Strictly speaking ‘surreal’ means something that is unreal or fantastic. The other side of ordinary.
Surrealism in art or literature suggests a disorientating or dreamlike state.
Whichever way you cut it, I like to explore the ordinary in terms of landscape or architecture and create an image that goes beyond the expected or usual.
From my photographs taken at the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland I used Adobe Photoshop Elements to create two fantastic creatures. At the Wheel are replicas of The Kelpies.
We were at the Falkirk Wheel in November when the sun was low in the sky. As the sun’s rays struck the head the nostrils became a spectrum of light. By lightening the sky and increasing the contrast I was able to accentuate the spectrum effect.
A few moments later the sun was shining directly through the ‘eye’ of the Kelpie. Again I increased the contrast slightly and cropped the image. It appeared to signify a moment of inspiration so I named it “that’s a plan”. For the third image I cropped further before using the Hue / Saturation mode to create dramatic changes in colour and tone.
The main structure here is the Falkirk Wheel, an incredible feat of canal engineering.
While I waited the cloud blew across the sky until I saw them seeming to emanate from the ‘eye’ of the monster wheel.
Using the Magic Eraser I was able to isolate the head of the structure before the Blur Tool and Clone Tool to add sky and pattern to create my image “letting off steam”.
Again using Hue and Saturation I created a more surreal vision of the machine of the future.
I hope you have enjoyed my play on marvellous mechanics to make them even more monster-like. If you have please like, share, and comment.
Thank you for reading.
Stay well. Stay safe. Keep alert to the wonders around you.
Marilyn X
marilyn unmasked 