Fate and DNA May Control Your Destiny

For my final project I elected to create a story based on one of my favorite films, "The Godfather" using old photos of family (grandparents, and parents) to represent the early life of the head of the family.  The first picture indicates that the hand of fate and our DNA control our destiny as in the case of the Godfather, ultimately to a life of crimes and murder.

The top of the second picture illustrates how his life had potential for normality as with each picture below it his life descends into criminal activities creating a crime family.  Photos at the bottom of the page picture represent the one son that wanted a legitimate life, who joined the Army, and became a war hero.  As the photos move upward to the right they demonstrate his life ascending into power as he is drawn into the same life style of his family as his father dies. The last two pictures in this page represent the moments that changed him from the son to the Godfather in two ways; one, to his nephew as he was baptized and the other, Godfather to the crime family.

The third picture shows a complete transition by use of the gun, the blood, the rose that the Godfather wore in his lapel and the ghostlike figure of his father fading in the background.

Most of the pictures and photos I took myself, or used from old family photos using the same time frame as when this story occurred.  The Cross on the first page was hand-carved by my brother, the gun is actually mine, and the backgrounds were created using a beaded curtain.  To create the desired effects and pictures, I used the following tools:

·       Rectangular and Oval Marquee Tool

·       Magnetic Lasso

·       Selection – Feather Edges

·       Enhancement Tool

o   Adjust Color

o   Adjust Hue / Saturation

o   Adjust for Skin Tone

o   Convert to Black and White and Colorized

·       Filters ( Glass Effect / Frosted and Poster Edges)

Prosperity and Fortune

   Fortune and Prosperity - We are always looking forward to see what the future holds for us and hope that there will be that pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  Those ideas were my inspiration for the attached pictures.
   I photographed virtually all of the small candles I had, then took a photo of a crystal ball I found at Caufield's.  I scanned money, used the quick select tool and move tool to place in the crystal ball and then merged them together.  I scanned my hand, used the magnetic lasso, select tool to feather the image and move tool to place it in the picture.  I then duplicated the layer, used the transform, free transform and horizontally flipped the image to add the other hand.  I added Text "FORTUNES", added a 50% arc and placed it in the crystal ball.
   To illustrate "PROSPERITY" I used photos of Churchill Downs, a slot machine from Paris Casino, a roulette wheel, chips and laydown from our casino night party and I scanned a winning poker hand.  I used a picture of the sky for my background.  I used plastic Easter eggs and the rectangular marquee tool to select colors to create a rainbow.  I stretched each section of color, merged them together and then used the filter Twirl to get an arc, then used the rectangular marguee tool to select a portion of the rainbow and moved it to the picture.  I added the text "PROSPERITY" and modified the arc to flow with the rainbow.

 

Surreal Landscape - Worlds of Wonder

I began this project by taking pictures of my friend's very curious cats, one in particular that loves to climb to the top of her Christmas tree to perch.  What better to get a cat's attention than fish, so I used photos of various fish taken at Caesar’s Palace aquarium and placed them in the tree, as if they were leaves.  I used opacity to tone down and blend the fish into the tree background.  I used the effect poster edges to get the desired effect of on the tree and the fish.  I modified the hues, saturation and colors to get the effect of the evening and used ink outline on the tree.  I wanted the picture to illustrate cats waiting for 'fish leaves' to fall from the tree for their evening meal.

My inspiration for the second picture came from the memory of Joe Huber, the genius behind the Huber Orchard and Winery, who passed away not long ago.  Joe was known for his success as a business man, his love of family, community and church.  I started with a picture of his lake, winery and the evening sky.  I added a large puffy cloud and cut and placed a photo of Joe's church into the cloud to give the impression his sprit is still there watching over his home and business.  I also added a cute house to replace the warehouse building for effect. 

In used Lens Flare behind the floating church, lightened the cloud and brightness to gain the eerie green tone to the cloud, then I used paint dauber to blend everything together and give the appearance that it had been painted.

Antonym and Synonym - Bliss and Anguish

For this week’s assignment I elected to look up the word ‘Paradise’, and one of the words used to describe it was ‘Bliss’.  When I think of bliss it brings to mind a vision of ascending to Heaven.  I can’t imagine Heaven and bliss without envisioning the opposite, which would be anguishing in Hell.

I took photos of old headstones from a nearby cemetery, a photo of a statue of Mother Mary, photos of daisies and the late afternoon sky.  I used the filter, lens flair, to add a glow to Mother Mary and the surrounding sky to emulate her descending from Heaven to greet departed souls. I also enhanced the image hues and saturation to get the desired effect.

For Hell, I used photos of headstones, photos of vicious dogs, photos of fire,  photo of a skull with a creepy eye, photo of a Halloween ghost light and used a picture from the internet of the Grim Reaper.  I used the lasso to select the eyeball from the skull and enhanced it by changing the contract and colors. I used the flames as a background, added a second layer of flames and used the filter to twist the flames for additional effect.  The result, a picture of a place I have no desire to go.

My Fortune Cookie - It's Never Too Late To Learn!

The fortune cookie I selected was, “It’s never too late to learn”, and this is a motto that I truly believe and aspire to.  In order to convey the message I used a photo of a distressed wall, framed blackboards for picture frames, a photo of a young boy learning to read, a picture of an old American Flag, an older gentleman working with book in hand to learn how to use his computer and a clock with wings. 

I wanted the completed project to have somewhat of an aged look so I began with the distressed wall background photo; I converted the photo of the young boy to black and white, modified hues and saturation and resized to fit one of the blackboard frames.  I used the same methods on the photo of the older gentleman and added the film grain effect. I used the American flag since that was always visible in early education classrooms.  I added the clock with wings to represent how time flies, one day you’re in elementary school then it seems that you just turn around and you’re a senior citizen with that curious child inside with a continuing desire to learn.

My First Attempt at Digital Photography

I began with great expectations of turning my photos into a masterpiece; however, I quickly discovered that it takes more than a digital camera to create art.  I began with one photo but after hours working with all the tools Photoshop had to offer I realized I made a bad choice.  I also discovered that Photoshop is not as user friendly as other software packages and that it was going to require a lot more practice at home if I expected to learn how to use it.

I purchased and loaded the software then elected to change my photo to something I admire and love to receive – a single, beautiful rose. Once I found my inspiration, along with Photoshop help and tutorials, I began testing backgrounds with different textures and colors until I found a complement to the rose, which was ‘Wine Silk’.  To give it a softer look I selected ‘Film Grain’ as an effects option.  After experimenting and playing with a multitude of options, I feel I finally have my perfect rose. 

My Perfect Rose

My First Blog Ever!

I'm so excited!  Tonight is the first night of my Digital Art Class and I can't wait to work on and post my photos.  I spent hours looking for fun things to photograph and drove my family crazy, especially since I barely know how to turn the camera on. 

Now I'm taking pictures of anything that doesn't move out of my focus.  My dog and husband run everytime the camera comes out of the bag.  They can run, but they can't hide from my camera!