(Originally posted May 6, 2013)
(Yes, it’s been forever and a day since I was last able to post – more on that at the end of this entry. Consider yourself teased!)
The next project on the A to Z list was for Building Pictures. This technique is as simple or as difficult as you want to make it. It’s all about taking a picture (or two) and using bits and pieces to get the result you saw in your mind, but maybe couldn’t quite achieve straight out of the camera because you couldn’t get the angle you wanted, people were in the way, you didn’t have access to a viewpoint… You know, those “little” things that can sometimes get in the way of snagging the perfect shot.
I think the hardest part about this project for me was simply finding a picture to build off of. A lot of my shots are of nature or everyday mundane things, and nothing was really jumping out at me as the “cornerstone” for this project. That was until I walked into my home office and looked at my black & white print of the rocks of Park Avenue at Arches National Park in Utah. I adore that picture as it is, but then I thought to myself, “Why not double the goodness?” Working with the original color version of the shot would also mix things up a little.
So here’s what the “cornerstone” building block image looked like:
(Not bad, if I do say so myself!)
Building a picture can be as simple as duplicating the image, flipping it around, lining things up and voila! You end up with a result like this one, where (to me) I feel like I’m being drawn into the picture as my eyes and mind try to play tricks on me:
As one friend put it, it looks like a landscape Rorschach! (And I have to say I agree with him!)
Building a picture – if you have a good foundation shot to start with – doesn’t take long at all to change things up and create some new art!
– JC
PS – So the reasons/excuses for the delay in blog posts is simple – we’re moving! Our house sold lightening-fast (thankfully!) and it’s been a whirlwind for the last few weeks. We’re settling into packing mode now for the move in July, so I’ll try to post every now and then in spite of what’s bound to be a hectic summer! Once we’ve landed, unpacked, and I get setup, you can bet I’ll be playing catch-up… and sharing new images of our new surroundings (which promise to be a big change from where we’ve called home the last 10+ years!).
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