Lucy in 1977 Meets Abbott's Lagoon in 2015

Trying to improve my photograph person-extracting capabilities in Photoshop CS5, meant  I spent way more time playing on the computer, when I intended to do something altogether different today.  Fun, though.

India Polka Dot Batik Quilt

Latest quilt, my largest yet!  Queen size, with DreamWool brand merino wool batting, and hand tied with red cotton embroidery thread (also from India). I fell in love with the polka dot material on a fiber arts tour of India in January, 2015.  Visiting batik artist Shakil Ahmed Q. Khatri, near the area of Mundra-Kutch, in the state of Gujarat, was a surprise treat. He had so many beautiful batiks, I wanted to buy them all.  One pink/red batik fabric, quilted with pink silk/satin, has already gotten away, sold to jeweler/friend Gemma Rose at cost, without my photographing it first.  This polka dot design was unusual. It was hanging outside the artist's house, drying, when I spotted it.  It took awhile to find another batik (the turtle fabric backing) to match sufficiently.  The polka dot fabric was so beautiful on its own, I didn't want to cut it up to much, so merely cut what I had in half, sewed that together and (after months of work) voila.

More info on the artist can be found here:  http://www.kala-raksha-vidhyalaya.org/2009/men/eportfolios_shakil_ahmed_kasambhai_khatri.php

Suburban Blood Moon

Painting Gift Bags for Owsley Benefit

A sampling of some of the gift bags I painted yesterday with friend Marcia Meyers.  Photographed with my mobile phone so pictures are not that sharp.  Marcia is coordinating a big bag painting project for the Owsley Stanley Foundation benefit this coming November 7th at the Great American Music Hall in SF.  More info here:  http://www.owsleystanleyfoundation.org/

Playing Around with Textures

Twins Cole and Wilson Taylor, shot with my Canon Powershot G14 in Seattle, in July of this year, below. The end result, above, was modified using various photo texture layers in both Photoshop CS5 and alien skin exposure 7 software.  An enjoyable way to spend hours I was supposed to be spending doing something else!

Addicted to Panoramic Photos

My backyard, with a sculpture of E.A. Autrey's head, which is in the perfect spot to watch the full moon eclipse this coming Sunday night.  First test use of my new Acratech nodal rail.  So much fun!

The Five Autrey Daughters in Santa Barbara - Best in Blue or Yellow?

Cleaning Up Old 1974 scanned B&W 4x5 Negatives shot by E.A. Autrey in the park across from our house on Merida drive.  These oversized negatives are pretty degraded so there wasn't much that could be done with them.
Top photo adjustments:  Photoshop CS5 levels, Alien Skin AGRA APX 25 and Copper Blue Finish filters with some masking.  After and before adjustments.
Bottom photo:  Photoshop CS5 levels, Alien Skin B&W split toning and FSA Red Bleach with some masking