This is day #27 of my daily “3” project, which feels like it’s been dragging on for six months! But you know what’s good? Of the 27 pictures posted so far, 12 of them are either brand-new images or re-worked older images. Forty-four percent. (Thank you, C2, for making me more aware of percentages!)
Any project, no matter how tedious, that encourages you to make something new, to see something in a different way, to learn new skills, is never a waste of time.
Which brings us to this, um, gem? This morning I was in the studio looking through an art magazine. I took out my cellphone and, using an effect called “Slow Shutter,” took a photo of an image in the magazine. I don’t even remember what the image originally looked like, but I include the picture here so you can see what “Slow Shutter” came up with. It’s dull, flat, out of focus, and sort of boring.
But I wondered if there was anything I could do to pump it up and incorporate a number “3.” I brought the cellphone shot into Photoshop. I made a large “3” and then colored it red. I copied it, did something else to it, then copied it again, did something else. So now I have three vibrant “3’s.” On top of an out-of-focus pale background. Still boring.
I went to Topaz Simplify 4 and used one of their sketch effects and came up with this. Ta da! At least it’s not dull and boring. It’s colorful, strange, fun, and I will probably never ever do anything with this picture. But… But…
All I did was play and ask myself, “what if?” What if I took a cellphone shot of this magazine picture. What if I moved the phone while I did so? What if I used the resulting image as a background for my daily “3” project? What if I made it bright and colorful?
And even though I probably won’t do anything more with this picture, it’s the process that’s important. It’s the concept of play, of having no expectations, of just trying things.
Unlike some mad scientist, I didn’t set anything on fire. Nothing exploded. No pixels were harmed in the making of this photo.
I figure any day you have fun, make something colorful, and don’t explode in the process, that’s a very good day.
©Carol Leigh
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