PaperWhimsy

Dumpster Art

If you're ever in need of a good texture, you need go no further than the dumpster behind your favorite store.  Today, Draw and I went on a dumpster hunt looking for rust textures and, lo and behold... all of 15 minutes later, pay dirt.

A peek at the fun I have in photoshop using dumpster rust.  This photo is of a charming window at the charming Clergy House in Alfriston.

I shoot in RAW so every photo I take requires some processing in Photoshop - this is the original shot (above), after converting from RAW to psd and processing (exposure, sharpen, crop).

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This is the same photo using an overlay of dumpster.  The actual shot of the dumpster rust looks like this...

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After a bit of processing in Photoshop because this was shot in RAW mode, as well.  Hard to believe that, by using this overlay of rust on the original photo it can achieve that kind of soft vintage look.  Depends on your layer setting - I used soft light.

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Now.  Same original photo but as I was jumping in the car after taking some photos of the dumpster behind Pier One - I happened to look down and saw this...

...which, in and of itself, is rather homely.  But that cracking at the top has some potential.  After a bit of color and exposure tweaks and some cropping, I got this...

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...which has major potential.  I think it looks pretty cool just like that, but I really wanted it for this...

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Voila!  Changing the layer setting on that interesting grunge layer, let's the even more interesting window peek through.

And this is why I have this intense love affair, bordering on an obsession, with Photoshop.

By the way, if you're a mixed media artist, these window will be available in a digital collage sheet at my shoppe, PaperWhimsy.  And these texture overlays will be available shortly for purchase for digital artists.  Same place.

Rememberies Part Deux

More on Pashley Manor as I'd promised. 

This beautiful scone was eaten by me on a warm sunny day at Pashley Manor.  It was flaky, crumbly (as a good scone should be) and filled with herbs and cheese.  And yes, that is butter and I ate every bit of it.

A close-up... Oh, I remember it well.

We shall get back to Pashley Manor shortly.  Perhaps later today.  For now I want to bounce over to Exmoor, where we spent our trip within the trip.  Five rainy, wet, cold, and somewhat glorious days traveling between the two moors: Ex and Dart.  After the first day and a half of wetness we watched the weather report with the notion that somewhere on that peninsula there would be sun.  And we found it.  It was quite the trek on those crazy English roads but half the fun of sightseeing needs to be the journey getting to the destination otherwise one could find themselves quite miserable.

This beautiful spot happened to be in Exmoor, specifically the Doone Valley and even more specifically, Oare Church.  An old and ancient structure and purportedly the church where Lorna Doone was shot on her wedding day.  Through a small window, by her half brother.

Perhaps this window.

The view from the steps of the church - the peaceful Doone Valley.

A closer look...

The church gate.  I must say, there is noting quite as inviting as a gate that is left open.  It just calls to me... "enter... enter...".  And I usually do.

And this foreboding thing is Knole, Photoshopped to high heaven.  I think the overlay really adds to the rather ominous feel of this place.  I'll share more of the moors, Pashley Manor and a touch more of Knole as I wade through my photos.  I'm really just browsing through them and picking out the ones that appeal to me in that moment.

Does this not feel like the most chaotic and boisterous trip, ever?  Hither and yon, to and fro, over and back?  Oh, Shee and Pee, I can't help but wonder... is this how it feels when your chaotic DIL comes to town?  But far more than just looking at the photos, you're actually living it?  Bless you.

More tomorrow...

Rememberies Part I

My love affair with Photoshop borders on an obsession.  Just about everything I do during the day has something to do with Photoshop.  Other than cooking, cleaning, laundry and the occasional trip to the loo.

So the last couple of days I've been looking through my photos of England and giving them a good dose of that old Photoshop magic.  Given that I've written and rewritten about day one and day two of this year's trip and I'm not really interested in rehashing that again, I thought I'd just post a few photos every day or so and just blab about what was going on when a particular photo was taken.  For me, that's the best way to wade through all this mess and keep me going.  I am notorious for leaping with both feet into a project and then stopping mid air and changing direction.  Hopefully, doing the trip blogging this way will keep me pushing on through all 1600 of my photos.

And since my FIL is bugging me about my journal (as I did him about his - hey, where is your journal, anyway, Pete?) I think I'll appease him and get on with it.

In no particular order...

This is my favorite castle - Leeds.  I've belly ached about this a zillion times already and I'll belly ache yet again: Leeds is like the only castle in England that lets you take shots of the interior.  Go, Leeds!  This particular shot was one of the 453 shots I took that day.  And of course it's sporting a few texture overlays and some filter magic.  Hey, I never claimed to be a photographer - I'm just an image maker.

Leeds, again.  How nice to be taking a shot from the inside looking out.  This was our last full day in England so very bittersweet.  I think this shot does a right good job of evoking how melancholy I was feeling. 

Also Leeds with a minimum amount of Photoshoppery.  As you can see it was a rather dull day - they were holding a jousting match on the grounds.  Peter, Sheila and Jo went there instead of in the castle with Draw and me.  I think I can see one of the horses beyond the moat.

And one more of Leeds - busts of the monarchy.  They don't look this moldy and grungy in real life - that is totally me and my filter obsession.  Cool, eh?

Did I already tell you about Smallhythe Place?  This is a National Trust property so no photos inside.  BUT they do advertise that you can make an appointment to take interior shots.  Several years in advance.  Nah... just kidding.  Or at least I hope I am.  You can make arrangements to take interior shots but I don't know that you need to do it several years in advance.  Okay, enough about that - here's a window.

Walking up to the house - it really is quite charming.

A look once we've passed through the gate.  I just love the way this house takes its age in stride.  A few dips here and a few sags there and she is even more lovely now, I am sure, than she was the day she was built.  This is what I dearly love about England.  It does not feel the need to raze the old to make way for the new. 

Okay, jumping from Smallhythe, which was Day Two, to Pashley Manor which was Day Nine or Ten... Pashley Manor is just lovely.  Lovely lovely lovely.  The grounds are peppered with contemporary artwork and done so in a very tasteful and highbrow manner.  I enjoyed our visit to this beautiful garden - I think it was way up there on the "Gale's Favorite Gardens of 2008" list.  They also have a charming little gift shoppe and a top notch restaurant with al fresco dining under white canvas umbrellas.  I would go to this garden again and again (be prepared, Sheila and Peter).  This scene is in the pool area.

I just realized that I've not played with a lot of Pashley Manor photos so now I'm jumping over to Alfriston and this charming rose-festooned bench at Clergy House.  I'll get back to Pashley Manor, I promise. 

Alfriston is a very old, very cool town.  Very old.  And Clergy House is their National Trust property.  Clergy House is just an amazing and charming and quaint little decrepit house with a small cottage garden.  I wanted to pick it all up, stick it in my pocket and carry it home with me.  And I really really really wanted to take some interior shots but unfortunately... you got it... National Trust.  No sign saying you could make an appointment to take interior shots and given that there are, like, only three or four rooms in the place, I can't imagine that a lot of people are dying to get photos of the rooms.  Just me.   Because this is the kind of charm that just tickles me. 

Ahhh, so... I think I will head back over to Photoshop and take a peek at some Pashley Manor snaps for tomorrow's entry.  I'm really going to try to do this...

Okay, Peter, I've showed you mine - now let's see yours.  How's that journal coming?