more from the digital darkroom - the plumber is back.

Welington skyline © caroline fraser

Experimentation is the task this week. Expressing first the word sharp, and then reinterpreting in different ways as a challenge from The Arcanum.

While the plumber fitted a new boiler, I have whiled away some hours experimenting with achieving different emotions from one image.

Plumber told me he was incredibly bored sitting watching a hose pipe while my radiators were flushed out and cleaned.

I offered to find him some other jobs, as there are plenty more plumbing tasks in the house waiting to be tackled.

He replied ' I'm not that bored', and I responded with 'I didn't think you would be'. End of banter and time for another cup of tea.

So he sat and watched his hose while I worked on these images.

Wellington skyline - the starting point

Using Nik software I tried a multiple lens effect

experimentation station

and then an analogue camera effect

analogue effect with double exposure

All good fun.

And a lesson in how much impact different ways of processing an image can have on the outcome and mood evoked.


Next stop 'delicate'.

grape hyacinth seedheads on a piece of plain white paper

I tried to create a light mood in monochrome.

But felt that it lacked the X factor.

high key monochome processing

Next I went for a more graphic approach by creating a multiple frame image and playing around with placement of the stems and seedheads until it felt right, and adding a pink toned effect.

pink and delicate

Finally I attempted to escape the delicate feel by adding one of my favourite colours - shocking pink.

'its a shocker' © caroline fraser 2014

Meanwhile the house is back to a dust laden mess, and the plumber has gone home, having carefully spent long enough watching his hoses so that 'he doesn't have to go and do another job'.

He may be a bit lazy, but he is not stupid!