What I didn't mention in yesterday's post... was that no sooner had we begun visiting with our new granddaughter... that my dear hubby (henceforth referred to as BAJ...Beyond Awesome Jim-- a moniker a friend christened him with)...started to get extreme pain with an oncoming kidney stone.
Now ... BAJ is no stranger to kidney stones. In fact... he has gotten them many times over the last several years... and is now considered a "kidney stone former" ... by the medical people.

So... after visiting with family for a couple of hours... we promptly went to the ER. A liter of IV fluid and about 20mg of morphine later... he still hadn't produced the evil stone that was plaguing his insides. Now.. the good news is that he is usually able to pass them on his own given enough time and enough fluids in his system. The bad news... is that it hasn't happened yet... so who knows when/if the blasted little thing will come out.

If not... there may be a CT in his future.

For today's post... I was going to include some photos from our hospital adventures. ... but they seemed kind of superfluous. Today was all cold and windy... the kind of day when you want to just snuggle up in a quilt with a good book. And so... that is essentially what we did today (in addition to giving BAJ his regular doses of medications).

I had no idea what to do as my photo for the day... and so I began experimenting with layers of photos that I took today around the house. Both of the photos on today's post are the results of several layers of photos being sandwiched together to form a single photograph. This is not a new technique... and one that Photoshop and several other programs are famous for. However, it is a technique that I have been playing around with for a few months. I like the whole concept of being able to more eloquently tell stories with photographs... and this kind of layering allows the photographer to add more depth and detail.... more tales for the telling...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

-----------------------------> 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

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