Photoshop and summer school

How boring, another cat photo.

Look I jazzed it up some. Isn't this blog exciting now.

And I know how to use Photoshop! I made it spooky now.

Actually I wish I knew more about photoshop and photography in general. (My own fault, I fail to study). I was reading through the tutorials on how to make your digital pics look like Lomo pics. I tried several times but I wasn't familiar enough with the photoshop software and language to complete the tutorial. Again, I have a mild desire to know how to do photography better, but not enough drive to close the deal.

I have always been that way. Unless a thing interests me completely, I just won't go there. Algebra? Fuhgeddaboutit. Even summer school combined with parental threats could not motivate me to raise my grade above a D.

Rabbit trail: when I was in in middle school I remember when I showed up the first day to summer class in Algebra. There were some of the tough kids there, sitting on desks, rolling cigs, sharpening their knives or whatever they do. All conversation stopped and they looked at me, shocked. One girl burst out, "But I thought you were a Brain!! (She used to beat me up a lot). It was the first time I realized that there were classifications and cliques in school. I was OK with being a Brain. I already knew I wasn't popular. And definitely knew I wasn't a jock. (Ever get picked last? Nothing cements the knowledge like that does).

Chemistry? Happy with a C-. Happy. Now... King Arthur? Absorbed me for years, with side trips to armor and weaponry and also heraldry. Mollusks were interesting for a long time and I'll never forget the wonder of learning every intricate detail of form versus function of the shell. Languages like Latin or Italian, loved them. The bible, it is an infinite study subject. But photography...I just won't put myself out. I have hit the ceiling, not the anger ceiling, the glass ceiling.

Fortunately I don't get frustrated. That is the good side of having a lack of motivation for a particular subject even though I'm mildly interested in it. After all, I can crop, and I can click a button to inverse the photo colors and make it look spooky. It is enough. I'm happy with the grade of C. And a spooky cat picture.

Do you believe in angels?

I do. I believe I have a guardian angel who is around me. I can feel him sometimes. His name is Aniel.

So the Gallery is hosting an "Angelic" Exhibition beginning in late November and running through Christmas. I have a few pieces that might be considered ready, there's one that Tina really likes. It's below. The deadline is quickly approaching and I have to get the photo developed, matted and framed... But I do love the idea of a whole exhibition dedicated to God's messengers!

This is from my deck. Evolution of a potential entry:


I cropped it to focus on the angel & scripture, and away from the dead leaves and negative space:

Next, fool around in Photoshop to make it look otherworldly:


I snapped this one a couple of years ago at my apartment in Maine. My landlord had an angel holding a globe on her deck, so I took a photo of it.


When I developed the photo I noticed an entire world inside the globe, and in focusing on just the globe it looks like the angel is holding my world... and me. So then I extracted the extras away from the photo and left just the angel and globe. For the 'Angelic' show I am thinking of doing something with this, but I don't know yet.