We interrupt this series on Spinning Color exercises to bring you this special message:
We’re all ready to cook up some “Ghost Boo-ya-base” for Halloween!
Thank you! We now return to the originally scheduled postings . . .
Yellow, Red, Orange – Part III: Distant Close-Ups (or, No Sunflowers were harmed in the filming of this post series)
When our uphill neighbor grew these amazing towering sunflowers, how did we manage to get photographs like this with a macro lens?
The answer is sometimes you have to put the Photographer on a tripod!
Photographing at Dusk with a flash and close-up focus prevented the sunflower centers from appearing as a flat black disk, especially for photographs later converted to black and white.
That combination of lighting also tuned out the cars, mailboxes and houses nearby.
The seed packet promised beautiful-bountiful-bunching-blooms (try saying that 10 times fast!), which have been a delightful subject to photograph.
They also provided the challenge of learning how to aim around and Photoshop out extra blooms for the parts of the Yellow, Red, Orange Tale that focused on a single character/flower.
We’re sure that sunflower seeds must be brain-food, since the flowers have exercised our brains so much!
Yellow, Red, Orange – Part II: Working Title
“Photoshop vs. Nature: Smack-down in the Garden!” . . . catchy right? This was our Tale’s first title.
We wanted an interesting presentation to show a sampling of post-photography color changes.
A. As the camera saw it
B. Brush, color replace
C. Adjust hue/saturation
D. Paintbucket
However, as these wonderful sunflowers grew, this working title didn’t really match the garden’s mood.
When our Garden-Enthusiast Neighbor and her husband put up this netting to protect the sunflower bed from local wildlife, the young plants looked like toddlers peeking their noses over a playpen as they grew.
Then, as the flowers inspired photographs like these . . .
. . . the gist of the tale gradually became a moment of inner conflict on the path to maturity for the young “teen”flowers.
There is a certain irony with the plot of the tale, since photographing the flowers was actually the most peaceful time of the workday!
In Praise of the “UNDO” Button (or, how to succeed while trying)
“Eraser Still-Life” various erasers from our studios, “Dodge” feature example
While learning about unfamiliar Photoshop options for our digital photographs the “undo” button has become our most used option. For those unfamiliar with this feature, it erases experiments so it is risk-free to try out all sorts of new looks for a photograph. Click on “Edit” at the top of the screen, click on “Undo” when it shows up and Voila! the photograph is ready to try something else wild.
When clay is going the wrong direction with a project it is a simple matter of 
rewedging. With knitting, “tink”* is the new word for unknitting. With crochet, one tug on the strand and it ravels as if watching animation. Drawing not making the mark? Turn the paper over and start afresh. Is the typewriter spewing drivel? Zip out that paper, tear it up, toss it in the blender with water and make a cast-pulp sculpture tribute to your Muse.
Creativity is a PROCESS. Sometimes it seems one step forward and 90 steps backwards. Well, isn’t that choreography? – ah ha! more creativity!
Is this a clever pep talk about overcoming fear of failure? Nope. That is a travail each artist faces solo, usually in the wee hours of a starless night. This is a nudge to move from “Gee, I wish I could (_fill in the blank_)” to in-it-up-to-your-elbows-invested in your Dream action!
COMMENCE !
START !!
DIVE IN !!!
*spell it backwards and it will make sense