Photoshop Elements

2020 look back #1

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As we approach the end of 2020 and before we welcome in 2021 I thought I would look back at some of the key moments from this past “annus horribilis”. On March 11th I combined this image of our world with the corona virus just as it was all beginning, and wrote:

‪”Today the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Our thanks to all the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers here and around the world working so hard day and night for all their patients and communities but especially to BC’s Dr. Bonnie Henry for her compassion and leadership.”

Here we are over ten months later and the pandemic continues but miracle of miracles during this time vaccines have been developed and there is now a light at the end of our long dark tunnel, and of course those thanks continue every single day.

a palette in space

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Out of This World

“Share a picture that takes us on a journey into the unknown.”

This week’s Photo Challenge asks us to…“share a photo that takes a familiar scene — a place you frequent, a face you know well, an activity you engage in regularly — and makes it look and feel like something out of this world.”
 

 
Those of you who follow thechangingpalette will know that a “place I frequent” as often as I can engaging in the activity of pushing paint around, is my studio where the palettes often take on a life of their own as I work.
 
After completing the recent series of paintings of the amazing athletes of the XXIII Winter Games I pinned them all on the studio wall, as you saw in a wall worth building, the post ending with a photo of my work table. Today’s photo is of the table’s colourful palette…
 

 
…which when manipulated with a little help from Photoshop Elements, replacing the white porcelain tile with black, creates a definite out of this world feeling.  I hope you agree.

first day of fall: the story

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fallstory-vii

For those of you who enjoyed yesterday’s post for the first day of fall, I thought today I would tell the story of its evolution. Two days ago my wife picked up this beautiful fallen maple leaf as she was walking home knowing how much it would appeal to me, and how right she was.  I immediately went outside and held it up against the clear blue sky, and as I turned it in the bright morning sunshine its glorious colours came alive.

fallstory-ii

Several photographs later I was happy with what I had captured, but now how best to use them. Using Photoshop Elements I created a different layer for each of the images, some of which were duplicated, reversed and re-sized as I placed them around the central leaf.

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I could have gone on for a while but felt the need to stop, as it magically became the perfect image with which to celebrate the first day of fall.  I hope you agree.

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reaching for the stars and now back to earth

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vault

 

The American pole vaulter Sandi Morris on her way to the stars in Rio.

With the 2016 Olympic Games over is anyone else suffering from Olympic withdrawal today?

…from photos taken during the CBC Olympic broadcast and edited with Photo Shop Elements

Studio 365: Day 326

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Day 326 iv

The studio is mobile this weekend so here is a photo trio of today’s early morning sky…

Day 326 vi

…courtesy of a little experimental manipulation with Photoshop Elements.

Day 326 vii

Studio 365: Day 314

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ornate v

Illumination 10.11.15

“Now for something completely different” with this somewhat ornate illuminated initial and a particularly ornate roccoco frame. The initial, which measures 10″x8″, is a copy I made today from an illuminated manuscript that resides in the British Museum, and the frame measuring 45″x39″ – well that resides in the studio and I have yet to find use for it. However, with the magic of Photoshop Elements this seems to work I think, don’t you?

ornate vii

Studio 365: Day 35

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Day 35 ii

Hippocrates II

I thought I would post this variation of yesterday’s image, captured with light painting photography in the studio using an iPhone flashlight, together with a view of the set up. The additional light was added in Photoshop Elements using an airbrush and the text duplicated and then inverted to create the mirrored effect.

Day 35 v

Color v Monochrome: The Poll of the Century

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All right, I admit it is perhaps a slight exaggeration but hopefully it caught your attention. Let me explain… and there will be a poll at the end.

My recent post Monochrome Enchantment was inspired by a superb exhibition at the Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe of the works of Ansel Adams.  Landscape photography never looked more breathtaking and I came away in awe of the drama and beauty of Ansel Adams’s black and white view of the world and a greater understanding as to why he is considered one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century. Continue reading →