From flame(leaf) to fire(wheel), followed by a (silver)puff to put out the flames

I recently began a collaboration with my friend Nikki Smith, an artist who lives in College Station. In her latest project, she’s taking inspiration from some photographs of mine and working her digital magic on them to create something strikingly different. Just last night the first and quite varied fruits of this project appeared, so I thought I’d show you the pair of results.

In the first case, the original was the photograph of a firewheel that appeared here in the early days of this blog, and which I’ve copied below. If you’d like, take a moment and see if you can imagine what an electrified transformation might look like, then click the photograph to see the change.

In the second case, the original showed a seedhead of silverpuff, below, which you can similarly click to see the transformation Nikki worked on it. Even though the two original photographs have similar compositions, the transformed views don’t resemble each other.

Happy imagining and viewing.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman

Flameleaf sumac and sinuous clouds

Click for greater clarity and better color.

I made this picture at the Shin Oak Observation Deck of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge on RR 1869 in Burnet County, about an hour outside Austin, on November 18th. I don’t like aiming into a grey-white sky, but this one at least had some enticingly sinuous clouds in it.

If you’re interested in photography as a craft, you’ll find that point 8 in About My Techniques is especially relevant to this photograph.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman