Layers & Leaves - a photo on Flickriver

Layers & Leaves

Ok, so fishing/photo buddy Carl sent me an image of his. It looked good: for a start. But, he thought it was finished. “No, there is more that can be done to bring out what the image has to offer and what you were aiming for.”

View On Black

I think I am getting to where the basic, raw file is just that; the best, basic image I could get at that time. And then, after that, comes the imagination, artistic instincts and photoshop.

No, scratch that: I'm not getting there, I've been there.

Ever since I was 17, and read my Ed Weston and Ansel Adams books, the idea to me was to get the best, basic negative possible: period. The best focus, use of dof, tonal range, composition and exposure because, after that, the darkroom offered differing film developers, differing papers, paper developers, filters, contrast options, toning, burning and dodging, and hand-bleaching, all at the beck and call of my eager imagination and feeble, fledgingly artistic instincts.

Doesn’t feel like much has changed. (Michelangelo is supposed to have said on his deathbed at age 89, “I am dying, just as I have begun to learn the alphabet of my profession.” I, so, know what he means!)

So, I was telling Carl, the image is superb, but it is your starting point - like a good quality negative. Now we play with our new darkroom tools. And we went over some things in real time over the phone: same image - he on his computer, me on mine.

Which brings me to this image. I saw it a couple of days ago, in my “daily random images folder;” an image from “long ago and yesteryear” (like two years ago). One of those nice, but no cigar images: just a good, clean, basic, photographic image. So, I listened to the lessons I’ve been giving and said, “time to play.”

But instead of leaning over trays in a darkroom, it’s now leaning into a monitor with photoshop. And, I started on the image from scratch: four times. After an-unknown-number-of-hours, but-who’s-counting-anyway, I ended with four versions I really like. So far.

Same as years ago: I used to come out of the darkroom after six-to-eight hours with three prints of the same image that I liked: for a day or two. But as, ultimately, only one print could be submitted to a professor or for a show – you might have to go back to the darkroom again until you got an image that was the “give dat man a ceegar," one you thought the neg genuinely held.

Carl said, “I don’t think I could spend six hours in a darkroom for just three prints.”

“Yeah,” I said. ”You could; you would. You do it now; it just ain't dark.”

I would guess that, if we are one of the lucky ones, our burning passion and unyielding pursuit for art through our own vision never changes. Just the tech part has.

Taken on: September 17, 2009

Tags:

layers

photoshop

border

shadow

leaves

nature

chicago

DuSableHarbor

PlayTime

imagination

ITG « less

Sets appears in: • City Scenes • Details from Everyday Life - Color more » • Green Scene • Textured Stuff « less

Groups appears in: • Chapeau! (invited only) • Vision Quality 100 (P1/F2/C2) more » • !!! Photoshop Creativo • La Mistica de las Texturas/The Mystic of the Textures • Point of View (Admin. Invite) Post 1-Award 1 • ! The Best Gallery BY INVITATION ONLY • In the Memories' Book :Textured Images only • closed temporarely - sorry • Atque Artificia, Post 1 and comment and fave 2 • Perception / (admin-invited) • Flickr's Warm Lighting (Post 1- Comment on 2) • PhotoPoetics • Images for the Little Prince • THE DANTE CIRCLE (Admin Invite Only) • Artistic Treasure Chest (Read the rules) • Dream Country: Post 1/Comment 2 • !Art and Photography (seriously18+) INVITE ONLY • Artistic and High Quality Shots (ADMIN INVITE ) award 5 • Multi Mega Ship (no admin-invite needed)SWEEPER runs • *ARTISTIC Photography* P 1/C 1 INVITED ONLY • ...-Wink's Place-... • Daarklands - Moderated & Curated • Splendid Pictures/Admin Invite Only • Finest Images / (ad.inv.) No nudes / No semi nudes/ No Portrait • The Light Painters Society • Flickr Textures • Magik Troll Artistry *Moderated & Curated* • Copper Cloud & Silvern Sun {Admin Invites} P1~A3 NoPeoplePlease! • "I COLORI DEI MIEI SOGNI" • Book of Inspirations (Textured only ) • B&S Brothers&Sisters - Post 1, Comment 3 • 2MM's Royal Station • Art International *show your flickriver badge* • Inspiring Connections Textures ~ IC Textures ~ Admin Invite Only « less

Stats: 1,603 views / 102 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: