Sanctuary

Sanctuary, originally uploaded by Telzey.

Uses Bending Light textures Edo, Damascus, Knossos, & Karnak

Created for the 53rd Contest on Flickr's Man Ray group. With thanks to Paul Grand for the gatehouse.

Faded Dutch Iris

Faded Dutch Iris, originally uploaded by Telzey.

Uses Bending Light textures: Mu, Lemuria, Karfi

Loquats

Loquats, originally uploaded by Telzey.

using Bending Light textures: Karfi & Memphis

Magnolia

Magnolia, originally uploaded by Telzey.

Uses Bending Light Texture: Leiden. Hardlight@50%

Banana flower

Banana flower, originally uploaded by Telzey.

In a break between storms last week, I ran into the back yard to shoot a banana flower which had just opened -- something I've been trying to do for 5 years. This beauty is just under 30 inches across! As the golden florettes develop into bananas, the petals turn a deep maroon, almost black, before falling off -- then the next set of petals open. One flower like this will produce at least 15 bunches of bananas -- resulting in lots of banana bread ;-)

This isn't a photomanipulation. All I did was crop the image and add a vignette. The magic was all in the incredible light between rain storms.

Life in Balance

Balance, originally uploaded by Telzey.

Ikebana is a disciplined art form which draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. It has certain rules governing its form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.

The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man.

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Adding the texture: After some initial clean-up, I darkened my image slightly using a silvery black and white adjustment layer. Next came my Bending Light texture, Khartouom, applied as an overlay at 100%. A layer mask was used to bring back some detail. Then, I duplicated that layer and applied it as a Linear Burn at 50%, 80%.

Further post production used photoshop filters, a bit of pouting, and a cup of Kona. Life is good. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to share some textures soon.

Cormorants Dream of Pike in the Sky

Commorants Dream of Pike in the Sky, originally uploaded by Telzey.

I'm baaack! Armed with a new computer -- a 27-inch iMac -- and plenty of ideas.

This image has been haunting me for some time. The cormorants were shot at a nearby duck pond ... but they stared off into nothingness, as cormorants tend do. After many layers of textures, I ended up with a prettier shot of cormorants staring off into nothingness. If only I could see what they saw. The clouds are actually a photo of dry ice vaporizing in my pool. And, how about some lovely pike for lunch?

More textures, more processing using NIK Color Tools. Tons of layers and over 1GB! I'm not sure I achieved the Asian scroll look I was going for. I may try another, more stylized version of this soon.

YouTube'd

Many thanks to Kim for all her hard work!

Cassandra

Cassandra, originally uploaded by Telzey.

In Greek mythology, Cassandra (Greek: Κασσάνδρα, "she who entangles men", also known as Alexandra) was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. -- Wiki

Blue Ribbon Fugu

Blue Ribbon Fugu, originally uploaded by Telzey.

Haven't been feeling very creative lately due to a Christmas cold (Yuk!) -- but a Fugu sign shot by PAVDW on Flickr brought me 'round long enough to play.

Here, Betty Anne proudly displays her award winning blowfish, Goliath.

Only one texture was used on this, but I had a lot of fun hand-coloring the model for a vintage feel.

Happy New Year, my friends!