It's Been a LONG Time! Hi again everyone!

[MelissaD]

Hello everyone! It has been years since I have visited this board...fun to be back. I have been behind a camera for about 5 years or so now, and using those pictures mostly in digital art, although sometimes also as stand-alones. I will attach several art pieces as well as a couple of photographs that I have digitally touched up. Digital fixes and art are a passion of mine, so it is rare that I will leave a picture un-touched. Anyway, without further ado, here are some of my pieces in case it has been so long that everyone has forgotten me or never seen me before...lol First are a couple of originals and retouches...the little girl was taken by my partner julie and I touched it up and then the luna moth and girl is me and a luna moth that I found a couple saturdays ago. A friend of mine (non-photographer) took the shot and I touched it up a LOT as you can see. Lots of grain and artifacts on a little 1 mp digicam, but it's a special shot to me, so it's a keeper. After that are some of my polaroid art pieces. Manipulated by hand and then turned into art on the comp. Hope you enjoy!!
Mel

[Arctirus]

Not that I knew you before but welcome back anyway! I love those digital art shots; great job!

[jar_e]

Welcome back. I'm interested in your shots and you do quite a good job with them. With your first two, did those come from a picture or did you draw them out? They look great!

Jared

[MelissaD]

Thanks to both of you! I use an old sx-70 alpha I camera to take the pictures on time zero film. Then I manipulate the polaroids by hand while the emulsion is still soft. Then I scan them into the comp and use parts of each shot to create the finished piece. Each of the art pieces is created with lots and lots of layers with varying opacities and filters. After the pictures are taken and combined, it's really just a matter of fooling around until I find what I like...its fun!
Thanks again
Mel

[Dzerzhinski46]

Dear Melissa,

Even though I didn't know you way back whenever you were here (did that sound right? ) I am glad I got the opportunity to see some of your work. While I am not very much into heavy manipulation of photos, I admire people who do that. Polaroid manipulations are fascinating and beautiful. Yours do not disappoint.

Drew

[almo]

Hello everyone!... It has been years since I have visited this board...fun to be back.
Mel

The one that really grabs my attention is the ldy holding the Luna Moth. This is an awesome image. Its very whimsical and fun looking. Very mystical aswell.

Very nice.