldn't even post them on my blog or FlickR and that I would have to take them all down... or...or .... I was frantic....

The texture I fell in love with; happens to be the creative work of Deborah Gwinn. She is a fabulous artist, and after writing to her today, she graciously gave me permission to use her texture on my photos for personal use as well as for selling/ showing. WOW! I am thrilled. Beyond happy. And very fortunate... and very blessed... and in awe of the niceness of people...

So... show her some love folks... and check out her links♥

-------------------------------->the final rendering with Deborah's awesome texture layer

Deborah Gwinn's photostream on FlickR: here

Deborah Gwinn's Etsy shop: here

Deborah Gwinn's website: here