Transition

We have been getting requests to help people "fix" and/or "paint" their pictures.  You tell one person you can touch up something and word seems to spread.  Actually, and it's a secret, we enjoy doing it because we really have to tap into our creativity and learn new ways to apply tools....But don't tell.

Wayne is getting really good at adding sky to pictures - and it's amazing how many nice shots lack good sky - and I'm good at covering up all kinds of things, and this week managed to remove a hand from around a beautiful dog's neck - very detailed and painstaking work.
So, I thought I'd share a sample of our work.   This is a rather ordinary photo of a peach orchard early in the season.  The day was grey and the light not good.  
These pictures progress through just a few of the steps:  original photo, enhanced color and light with a more interesting sky added, and the final painted version.
The total time involved in this is probably 3 or 4 hours on and off.  Love the finished product.

Painting

Wayne is learning a lot about painting photographs, so here is one of the latest.  It was a nice picture of a path in a botanical gardens.  With a lot of work, some touching up and tweeking, here is the Impressionist view. 

We have begun taking commissions to paint or fix photos for people.  Several have requested paintings of family homes or favorite scenes.  Most send us the photo they took and we work on it from there.  I'm getting pretty good at the photoshop touchups, like fixing reflections, flare and taking out things that just shouldn't be in the picture.  We are learning everyday and having a great time with it.  Not unlike massage where clients leave feeling better than when they came in: pictures leave looking more beautiful!

Going back

We finally got to go back to Hurricane Shoals county park in GA where they have the lovely Heritage Village that we couldn't photograph well in the rain.  Yesterday was a beautiful fall day and we were on our way to Clayton, GA so we stopped for a visit.  Much nicer in the sunshine.   This is a shot in one of the cabins they have moved to the site.  I'm not sure why the bed frame is there, but it makes for a nice photo.

I didn't have to change lighting and just saturated the bed frame color a little.

Open Studios bathroom

Bathroom as art?  We toured quite a few galleries and studios over the weekend during the Metropolitan Arts Council's Open Studios.  There is a lot of amazing and beautiful and challenging art in the area. Some we loved, some we thought about, and some we clearly didn't get on any level - and puzzle why the less we get it, the higher the price!!

Art Bomb is a shared space studio in a beautiful old building way out on Pendleton St.  We unfortunately didn't get most of the art, but the building and gardens are great.  The first is the wall and door to the outside shower...clearly the work of an artist, and the second is one of the panels inside the shower - rust can be so beautiful! 

Out for a walk

We have had A LOT of rain lately, and a lot just yesterday.  As I was walking the dog this a.m., I saw this hibiscus bush that clearly loved the rain more than I did.  The flowers were just beautiful, so dispite less than ideal light, I came back with my camera.  This is the reason we need to remember to always stop and smell the roses...

I have played with this a little to bring out the light as much as I could and this version has been "painted" with palette knife.