What Inspires You? I have had a rare day where I was stuck at home by myself and nothing to do but play in PS. I have come back to this photo of a Taos Pueblo dwelling several times...

kenievans Loc: Dallas

I have had a rare day where I was stuck at home by myself and nothing to do but play in PS. I have come back to this photo of a Taos Pueblo dwelling several times since I took it and just could not get inspired although I knew something was waiting for me there. Finally today I added the crow. I was thinking about native American spirituality and symbolism. Here is the meaning of the crow from https://www.spiritanimal.info/crow-spirit-animal/:

"The crow is a spirit animal associated with life mysteries and magic. The power of this bird as totem and spirit guide is to provide insight and means of supporting intentions. Sign of luck, it is also associated with the archetype of the trickster; be aware of deceiving appearances. If the crow has chosen you as your spirit or totem animal, it supports you in developing the power of sight, transformation, and connection with life’s magic."

The single addition of the crow led to several ideas. I now have 6 different versions of this shot and each tells a different story (to me anyway). I have posted the two polar opposites. The first one finished in Topaz is warm and bright. The second one is darker and more ominous. If you are struggling creatively in post pp, try finding or adding something symbolic in your photo and build on that theme. It may take you in a totally unexpected direction.

I have included my original photo if anyone else is inspired or has a vision for it.

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks so much for posting this thoughtful discussion; your results are very engaging, Keni. I can't recall using symbols but I hope that someone who reads this will share similar ideas.

I do, however, have a lot of experience with going in several pp directions, often at the same time

I think the message here is to find whatever inspires an individual and also to not be too rigid - be open to all possibilities.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

kenievans wrote:

I have had a rare day where I was stuck at home by... (show quote)

Good analogy about the crow. For me, I'm more of a Bull and a Bear man.

Guyserman Loc: Benton, AR

Amazing what a little crow can do. I eat crow a lot!

I like the texture on the adobe. Not sure about on the sky. Nice image.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

Linda From Maine wrote:

Thanks so much for posting this thoughtful discussion; your results are very engaging, Keni. I can't recall using symbols but I hope that someone who reads this will share similar ideas.

I do, however, have a lot of experience with going in several pp directions, often at the same time

I think the message here is to find whatever inspires an individual and also to not be too rigid - be open to all possibilities.

Thanks Linda. There is no right way or formula for inspiration and what works for me may not work for someone else. Can you post an example of something that inspired you and what your finished piece looked like? What was your thought process if you had one?

kenievans Loc: Dallas

traderjohn wrote:

Good analogy about the crow. For me, I'm more of a Bull and a Bear man.

John do you have something that was inspired by the Bull or Bear that you can share? I have used a buffalo before in a photo of Yellowstone that I worked on.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

Guyserman wrote:

Amazing what a little crow can do. I eat crow a lot!

I like the texture on the adobe. Not sure about on the sky. Nice image.

Thank you sir. I tried masking out the texture from the sky but it just didn't look right. To me it made the sky look like a composite that didn't match the rest of the photo. I have been working on trying to figure out how to soften the effect in the sky but my layer order is throwing me off.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

kenievans wrote:

Thanks Linda. There is no right way or formula for inspiration and what works for me may not work for someone else. Can you post an example of something that inspired you and what your finished piece looked like? What was your thought process if you had one?

My inspiration often comes from UHH: something posted, something said, something suggested. I'm always in search of the next shiny object

Here are three examples:

1. MinnieV mentioned the pattern clone stamp. I already had a bit of experience with making my own brushes from yet another topic, so I created a couple of pattern stamps and a couple more brushes, and just kept working more layers to achieve a lot of depth and (hopefully) visual interest.

2. Several times when I've posted a photo of birds resting on the wires of hops growing apparatus (with twine hanging down after harvest), someone mentions "music score." I found a fun effect in the online editing app, befunky, for this.

3. A couple of years ago Ebrunner hosted a share topic where we were to post photos that defined the areas we live in. I suddenly remembered when I first moved here, I was enthralled with all the tiny coffee kiosks seemingly on every corner of Yakima. So for Erich's thread, I spent the morning shooting those and did this collage.

(Download)

NikonGal Loc: Central Oregon

Thank you for posting your thought process Keni. It helps us all to have another idea to consider when working through an image. There's a lot in your image to enjoy.....it's just what story you want us to see. Bev

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Fine idea, and general creative technique. If not putting something in that is symbolic, find something already there that is symbolic or meaningful, and then change the shapes, colors, composition, etc to bring out the feeling/idea.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

kenievans wrote:

John do you have something that was inspired by the Bull or Bear that you can share? I have used a buffalo before in a photo of Yellowstone that I worked on.

I am referring to the stock market.
More times than not I am a Bull. The market goes higher.
Now I am more Bearish. The market goes down.
I sort of went off the reservation on my response. Sorry.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

kenievans wrote:

I have had a rare day where I was stuck at home by... (show quote)

I'm not usually terribly interested in the symbolism of objects. I don't discount this, however, as a source of inspiration. In this photo, the beautiful black and white rendering (I particularly like the sky) is inspiration enough for me. I love it. More, even, than the nice color examples.
Erich

kenievans Loc: Dallas

Linda From Maine wrote:

My inspiration often comes from UHH: something pos... (show quote)

Linda thank you for posting such fun examples. Not everything we create has to be imbued with deep symbolic meaning. The symbols can be an image that many recognize and understand the meaning of like your bird notes, a black cat (bad luck), or a bald eagle (patriotism). Because we all have an agreed upon meaning for that symbol or icon, we can add whimsy, humor, or different emotions by the use of them. You find this a lot in memes.

Symbolism can also be cultural. The meanings we Americans subscribe to objects are not always the same in other countries or cultures. That is when your meaning can get "lost in translation".

kenievans Loc: Dallas

NikonGal wrote:

Thank you for posting your thought process Keni. It helps us all to have another idea to consider when working through an image. There's a lot in your image to enjoy.....it's just what story you want us to see. Bev

Bev thank you for commenting. I think part of the beauty of art is our ability to find our own story in someone else's work even if it was not the story they intended. Our life experiences can lead us down a different path. It's like hearing a song on the radio, feeling it emotionally and really relating to it only to find out that the meaning of the lyrics is nothing close to what you imagined but that is part of what makes it a great song and performance.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

artBob wrote:

Fine idea, and general creative technique. If not putting something in that is symbolic, find something already there that is symbolic or meaningful, and then change the shapes, colors, composition, etc to bring out the feeling/idea.

Exactly Bob! Thanks for your input.