Escape with a ‘Staycation’-The Virtual Photo Vacation

The recession, the bad economy, high gasoline prices…we are all tired of hearing about it. Some of us are feeling the financial pinch affecting our vacation budgets. I’d like to propose a solution to help ease a little of the financial stress. Have you considered a virtual photo vacation or a ‘staycation’? Definition for staycation, “Stay at home vacation.”

Here are a few steps to ease your budget by enjoying a creative staycation:

1. Dig up your old vacation photos – Perhaps your photos are 5, or even 10 years old. Dust off that shoebox under your bed, or start digging through the archives on your hard disk (how long has it been since you did that?)
2. Take a trip down memory lane – Start by viewing your old trips, your print snapshots or your digital files. Select a few that really catch your eye. Gather a collection of images that tell a story, have a nice perspective on the architectural elements, and have bright colors that might look nice together. Choose images with subjects doing interesting things.
3. Pre-visualize - Think in terms of design and composition. – I’d like to suggest you look at your images from a design standpoint. Choose two images that might look good combined together or to tell a different story than what actually occurred. Perhaps view your images by squinting – seeing shapes, darks and lights – combining concepts. Juxtaposing objects that might not normally be seen together. When you have all of your images (scanned images and jpgs) in the same directory you might want to use Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, Aperture or Picasa to be able to view your images side by side. It is easier to come up with creative ideas when some of your favorite images are next to each other. You may notice patterns, colors or textures that might look good together. Try to envision some of the images in black and white.
4. Use a photo editing program to combine your images – Explaining the steps to make a photo montage using layers, layers masks, layer blend modes and compositing techniques goes beyond the scope of this article. I’d like to suggest you use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements to try your hand at making a montage (one photo per layer.) I hope to be covering some of these lessons in upcoming blog posts.

It is fun to take the time to reminisce and revisit those great times you had. This year might not be the year to take that overseas vacation but nothing is stopping you from recreating new memories from old ones, in your computer.

The attached images to this blog are all images I took in Italy. These images are presented here to fuel your imagination. One image is architecture I photographed in Milan combined with a photo of the boy I photographed in Siena. The violin montage was shot in a Italian music museum and the combined image sources were from instruments in the museum. One of a piano forte’s and another was from the paintings taken from the wood on the instrument itself. I used a combination of layering and filters to add artistic effects. By creating these visual pieces, the creative experience brings me double the pleasure. First, the vacation memories bring me joy, second – the fact that I took these memories and created a visual art piece out of these memories helps take it to the next level. The experience of creating these images and viewing them provides a fun way to alleviate daily stress.

5. Share your images online – Once you have created imagery that you are proud of, share it online! Post it on Facebook or Flickr and Tweet about it! Nothing is more satisfying than sharing your artwork with an audience. It helps bring perspective to your work by hearing others’ opinions and feedback. Some may point out parts of the image you didn’t really notice at first. You grow, expand your ideas and have fun doing it. Revel in the accolades you may receive!

I hope this blog post discussing a new form of escapism for the creative mind and the associated imagery has given you some ideas to dig into your own archives. Feel free to share your images with a link in the comments to new wonderful memories and creations of your own ‘staycation.’

Enjoy this virtual photo adventure!  I bet your endorphins will thank you, I know your wallet will.

KAREN VAISMAN – Karen Vaisman Photography located in Agoura Hills, California

           Professional Photographic Portrait Artist specializing in the Art of Retouching

                          Agoura Hills - Photography & Adobe Photoshop Trainer

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EMAIL – Memories@portraitsbykaren.net

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ARTISTIC RETOUCHING - BEFORE & AFTER -- http://ht.ly/562fU

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