zen dawn by northy

zen dawn

a self portrait for my get pushed challenge set by @so_lo_webb

this was MEANT to be an easy shot... two images layered - one with me, one without... and the one with me at very low opacity...

but i could NOT get things to work right... to make a long story short, i had to do a major etsooi job to make this even come close to working... this is something like my 10th edit and I.AM.DONE

i still have a bunch of shots to get thru from the vacation, plus more from the cottage... hoping to be caught up on these tomorrow and then i will have some time to do a proper job of commenting back... tx so much for your patience!

@so_lo_webb hey Lois - here is my attempt at a self portrait... not sure how much it truly represents me, but then again, i'm not sure what would ;p
July 20th, 2013  
AC
I truly appreciate the results of your efforts. It is so peaceful.
July 20th, 2013  
wow...this is really creative
July 20th, 2013  
absolutely incredible. I'm not a huge fan of photoshopping to much, but this is really interesting with the layers which makes me remember traditional form of printing. The best part of this is the composition. I love the structure of this photo with the figure in the foreground and the scene reflected in the upper right background. Brilliant!
July 20th, 2013  
Very cool. Nice response. Works beautifully.
July 20th, 2013  
I love this. Otherworldly/zen feeling.
July 20th, 2013  
Sue
Great response to the challenge ... very Zen!
July 20th, 2013  
inzenly good :)
July 20th, 2013  
Awesome
July 20th, 2013  
!!!! Gosh, all this time I've been seeing your profile pic, I've never actually looked at it large until now, and for some reason, I never imagined you with short hair! LOL! Is it funny how we imagine things about a person's looks based on what they write or how their voice sounds on the telephone?

Very peaceful shot. Would be perfect to display at your funeral. LOL!
July 20th, 2013  
Transcendent! Love it!
July 20th, 2013  
I think this is gorgeous. What a great shot. So captures a stolen moment
July 20th, 2013  
Very zen image!
July 20th, 2013  
Cool idea
July 20th, 2013  
Hi there wasn't sure where to post but just to let you know I am away from today for five days with no Internet access so can you leave me out of the get pushed challenge this week. Many thanks.
July 20th, 2013  
very cool...
July 20th, 2013  
this definitely has a very zen feel to it, and the layering looks great to me. i feel all tranquil looking at this shot :)
July 20th, 2013  
So peaceful and an elegant stillness that totally belies the frustration you experienced with it.
July 20th, 2013  
@tabbycat you are too funny ;p yeah - i often imagine what people look like or how they sound based on very limited info (how they write, for example) - and am inevitably proved wrong...
July 20th, 2013  
So cool....would it have worked as a LE with you in place for a short time to get the ghost effect?
It must be hot and muggy in the Muskokas, with the water so still.
July 20th, 2013  
I really like this outcome!
July 20th, 2013  
@lynnb actually, both were long exposure shots which accounts for the water being still... it was actually quite windy that morning... yes - i could have done one exposure and the ghost thing - but this is where i ran into difficulty... my head would "bump into" the buoys that were floating out there, or the other side of the lake... and if i got a shot where i my head did not merge into anything, then there would be nothing else to add interest or context to the background - just the water (and you wouldn't be able to tell it was water)... so the shot of me is blown up a bit... but this didn't work perfectly and i had to cut and paste in some extra background or there would have been a "seam" in the shot... anyway, this is what made it all much more complicated than i had planned for...

and yes, the Muskokas were hot and muggy until thursday afternoon when the torrential rain started... which is why the beach was sopping wet Friday morning ;p
July 21st, 2013  
@northy Oh....my....that stinks! I do like the outcome though...you do shots like this well...I don't have patience to try and figure it all out!
July 21st, 2013  
well i quite like it and would love to be on that lake right now!!!
July 21st, 2013  
I think it's great!! fav!
July 21st, 2013  
I love this, I think you've met the challenge perfectly. And the shot tells a story .....
July 21st, 2013  
Great concept and composition. Peaceful. As a self portrait I love it. Shows aspiration and comtemplation which I assume is very important to you.

On a technical note I have found that the best way of progressing in the programs we use is to try to execute a conceptual image so well done :)
July 21st, 2013  
Love it!
July 22nd, 2013  
Very zen!
July 22nd, 2013  
Whatever you did worked really well :o) xx
July 23rd, 2013  
A good idea count more and this is good idea for Zen, Have Chairs (on the upper right corner) or no chair (sitting on the muddy road), it doesn't matter.
July 27th, 2013  
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