Castillo+S+-+Texture

The Ten Modifications I Chose to Create my Final Combined Image:
1: Modified curves on shoes layer 2: -5 cyan - color balance on shoes layer 3: +10 blue - color balance on shoes layer 4: Added and inverted trees layer 5: Deleted tree from photo 5: Cropped out snow on shoes layer 6: Pasted tree layer onto shoes layer 7: Resized and moved tree piece 8: Changed curves on snow layer 9: Added and cropped snow layer 10: Glow gradient around hole in ground (tree layer) - outer glow 11: Burn and copy pixels tools to add depth to hole in ground (tree layer)

The initial changes allowed me to achieve a cooler tone as far as lighting to capture the environment the dark hole was offering. (I also applied the same lighting modifications to the other layers that I added to the shoes layer to have a more consistent lighting as with the added texture from the snow.) Inverting the colors of the tree photo allowed me to use the blurred background as a little warped reflection in the ground as I began to combine the textured photos. By using the burn and copy pixels tools, I was later able to add some more realistic shadows based on the viewpoint and depth of the dark hole.

Artist Statement:
In this unit in Digital Photography, the focal point was on texture and utilizing the camera and its exposure triangle to achieve a focused photograph with sound compositional techniques. In my image, the primary compositional technique that I utilized was the rule of thirds as the drawing point of my final image over the shoes background layer was the dark hole in the ground, and this point is situated just about one of the intersecting lines if the image was divided in thirds horizontally and vertically. Also, my prevalent textural areas in the photo were the snow filling the majority of the frame, the inverted blurry trees in the hole in the ground, and the shoes. Another element of design I included was color, as it distinguished the two almost separate environments being the red shoes planted in the snow and the dark hole. This also indicates the use of contrast by the arrangement of opposite elements with the dark and light tones of the photograph. Texture, color and contrast all emphasized the aim to compose a visually interesting piece in tandem with my composition. Conceptually, I aimed to capture the idea that the red shoes in the snow stumbled upon the intriguing darkness, almost like Alice in Wonderland. The dark hole is mysterious and attractive and can modify ones intentions and choices in the presence of something other than monotony, conveyed by the contrast between the pure snow and distorted darkness. Although, I would further strengthen my piece and its concept by learning more about Adobe Photoshop and making the dark shine a stronger dark light or cast an interesting shadow to make it more drawing and look more realistic rather than being planted flat in the snow. However, I feel confident that I created a visually captivating image and will only develop more creative skills with frequent use of Adobe Photoshop.