I'm Not Kidding! Yet.

 Proof that I'm serious about being back. Here's another old oldie:  

Girl In The Treetops.

Another LuminarAI edit from a 40+ year old negative scan.

Nice Set of Headlights on That One!

Yeah, I'm back.  At least I think I am.  Got three new posts on the Hare-Brained Homestead blog, so I thought it was time to freshen up here, too.

Hiatus.

Taking a cue from the Europeans, I'm taking the Summer off.  Posting will return when it cools off..  meanwhile, enjoy this..

Sunrise

Scan of slide from around 1975 or '76. Sunrise over the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Rare, in that I've never liked to get up early.

"Painting" type manipulation in one of my editors.. forget which now. We'll be getting away from the ladies for a little bit, because I was starting to get a bit out of control with the tricks, so it's not likely you're ever going to see a full size version of this creepy image:



I have some in the works, combining old and new images, that are a little less over-the-top, so there's that.

Cactus Flower

Recently, I started practicing extracting elements from images.  Yesterday's "Moonshine" image was the first try, and it seems to have worked out well.  Here's another "assembly" of old and new images.  The prickly pear blossom was shot just this afternoon.  The nude, about 35 years ago.

Blossom was "extracted" using Photoshop Elements "Magic Extractor".  Tree limbs were distorted with Elements' "Liquify" filter.  Black and white image was colored using "Tint" tool in Picnik.  Other tools used have slipped my mind.

Double Shot of Moonshine

This one took a couple of hours, and has numerous effects, as you might imagine.  Only the smooth, young buttocks are from an old scan, (original below).  The moon, and hawk are from current digital captures.  In fact, that's the famous "Super Moon" of just last March.

Elements were separated from their original files with Picture Cutout Guide, and assembled in Photoshop elements.  Some additional lighting effects were also added in PSE.  Many effects in Picnik, went into the final image, including "Thermal Image", "Doodle" (the clouds and stars), and of course, the "Mom" tattoo.

Original image from mid-Seventies

Simplicity

Original: color print

Another stab at the "Photocopy" filter on Photoshop Elements; Painted white, then some bits were colored.

Wood Nymph

Yeah. I suppose you could infer a play on words there. A photo montage of two different images.. one originally color,(yes, you've seen it before), one a silly black and white.

Tried out some new software for this. "Nymph" cut out using something called Picture Cutout Guide, which is an easy way to separate different elements from an image. It's a memory hog, though, and very slow, but worked well for this purpose. Coloring was done using GIMP, which is free editing software similar to Photoshop, which was also used. I need a lot more familiarization with it.. has a few tools Photoshop doesn't have.

Color It!

That's right.  You have permission to download to your printer, then have at it with your box of Crayolas, colored pencils, or bodily fluids.  Stick it on your refrigerator, or put them online and post a link in the comments.

This idea came from the fine folks at PhotoJoJo.com.  It's a good site, with fun photo ideas. Check 'em out.

POV#2: Curiosity

Like a headstone.   Pun intended.  Or maybe like plucking morel mushrooms.

"Embossed" tool from ACDSee Pro, colors from Picnik.  Original B & W negative.

POV#1: Discovery

First image of an erotic tryptych.

The Twins

Your pride is showing.

Girl On A Swing

Except for cleaning dust specs, and increasing saturation, this topless young lady is posted "as is"...

Beach "Bum"

On a beach on an island in Lake Michigan, about 1986.  The usual techniques.

Air-Cooled Part 2.

First, let me state right off, that my Photoshop skills aren't all that well developed. Over the years, all the photo manipulation that was needed was performed by Margaret.

Turns out that the task of removing the rest of the model's bikini could be accomplished with ACDSee Pro. The extra accoutrements were added using Photoshop's paintbrush tool.

Which version do you like best?

Air-Cooled Coochie

(and I spelled it right without having to look it up)

I bet my friends who were involved with this project will scratch their heads in puzzlement, because they won't remember this, until they realize there's some digital undressing going on here. My technical skills aren't quite at the level yet where I could remove the top as easily as the bottom, and we weren't paying her enough to do it "live".

Let The Sunshine In...

Click to play

Another day, different colors.  The sun makes it warm.

Like yesterday's image, from the same session, this was first converted to black and white from the original.  Needed a lot of cleaning up, as the scanner was really picking up the "silk" texture, and all of these old 5x7 enlargements are really starting to curl bad.

Added the sun in ACDSee Pro, the graduated tint for "sunlight" in Picasa, then painted the colors back in in Picnik.  The original:

Reversal

Color print original, converted to black and white > reversed (back to color) > then "painted" black and white on the flesh only (plus the bits of interest!). Yeah.

Board Broad

Original Black & White

I think I like the "painting" more than anything. Another black and white negative. Colored with Picnik, and added "HDR" effect. Kinda reminds me of Mel Ramos pin-up artwork. Finished with a fake Polaroid Insta-Print look.

Shower Door #2

Speaking of being sneaky....  this was one of those times.

Now, this could have been done two ways. I could have taken a normal image, and applied the "bathroom window" effect on ACDSee Pro, - or - I could have actually taken the image through the shower door. In this case, it was the latter, rather than the former. Black and white negative, colored with Picnik tint tool. Gallery frame also from Picnik.