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I first got into photography 50 years ago when I graduated from high school in 1975 at the age of 17. My father who was very much into photography most of his life gifted me a professional Canon F1 camera for my birthday.

One of the things that I liked most about taking photos with that camera, is that it had the special effect of being able to blend two photos together with the technique known as “Double Exposures.” By doing this, I was able to create visual “Dreamlike Worlds” by combining different visuals from different times and places.

I had lots of fun taking photos in the following years that were mostly in the category of “Abstract Art.” But I found out quickly that the hobby of photography was one that was expensive. And since the jobs I got after high school were not high paying ones, I wasn’t able to explore the art of photography as much as I would have wanted to.

It wasn’t until the early 1990’s when digital photography became available that I really started to explore photography in a greater way where the cost of developing film was no longer an issue.

That was around the same time that I got my first computer as well where I started to explore creating artwork by visually enhancing my photography with the software program of Photoshop.

Now this was also the time period where I was getting very frustrated after years of not being able to find a steady job that would make a living. That’s when I finally realized that my parent’s advice was correct, I needed to get some sort of job training that would give me a degree that would turn into a career.

So I decided to go to the trade school in the Los Angeles South Bay called the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC). Since I was very much into health, I went to talk to the counselor about becoming a nurse.

When I went to see the school counselor, he suggested the idea of a new career program that had just been added to the school's curriculum called, “Desktop Publishing.” So I then picked that choice right away when I found out that this job producing various documents also involved creating "artwork" which I loved doing already as a photographer and digital artist in Photoshop.

So after taking the course for 9 months I officially graduated in the top of my class. But as fate would have it, once again my dream quest to find a good career to make a decent living was dashed. Soon after I graduated from school, MicroSoft came out with a comprehensive “Desktop Publisher” software program. This made it a situation where now anyone could easily do their own desktop publishing.

Nonetheless, I was happy to have taken the course because that experience became a vital source of knowledge for me to become a “Digital/Photographer Artist.”

So that's the overall story of how I’ve been visually creating artwork in Photoshop based on my photography for the last 30 years.

What sets me apart from being the usual “Digital Artist,” who strictly works within a computer program, is that I mostly build upon a “Natural World Image” (usually nature photos) taken with my camera and build upon that within Photoshop.

I have done a few strictly “Digital Art” pieces that came out great, but I like the concept better of combining something based in our reality, such as a “Photo” and combining it with the abstract possibilities that the digital world of “Photoshop” offers.

Recently I've been promoting my digital artwork and photography to the world inspired by the many people beyond my friends who have over the years have told me how much they loved my work.

Here are some examples of how I’ve turned some of my photographs into “Digital Works of Art” in Photoshop…..

"Streams of Consciousness"
https://cranesarcaneart.org/products/tote-bag-5
Abalone Shell (Popular Artwork)
Created by increasing and readjusting the color ratio

https://www.instagram.com/p/DIlSCv2O4oM

"A Complex Feeling" (Popular Artwork)
https://cranesarcaneart.org/products/tote-bag-1
A Chain Link Fence Reflection in the Harbor
Created by cutting a few different parts of the photo that created a 3-D effect


https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNVnSnHbVU8y6pxH5QOzd23NkuXAfYoigbxw_Yml36xU5GMgd8hVGoKKLfYZHhUrA/photo/AF1QipMMKyO9ZkINIekFozmV_y6uiLMZ_9MAxrk0vGPz?key=MUtKWjJtN1Y3Z0JvbnR6SVdMZUxjbE5GbW5kdWRn

"Shifting Paradigms"
https://cranesarcaneart.org/products/tote-bag-6
Turkey Feathers
Created by zooming in on some turkey feathers and then twisting them


https://www.instagram.com/p/DIlLjAKu4RZ

"Birds of Paradise"
https://cranesarcaneart.org/products/tote-bag-2
Metal Vase
Created by increasing and readjusting the color ratio along with using the Smudge Tool to create the effect of a paint brush.


https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNVnSnHbVU8y6pxH5QOzd23NkuXAfYoigbxw_Yml36xU5GMgd8hVGoKKLfYZHhUrA/photo/AF1QipOg_UG_A4bhyTc6bTgXObm1SvstAv9TsKq8_ZWq?key=MUtKWjJtN1Y3Z0JvbnR6SVdMZUxjbE5GbW5kdWRn

"Distant Worlds Draw Near"
https://cranesarcaneart.org/products/poster
Clouds & Solar Lens Flares
Created by increasing and readjusting the color ratio along with turning two “Len Flares” created by the sun into what look like planets. I did this by stretching the Lens Flares into circular shapes with the smudge tool.


https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNVnSnHbVU8y6pxH5QOzd23NkuXAfYoigbxw_Yml36xU5GMgd8hVGoKKLfYZHhUrA/photo/AF1QipNnHcjsQL4pW_v8_SkxlxTr1cSF9E6t7K_F4g61?key=MUtKWjJtN1Y3Z0JvbnR6SVdMZUxjbE5GbW5kdWRn


 

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