When I haven't been out enjoying these beautiful, sunny fall days and pretty tree colors, I have been working hard the past two weeks getting ready for next weekend's Stormy Weather Arts Festival at Cannon Beach. 

I have been experimenting more with adding layers to my photos of different elements.  The photo "Glorious Day" is made of 15 layers of textures, text, and enhancements.  This drop seemed, to me, to be a person standing tall, arms back, face to the sun, smiling and full of hope. It is about freedom, love and the start of a new day. A blank slate, where your dreams and desires can come true.

Here I've attached the original, single image capture and the finished, layered photo.  The two are quite different.  It has been challenging and fun to figure out what looks good to my eye.  What to add, what to take away, what I want the end result to be and what I need to do to get there.

If you haven't been, check it out the festival sometime.  All the shops and galleries are open, some later than usual, and they have live music, artist demonstrations, and wine/hor d'oeuvres.  I'll be at Dragonfire Gallery Saturday from 1-2pm, with my new work.  Maybe we will continue to have more of this fantastic weather, who knows!

Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock

  Glorious DayThis drop is a person standing tall, arms back, face to the sun, smiling and full of hope. It is about freedom, hope, love and the start of a new day. A blank slate, where your dreams and desires can come true.

About the process: I started with a single exposure image of the drop and Cannon Beach, and from there I added layers of textures, text, and color adjustments. It is a long creative process, where each layer has to look just right, until I feel that the photo is absolutely "done," or "complete."