When life becomes art

One of the things I have learned to love about photography today is that there are so many things that you can do with an image after you capture it. As much as I love going out and taking a beautiful picture of a landscape or a flower, I think I love post processing even more. With today's tools the skies and your imagination really are the limit. Post processing has allowed me to consider new options and directions that I would never have thought possible or even considered. It used to be that we would say someone must have "Photoshopped" an image to create a special look or effect. But today there are hundreds of different programs and apps that give you all kinds of options for creating an even more amazing image. One of my favorites is an app for cell phones and iPads called iColorama. You can take an image of something from nature, for example as I did with this one, and make it look as though you are a talented realistic or abstract artist, quite literally using no more than the flick of your finger. I am no where near close to totally understanding this app and using it to its fullest. But I have to admit that once I get started using it, it is hard to stop. I find myself saying, "Oh, I like that look, but what if I tried this or added that?" And whatever you do is non-destructive to your original image. I have spent a lot of money on post processing software subscriptions like Lightroom and Photoshop, which, by the way, I have recently decided not to renew, but for the money and the fun, I can't think of a better one than iColorama. I honestly can give it most of the credit for moving me into new areas of creative photography. Below is the original of the painterly one above.