Letting go of resistance

From today's Daily Motivator:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

No more resistance

Allowing the best of life involves nothing more than becoming aware of your resistance to it. Shine the light of awareness on your resistance, and that resistance dissolves into nothing.

Allow life's richness to be, and it flows freely into your experience. See your pain and frustration for the resistance that they are, and suddenly they are no more.

If you focus on the concerns of your ego, the resistance builds up. Realize that you are not your ego, and suddenly the resistance has no basis.

Resisting the limitless abundance of life is your own choice. As soon as you understand you've made that choice, you can quickly let it go.

Imagine what will happen when you simply stop judging, criticizing, and resenting yourself and others. You open yourself to a whole new world of beautiful possibilities.

Feel the resistance that you've created within your own life, and know that you can choose to peacefully let it go. Let it go, and come fully to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Pandora's Box

This is in conjunction with mine and Laura's photoshoot of a month ago, where we posed as mermaids. She started it off using her astrological sign as her theme, and mine was based on the wonders of Photoshop.

I used 5 images total, 2 of which were Laura and I posed separately. The other 3 (the cave, treasure box, and octopus were stock images).

Refresher and technical notes for how I achieved the image:

The cave was once brown, and I converted it to the color you see above mostly using "colorize," under the hue/saturation. But it was also attained by experimenting with duplicate layering and changing the blending modes, such as "multiply" and "luminosity."

I made the octopus image deeper with duplicate layering under the "multiply" blending mode.

I changed the box color from a brownish color to green, with Layer Style Blending Options "Color overlay," "Inner Shadow" and "Gradient overlay."

The contents escaping the box and the fishes were done with brushes, mostly set to light blue, but I did use a "pattern" for one of them under Layer Style Blending Options, and it was a pattern I created sometime ago in the Faerie-reading image.

Lastly, the mermaids were Laura and I posed individually with our hair in buns and garbed in undergarments. We took turns balancing horizontally on a footstool. I covered each of us using a "pattern" taken from fish scales. I changed the colors using color overlay and masked the scales from our arms, head and neck. I tweaked under the transformation option, using "rotate," "scales" and "warp."

For the hair, I used a hair brush for mine, and cut and pasted shots of Laura's hair for hers, using the "scales" and "warp" options from the transformation menu. The waves in our hair were achieved using "liquify" which is an option I learned to use from one of my photoshop books.

And that's it :)

from the Daily Motivator

I like this from today's Daily Motivator

Friday, December 5, 2008

Your thoughts show

Thoughts can feel like they are private and hidden deep inside of you. Yet they have an influence that extends far beyond you.

What if others could know what you were thinking? Would it change the content of your thoughts?

In many ways, other people can and do know what you are thinking. Because your thoughts are faithfully expressed by the life you lead.

If you're constantly thinking negative, limiting thoughts, people will be able to tell just by looking at you and your life's conditions. In the same way, when you fill your mind with positive, empowering thoughts, that will be wonderfully obvious.

You might be able to hide the specific details of your thoughts. Yet you cannot hide the true nature of those thoughts.

Your thoughts, whatever they may be, are expressed in every aspect of your life. Continually guide those thoughts to positive places, and your whole world will follow.

-- Ralph Marston

Clashing worlds

As I stated in Flickr, "When I took my SP, my vision was for me to be a fairy lulling a unicorn.

Life changed that, and my new motivation was to have it reflect something symbolic to my situation. I appreciate how art provides us the medium to express in subtle and cryptic ways ... :)"

Anyway, my costume was created using 4 different images via Photoshop and the tiger was from a photo I took while at the zoo. Below are some of the the images I used.

Me before I added Snow White garb:

Luckily I had the presence of mind to think of landscape. I pieced this to the photo above to give me room to insert the tiger:

White Bengal Tiger shot I took at the Miami Zoo. Unfortunately, the tiger was profiled, looking straight ahead instead of slightly to the rear (which would've suited the image better), but I had to make do. Since my eyes were not focused from a fully profiled standpoint, I had to place the tiger where my line of vision was, but it still looked off, so I changed the perspective a touch.

In general, I copied and masked everything into place. And then I added rays of light using the white to transparent linear gradient tool, with feathering. I also used the spotlight and omni light found in the rendering option.

Lastly, I used Mulletgod's Retouch Bonanza action to give it cohesion and contrast.

What I wouldn't give ...

This speaks to me and what I'm going through at the moment:

Shimmer in time

My most recent creation. For some reason my skin looks more pale here than it does on my hard drive. I thought I fixed the color transference problem, but I guess not ... ?


Click on this photo to get a closer view of my face, as I changed my eyes, and they're blue :)

Also a closer look at the sphere I created with the unicorn inside.


This is the before shot:

Behind The Scenes, Post Processing and Outtakes of "Touched"

"TOUCHED"

The day of the shoot:

Laura was the art director for this photo shoot, as she birthed the concept and provided the attire and props. I just showed up and tried to get creative with where and how to pose. She was shooting with gothic in mind, and my primary thought was escapees from an insane asylum.

Here's a test shot where I stood to gauge subject position and composition:



I was scattered that morning, as I forgot to put on deodorant, bring a hair brush, hair tie, and my remote. Fortunately, Laura had it together and saved the day.

I felt trepidation about getting my feet dirty and exposed to who knows what, but I knew this was for the sake of art. Keeping our hair ratted out was challenging, due to the humidity, so in between takes, we’d have to rat it back up again and again.

We were also wary of how the ballooning gowns would work on our small frames, as this dictated which shots we liked (the ones that didn’t make us look enormous).

Although we planned the shoot months ahead, we were pleasantly surprised to find we chose a day the facility was having a Halloween event. Hence onlookers, including costumed children, weren’t alarmed by our production, but instead enjoyed our "show". One parent even requested a picture taken with his child - so sweet.


Post processing:

Aside from wanting to create a night scene, I had no idea how to process this. I began by switching Laura’s head from another picture, as I preferred the ratted hair and facial expression from that shot than the one in this shot.

It wasn’t until I started experimenting that it started to come together, but even then, I underwent so many rough drafts. At one time, I inserted a full moon, starry skies and a bobcat, not all in the same draft, but then separately decided to omit them.

As stated early, I started with replacing Laura’s head with one from another shot

I added DOF, by blurring out the background of trees, and added lighting so the raven would stand out.

I lightened our skin using both the dodge tool and luminosity brush. I darkened our eyes and lips with the burning tool, so our features wouldn’t be washed out.

For lighting, I went into renderings and used spotlight. Additionally, I added moonlight rays with the gradient tool and feathering.

The hue was changed in Saturation/Hues. I only wish I kept record of the numerical setting, as I'd love to duplicate the hue.

For textures, I used tree bark and handwriting.

I bolded the hues for the dead flowers, so they would stand out.

Lastly, I cloned out the writing that ran across Laura's forehead


Outtakes and Rough Draft/phototype:

Here are a couple of out takes that I cropped so you could really appreciate Laura's expressions, LOL! So HILARIOUS!





Here’s one discarded prototype:




If you haven't already, you need to check out Laura's shot from this shoot. You won't be disappointed!

Dreamscape making

This picture was so unplanned. The magazine-reading picture was taken in the spur of the moment. When I saw it, I had a different vision for how it would be processed. This look was inspired by a Photoshop Magazine (Issue 47). I followed a couple of the steps, like using the colored layer, but I mostly got the results through trial and error.

To create this, I combined 2 pictures I took.

This one was taken last year with my point and shoot, and was processed to look super pretty. It was sitting in my hard drive for use one day ... :





This unprocessed photo was taken this weekend, minutes before the picture I took with Shadow:



And this I created with Photoshop, using the steps in the magazine:

Here are the steps I took to create the dreamscape photo:

I adjusted the curves to the forest picture so it looked really faded.

I played with curves on the magazine-reading picture and then layered it on top of the forest one, masking out the table and surroundings.

I then added an outer glow to my silhouette.

I created the colored layer via Photoshop and added that as a layer, adjusting the opacity to make the appearance subtle.

I added a layer with nothing on it, and used the blending mode screen overlay.

I added faerie lights using outer glow.

Lastly, I added a dark vignette.

Hence, my dreamscape. :)

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And this is my unprocessed picture of Shadow and I. I used the techniques in the Photoshop Creative (Issue 39) magazine to create a high-key look (for the photo below this one). There's probably a quicker way to create the same effect than the steps it gave (which is too extensive for me to list here), but I derive knowledge and experience when I take the long way and get better at navigating through Photoshop. Anyway, aside from creating the high-key look, I masked out the background and replaced it with white:

Hope you found this helpful :)

2 quotes I came across that I liked :)

In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?

~Mary Manin Morrissey

'But I don’t want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you can’t help that,' said the Cat. 'We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.''How do you know I’m mad?' said Alice. 'You must be,” said the Cat. 'or you wouldn’t have come here.'

Delights

I faced the camera toward the floor, where I sat, and my Shadow followed :)



Nothing spells beauty quicker than purple flowers. These mexican petunias are one of my faves, because aside from their color, they blossom with the sun, as do I :)



I've been spending much of my free time reading ... at present, it's Eclipse from the Twilight series. Goes wonderfully with a papaya, banana and coconut water smoothie.



If this isn't togetherness, then I don't know what is. :) This was taken at a reptile show and sale at Flamingo Gardens.

Pretty kitty

This shot of a captive Florida panther was taken last weekend. It's held captive due to injuries:



And this shot was taken earlier in the year:



My heart bleeds for this endangered species ... Habitat loss poses the biggest threat to their survival, while human intolerance threats their recovery.

Vehicle strikes and problems associated with being a single, small, isolated population have continued to keep the panther population at its current low number.

Painted Buntings

The title of my blog was inspired by pictures I took of Painted Buntings earlier in the year. The males are boldly colorful. And the females are a parrot-y green. I turned the male into a watercolor (this is also the picture in my blog title). It has more of a watercolor-y feel when viewed larger. I figured since I took the time to experiment, I'd document it here and compare it to future "watercolors"



Here's the female, which was the shot I used for a former blog title:

Treasures of Costa Rica

Something about this photo speaks to the traveler in me. I'm always paranoid about bed bugs in hotel rooms. But I rested with ease at this luxurious Marriott ...



Many of the native things I saw had hand painted designs on them:

This fruit is called grenadilla. I've never had them before, and they were sooo good that I was tempted to bring some back to the States. It tastes similar to passionfruit.

This fruit is called mamón chino or rambutan. This was a big staple of what I ate there, as they were plentiful and much cheaper than they are here, in the States.

Flora:

The delicious contentment was evident on this Amazon's face.

Not sure of the type of frog on the leaf, but the one below it is a poison dart frog:

Pura Vida Costa Rica

The term Pura Vida, according to Wikipedia, is used by Costa Ricans since 1956, and when literally translated, means "Pure Life." Contextually, it means "Full of Life," "Purified life," "This is living!", "Going great!" It is used as a greeting, a farewell, and to express satisfaction. Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, good spirits, enjoying life slowly, celebrating good fortune, whether small or large.

I experienced pura vida firsthand as I immersed myself in the lush land, rainforest air, fresh food and the culture of the easy, peaceful and friendly ... They don't have an army. To me, that speaks volumes ...

Anyway, below are a few pictures from my stay there, in August. There's much more to come, it's just a matter of finding the time to post process.

I changed the hues and added a bokeh texture to this:

Here's a modest house found in the rural area. I turned the photo into a water color and added my signature. I just learned how to create a signature today --- truly simple to do, and neat! :) The signature, once created, becomes a paint brush, so I could sign until my heart's content in a rainbow of colors, with but a click of the mouse ...



The bulls and their colorful, pulling wagons were prevalent throughout Costa Rica. Nothing is for free; I jumped out of the car to grab this shot, and when the fellow saw me as I was running back to the car, he yelled in Spanish how I must pay him for the shot. I grabbed a dollar to give to him, and that made him happy.



So many views to snap pictures of ... but then we'd be stopping the car every few moments. Here's another shot I took in haste, with the hope composition would turn out, if not the focus. I turned it into an oil painting, which I'm still challenged by. Hopefully with practice, I'll get better. I also posted the pre-oil painting shot.

I love the sliced DOF of this shot, which was taken with my macro lens.

This Toucan found a sizeable morsel.

Ok, that's it for now ... :)

Hooked on watercolor

Here's my first digital watercolor, and it only took a few minutes to do.

I posted a picture of the shot (straight out of the camera) before I turned it into a watercolor. I'm completely hooked on DW now :) Who knew it could be so easy, given the right instructions?

Daring to believe

Monday mornings ...

This was taken shortly after I got my 50 mm 1.4 lens, as I sat in traffic.

Yesterday, made for a very long day on the road, made more so as we travailed a great distance on limited sleep. It only punctuated the pain experienced early, this Monday morning.



What do you do ... what do you say to someone whose future feels glum? Remind them of alternatives? Quote scripture?

What do you do if that person dwells in the world of wouldda’ couldda’ shouldda’s ... even when reminded that their current actions and mindset command their lot?

Do you remind them of their glory days before the fall, so they can relive happier times? Dare you speak of fun trips and happy moments experienced in their powerless absence and despite their misery?

I saw my son yesterday, and these were questions I asked myself. He gives too much of himself in search of feeling accepted or loved. A downfall a lot of people have, really. But this is what brought him to where he is now ...

I sat feeling deficient and inept as I searched for words of comfort, ones that would hit the core of the hurt and feelings of hopelessness.

On a lighter note, I take refuge in feeling blessed about his extraordinariness. He’s a huge presence of love, strength and intelligence. And has grown so much. He towers over me to where I have to get on my tippy toes and strain my neck to get to him :)

Starfruit ... what my body needs.

Yesterday, my eating was dictated by being flexible (ate at a BBQ/gas station, conveniently off the exit), sensible (fruit and veggies off the turnpike service center) and needing comfort (scone and tea also off the turnpike service center). Today, I craved fruit and salads. Craved it, not thought I should have it. I am sensitive to my body’s needs and I am currently at peace with food.

White peacock among delicate nectar.

The butterfly was taken at Flamingo Gardens, the same day I got my Malachite shot.

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Hunny shined his light on this gloomy Monday with hand-delivered, long-stemmed roses ... and I didn’t have my camera to document :(

And to compound the thoughtfulness and good taste, I came home to find a new, rocking purse, big enough to hold my camera! :)

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I dare to believe in happily ever afters. I do.