Tavern's Member Picture Gallery.

Both are absolutely stunning pictures. Good idea for the portrait, I'm the same. Unless I'm taking a self-portrait, I always pull a face, and don't even get me started on the flash. I look like a wanted person on my drivers licence

 

Those images are gobsmacking, @obsidian_cicatrix. The one of your daughter is a fantasy, the way her hair effortlessly flows into randomly perfect curls and her expression, it's deeply romantic in the more literary sense of that word. The image of the pasture. There's something about those three little puddles in a row that hints to something unsaid and hidden in this image. There's a story here that the earth knows, a happenstance it is guarding. Just amazing. If it's ok with you, I would like to use that on my desktop.

That pasture image reminds me of a conversation I was having with one of my Russian 'terp friends about the book Everything is Illuminated. I read the book immediately after seeing the film because the film was so excellent. Like any book-to-film paradigm, the book contained many things that are missing in the film. One of the missing items is a complete oral mythology of how the town of Trachimbrod came to be. It's a story that is a mix of history and pure fantasy, but it explains the purpose of a character you meet at the end of the story, Lista. They find her in a vast field of sunflowers and she is like a fairy of the heath. Though she is aged, she is almost supernatural in her beauty. My friend tried to explain to me that she represented the educated Polish elite and went on to tell me the story of Ukraine of that time, where this tale takes place. I told him that perhaps at one level of the story, that's who she is, but at a deeper level she represents the very land, the very earth of that place, which is breathtakingly beautiful, just as she is. She is a living memory of what had been. That's why she collects the things from the river bank. She is there to remember and be all those people who had been lost. That's why her presence is so strangely magical. She is the land. Anyway... enough waxing rhapsodic. That's how your image made me feel, like it holds a memory waiting to be told.

 

Cheers @jazzabel.

Thank you so much @Wreybies. If she starts saying stuff like, "but my nose looks huge," I'm going to force her to read the above.

And yes... feel free, use away.

 

@Wreybies :

That's fantastic (the distorted film)!

 

Oh, btw @Wreybies. Just as a point of interest. The 'pasture' isn't. It's in fact a harvested potato field, and given what you have to say about 'a living memory of what has been', I can't help thinking about the impact of the 'famine' when I look at it. Even though this appears to be a bog standard pastoral type scene, it's hinting at our history, our political past and, perhaps visually waxing rhapsodic myself, our renewal, symbolised by the rising sun.

(I'll shut up now before I start sounding like one of those terribly pretentious artsy-fartsy types. )

 

This is something I was playing about with earlier in the week. There are a host of different coloured versions, but I think I've settled on this as my favourite. The foreground is a close-up of a statue situated in St. Anne's Square, Belfast, the background, Belfast Lough. The moon was hanging big and low in the sky the day I took the pic of the statue and gave me the initial idea.

 

There's a huge and spectacular ringed moon tonight over Puerto Rico. I don't know if anyone else is getting it. This picture does zero justice since I don't know how to photograph that kind of thing, the ring is actually super sharp on the inner edge and fades out as it goes out, and but I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing it where they live.

 

@Wreybies :

Totally (non-sarcastic) jealous.

 

@Wreybies Nope. No ring, but it was still spectacular. It looked huge, was the colour of full-fat cream, and had a dense aura radiating from it. I wish I could have snapped a pic, but neither of my cameras deal well with low lighting conditions. I tried but failed. The sensors just couldn't make head nor tail of the huge amount of light being thrown off in the darkness.

Amazing what a different perspective can do.

 

I shot this image in a local TESCO a few days ago. It shows beautifully that all languages share the same roots. If you read the descriptions written in different languages very-very quickly, then you realize that you can more or less understand all of them :

 

Next time you are in a toy shop and see a pink "Hello Kitty Deluxe Edition Earth Mover" (aka Bob Kitty) on the shelf do not dare to say it's unrealistic :



(before you shout PhotoChop : the photos are from the net but I have seen this cutie with my own eyes today morning)

 

Whoever bought that is too damn cool.

 

hahaha @Vandor76 , that is nice

since we are on funny cars. not my pictures, but it's an interesting car.


Haha, look at the license plate

 

Since I seem to be getting back into my writing groove, I realise that I need to start being a wee bit more responsible with my free time. Although I love both writing and making pictures, each employs a different area of the brain, and as I have been unable to write for the last couple of months, I think I need to make hay while the sun shines. I'll continue taking stock photos from here on in, but I'll have to deny myself the time to tinker with them, otherwise I'll likely turn into the Queen of Procrastination. It's a bit of a pity, as digital art is something I've only turned to recently, but at least I know I can make good use of my time when the next dry spell hits. (I'm not being negative, unfortunately that's just the way it is.)

So... these will be my last worked up pics for a while.

 

Those are incredible. I absolutely love your art.

 

Thanks very much @GingerCoffee. It's a bit of a pain, as digital art and writing are hobbies I've taken up rather late in life, and I think it's obvious enough which of the two I'm more predisposed to. I know I could become a far better artist than writer, given my limitations, but the writing bug itches nonetheless. Even if I only ever manage to produce one or two novel length pieces that aren't completely awful, I'll be happy enough. At least the covers will be half decent.

 

Thank you @GingerCoffee I taught her everything she knows.

 

@obsidian_cicatrix : awesome

 

Cheers @Vandor76. I'm actually surprising myself how quickly I've taken to it. It has a very satisfying immediacy about it that writing doesn't, part of its appeal I guess. Now if I could just leave my damn stylus alone; unfortunately easier said than done. (I'm seriously starting to think it would be easier coming off heroin than quitting pestering pixels. )

 

Don't worry, messing with pixels is a much less dangerous addiction than the other one ...and is not a crime
You should sell your digital art to make more free time for writing.

 

Gah! I tried to stay away from my stylus, I really did, and then someone on Facebook nominated me for a Five Day, B&W Photo Challenge. I'm not much of a photographer... the pics are only as useful to me as what I can tease out of them. David Bailey, I'm not. That's more @jazzabel's schtick than mine. I have folders and folders of pics I'd taken as stock, but didn't reckon any of them were up to much. Funny thing though, when I converted some of them to black and white, they actually looked pretty decent. There's none of my usual tinkering. Any changes I've made are the type that are generally handled by developing... colour of paper, exposure and the like. I haven't cheated. (Though I was sorely tempted.) These were all taken within the last month.

​

 

Just some quotes/thoughts on my new avatar. There is a reason each of my avatars has been an animal. I think, now, that the owl spirit may be speaking to me, or at least that I'm resonating with an energy best expressed through the image and symbolism of the Owl. Plus I just think this picture is beautiful!

"The Owl is the symbol of the feminine, the moon and the night. The Owl is also the bird of magic and darkness, of prophecy and wisdom."

"The owl spirit animal is emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge. If you have the owl as totem or power animal, you’re likely to have the ability to see what’s usually hidden to most. When the spirit of this animal guides you, you can see the true reality, beyond illusion and deceit. The owl also offers for those who have it a personal totem the inspiration and guidance necessary to deeply explore the unknown and the magic of life."

"Symbolic meanings for the owl are:

-Intuition, ability to see what others do not see

-The presence of the owl announces change

-Capacity to see beyond deceit and masks

-Wisdom

-The traditional meaning of the owl spirit animal is the announcer of death, most likely symbolic like a life transition, change"

"You may need to remove yourself from the noise of life and become the still silent observer. After slowing down and becoming stable you will be amazed by the wealth of information and meaning that surrounds you. It may be bringing you the ability to see what others may miss. Open your eyes and truly examine how things are, you will be surprised that suddenly you can see things that are normally hidden from view – like the motives of those around you. External appearances will give way to the truth and meaning hidden beneath.

Alternatively Owl is often thought to come to those who need to let go of some part of their life that is no longer needed. Listen carefully to that inner voice and be guided to recapture the knowledge of your true path in life. Owl’s senses pierce through shadows, beyond fear and darkness, through to the other side that promises light, happiness and knowledge."

http://www.spiritanimal.info/owl-spirit-animal/
http://www.universeofsymbolism.com/symbolic-owl-meaning.html
http://spirit-animals.com/owl/
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-owl.html

 

Gorgeous pic @Andrae Smith. I love the almost translucent quality of the tail feathers with the light behind them

 

So, I had a visit from the infamous brown recluse last night in my room. They are endemic to Puerto Rico, and though a bite from one is going to be a seriously bad time, they tend to be shy and not really mess with people. You learn to shake out clothing that's been hung or folded for a while because that's when people tend to get bitten, when they're hiding in your nice comfy shirts and shorts. Also, you learn to step on the toe and front end of sneakers with your heel and your full weight before shaking them out and putting them on. I have a feeling members from Oz will be thinking, "Oh, just like we do!" Anyway, this guy was about 3 inches leg-tip to leg-tip.

 

On a slightly related note, the bite of the Brazilian wandering spider can cause an erection that lasts for hours. I imagine that makes for an awkward trip to the emergency room.