Through the lens

Digital manipulation of images in photoshop:4

2011-10-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Another one in the series of work based on my daughter and her belongings.

Digital Manipulation of Photographs in Photoshop: 3

2011-09-07T04:19:00.000-07:00

This one was done purely from photographs - but with lots of layers and stages, most of which I've now forgotten!

It involved a photo of my daughter changed with effects like Find edges and sumi e , drybrush, paint daubs and erasing parts and combining it with a wall hanging she had of dolphins, which was also changed a bit - possibly with drybrush.

Digital Manipulation of Photographs in Photoshop 2

2011-08-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Another in the series of digital manipulations of photographs of my daughter, done a few years ago.

She has a habit of running her fingers through her hair. I photographed this Rosetti painting, cropped it, used several effects on it to simplify it such as dry brush, and possibly sumi e. I copied and flipped the crop I'd made, doubled the canvas size and pasted it to join as a mirror image and then integrated the photo of my daughter, applying the same effects to make the images gel together as one.

Lots of use of layers and techniques to unite the 2 very different images to make a cohesive finished piece.

I'll post more in the series.

Digital manipulation of photographs in Photoshop

2011-08-02T02:59:00.000-07:00

These photos were part of a larger series I did a few years back.

The subject is my daughter. I took a lot of photos of her and her belongings and surroundngs. These wine bottles stood in the kitchen with the light of the window shining through.

I layered a photo of her at varying opacities and then applied effects, simplifying shapes and adding graphic elements, layering +++ as I went.

Other images combined her with rugs and hangings and windows - I'll show some of those in days to come.

Close up photographs: Dandelion clock

2011-07-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dandelion clock, Vivien Blackburn

Aren't dandelion clocks beautiful?

Remember blowing the seeds away to 'tell the time'?

Rosebud in my garden

2011-07-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

A rose in the garden. Using the 10x magnifying lens.

Sea of Poppies

2011-06-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Crimson Tide

I haven't seen a field with so many poppies in since I was a child - it was amazing. I only had my compact camera and took this in a hurry and messed up the exposure - I must go back with my Fuji.

Summer blues

2011-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Flowering now in my garden. More here

Narrow Cornish Lane

2011-06-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

The car nearly touches each side - fingers crossed that nothing comes the other way.

The Harbour, Sennen Cove

2011-05-22T03:16:00.000-07:00

The harbour, Sennen Cove

Across the bay sunset and afternoon light

2011-05-15T04:33:00.000-07:00

digital manipulation, flowers, using Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro

2011-04-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Not a great photo but I decided to play with it in Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro

The original photo - a sunny day so high contrast against the background, taken with a close up filter (10x magnification)

The oriental poppies are starting to open, I can't see the dramatic centres clearly yet but they'll soon open.

The first image is the untouched photograph

This one is a combination of the original and the black and white version below, only a subtle difference but moodier? a little more dreamlike?.

Black and white version

I simply pasted the black and white version on top of the coloured version and used multiply in the layer options - then tweaked the colour a little using the hue and saturation, levels and contrast.

And on the final one I duplicated the layer in the black and white image and used edge effects, dodge and burn a bit, and upped the contrast.

Each programme has tools that I like - but oh Corel can be slooooow! and it isn't a matter of my computer speed/memory because Photoshop doesn't. Does anyone else have that problem?

more spring flowers

2011-04-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

early spring flowers in the garden

2011-03-16T05:54:00.001-07:00

There are signs of spring in the garden after a rather vicious winter that killed off some plants so I nipped out with the camera on macro setting.

Mini daffodils, hyacinth, winter pansies and wild violets that self set everywhere - I love them and have a running battle to stop my husband pulling them out as weeds. 90% of the winter pansies died in that awful weather before Christmas :>(

Glacial caves

2011-03-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Look at this link for some amazing photos by Eric Guth of a cave deep inside a glacier

aren't they beautiful?

2011-02-25T03:43:00.000-08:00

Resident tiger was very very jealous of new black kitten - doesn't it just show?

shame it was a bit out of focus

A bigger splash

2011-02-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

A bigger Splash, Vivien Blackburn

I don't think I've shown this one before here?

2011-02-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

evening light, January

Winter fields in evening light - skies are so gorgeous in the early morning and evening.

experimenting with a new (to me) pocket camera

2011-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Groby Pool, Evening Light. phographs by Vivien Blackburn

My much loved Fuji camera is big and fairly heavy, like an SLR, and for ages I've toyed with the idea of a pocket camera for times when I wouldn't carry the Fuji.

Last week I bought a little Panasonic Lumix from a friend who had upgraded and this is it's first outing - some very very quickly snatched photos on the way back from a family visit.

I have to say I'm really pleased with it. There was a scary bit when my computer wouldn't talk to its HDSC disk - but that was solved when I dug out the card reader that I don't normally need. Phew! relief.

The light was very low, subtle colours in the sunset and I haven't had time to absorb all of its possibilities. These were taken with aperture priority and a wide aperture, flash switched off. No tripod, just hand held - so I'm quite pleased with how they came out. The speed would have been lower than ideal for hand held in that light. The sheen of the water was beautiful.

This is an old flooded slate quarry with a very very old manor house on the other side which belonged to the Grey family (the family of Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day queen). There are deep still-working quarries on the other side of the road too, hidden by the woods.

Considering it was having a lot asked of it in low light, I was really happy :>)

mist and ice: today's photographs

2010-12-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ice on the hedges

and ice on the fallen leaves

and ice on the undergrowth

winter has come very early this year :>(

you can see more here

Exhibition

2010-12-06T00:17:00.000-08:00

Setting up the exhibition at The Old Grammar School - a 17C timbered building on stilts.

Hunstanton, very high tide with onshore gale

2010-11-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

Very high tide with onshore gale, Hunstanton

Hydrangeas close up

2010-07-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hydrangeas in my garden.

I planted this hydrangea in a chimney pot on the patio last year when it was a beautiful sky blue.

I know they can turn pink if the soil isn't right so I bought some aluminium salts to make sure it stayed blue and this year it's a beautiful intense blue-purple.

Evening Light, Sennen Cove

2010-07-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Evening Light, High Tide, Sennen Cove. photo by Vivien Blackburn

This was taken into the light of the setting sun and I love the way that it appears to be a black and white photo - and that flash of light on the horizon beyond the harbour wall.

Flowers after rain - in my garden

2010-06-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

Oriental Poppy, photograph Vivien Blackburn

We had heavy rain this morning so I thought I'd put the 10x magnifying lens on and get some images of the dripping wet flowers before they dried.

Artichoke - or is it a Cardoon ? I can't remember! but it's flowering this year :>) 3 buds. I can't wait until the flower opens. They are supposed to be the blue ones - I love that sky blue colour. It has taken 3 years for it to finally flower.

another of the Oriental Poppies that have done really well this year :>)

Foxgloves - the bees love these.

and finally the climbing Masquerade rose that flowers and flowers all summer.

It's only little but I love my garden :>)

Porthcurno, May 2010

2010-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Porthcurno Beach, Cornwall, May 2010, copyright Vivien Blackburn

.... and yes! the sea in Cornwall really IS that colour, no photoshopping or retouching at all.

Sennen Cove, May

2010-05-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

Sennen Cove, Low Tide, May 2010, copyright Vivien Blackburn

Winter Pansies

2010-04-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Winter Pansies

The winter pansies I planted in the autumn have been fantastic this year - they flowered all winter and are now a mass of flowers, looking really beautiful. This photo was taken when I bought them when they were just little plants in 5 inch pots - they are now huge sprawling masses of colour in large pots :>)

2010-03-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

A really bad photo - but this is the size of madame in the previous photo when we first had her. Orphaned, 2 weeks old and her and her brother fitted in one hand. Sadly her brother didn't make it as he couldn't tolerate the kitten formula :>(

Mind the claws!

2010-03-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

Poser in a wastepaper basket

This one loved to play up to the camera when she was younger - and has a fetish for getting into baskets and boxes.

When overexcited those claws are lethal!

2010-02-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

Rocks at Hele Bay, Devon, photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

Hydrangea, photoshopped

2010-01-23T03:13:00.000-08:00

Hydrangea close up, copyright Vivien Blackburn

A close up, played with in Photoshop.

Roses

2010-01-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

Roses. copyright Vivien Blackburn

Just to remind myself that winter will end.

Oriental Poppy

2010-01-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

Oriental Poppy, copyright Vivien Blackburn

A gorgeous oriental poppy, taken when flower painting in a friend's garden. They don't like my garden much so I've never grown them very successfully :>(

2010-01-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wild Day, Sennen Cove, copyright Vivien Blackburn

For some beautiful and dramatic storm pictures taken by local photographers check out these.

Rocks - photographs from Devon

2010-01-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

Rocks on the beach at Clovelly, photographs copyright Vivien Blackburn

Huge rocks on the beach at Clovelly - they didn't have far to go for building materials for the harbour and streets.

More images of Clovelly here.

Sunset

2010-01-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

Sunset over Pentire, copyright Vivien Blackburn

Wishing I was there.

snow

2010-01-11T08:00:00.001-08:00

Photographs copyright Vivien Blackburn

Back to work today and the first time out of the door in ages .... I don't do snow! But it did mean I got out to take some photos.

The car tyres in the car park at work had made this row of hearts :>)

and the dried grasses in the verges made lovely calligraphic marks agains the snow covered fields.

I think these may feed into some drawings/paintings.

see some other images taken today on my painting blog.

photograph of a jealous cat!

2010-01-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

The tiger in the background was adopted as a 2 week old orphan and never learned to 'speak cat'. She was terrified of any cat who came near her (she really is a neurotic little madam, still).

So we adopted the little panther in the front after about a year - a kitten of about 8 weeks, thinking it would be company for her and give her confidence.

She was petrified of him - it took weeks for her to adjust and I was seriously worried that it would never work. This is when the fear was subsiding but the jealousy was huge. She did NOT like him sitting there considering coming on my knee!

patterns in the sand: photographs

2010-01-08T06:56:00.001-08:00

Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, wet sand. photographs copyright Vivien Blackburn

Wells next the Sea photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

Mawgan Porth, ebb tide, photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

Sometimes it's the patterns in the landscape/seascape that are so interesting - the sheen of smooth damp sand in the first one, with reflections making a subtle abstract.

In the second the vividly blue sky and sea in stripes and pools and patterns on the beach at Wells, with the tide far out.

In the third the dazzle and shimmer of wet pools as the tide recedes in Cornwall, carving grooves and ripples, channels and deep pools as it goes.

For some lovely pictures of beaches check out the link to Tony Howell in the sidebar

Clovelly, Devon, photographs of the north coast of Devon

2010-01-07T07:21:00.001-08:00

photographs of north Devon, copyright Vivien Blackburn:

Clovelly harbour, above and below

The main street in Clovelly

I could happily spend a week here sketching and taking photographs and never leave the village. The 'street' is incredibly steep and the cobbles are huge, needing sensible shoes. As you zig zag down the hill there are fantastic views down onto the harbour and along the coast.

Autumn in Bradgate Park

2010-01-06T05:26:00.000-08:00

Bradgate Park, in Charnwood Forest, was the home of Lady Jane Grey - the teenage Queen for 9 days, before being beheaded.

The land was given to the city of Leicester as a park - there are ancient oaks, deer, wildlife, rocky, bracken covered hills and the remains of Jane's house.

These were taken on a beautiful sunny autumn day with the lovely long shadows of an autumn afternoon.

2010-01-05T05:23:00.000-08:00

Fishing nets and floats, Ilfracombe harbour. photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

The colour and pattern of the nets on the harbourside caught my eye. It was a family holiday, so no chance of stopping to paint them, though I would have loved to.

Sometimes it's just the abstract pattern, shapes and colours that are interesting.

This was taken with my first digital camera - a 3mp Fuji. I wasn't sure how I'd like digital compared with film as I was used to my Olympus SLR and full control of depth of field and aperture/speed. I found myself hooked and though I haven't parted with my beloved SLR it languishes in a drawer. Since then I've upgraded to a better camera, not SLR but with a huge zoom range and higher spec with manual/auto control. I love the ability to see images immediately, to choose simply which ones to print and to sort into 'best' and the rest :>) in folders.

I've added links to the photographers I particularly like in the sidebar - do take a look.

Doisneau and Cartier Bresson I love for their underlying wit and ability to spot a 'moment'.

Stephane Compoint is a contemporary photographer - do look at his images of the building of the bridge at Millau. If you don't like heights (like me) some of the images will turn your knees to jelly with vertigo.

Bill Brandt for the superb moody lighting and composition and sense of place,

the harbour, clovelly, devon

2010-01-04T05:18:00.000-08:00

The harbour at Clovelly in Devon, photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

A photograph taken a couple of years ago on a visit to the north coast of Devon.

Clovelly is an old fishing village built into a steep hillside, with a steep cobbled pathway winding down to a lovely little harbour. I was disappointed on the way there that it was misty and that we wouldn't be seeing it in sunshine - in actual fact it created a wonderful soft light and really added to the atmosphere. I like the photos with their soft subtler colours and atmosphere :>)

The harbour at Clovelly, photograph copyright Vivien Blackburn

The beach there is covered with huge rocks and these have been used to build the harbour and houses and cobble the streets.

New Year and a new blog, starting with a picture of Cornwall

2010-01-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

May in Sennen Cove. photo: copyright Vivien Blackburn

I've got hundreds - no thousands of photos, some of which I occasionally show on my painting blog. Anita has started a photography blog, where she intends to show a picture a day. I thought it was a great idea.

This won't be a newly taken photo every day, most will be from the vast stored archives I have, mixed in with the new.

I've always had an interest in photography, mainly for its own sake as I prefer not to paint from photos. I included photography in my degree - the university had a wonderful state-of-the-art darkroom in the media department.

The same issues interest me in photography as in painting - light, mood, sense of place, texture, colour and pattern. The arrangement of elements or fields and hedges make wonderful abstract patterns.

The first one I share has to be Cornwall. This one taken on an intensely blue day - vivid blue seas and sky and the fisherman surrounded by gulls :>)