BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Rough turned this lamp 40 years or so ago from a hunk of green Silver Maple I cut down in my yard. I waxed it rough to dry and forgot about for almost 30 years. Turned the rough into it's final cut around 2012 and took the picture. Last week I decided to see if I could do something with the picture and came up with this. The original was taken on top of a file cabinet with a thermostat on the wall behind it. Basically a very ugly picture. I cut out the lamp and centered it in the image, then added a bunch of different backgrounds until this one. Then, I cut out the top of the file cabinet the lamp was sitting on and pasted it centered in the picture. I didn't do anything to the lamp itself other than move it to the center. The file cabinet top I had to remove the lamp base which was on the left side of the top and add a shadow which was lost when I filled in where the lamp base was removed.

This pic looks really good on my big screen TV so I thought I'd post it. Not every ones cup of tea, but it lights me up.

It looks best full screen, but a bit darker than it is when less than full download in a full window.

40 year old lamp

(Download)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Beautifully iconic 🔥🌀🔥🌀🔥

Quixdraw Loc: x

Interesting photo, fine looking lamp. The shape looks almost Chinese influenced. I'd put a slightly larger shade on it. Of course I have one or two lamps with the same issue, so probably just me!

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

Very nice! Considering the lamp, you apparently have skills that range beyond photography.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

👍

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks Joe

bcrawf

Because the background is uniformly lighted (from the left), without any apparent contribution from the lamp, I think the background was pasted in from a different image.
Bob C.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I turned the lamp around 40 years ago so not sure where the shape came from. Generally, I'd say I saw a picture or lamp I sort of liked, then turned it freehand until it looked something like a lamp.

The shade I think came from an old lamp my wife no longer used. I vaguely recall pricing shades and didn't want to spend to much on the lamp. Best of it is it took me 30 years to turn the thing, and another 11 years to process the picture.

The picture really got a lot better with the funky blue brick background.

I'm no artist, but it pleases me for some reason.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks Nervous. My photography skills are surprisingly weak (my kids now take better pictures than I do, and with cell phones) and my editing skills have been deteriorating lately (forgetting how to do simple things).

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Your are right there Bob. It would be a good exercise to add some lighting from the lamp. I was happy just adding some shadow on the table top. The original pic did have light emanating from the lamp, would seem simple to use some of that.

The Brick wall btw is patrick tomasso - unsplash when unsplash was free. Affinity Photo now uses pexels.com or pixabay.com for free stock photo's. I don't often use others backgrounds, very rare for me.

hippi Loc: Sedalia MO

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice processing.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

✔✔👍👍👍