Reading books in her special chair will always transport Eva wherever her imagination can take her.

(I know, I know! some will complain that there is too much PS work. So be it. I couldn't figure another way to convey the point I was after. )

Wow, this is one of the best WA I've saw in a long time. I'll be putting up my camera now

Hi Endre,

Very creative and beautiful image my friend. I love the idea you have capture and who cares about the photoshop technique. There is no other way to create such an image and you have done it exceedingly well.

Best wishes,

Steve S.

Thank you, Matt! You are very kind. I'm so glad you like it.

All the best,

Endre

Matt Leitholt wrote:
Wow, this is one of the best WA I've saw in a long time. I'll be putting up my camera now

Thanks so much, Steve! I am really delighted that you like it so much. We have had extensive debates on this forum over whether or not it's fair to use PS work. Personally, since PS is simply the modern version of a darkroom, I fall on the "It's OK to use PS whenever necessary to achieve the desired effect" side. Ansel Adams was far more of a master of the darkroom then of mere photography and most of his art emanated from his extraordinary darkroom skills. That's good enough for me.

Now I've probably really opened a can of worms.

All the best,

Endre


Steve Spencer wrote:
Hi Endre,

Very creative and beautiful image my friend. I love the idea you have capture and who cares about the photoshop technique. There is no other way to create such an image and you have done it exceedingly well.

Best wishes,

Steve S.

Great entry Endre! Don't worry about the photoshop- it's probably the best way of making something great out this week's rather dull (and repeated) theme!

And you've conveyed the point excellently too- I don't think it would be possible to do it any other way.

Best of luck!

Andy

Thank you for your kind comment, Andy. I'm happy you like it. You are certainly right about the long string of rather uninspiring topics. Sigh...

All the best,

Endre


af120835 wrote:
Great entry Endre! Don't worry about the photoshop- it's probably the best way of making something great out this week's rather dull (and repeated) theme!

And you've conveyed the point excellently too- I don't think it would be possible to do it any other way.

Best of luck!

Andy

Very nice image. Reminds me of one of my favorite photographic masters, Jerry Uelsmann, ... with color!

It seems to me that as long as photograph/photographs are made during the assignment time, you ought to be able to composite them anyway that makes a good image. Obviously, some take pride in having an image "straight from the camera" or perhaps offer "I only use Lightroom, never Photoshop", as if Photoshop changes are some sort of cheating. To me that's a little tying one arm behind your back or building ships in bottles - creating under arbitrary constraints.

BTW, a can of worm can be good discussion bait.

Great creative entry! I think it is superb.

Thanks, Karen! I'm delighted that you like it and am very flattered that you would compare something of mine to Jerry Uelsmann. If you like this one, you will enjoy this series of mine: http://www.endresphotos.com/-/endresphotos/gallery.asp?cat=121210&pID=1&row=15

I think it is silly in this day to be a purist and claim to not use PS. Unless the digital shot is literally simply an uncropped RAW photo, it has been "tainted" by PS or Lightroom. After that, it is only a matter of degree.

All the best,

Endre

AuntiPode wrote:
Very nice image. Reminds me of one of my favorite photographic masters, Jerry Uelsmann, ... with color!


It seems to me that as long as photograph/photographs are made during the assignment time, you ought to be able to composite them anyway that makes a good image. Obviously, some take pride in having an image "straight from the camera" or perhaps offer "I only use Lightroom, never Photoshop", as if Photoshop changes are some sort of cheating. To me that's a little tying one arm behind your back or building ships in bottles - creating under arbitrary constraints.

BTW, a can of worm can be good discussion bait.

Thanks so much, Jim, my friend! I always appreciate your kind comments on my work.

Fond regards,

Endre

James Markus wrote:
Great creative entry! I think it is superb.

As I grow into photography I start to see less restrictions on what is and what isn't "photography". I simply view the entire process, the photo taking and the PP, as extensions of the same craft/art. No limits can give us grand rewards.

Beautiful entry Endre.
Chad

Thanks, Chad! I'm so glad you like it! Very good point about photography. Since the beginning, photography has had two distinct parts - the camera/film and the darkroom. The camera, as far as I'm concerned is a somewhat primitive mechanical mechanism for capturing photons in their various arrangements. Nothing magical about it. The right amount of light coupled with the right camera settings and you have a photo. Digital cameras accomplish it in a different way but both systems simply gather information. What one does with that information - whether in the darkroom or the PS lab - is what changes a bunch of arranged photons into art.

All the best,

Endre

Chad Schulz wrote:
As I grow into photography I start to see less restrictions on what is and what isn't "photography". I simply view the entire process, the photo taking and the PP, as extensions of the same craft/art. No limits can give us grand rewards.

Beautiful entry Endre.
Chad

One word,

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.


Dan.

Endre, those are lovely images waiting for their story.

Wow! Thanks, Dan! I've never received praise like that before!

All the best,

Endre

hopes2 wrote:
One word,

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.


Dan.

Thanks, Karen! I am so glad you liked seeing them. Since the underlying premise is true, they are especially meaningful to me.

All best wishes,

Endre

AuntiPode wrote:
Endre, those are lovely images waiting for their story.

Beautiful my dear friend Endre. For me there are three things that interest me in this, apert from the overall effect which is great. Firstly I like the liminality of the edge between this world and another, the transition is superb and catches the feeling perfectly. Secondly the way the light falls onto the right side of her face, (our left as we view it) is I think masterful. But the final and to me most interesting feature of this image is the bird—that I find deeply significant. The one thing that I would love to know is what is Eva reading? I can't quite make it out, but on the other hand not quite knowing adds to the mystery but it intrigues me.

L & P

Andrew-Bede

Very nice photo and beautiful PS work!

Roy

Thank you so very much, Andrew-Bede, my friend! Your detailed comments are so interesting. I'm so glad to know all the reasons that you like it.

There is probably very little in the book that Eva is reading that would actually lead her to imagine this particular scene. I intended it to be a somewhat generic representation of "imagination". The bird was chosen very specifically as a metaphor for allowing imagination to soar.

The book is one of the old "Hardy Boys" series. (I don't know if they ever had those in the UK.) This one is titled "The Crisscross Shadow" by Franklin W. Dixon. In case you don't know, the "Hardy Boys" were a very large series of mystery genre books for children - primarily aimed at boys. The Hardy Boys would always come across some unsolved crime and then find ingenious ways of figuring out who the culprit was. Antal had a large collection of them and they were out because we were lending them to a little boy who is a friend of Eva's, Not thinking much about it. I just grabbed the top one in the pile for this photo. In retrospect, I ought to have gotten out an old leather bound copy of Dickens.

I'm glad you are back from your vacation. I hope you had a great time. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

L & P,

Endre


Benedictine wrote:
Beautiful my dear friend Endre. For me there are three things that interest me in this, apert from the overall effect which is great. Firstly I like the liminality of the edge between this world and another, the transition is superb and catches the feeling perfectly. Secondly the way the light falls onto the right side of her face, (our left as we view it) is I think masterful. But the final and to me most interesting feature of this image is the bird—that I find deeply significant. The one thing that I would love to know is what is Eva reading? I can't quite make it out, but on the other hand not quite knowing adds to the mystery but it intrigues me.

L & P

Andrew-Bede

Thanks so much, Roy! I appreciate your kind comment.

all the best,

Endre

rbuiteman wrote:
Very nice photo and beautiful PS work!

Roy

I really like the idea but much less the execution. What bugs me is not the PS per se but the fact that there are two distinct backgrounds that - at least IMHO - do not mix well together.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Hi Yakim,

I have to disagree with you on this Yakim as, for me, the two backgrounds are a very crucial part of this image! I see the significance of this in that what we are seeing is the liminal moment between two worlds—the "real" our-world on the right and the "imaginary" world on the left. What Endre has managed to do is to combine these two worlds and in doing so has shown that moment in time when our consciousness is in two worlds at the same time, when we are still in the world of matter yet also in the world of the other existence which is, (in this case as per the title) that of the magical. It is all about liminality, or rather the dwelling in that incredible liminal state of being where we mere humans with all our human restrictions become something other than "mere humans" and are truly creatures of another, (some would say mystical) ethereal world.

Endre's genius here, (and it IS genus IMHO) is that he has found a way to illustrate this mystical experience and I salute him for it.

Regards,

Andrew-Bede

I would agree if the chair was one which is commonly used in the garden. Then the right part would fit in nicely as a representative of the real world. However, this chair is so homely in its shape that I'd rather see a home interior as this representative. JMHO of course.

But I do agree about the end. Endre is indeed a true genius (I call him 'The maestro of light') and the numerous WA he won is a testimonial of that.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Even with the huge diversity of scene, the composite flows and really works for me.