the digiart is moving

Moving as in the suggested theme for PhotArt Friday this week – not any other kind of moving.  When I saw this suggestion from Bonnie my immediate idea was to use some (not very good) photos that I had taken of my TV when then 100m race from the Olympics was showing – Bolt and co really are moving. 

But then I also wanted to play with a partial blurring technique that I saw on blogland (and now can’t remember where). 

 

The original photo is of a theatre group (Oxford University Dramatic Society) trying to drum up business during the Fringe Festival – it worked as we went to see it and thought they were fabulous.

So whether you are doing the moving or it feels like the world around you is moving – have a great weekend. I’ll be doing some moving – over 8 000 km in a plane. 

photo scavenger hunt pier

I spotted this pier on a lovely walk along the coast – I’ve looked in that direction many time before but the knowledge that I was looking for a pier made me pay attention to what I was seeing.  Another scored off my list for Rinda’s scavenger hunt list.

Mad digi skills on the washing line

When I posted my washing line photo for the photo scavenger hunt last week Sian suggested it was a candidate for 'my ‘mad digi skills’ and some other agreed.  Now how could I resist such a prompt.

Prior to playing I removed the car, added some colour to the sky because it just looks white here, and cropped in two different ways.

Then I played with some textures for a ‘back in the day’ look

then I changed the bright pink trousers to beige and added some different textures for an more  historical look

then I turned to the artistic filter tools in Photoshop Elements for these two

I so enjoy this kind of playing but had not notice the potential of this photo until those comments – thank you.

Which version is your favourite?

Storytelling Sunday– my first taste of the Fringe

I relish August in Edinburgh because of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which sees the city filled with thousands of performers for three weeks of live entertainment buzz.  While waiting to see a show I was thinking back to my earliest experience of the Fringe and thought it would be a good story for Sian's Storytelling Sunday where we are all invited to share a story each month.

Come with me back to 1982.  I had finished my second year at University of Edinburgh but this story involves my old school.  During my secondary school years I’d enjoyed being involved in creating the costumes for the annual musical production and had continued to be involved when I left for University.  In 1982 we staged a little known musical called The Apple Tree which comprised three linked stories and so allowed for the 3 female singing stars to all shine.  I even have some photos of the production

For reasons now lost in the mists of time, the teachers decided that we would take the production to the Fringe. Thinking back is was quite an undertaking to take so many pupils to Edinburgh.  We staged the musical in a school and had good audiences for the week of our run.  The actors also did some singing stints to the crowds on the Royal Mile as part of the normal display to attract audiences.

So my first experience of the Fringe was as backstage crew to a production – my handwritten note on the back tells me my assistants were Angela, Linda and Dawn. 

The production went smoothly and I don’t recall any mishaps.

The real excitement came a few weeks later when we learnt that we had won a Fringe First Award.  To be eligible the production has to be the UK premier and although the musical had been written and debuted on Broadway in the 1960s it had never before been produced in the UK.  I was part of the group that went to receive our reward – and very proud and thrilled we all were.  This photo is not great quality but it does show us all celebrating afterwards with the award (and bubbles and cake). I’m on the far left.  Our musical director (and music teacher) Jimmy Reith is on the far right and the woman 2 in from him is the producer (and my English teacher) Celia Strachan. 

Good times and a fabulous introduction to all the energy of the Fringe Festival.