“I’ve been fascinated with urban exploration since I took a B&W photograph class in college. While everyone was taking pictures of pets in backyards I was exploring abandoned factories. I like focusing on things that most people would overlook and I try to bring beauty out of a decaying location. [Come] Discover the beauty of abandonment.”

What I find so fascinating about this project is that with our current economic condition as terrible as it is, it’s great to see someone photographing architecture that is the result of our economic expansion. Below are some screencaps from the website Rejected Memories. Make sure to pay the website a visit if you’re interested in seeing more of Bob’s amazing photographic work.

I’m back from my Hiatus with a cup of coffee and motivation the likes of which this blog hath never seen.  Today I have the pleasure of finally writing about Douglas Hill: print designer, father, artist, and programmer.  Douglas originally contacted us to take a look at his work to review and comment on.  Well I must say that after a thorough review, we decided to get back to Douglas and a few back and forth emails later, the staff here at Creative Fluff was completely convince that Hill was an artist that deserved a thoughtful review.   I personally find that the best way to talk about an artist is to describe their background; luckily Douglas wrote us an autobiography and below is a short clip from his bio:

“During the development of TILER, I discovered that outside of the world of COBOL report generation, programming was pretty interesting.  So, degree in hand, I went out into the world to earn a living as a computer programmer, and geometric patterns went into abeyance for years as I got married and raised a family.  Though I mainly worked on embedded systems (printer mechanisms, medical devices, audio workstations, motion controllers and the like) I always took advantage of any opportunity to work on the image generation portion of a project, if there was one.  Developing test patterns and color halftone patterns for inkjet printers, for example.

My daughters both have artistic abilities and I thought I’d provide a model for them of how to make an income from art as a sideline.  Ha!  Some model.  A mere babe in the woods I have been.  I learned how to print, mat and frame.  I’d take these things around to craft fairs, which is a pain and a lot of fun.  I loved being part of a creative community, having a foot in the art and craft world, seeing how other people solved (more or less well) their problems and found a way to keep going.” (http://patternsofreflection.com)

This short clip gives just enough insight into Douglas’s background to emphasize his creative spirit and motivation for seeing what patterns lie beneath the surface in our every day lives.  Below are the samples that were sent to our local designer, Katherine:

Simply stunning aren’t they?  Douglas managed to translate his patterns into successful print design pieces that are easily levels above what is sold in most print boutique shops around New York City (and trust me I’ve been to all of them).  The patterns that Hill has managed to take from objects in the real world and translate into art would function on paper, on the computer, even as wallpaper for children’s rooms and as fabric designs on quilts.  I personally feel as if these could easily be sold to fresh fashion designers as ideas for their own projects.   If you haven’t already headed over there, I suggest you go to http://patternsofreflection.com and go through the rest of Douglas’s work, and check out his online shop

(I really want more of his stuff for our work space).

Comprehensive Dynamic Lighting Tutorials:

1. http://psdtuts.com/photo-effects-tutorials/add-dynamic-lighting-to-a-flat-photograph/

2. http://ebin.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/how-to-turn-your-photo-into-movie-like-effect-using-photoshop/

3. http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/

4. http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/HDR_ps/hdr-ps.htm

5. http://backingwinds.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-create-professional-hdr-images.html

6. http://www.planetphotoshop.com/dramatic-color-effects.html

Artistic Photography Tutorials:

1. http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tutorials/or/cubism.html

2. http://www.photographyforums.org/photoshop/709-city-globe.html

3. http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/panographies/

4. http://pinkzap.com/?p=390

5. http://www.photoshopstar.com/photo-effects/eery-eye-photo-manipulation/

6. http://psdtuts.com/tutorials-effects/create-a-powerful-mental-wave-explosion-effect/

Commercial Photography:

1. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/sunglasses/