Creative Art Collection

Orange Cats in the Orange Grove

The Bookshop - Judith Sparhawk

A few days ago a Smugger posted a photograph of a bookstore (I believe somewhere in the Carolinas) that had painted books all around the exterior of the store. I really liked the look of it, and felt bad that I didn't know where it was, and most certainly would never get to see it in real life. Then it occurred to me that I could make my own bookshop creation, using my own books, especially some that had particular meaning for me. So today I photographed a bunch of books and made this fun composite, including, of course, the shop cat.

For the Love of Books

The magic of reading and books, opening the imagination of the young, sparking the imagination of us all.

Friday Night Book Club

A reworking of this image from a few months ago. I had entered it into a competition, and the comments by one of the critiquers was that the writing on the page was distracting, in that it didn't fit into the theme. So I replaced the page with a page from a "cat story" written for this purpose. I'm not sure most people would notice particularly, but I do feel better about the changes. BTW: I got a 2nd place ribbon for the image, even with the "distractions".

Cats Gone Wild

Fun playing with my granddaughter's quite literary cats, who seem to have gone wild in the bookstore. Apparently there's no such thing as too many cats or too many books!

Lost in Time

The first of my "book series" of fanciful composite images, celebrating books. With the proliferation of electronic "books", I really appreciate the hands-on means of reading, and the feel of history encompassed in old books. This image juxtaposes the old and the new, from ancient books to laptop.

The Story Lady

**This photo was selected as a Finalist in the 2018 Photographer's Forum photography competition; as such it was published in their "Best Photography of 2018 anthology.** Have you ever thought about how when we read a book, we let the characters out to play? This image is called The Story Lady, not because she reads the book, but lives it, cat by her side, of course. The second of my "book series" of imaginative composites celebrating the endangered species of "real" books.

The Other Side of the Door

Not sure of the title yet for this one, which suggests how we enter into the magic of story, and how characters become a part of our lives, sometimes well after the story ends. Third in my "book series" of fanciful, imaginative composites in celebration of books.

Reach for the Moon

Reach for the Moon is the fourth in my series of fanciful and imaginative composites in celebration of books. It suggests that the use of books is a way to achieve what you dream of and wish for--even reaching for the moon.

The Red Chair

Fun with books and more in beautiful golden fields.

Music on My Mind

A different version of the double exposure I created with sheet music.

The Secret Life of Birds

A rainy day, so couldn't go out birding or shooting, so ended up creating this photo collage, keeping in the general theme.

Friday Night Book Club

A scaled down image, resized for frame sizes.

Cats Gone Wild

Playing with my granddaughter's quite literary cats, apparently gone wild in the bookstore. This is a version of this image sized for purchase.

The Good Old Days

Playing around with archived images to put together this photo-related composite. I used one of the Topaz Labs Textures filters after I assembled it. It may have been the good old days, but glad that's not the camera I'm using these days! 1/24/19 Judith Sparhawk

The Voyager

Double exposure of a young lady I photographed in Sedona, AZ and an antique sailing map. I was tempted to title it Now Voyager, after the Walt Whitman poem, but I may not be the only one old enough to relate it to the old book and movie of that title.

Ms. Blue Eyes

A reworking of an image I created some time ago, changing it to B&W, with selective color in the blue eyes. I like it better this way.

Cherry Blossom Time

Playing with double exposures, of this beautiful woman I photographed at a wedding earlier this year.

This Bird Has Flown

Playing with double exposures, a lovely girl I photographed in Sedona last spring, and a flock of flying birds.

Forest Veil

Joining the lovely girl I photographed in Sedona this last spring, and some heavily grained wood.

Flights of Fancy

Having fun with double exposure effects. This is a woman I photographed earlier this year at a wedding, plus a flock of flying birds

The Old Porch

This is a painterly version of the porch on an old building in Hope, Alaska. The building was originally a barn build by John Hershey, and is used as a home currently. I liked the feelof the porch.

The Old Porch

A more desaturated version of this image of an old house in Hope, Alaska..

Spirit Houses of Eklutna

Eklutna is about 25 or 30 miles north of Anchorage. As a small child I visited this unique cemetery, and managed to find it in the Alaska trip in June 2016. When the Russian Orthodox settlers came to the area, they insisted that the native peoples should not cremate their dead, but bury them instead. In that much of the year digging in frozen earth was difficult to impossible, they began building these spirit houses over shallow graves. This cemetery is behind a still functioning Russian Orthodox church. Judith Sparhawk

Bison Face Off

This herd of bison live at Elk Island, east of Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. In this version, I used a filter to give them a more painterly look.

Mushroom in the Forest

Alaska

Looking Down the Road

Bison in the Grass

A new version of a few bison from the herd at Elk Island, Alberta.

Anchorage Peonies

These beautiful peonies were growing at the motel I stayed in in Anchorage, Alaska. Flowers tend to grow quite large in Alaska, with these blooms about 6 inches across.

It Must Be Paradise

This Bird of Paradise flower was photographed in the San Diego area. It was a very colorful one, a triple, and I decided to play with the colors a bit to emphasize its beauty.

Peacock on the Wall

A filtered version of this image I took at Los Angeles Arboretum a few months ago. There are many peacocks on the grounds. This one had the longest tail I had ever seen.

Birdhouse in the Garden

These birdhouses were in a garden in Seldovia, Alaska.

These Boots Aren't Make For Walking

A painterly version of this display of boots and flowers, seen in front of a shop on the Homer Spit, in Homer, Alaska.

Adventure Through the Keyhole

Fun imagining what you might see by looking through a keyhole--it could be almost anything! The keyhole was from a the lock on an old clipper ship, the view from a stylized sunset in canyonlands.

Adele in the Garden

A version of this photo of my friend Adele, a lovely 81 years young woman. This has been given a painterly effect. Judith Sparhawk

The Church on the Hill

This Russian Orthodox Church is on a hilltop in the small town of Ninilchik, Alaska, given a painterly look.

How Foxy

These pretty foxglove flowers were in a garden in Seldovia, Alaska.

Harbor at Seldovia

A painterly look applied to this image of the boat harbor at Seldovia, Alaska. Seldovia is a small town on the Kenai Peninsula, and can only be approached by boat, as there are no roads connecting it with the rest of the world.

Boots and Flowers

This arrangement was part of a display outside a shop on the Homer Spit, Homer, Alaska.

Totem Pole?

This non-traditional totem pole was photographed in Seldovia, Alaska.

Veronica's Porch

Veronica's is a fun coffeehouse in old Kenai section of Kenai, Alaska. It is built in one of the original old buildings from this town. I liked the look of this porch, and gave it a painterly look. BTW, a great place to stop for coffee or tea and a very yummy pastry!

Rainbow Mailboxes

These colorful mailboxes were in a residential district in Homer, Alaska.

Houses in Seldovia

These houses are on the river running through Seldovia. The tides can vary as much as 25 feet from low to high tide, and houses along the river are on stilts.

The Wise One at Sunset

I loved the beauty of this elder, against the beauty of the sunset.

Unicorn in the Garden

For some reason I've been having such fun with the unicorn that comes to visit in my garden, that i just keep shooting ;-) Judith Sparhawk