New Week, New Ideas

Photographically speaking, I'm kind of a purist. It probably comes from shooting with film for years and needing to get the best negative possible so that I'd have minimal work to do in the darkroom to get just the effect I was after. So, normally I'm not big on altering my photos digitally after the fact. If I alter them at all, it's usually by playing with focus and exposure in the camera itself. But lately I've been somewhat intrigued by some work I've seen using textures and layering them over a "normal" image. Often they are pretty kitschy and not to my liking but every once in a while, I'll see one that is really rich looking and beautiful.

So, I thought it would be fun to experiment a little and see what happened.

First, I made this image of some valley grass laying on a discarded and weathered cardboard box....

and then layered this cracked and discolored concrete wall over it...

...the result is subtle, but it does have more texture than the original and it's not bad for a first attempt.

In case you're not "sold" on the idea, here are some more "traditional" shots...apparently I wasn't the only one out enjoying the beautiful day.

Here is another texture layer I shot...remember the photo of Albert in the back seat from yesterday? Here it is again, with the texture layer added to it... Maybe it's not something I'd enter into a contest, but in order to learn something new and to perfect the craft, it's that old adage of try try and try again. I plan to keep experimenting with this idea until I get something I really like or I get tired of trying...so stay tuned and watch and see what happens.

 Dried grass...

layered over Albert...

...same image, B&W version (we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto...)

Another version of Albert using this cracked paint shot as the background texture...

And finally, one of Albert with a postage stamp texture someone else shot that I found on flickr (thank you S. Alex Maier)

Anyway, I think it's good to try new things, and so, there you have it.