2018-05-27: Painterly Effects Project – Elephants

Anyone that has read this blog more than once or twice is familiar with my love of elephants.  So it should come as no surprise that I have created a painterly effects project using elephant images.

I’ve really enjoyed working with elephant images this week, as the large, recognizable shape has allowed me to work with some very abstract settings, without compromising the ability to know what it is you are looking at.

I hope you enjoy my images for the week, and wishing you the best for a positive and happy week ahead.

20170425-DSC_0682 copy
A pair of young elephants greet each other with affection.
20170501-P1020985 copy
A pair of bull elephants test each others strength in the shallows of the river.
20170511-DSC_4369 copy
Follow me.
20170511-DSC_4473 Pano copy copy
A herd of elephants gathered at a dam.  This is an 8 shot stitched panorama.
20170516-DSC_7014 copy
Mother and daughter stealing a drink from a broken pipe.

 

2018-05-20: Painterly Effects Project – Namibia

I was inspired this week to explore images from Namibia with my painterly effects project for the month.  In the brief time I have spent there, I have found it to be a magical place. The light is beautiful and the landscapes are at times surreal.  From the air, the vast open spaces seem lifeless, but on the ground, it is a completely different story.

I hope you enjoy my selections for the week.

_DSC7331 copy
A group of oryx walking in front of one of the impressive dunes in Sossusvlei.
20170425-DSC_0651 copy
A lone elephant moves through the desert, looking to catch up to her herd that had already reached the river.
20170426-DSC_0808 copy
Sunset over the desert in Hoanib.
20170426-P1020661 copy
A group of flamingos in flight over the Skeleton Coast.
20170429-DSC_1447 copy
The land of vast deserts sometimes surprises with lush greenery.  This lion was lounging in the cool grass with the rest of his pride nearby.
20170426-P1020676 copy
Large groups of seals awaited us when we visited the Skeleton Coast from Hoanib Camp.  Inland it was a clear, blue sky day, but on the coast, fog and mist obscured the view.
20170428-DSC_1146
A group of lions, newly evicted from their pride, roaming through Etosha National Park.
_DSC8656
In Damaraland, you can easily feel like you are the only people for miles around.

 

2018-05-06: Topic of the month – Painterly Effects

To some, using software to make a photo look as if it were sketched or painted may seem like an abomination.  Photographers often go to great lengths (sometimes at great expense) to create sharp and crisp images that show the viewer exactly what the scene looked like.  But what about those times when that beautifully crisp, perfectly exposed image doesn’t convey the feeling of the moment?  Or, heaven forbid, what if you goof up on the exposure, or mess up the focus a bit, but the moment was great and you still want to do something  with the image?  These are just some of the reasons for exploring painterly effects with photography.  I’ve edited photos in the past for all those reasons and while I don’t post them too often, I do have a gallery of my favourite Artistic Impressions or Photo Art images.

This week, I was inspired by a vintage style travel poster I have had hanging up for around the last 12 years or so.  I see it every time I walk towards my sitting room; this week I was struck by the interest in creating a photo series inspired by it, whereas most of the time I just look at it and think “I really want to go to the Serengeti someday”.

DSCF0643.jpg
A quick snap of the poster that inspired this week’s editing.

I decided to do a series of Big 5 animals; I can imagine these in a vintage travel brochure advertising visiting the “Dark Continent” to see the wild and ferocious Big 5.  I edited all of them using the Topaz Simplify filter through the Topaz Studio program.

I hope you enjoy!

20170515-DSC_6310 copy

20170514-DSC_5405 copy1

20170504-DSC_1973 copy

20170507-DSC_2976 copy.jpg

20170428-DSC_1234 copy

 

2017-11-30: WPC Experimental

I am a few days delayed in posting for this topic, but I wanted to play along anyways.  The photo prompt last week was experimental, and it gives me an opportunity to share some of the images I call my Artistic Impressions.

It’s timely, as I was just listening to a wildlife photography podcast that I really enjoy, discussing photographic art as opposed to straight “documentary style” wildlife photography.  I thought the comments of the host, Gerry Vanderwalt, were absolutely spot on.  His take on it was use your wildlife images in whatever way you choose to create the art you want to make, but just be very clear when presenting it to let people know that what they are seeing is not reality.

Now, I don’t think anyone would mistake any of these images for reality, and the comment was more aimed towards compositing work, but, I really do feel that people should create whatever moves them.  If reality didn’t match how the moment made you feel, then turn your images into something that does invoke the feeling of the moment.  Just don’t try to claim it is something that it’s not.

Anyways, on to the images 🙂

 

ground hornbill
A watercolour style take on a ground hornbill at sunset.  I loved the posture of the bird and the shadow on the termite mound, but found the image to be less sharp than I would have liked.  Turning it into one of my artistic impression images allow me to play up what I liked most about the image.
20170511-DSC_4585 copy
If an elephant visited one of my dreams, I think it would look something like this.
20170426-P1020703 copy1
A cormorant perched on the edge of the Atlantic, with seals frolicking amongst the waves.  
20170426-P1020699 copy
A small part of a large seal colony in Namibia.  The weather along the coast was dull and blustery, and many of my images left me flat.  This take on the scene reminds me of surveying the area through the fogged and misty windows of our vehicle.

 

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

 

WPC: Experimental

2017-06-04: Artistic Impressions

I’m busily working behind the scenes trying to get my photos catalogued and rated so I can started the editing process.  Good thing I still have a stock pile of edited images that I can share.

Today, some of my artistic impression images.

I hope you enjoy, and wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead.

DSC_8979-Edit

DSC_5495-Edit

DSC_7936-Edit

error: Content is protected !!