A fascinating converationalist who made his outfit. He was 92 years old.
The Mona Victoria
Victoria sang in a couple of church choirs where I have played. Occasionally, I mentioned to her how much she reminded me of the Mona Lisa. When her high school graduation invitation arrived, I decided to investigate just how much so. I think the results were fairly convincing, as if the original subject had cracked a genuine smile rather than a subtle smirk.
More than a simple face drop-in from one contemporary photo to another, this project required a few new tricks to make Victoria's face fit and match the color cast and cracked oil effect of the painting. Her face was applied as a layer on the original painting image to facilitate moving, resizing, and blending.
According to sources, Leonardo was commissioned by Francesco del Giocondo as a portrait of his wife, Mona Lisa. In what might be the most celebrated example of not knowing when to quit, Leonardo began the painting as early as 1503, but retained and continued to work on it until 1516 or 1517. Later, he lamented "...never having completed a single work." Perhaps it will never be finished. The Mona Lisa continues hundreds of years after his death as one of the most parodied masterpieces.
For more information: Google search on Mona Lisa.
Light Box
Click the thumbnail image to view the photos. Photos update every 3 sec. To temporarily halt the show, move the cursor over the photo. Manually control the show with 
and 
. Close the show with 
.
An ongoing quest for "auto art" at cruise-ins. Despite their age, the old bodies display an interesting combination of graceful lines and sculpted surfaces.
November scenes from "Big Sky" country - Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota and Montana. The sky was that blue.
This "skulk" of red foxes – a mother and four cubs – wandered through the back yard one autumn day and stayed the afternoon, cavorting with each other, sunning themselves, and investigating the deck.
Photo Tip
It might seem natural to place the main subject in the middle of a photo, but a more interesting composition can result using the "Rule of Thirds." Mentally divide the viewfinder into three sections vertically and horizontally, then place the horizon or subject on one of the dividing lines or one of the intersection points. Where appropriate, directy the subject's movement or attention toward the center of the photo. Like all rules, there are times to stretch or break this one, but it works more often than not.
Photography on this site
The first photograph was taken in 1826. We've certainly come a long way since then.
In the last 20 years, photography has gone through multiple, revolutions -- first, in the replacement of film photography by digital photography, and then in the digital realm itself. Increasing megapixel counts, intelligent automation, and advances in printer technology now yield photos superior to the days of the Kodak Brownie and drug store prints. Of course, the latest technology does not an Ansel Adams make.
All photos on this site are original photographs I've taken over the years. My digital cameras have included an Olympus C2020 (2 Mpix), Olympus E-10 (4 Mpixel), Olympus E-500 (8 Mpixel), Nikon D5100 (16 Mpixel) and Nikon D5300 (24 Mpixel).
My tool of choice for manipulating images is Corel Paint Shop Pro. I've used Paint Shop Pro since the freeware version 3.xx in the late 1990's. While no longer free, PSP is a still relatively inexpensive alternative to Photoshop, while offering many of the same features.
Twenty photographic "firsts" from the past 200 years - visit petapixel.com.