Photography Edits in Photoshop

Using Photoshop, I manipulated my primary source photography to alter the tones which give different moods, almost changing the context of the natural form.

Whilst these Photographs above are of the same plant, they are captured and edited in unique, innovative ways. The image on the left presents a calm atmosphere with the orange tones, hinting at a morning sunrise. The image on the right is darker and appears more mysterious. The sharp white of the plant cuts through the darkness, creating a strong image.

The image above is more simplified with its black and white tones. The plant almost imitates a 'scribble' in the air. I love the natural delicacy in all of these images which the camera has captured. The different colours emphasise a variety of moods which the viewer can interpret.

On my venture to Castle Hill, I actually found and photographed some burr plants which were initially used by George de Mestral to inspire him to create velcro. It was intriguing to see them in person as when I photographed the oddly shaped plants and edited it in Photoshop, it gave a sense of futurism. Even the background gives a sense that they are on another planet.

These images are cropped versions of the original close up dead flower which was photographed indoors. The pink is natural and unedited whilst the blue tint on the left image gives a more subtle hint of tones and a greater sense of elegance and calm.

Simply rotating an image proves to be effective as this one imitates a flame, when in fact it is a leaf. Changing the colour to reflect its new shape instantly puts the natural leaf in an entirely new context.

The edit of the left highlights the line in the image, framing the individual petals. This was created using a gradient filter in Photoshop. The photo on the right is more natural looking, it almost appears at though a bright morning sunrise is shining down onto the petals, highlighting their beauty.

I believe that editing the photographs was a success, there a some new innovative approaches to standard photography which are unique and re-contextualise some of the nature. This kind of approach could be adapted to traditional media artwork inspired by this photography.

Trip to Castle Hill: More Nature Photography

More nature photography taken on a trip to Castle Hill in Huddersfield. 

Nature Photography: Inside and Outside

As I am a great believer in using my own imagery in my artwork, I decided that the best step to take was to go out (or stay in) and take some primary source photography of nature. I feel going out and taking my own photographs meets the brief to be innovative as no picture is ever the same, so proves to be an ideal starting point for the commission. Since I already had a few flowers inside, I took some close-up images of those, even taking some of the flower heads and leaves off to photograph them individually or photograph them in various compositions. This worked well and I especially thought that the individually photographed nature was effective as I was able to capture more detail and the colour was vibrant. 

Primary Source Photography:

Venturing outside into the playground of nature allowed me to experience the natural world at its best. Through the shivers in the cold, I managed to take some interesting photographs, though many turned out blurred. I focused on looking at patterns and textures in nature, trying to find any striking imagery. As it is not the best time of year to capture nature, the Winter climate only allowed for quite dull images. The most interesting thing I found were a bunch of mushrooms at the base of a tree.

Overall, I enjoyed taking my own primary source imagery. Now, I will filter through the images to decide on which would be best to re-invent in my own style.

Leaf Relief Development

After creating my own leaf relief pieces, I scanned them onto my laptop and rendered them on Photoshop, experimenting with tone and line.

Just adding colour to the leaf relief pieces on Photoshop highlights the detail in the veins of the leaves, producing a more effective, stronger image. The blue tone creates an almost neon effect on top of the metallic texture of the foil underneath, whilst the green brings back a sense of the original natural colour. Manipulating the images digitally has greatly enhanced their quality and I believe makes them stronger as a general observation.

This method could be further developed to compliment leaf relief technique.

More to come!

Biomimicry: Nature Inspiring Innovation

As part of the innovation project, I became interested in how nature has inspired innovation. This led me look into the term 'Biomimicry' - a proper term for nature which has inspired innovations in technology, buildings, clothing etc.

After reading 'Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature' by Janine M. Benyus, I found out more about biomimicry and how nature inspires innovation.

There are three main points which nature inspires innovation:

Nature as 'model'

New science that studies nature's models then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems.


Nature as 'measure'

Nature to judge 'rightness' as it has adapted over years and learned what makes and what lasts.


Nature as 'mentor' 

What we 'learn' from the natural world, not what we can 'extract'.


These points form a structure that can be used to gain inspiration from nature for innovation. It is more possible and easy in today's society to find out this information with the innovation of technology, to help figure out how nature works and has adapted over the years. This is a more efficient way of gathering information as it is less cost to the planet, nature manufactures its materials under life-friendly conditions, and it rescues more species as nature is not extracted from its habitat for this process of innovation. It is the concept of 'Returning Home to Earth' which makes biomimicry and up and coming source for inspiration.

A poem which I came across in the book summarised biomimicry well:

'Nature runs on sunlight,
Nature uses only the energy it needs,
Nature fits form to function,
Nature recycles everything,
Nature rewards cooperation,
Nature banks on diversity,
Nature demands local expertise,
Nature curbs excesses from within,
Nature taps the power of limits'

This poem could be used to help me identify the key elements of nature which aid innovation in more practical, functional and sustainable ways.

From this research, I am particularly interested in the way in which nature has adapted to its surroundings over the centuries to meet their needs in diverse environmental situations.