The Little Things
Created for the Hypothetical Awards' L♥VE'S PASSION and DESIRE challenge and for TMI's Holiday Thread for February.
This image began last night when I realized how beautiful the petals falling off my dying tulips were. I collected a bunch and photographed them in the shape of a heart.
I had been wondering how to use my photo of hearts impressed in concrete (more on which in a minute) and it occurred to me that it might work as the inside of the petal heart. Then this afternoon I saw HocusFocusClick's gorgeous flower frame (see source photos below) and I knew just what to do with it. Once I had the three layers combined (using various blend modes in Photoshop Elements), I realized that the center of the heart demanded ... something.
At that time, my working title was "Hearts and Flowers" so my first thought was to put a single flower in the middle. I tried a couple different things but the results were all pretty insipid. Then I remembered my photo of a hand and hummingbird (more on which in a minute too) and after some more fiddling with layers and blends, I had it. The new title popped into my head and I was done!
Now, about the concrete and hand photos ...
Two weeks ago I took a bus tour of South Los Angeles, sponsored by the California African American Museum. Our ultimate destination was Watts Towers, which I'd never managed to visit in over 20 years in L.A.! Before heading for the Towers, we stopped to see several other public art works, including a wonderful tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. by local African American artist Charles Dickson. This monumental sculpture, which displays the full text of the "I Have a Dream" speech, is the source of my photo of the hand and the hummingbird (symbol of freedom).
Once at the Watts Towers, we took a tour of the objects and artworks at the base of the towers, which are almost as impressive as the towers themselves. That's where I photographed the concrete embedded with impressions of hearts. The builder of the Watts Towers, Simon Rodia, apparently could leave no surface unadorned ... to great effect. I hope to use many more of the photos I took that day in future images.
The Little Things
Created for the Hypothetical Awards' L♥VE'S PASSION and DESIRE challenge and for TMI's Holiday Thread for February.
This image began last night when I realized how beautiful the petals falling off my dying tulips were. I collected a bunch and photographed them in the shape of a heart.
I had been wondering how to use my photo of hearts impressed in concrete (more on which in a minute) and it occurred to me that it might work as the inside of the petal heart. Then this afternoon I saw HocusFocusClick's gorgeous flower frame (see source photos below) and I knew just what to do with it. Once I had the three layers combined (using various blend modes in Photoshop Elements), I realized that the center of the heart demanded ... something.
At that time, my working title was "Hearts and Flowers" so my first thought was to put a single flower in the middle. I tried a couple different things but the results were all pretty insipid. Then I remembered my photo of a hand and hummingbird (more on which in a minute too) and after some more fiddling with layers and blends, I had it. The new title popped into my head and I was done!
Now, about the concrete and hand photos ...
Two weeks ago I took a bus tour of South Los Angeles, sponsored by the California African American Museum. Our ultimate destination was Watts Towers, which I'd never managed to visit in over 20 years in L.A.! Before heading for the Towers, we stopped to see several other public art works, including a wonderful tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. by local African American artist Charles Dickson. This monumental sculpture, which displays the full text of the "I Have a Dream" speech, is the source of my photo of the hand and the hummingbird (symbol of freedom).
Once at the Watts Towers, we took a tour of the objects and artworks at the base of the towers, which are almost as impressive as the towers themselves. That's where I photographed the concrete embedded with impressions of hearts. The builder of the Watts Towers, Simon Rodia, apparently could leave no surface unadorned ... to great effect. I hope to use many more of the photos I took that day in future images.