autumn leaves

Cemetery Photographs in the Fall

Not as Macabre as one might think.

I am not able to name the cemeteries I photographed but know one is simply the gate from Yerkes Cemetery in Northville, Michigan. I believe the other two at the top of the crosses are from a cemetery somewhere around the Traverse City area in Michigan. All the others were taken in a cemetery in or around Calumet, Michigan.  Two of the figures looked terrible the last time I was up and took these shots.  Here’s an example from years before in black and white.

much cleaner sculptures
from years ago
The End

“They’re coming to get you Barbara….they’re coming for you Barbara….they’re coming for you…LOOK, there comes one of them now!!!”

Fall is Fleeting

So hard to believe just another week until November!  Less than a month until Thanksgiving and the Holiday season begins.  Autumn is just not long enough.  Nothing is ever long enough when you love it so.  I sit through the cold winter to welcome spring and then swelter through summer until the welcome autumn chill cools it down again.

That being said, I didn’t forget Halloween.  Though I don’t celebrate it anymore, those around me still do and I still have many fond memories I will share very soon.

Prepare!  Gather your talismans & good luck charms or say your prayers, which ever you think will save you!

The Undeniable Beauty

Of God’s Creations

 

From what was once my own back yard.

A beautiful Maple tree stood just for me.

All photos, art and content were taken, created and owned by Po’ Girl Shines.  No part of this website may be used,  reproduced or transmitted without the sole written consent of the designer and author, Po’ Girl Shines, except for brief quotations for written reviews.  
Please contact me with any questions in the comment section. 

Luscious Autumn

The colors of fall help to awaken the senses to delightful aromas of hot apple cider, cocoa and pumpkin spice that surrounds you no matter how hard you try to escape it at this time of year.

Please enjoy the following fall photos.

 

All photos, art and content were taken, created and owned by Po’ Girl Shines.  No part of this website may be used,  reproduced or transmitted without the sole written consent of the designer and author, Po’ Girl Shines, except for brief quotations for written reviews.  
Please contact me with any questions in the comment section. 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Autumn Glow

My favorite time of the year.  I once saw a tree actually appear to glow from a distance but I had a witness with me as we drove towards it he turned to me and said “did you just see what I did?”

Sort of like this:

The following are some fall colors with enhanced contrast, lighting and other effects.

Enjoy the following autumn colors.  Beauty is so fleeting on earth.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Layered Effects

Examples of some of the layered effects and collages I create with my photographs.

Layered flowers, border and text.
A couple of erased lilies from other shots in varied transparencies and sizes layered.

 

created a black background, layered part of butterfly bush and butterfly with designer effect on wings with text.
Cross layered onto a photo of a painted canvas, layered with other photos and text to reference when Jesus felt abandoned for a previous photo challenge.
Altered background with various paint spatters in PhotoDraw then began layering varied flower types & size in similar colors. Depending, I will vary the borders and transparencies as well til I get the desired effect.

 

This one I used a couple of graphics included with PhotoDraw and added text for my quote.
Cropped & erased to only show the leaves & bird on tree, positive & negative images, layered together.
Just layered bits & pieces from various fall photographs, cropped, parts erased & bordered.

Glue Gun Art

gluegunart2013DecemberArt 004

I was fooling around with a glue gun tracing the leaf transfers that I adhered on canvas with acrylic medium.  Canvas painted a very dark blue with the idea to manipulate pictures of leaves I had taken and scanned in the fall.

I thought about how the blowing leaves do not float down perfectly in the sky, but swirl and twirl all over the place before they land.  First using Microsoft PhotoDraw, Distort Effect Twirl and fine tuning or adjusting the setting or the amount of the twirl of the leaf I applied it to each leaf separately to create the desired effect.

I verified the size leaves needed for the canvas size of 16 x 20.  Wishing to show the effect of blowing leaves, but totally experimenting because I had not done these techniques before, I printed some of the leaves on regular printer paper, some on transfer paper and some on tracing paper just to see the finished look after fusing them to the canvas.  I carefully cut each leaf out and auditioned them around for a while until I was satisfied.  After the Liquitex Matte Medium dried thoroughly, I painted over each of the leaves with various shades of metallic harvest colors, enhancing the original color of the actual leaves.  The actual transfer paper had the most pronounced leaf veins show through the paint, followed by the ones I printed on high quality printer paper.  I actually preferred the effect that the tracing paper leaves had after painted.  The base is so thin that the canvas outline came through in spots giving it a more textured appearance, which I preferred.

Looked boring so I decided to jazz it up by outlining it with a glue gun, painting over the glue ridges with the same shades of metallic paint and once completely dried, used metallic rub in a lighter shade of gold over the leaves and some of the canvas leaving streaks, enhancing the idea of blowing wind.

It’s ok, still have a lot to learn, but practice makes perfect.  Please see the following slide show for more details.

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The next gallery shows a few shots from some other collages I’m working on including one created for Christmas to reflect all the freaking snow we keep having this year!

Deer silhouette with snowflakes, enhanced with glue and painted.
The lighter green is crushed eggshell for texture effect. Spotting effect was created by dropping alcohol 91% proof.
Leaf shapes enhanced with glue and paint
Leaf
Another leaf.
8×10 practice canvas board.
Glue gun enhanced wood frame, painted for altered photo of violas.