Wednesday, June 16, 2010

layers











on my home from work one evening i stopped at an old cemetery. it sits right next to a quaint old church with the classic steeple and stained glass windows. it's the kind of picturesque place you see on old postcards or on a lazy sunday drive in the country. i love cemeteries. you can be alone with your thoughts there and let your imagination run free. i like to imagine what the type of headstone says about the person buried there. and the engraved inscriptions can be quite quaint and sometimes downright odd. but my favorite thing to do at cemeteries is to take photos. on this particular evening the sun's angle was casting such lovely light on the headstones and i happily snapped away. some of the very old stones were weathered and pocked with various shades of yellow to green moss adding extra texture. many of the photos were close-ups of the stones to be used as textured layers on other photos. the 4 flower photos above all have gravestone texture layers added in photoshop. the last photo shows one of the gravestone photos by itself. i just love how the texture layers add so much character and dimension to the flower photos. you can take something bright and shiny and give it an aged patina, making it better than the original. isn't that what life does to us? i can look back over my life and see how each phase and experience shaped me into the person i am today. yes, there are lines and scars and age spots. gray hair and thinning skin show my age. but they also show the character i've developed and the wisdom i'm willing to share. gone is the bright shiny penny and i wouldn't change a thing. not a single thing.

5 comments:

chiccoreal said...

Dear Julie: This is a beautiful photograph of purple flowers. I love purple flowers. I love the sense of innocence in your art work; your style is consistent; showing your keen skills. I use to do this to and people thought I was odd riding around on my Fuji but I felt peace and I love looking at the pioneer names and carving. As long as one is respectful the ghosts seem to not be concerned. Besides I always say a prayer and this might have gotten a few past the pearly gates! I always went by this one crypt in London, ONt. and it was so beautiful made of marble. I think I do a piece on my blog; it is incredible!

Christine said...

particularly love the lavender shot. my friends sometimes say they'd love to be teenagers again, and I think, I wouldn't trade the life I've already lived...too many experiences..so I'm with you, Julie.

steviewren said...

Ha, Julie...from now on I'm going to copy you and refer to my gray hair, age spots and wrinkles as my patina.

I stopped on the way home the other day to take pictures of a country church. It had a small cemetery behind it. It was late in the afternoon and the grass was high, so I decided not to walk around due to mosquitoes. You got lots of good photos. I'm interested to see what you do with it all.

lori vliegen said...

i love your analogy of layers and life......you always speak to my heart, miss julie! gorgeous photos!!
xox, :))

Joanna said...

I really like the look of theses flowers with the layers of texture. They look soft and weathered and beautiful. And your words are lovely too.