I have often said that when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. I find that personally very empowering. The image is an extreme closeup of a lily taken at the Monet Estate in Giverney France. I always loved this abstract as it reminded me of intense flames emanating from a star or large sun. I think this is much more interesting and thought provoking than a simple image taken of a flower.
My daughter and my grandson have a garden plot in downtown Vancouver which they faithfully tend to almost daily. Although their plot is quite level, it reminded me of seeing people along the Yangtze River tending to plots on the side of a hill. I took a boat cruise from Chongqing to Yichang which was a journey of 3 days. I always remembered the steepness of the hill these "farmers" were working, and wondered how the plants felt about growing up sideways:-)
As you know, lately I have been revisiting some of the images I have taken over the years. This evening I came across this waterfall scene that I took in Iceland several years ago. The actual photo is not as vivid and saturated as the above. I wanted to make a bold statement and needed an image that was more "painting" than photo. The above is the result. Enjoy the image and the summer weather.
Every so often as the mood strikes me (or I am bored at work:-)) I review some of the images that I have taken in the past. The above image is of an Oystercatcher taken on Flatey Island in Iceland. The Oystercatcher or Haematopus Ostralagus are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing and prying open mollusks such as mussels, or finding earthworms. Despite its name, oysters do not form a significant part of its diet.
As my readers know by now, I have been experimenting by making my images into "works of art" and simulating paintings. As the above image shows I have taken that even further. The images of the butterflies was taken from previously alive butterflies, and the image of the dinosaur is from a photo of a small plastic toy. As I was composing this image I thought of my grandson and how he might be interested in a book on dinosaurs of different types. I thought it would be relatively easy for me to compose images using my photos as artwork and then telling a story that kids may enjoy reading. 
I am on a roll with this art thing and my photos. Next step is to create different images by having a background "art" image like the above, and inserting a person, animal or other object into it to give it a "fantasy" feel. I may try to put a dinosaur in the above image that I took on Galiano Island. Stay tuned for that.
For many years I have always wanted to express myself through the medium of watercolors, oils or acyrlics on canvas. It quickly became apparent to me and I expect to others that I just didn't have enough talent to be a painter. Well I did the next best thing and became a photographer and expressed myself through my images. Recently I became intrigued about the possibility of displaying some of my images as if they were painted and have been experimenting with some of my previous images I had taken over the past years. This image which I quite like was taken in a water town near Shanghai. Enjoy.
My grandson told me yesterday that he was excited to go back to Hawaii in December. He can hardly wait to play "pool ball" with me. We have a pool table in our Hawaii Home. He will be 4 years old when we leave for Hawaii and it will be his 6th trip. I thought what a lucky kid to experience such trips at such a young age. Then I thought further, what a lucky grampa to experience the beautiful islands with my family on a regular basis. Not only to get away from the cold and rain of Vancouver in the winter, but to experience life from the point of view of a 4 year old. I can't wait to play "pool ball" in December. The image enclosed was taken on a previous trip near our home.
