Long Time Coming....

I have seen many panoramics of the city of Chicago and have always wanted to do one.  There are those by the day, at night, in color and the classic black and white.  When I finally had the opportunity to shoot the skyline (one of the best spots is located by the Aquarium and Planetarium) I took advantage of it, capturing many shots to create my dream panoramic of the city.  Those familiar with my style know that I am a true creative at heart, I love to create something new and different.  It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how I wanted to piece it together, deciding to keep it in color or go the black and white route, I played with a variety of techniques and finally created a product and piece that I am so proud of.  The image itself is made up of four unique shots of the skyline, then I edited each of those pics before stitching them together and creating a final edit and style to the skyline of the city I love most.  Below you'll see the end piece and beneath the panoramic you will see the original four shots help create the final product.

"Chicago Painted City" (c) 2012

The Mosaic Effect....

There is a pretty cool effect and treatment that you can apply to your photographs that is available in Photoshop and I have used it on a few of my pieces.  It is the mosaic filter.  Now, it is not for every print or piece that you produce but depending on the end result that you are aiming for, it is a filter to consider.  On the example below, I used the filter on a photograph of a glass bottle (hence glass being a phenomenal way to use the layer, especially if you are new to using it).  Initially, I saturated the colors and used some other techniques that you see in the final product below, but I also have the original image as well so you can see the differences between the two and what a great final product you can end up with using some of the more interesting filters that are offered in Photoshop.

"Crackled Glass" (c) 2011 

"Got A Spigot?..."

"Got A Spigot?" (c) 2012

Normally, my favorite things to shoot are subject matter relating to nature or architecture.  But I have been slowly but surely shooting outside my favorite two genres.  The above shot is one such example.  I happen to come across this lovely stone bowl filled with water spigot handles during an excursion to an antiques sale.  What struck me most was the richness of the stone and the different pops of color with the knobs, some were bright and others were rusty.  I further enhanced the image by saturating the color and a couple of other tricks that I have.  The original is below so that you can see the differences between my final piece up above and what I initially started with.

The Story Behind "Science Experiment..."

"Science Experiment" (c) 2011

This image is my highest viewed image on one of my photo sites 500px.com and as with any image that I capture and subsequently create, there is a story.  This image was initially photographed on a brief weekend getaway in Michigan.  My family stayed with some friends and each day that we were there we headed out to the lake where they had a boat.  We swam, soaked up some sun, fished, and lots of other fun things.  And of course I had my camera with me.  By the lake, there was a wooded area next to the opening I spotted this gnarly tree.  What was so neat about the tree was that it was covered in moss and had a large opening, almost like a crater.  Within the crater there was sap, which are the reddish brown areas in the image.  It almost looks like a geode and because of all the interesting tidbits in the image, I named it "Science Experiment" because it reminded me of when I was a young girl, full of curiosity and anxious to learn about anything scientific.  Let me know what you think of this image either here or on my 500px site http://500px.com/photo/2350376.

Art Takes Times Square....

I have recently submitted my work for consideration and the grand opportunity to have my work shown in New York City's Times Square.  How exciting, and what I really like about this contest is that it is free!!!! To have your work considered you have to do some leg work, and to have it shown in Times Square there is even more work or you can submit a fee of $25 to bypass all of the work and get your work out there.  What I really like is that it is a free opportunity for an artist to expose the world to their work.  I am certain that there are many artists out there who painfully submit fees for submissions to gallery competitions to have the opportunity to have your work shown in a gallery.  Sometimes you can win and are included in the group showing or you are politely turned down because they were not "feeling" your work at the time.  Trust me, if you do it often enough, your skin get a little thick.  It is very rare that you have an event that you can enter free of charge, and for any artist (because most of us are struggling) is a great gift of an opportunity.


For any of my followers or fans, I submit the link below for your vote and consideration.  A part of this contest is based on getting enough of the public to become their very own art collector and begin adding collections of the numerous artists that have submitted (and trust me there are beautiful collections out there).  There is also an opportunity for you, the judge and collector to win yourself a trip to NYC and $2500.

http://simonehester.artistswanted.org/atts2012

I have also included the nine pieces that I chose to represent me as an artist.... and I would be very grateful to anyone who participates and add me to their collection!

Jellies.....

For those that know me, know that my absolute favorite subject to shoot is architecture and a close second is nature.  I am comfortable taking a variety of photographs with these as my focal points and standard for content.  However, I sincerely believe in stretching the boundaries of your comfort zone and I try to do that on occasion.  During my kids' Spring Break, I thought of many things we could do, and saw a commercial advertising the Jellyfish exhibit at our Aquarium.  I knew in that instance, it would be a challenge for me.  Capturing wildlife really truly calls on the right moment and time, you can sit all day or actually get lucky and capture that moment.  I have been fortunate to get some wildlife shots that I am truly proud of, but was unsure of my luck capturing the graceful jellyfish.  


The challenge with shooting in an aquarium is the first challenge of not using your flash it is against the policy of the aquarium (I am not a fan of the flash anyway) and using your flash against a tank full of fish is just awful, you get that lovely reflection.  So you just have to know your camera and make the necessary adjustments and try your  best to get your images.  


I was fortunate to capture some really cool shots, I had more bad than good, but there are five that I am really proud of.  They are so simplistic in nature, I thought that another cool effect would be to invert the colors and show two different versions of each image.  A sample of one of my favorites is below (in both versions).


So my advice, get out of your comfort zone, and try something new... you just might like it!

"Jellyfishing V" (c) 2012 

"Jellyfishing V in Negative" (c) 2012

The Golden Rules....

When you study Fine Art of any kind, there are several rules that most teachers pass on to their willing students.  The golden standard.  These rules pretty much apply to any medium and since I paint and photograph, they interchange regularly.  The piece at the bottom reflects two of these "golden rules."  The first rule is the rule of thirds or the bulls eye effect.  Any piece that you create, you should immediately imagine two lines going horizontally and two lines going vertically on your piece, dividing the piece into three columns and three rows. And what you must remember is not to have anything in the middle square, row or column if it is the solitary focal point in your work.  If it is the middle square, it becomes the bulls eye; or if it is the horizon for example, if it is in middle row, it divides the piece in half.


The second rule, is that if you have multiple objects in your work, then it should be an odd number.  This rule, I am not too certain why it has such importance, but it has been mentioned to me by three different art instructors.  I don't follow this one to the letter as often, but in the image below, these two rules are respected.  There are three stones in the image (in the original, there are four) and I made certain that the rocks lay at the bottom of the image, so it is in the bottom row.  I think it is a successful reflection of the two aforementioned rules.  What rules do any of you follow?

"Rocky" (c) 2012