Hanmer springs is a lovely alpine village famed for its beautiful natural hot springs, it also has some great tracks to walk and cycle. I spotted this guy -a mule if I’m not mistaken, when we were out for a walk. He wasn’t going to stop eating for anything, or come any closer. Almost forgot! […]
Apr 22, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Fly Edges, Jill Ferry, lost void, mule, New Zealand, peach blush, Rainbow Trout, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1 | Comments Off on A little late lunch
Captured from the hip on my way up to the spectacular bell-view, previously photographed many times, next door to the cathedral, which can just be glimpsed at the top, behind the end house. I spent hours removing the electrical clutter, mostly from the right hand side of the lane and the horrible council bins behind […]
Mar 15, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Caramel soft, France, Labyrinth, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2 | Comments Off on les visiteurs
With Easter on its way, hopping through all this thawing snow, I thought I’d try something a little experimental as well as seasonal with our textures. I was after an antique surreal scene, perhaps in the style of the old master Alfred Stieglitz ‘Camera Work’. I used an old wine crate from my cellar, (with […]
Feb 23, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: antique Liasons, easter, Elysium, Hare, Holmes, Labyrinth, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, sepia, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2 | Comments Off on hare tricks
After a bit of an Epiphany the other day about my last blog posting, I decided to work on a cleaned up idealized version. Purists might blanch, (and probably shouldn’t be here anyway!) but I’ve merged two images together and removed the cluttering couple! The council bin has also gone by simply cloning out, and […]
Jan 26, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Caramel soft, Colosseum Sienna, France, lighthouse, Orient Express, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2 | Comments Off on jetty shadows
We’re lucky in this far western tip of the French Côte d’Azur area, with our crisp clear skies, making these wonderfully dramatic shadows. The downside is the very dry North Westerly windchill from the surrounding mountains. This wind is called the Tramontane – meaning north wind which also keeps the winter clouds at bay, so […]
Jan 23, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Colosseum Sienna, France, lighthouse, Orient Express, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 2 | Comments Off on sea walkers
Back on a misty autumnal day I visited this Roman excavation site, I’ve written about it before in Pines in the Mist This image is from the top of that hill overlooking the famous l’oppidum d’Enserune, a UNESCO protected medieval cartwheel farm system, here, totally obscured by the sea mist. See Here And that’s Martine […]
Jan 21, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, Caramel soft, France, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Roman, Tex Box 1, trees | Comments Off on Life on the edge
Another AutopanoPro merge of two portrait formatted landscapes. I’ve left the base showing where I had a missing bit to clone in. Shot as the sun was setting behind riverbank trees. The first copies of the shot were treated to give a Painterly effect.. Then treated with the following textures: Apple Blush ~ opacity ~ […]
Jan 17, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, Caramel soft, Elysium, France, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2, Vertorama | Comments Off on winter wheat treescape
The other day on our freezing beach. Shot with my 75-300mm zoom lens, this scene was captured from a great distance of a neighboring beach. Because its from a distance the people look much closer together than they were! Not shown on my base image are a line of fishing rods and a fisherman sat […]
Jan 16, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, beach, Caramel soft, France, grunge, Leaky Garret, lime plaster, lost void, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2 | Comments Off on the winter group
One of those soft yet mild overcast days in August when the low sea clouds come in over the land from the Mediterranean. In France we call it the ‘Marine’ pronounced Maran it brings damp dark weather that can last for up to two weeks in winter! Luckily in summer it’s short lived, tending to […]
Jan 14, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Antique Liaisons, beach, France, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, silk, Tex Box 1 | Comments Off on Soft dune days
A freezing walk on our local French beach with friends and their dogs over the weekend, produced this simple image. The glow of the cold mid-winter sun warmed by applying several flypaper textures and this time, no colour tweaks!I’m typing this whilst looking out over gently falling snow flakes,Europe and this, our northern Mediterranean coastline […]
Jan 08, 2010 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: beach, Caramel soft, figures, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Languedoc, Mediterranean, mid-winter, Muscatel.cold, Necropolis, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, sand, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2, vacation | Comments Off on Homeward bound
Our Southern French countryside is dotted with these ancient stone windmill ruins. There must be hundreds but I’ve seen only a couple that have been restored. The backdrop being our black mountains, which help to protect our Mediterranean coastal plains from the worst excesses of the northern European winter cold.The field contains freshly planted vines, […]
Dec 17, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Antique Liaisons, Caramel Cream, Chlorophyll, coastal, flowers, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, grunge, heady perfume, hilltop, Labyrinth, landscape, Languedoc, lost void, Mediterranean, moody, mountains, Ordinance Map, Paul Grand, photoshop, Raw Linen, ruined windmill, Tex Box 1, Tex Box 2, vacation, viners, vineyard | Comments Off on ruined windmill story
On the same day but taken just before the last ‘Reflected Light’ posting. This is inside our Beziers Park of the poets, decorated with many stone carved busts. Its made up of two pictures, merged in photoshop, as my Autopanopro was playing up!A more finished/textured version of this image is on my Flickr site. As […]
Nov 29, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, Autopanopro, autumnal, bust, Caramel soft, Flypaper Textures, France, French, landscape, Languedoc, Mediterranean, merged, moody, Necropolis, painterly, park of the poets, Paul Grand, photoshop, poet, Raw Linen, statue, surreal, Tex Box 1, trees, vacation | Comments Off on Bust and tree
Walking back from our local ‘Park of the Poets’ in Central Beziers,I came across this dark and narrow bow terrace.The lowering sun reflecting off the opposite houses stucco in an interesting way, lighting the upper apartment windows.You’ll see I’ve removed a mass of visual pollution from the skyline, aerials are the one thing I almost […]
Nov 27, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: angst, apartments, buildings, Caramel Cream, contained, crowding, curve, Dangerous Liaisons, enclosed, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, golden, hour, lonely, Mediterranean, moody, Orient Express, Paul Grand, Pompeii Stucco, prison, Raw Linen, reflected light, sad, sky, solitude, surreal, trapped, vacation, vertigo, windows | Comments Off on reflected light
Whilst on the way to the beach yesterday, with a slight sea mist over the vineyards.I came across this derelict farmhouse in a sea of golden vines.‘Chasse Gardee’ I’m told, means strictly licensed hunters only. Apple Blush – Soft Light Opacity @ 29%Raw Linen – Overlay Opacity @ 100%Necropolis – Overlay Opacity @ 39%Caramel Soft […]
Nov 15, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, Caramel soft, clouds, derelict, distance, farm house, farmers field, Flypaper Textures, France, French, golden, grunge, landscape, Languedoc, moody, Necropolis, no hunting, no shooting sign, painterly, path, pathway, Paul Grand, poles, Raw Linen, Ruin, stakes, track, trees, vacation, vineyards, warning | Comments Off on ape
Another human for our professional readers!Taken on a professional Portrait shoot with French Artist, Martine Roch a couple of years ago. This one was never used but I now like the little surreal looking figure with a bucket in the corner!It was shot in that cold, sharp April light, the shadows being so dark, it […]
Nov 12, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Artist, beach, blond, breakwater, Caramel soft, carrying, carrying on, concept, Contra jour, figure, figures, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, golden, Languedoc, leaving, lone, man with buck, Martine Roch, mature, Mediterranean, moody, Necropolis, painterly, parting, Paul Grand, pink, portrait, Raw Linen, reflected light, reflector, Sea, single, strong, surreal, surrealist, Tex Box 1, uplighter, vacation, woman | Comments Off on Life goes on
Another misty ‘Canal du Midi’ shot, just west of Beziers,our famous local French Atlantic coast to the French Mediterranean sea connection. One of the main reasons for its being built was to avoid having to sail around Spain.Because just over two hundred years ago those pesky Spanish Pirates were quite a problem!This in turn brought […]
Nov 10, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, Autopanopro, autumn, autumnal, barge drivers, bounty, Canal du Midi, Caramel soft, choices, concept, end, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, grunge, horses shade, joined up, Languedoc, Mediterranean, mellow fruitfulness, mist, moody, Napoleon's marching trees, painterly, path, pathway, Paul Grand, poplar trees, Raw Linen, roads, Routs, sailers, stagnant, travel, trees, vacation, wealth, wine | Comments Off on Three routes into mist
Nov 06, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, autumn, Beziers, boat, boats, calm, Caramel soft, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, golden hour, Languedoc, Mediterranean, no people, painterly, Paul Grand, Raw Linen, river bank, riverscape, sunset, Tex Box 1, tress, vacation | Comments Off on A view from a Roman Bridge
A rare misty day in our part of the world.These mists are so far and few I have to dash out with my camera!This picture was taken on a strange atmospheric hill that sticks out of the old sea marshes, or ‘Etang’ in French.It now rises out of a sea of golden vineyards. On top […]
Oct 30, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: apple blush, archeological digs, atmospheric hill, Bruised Saffron, digs, finds, Flypaper Textures, Getty, guarding, hillside, historic, Languedoc, Mediterranean, mist, misty day, moody, now silted up, old sea marshes, Oppidum sea port, Paul Grand, pine trees, Raw Linen, road to Narbonne, Roman Museum, Roman settlement, soft, strange, Tex Box 1, thousand years, UNESSCO, vacation, world heritage site, ‘Etang’ | Comments Off on Pines in the mist
These trees are a feature of the coast in the beautiful Catlins area in the south of New Zealand. The wind comes off the sea and sculpts the trees to these wonderfully surreal shapes.I processed this fairly lightly with Soft Caramel soft light 67% , Bruised Saffron multiply 17%and a touch of Raw Linen overlay […]
Oct 18, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Bruised Saffron, Caramel Soft, Catlins area, concept, dark, distorted, Getty, Green, grunge, hill top, Jill Ferry, landscape, lonely, New Zealand, Raw Linen, Sea, southern, Tex Box 1, trees, vacation, wind swept | Comments Off on Windswept
I rediscovered this one when I was hunting for something to process earlier, my archives are full of things I’ve forgotten about -mainly because I have such a hard time finding anything!Anyway…after much playing with different texture combinations and then tying to get the tone “just right” this is what I came up with.Necropolis -Overlay […]
Oct 10, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: bottle, Bruised Saffron, dark, flower, Flypaper Textures, grunge, indoors, Jill Ferry, moody, Necropolis, New Zealand, Raw Linen, rose, Still Life | Comments Off on Rosa Antiquus (with recipe)
I spotted this wonderfully lit building whilst coming out of a Beziers art gallery one Sunday afternoon, the weather was a little washed out and everything looked bleached gray except this eighteenth century building painted a cool shade of ocher.Naturally, when I uploaded it was washed out too..:-/So out came the rich flypaper textures to […]
Oct 07, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: Beziers, bleak, bordom, building, Caramel soft, city, concept, depressing, Ed Hopper, Elysium, France, French, gray, green shutters, grunge, Languedoc, local, moody, Necropolis, painterly, Paul Grand, Pompeii Stucco, Raw Linen, sky, stone, sunday, surreal, Tex Box 1, winter | Comments Off on l’ennui du dimanche
Another archive shot from my “famous” basement! When you’re using textures, it often pays to try out lots of different blending modes as sometimes the ones you’d not think would work give great results.In this photo for example I used a couple of blending modes I don’t often use, namely vivid light and linear burn, […]
Oct 04, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: dove grey, Dunedin, ginko, glass bottle, Jill Ferry, leaf, New Zealand, Raw Linen, Tex Box 1 | Comments Off on Ginkgo (with recipe)
A simple use of Flypapers Raw Linen in full blur mode.Blend hard light Opacity was 100%, fill Opacity @ 94% Necropolis texture was used to finish.Blend soft light 48% and fill opacity @ 57%. Just these two textures were used to create an almost ‘sepia effect’ of a visitor, perhaps from the past.
Oct 03, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: concept, Flypaper Textures, France, French, Getty, illustrative, Languedoc, lone, man, Mediterranean, moody, Necropolis, photoshop, Raw Linen, sand, Sea, sepia effect, shaw, soft, strange, stranger, surreal, Tex Box 1, vacation | Comments Off on visitor from the past
Here I used five of our ‘flypaper 1’ textures.I find that using several textures at a gentle opacity, really helps build up interesting depth and atmosphere!Pomeii StuccoBruised SaffronRaw LinenWhite ShagreenElysium
Sep 23, 2009 | Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: antique, appartment building, banisters, Beziers, Bruised Saffron, building, circles, concept, dizzy, Elysium, France, French, Getty, hallway, infinity, Languedoc, looking up, mind, Paul Grand, Pompeii, Raw Linen, staircase, structure, Stucco, surreal, Tex Box 1, vertigo, White Shagreen | Comments Off on Circles of your mind
