Reverie in Burma
Somewhere in Burma, 2011
This poor woman was sitting, minding her own business when I walked by. She was on the porch of her small home, completely oblivious to me and my camera. An open door behind her framed her handsome portrait in black.
I look for a black background. It makes the subject pop. A mundane subject becomes important. Colors intensify. But when you shoot in RAW, you need some work in Photoshop before your photo reaches its potential. I’d notice her in Camera Raw among all my other photos and I’d think about deleting her. The shot was a bit overexposed and there seemed to be no life in it.
Yesterday, after reading a blog by Jim Zuckerman (whom I admire) I decided to use a plug-in called Topaz Impression on my Burma Woman. Topaz Impression turns your photo into a painting. It’s fun to see what the different filters will do to your photos.
This rendition uses one of the color pencil modes. That’s why there are so many white specks. Normally, I don’t like those white specks, but here they seem to work. They look like tears.