Cute But Stupid
crumbling heritage..
Posted by amy (Nanaimo, BC, Canada) on 14 November 2007 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.
These grain elevators in Rowley are a dying breed out here on the prairies. As technology takes over we're losing these majestic beacons on the prairie landscape.
You can view my gallery of images and calendar for sale at: cute but stupid . I'm slowly adding more to the site and if there is something in my portfolio you would like to purchase but is not available on my site just contact me and I'll make it available.
I appreciate all visits and comments and thank you always... ;-)
Stu from Kyoto, Japan
Love the ageing effect on this one, Amy. I feel like I'm looking through a dirty window. Works well with the subject. Did you try it in mono with sepia toning?
14 Nov 2007 5:10am
@Stu: What did I do... I used the elevator image as the background image then did a bit of curves to adjust the midtones. Then I added a new layer of an image I had taken of a cement wall specifically for texture (Roberta is such an amazing mentor and has guided me to doing this..). I did a blending mode of overlay. Then I flipped the image of the cement wall 180 degrees and then desaturated and added this as a third layer and also used the overlay as a blending mode. Et voila!
I'm so glad you're back... and now I must go see what you're up to today!!
e. from Washington DC, United States
Wow, the broken down look is incredible... Great shot.
14 Nov 2007 5:14am
Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada
Sad indeed, I love old buildings...what kind of finish did you use, or filter? the tones are fabulous!
14 Nov 2007 5:45am
@Lorraine: Hey Lorraine!! Thanks so much for the visit and comment. As to how I did this I gave the low down to Stu... Have a boo at my response to him.. ;-)
Me 2 from Hamburg, United States
wowza ! awesome pp work here !!! great great great work :o)
14 Nov 2007 6:13am
Michael Rawluk from Canada
Beautiful job again, Amy. Those elevators sure are beautiful compared to those monstrosities that they build now.
14 Nov 2007 6:26am
Ras from Plano, United States
The whole shot and aging is timeless. I wish we respected and appreciated history more.
14 Nov 2007 6:45am
ColNed Pictures from Amersfoort, Netherlands
Great shot, very nice angle and I do really like the processing techniques you've used here.
14 Nov 2007 7:55am
Craiger from Vacaville, California, United States
Yes, the processing technique is excellent Amy!
14 Nov 2007 8:59am
Sidonie from Sydney, Australia
Extremely clever, Amy! Is it made of wood or tin?
14 Nov 2007 11:45am
@Sidonie: Hey Sidonie!! They're all made soley of wood. It's so sad to see all these leviathans of the prairie being torn down. I don't want to offend anyone, but it's the mucky mucks from down east in Quebec who are doing this systematic tear-down... And NOTHING we can do about it because they are their property. Sigh.
DaveB from Exeter, United Kingdom
Lovely post-processing Amy, a real weathered look suits this down to the ground!
14 Nov 2007 12:19pm
MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Stunning pp Amy, it looks like it's an old photo left behind! This is an amazing building, and it's really sad to see it in this state of repair!
Rowley is certainly full of suprises.
14 Nov 2007 12:27pm
Betsy Barron : www.thebetsy.com from Glenmoore, United States
cool PP thanks for sharing your method
14 Nov 2007 3:04pm
Katie from Land of a 1000 palms..., United States
Amy superb shot and processing job. I think I need to take some hints from you! Good work:)
14 Nov 2007 4:53pm
Helen from Melbourne, Australia
Wow. Great shot. I admire your processing prowess! I can't get over the amount of wood in this building. I hope it is recycled when the building eventually comes down.
14 Nov 2007 7:28pm
Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States
Wow, I remember seeing these in every little town in Iowa. Never thought of them as a disappearing icon, but I guess you are right. Cool image with a kind of classic, crackly vintage look -- like an old worn poster nailed to a tree.
14 Nov 2007 10:47pm
Laurie from New Jersey, United States
I love the way they used to have the signs painted on the sides of these great old structures. The treatment makes this look like a photo that was found among a pile of rubbish in an old building, Or perhaps a crumpled magazine page that was trampled over the years.
I think the treatment works but I bet it's a fabulous image without all the processing too.
14 Nov 2007 11:23pm
@Laurie: Hey Laurie! Thanks so much for that... and it is a fairly good image on it's own but it still wasn't the vision I had for it. Sometime down the road here I'll post the original... ;-)
Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom
Its a great photo and i love the texture that you added!
14 Nov 2007 11:43pm
FC from NewYork, United States
Very creative image, taken to the max...
Seems like it was a lot of 'work' in the processing. Spoken by someone who knows next to nothing about it..
Very nice work..
15 Nov 2007 1:13am
Shawna from Regina, Canada
Very nice processing on this image. Really creates the feeling of the old and forgotten. I live in Saskatchewan and know that these icons are vanishing. Good capture
15 Nov 2007 4:40am
Kim from Newcomerstown, United States
Great choice of processing on this one Amy. We used to have these here in Ohio as well, but most of them are gone now, replaced by their modern-day counterparts made of concrete and steel - not a very attractive addition to the landscape.
15 Nov 2007 12:05pm
Illuci from Hurdegaryp, Netherlands
Great and impressive!! Why aren't there funds or fundraisers to preserve some of these buildings as a cultural heritage?
16 Nov 2007 1:35pm
chris chisu from Seattle, United States
I hope you could get more pictures of these old grain elevators.This one is beautiful.
25 Nov 2007 9:52pm
