Sunny Leaf

When I potographed this leaf, I was reminded of when I produced my first composite image around 45 years ago!

I first joined Kirkcaldy Photographic Society in 1974 and very soon thereafter I was pushing the boundaries with experimental techniques.  I made a contact print of a leaf onto sheet lithographic film. I then photographed through it to a screen onto which I had projected a sunset.

Here, I have mimicked that digitally although instead of a sunset, I have used yesterday's sunrise.

Another technique that I remember trying was to add a painterly texture to an image.  I would gently smear a sheet of plate glass with Vaseline and lay it on the baseboard under the enlarger.  With the image projected down from the enlarger, I would then use an artist's hoghair brush to contour the Vaseline to the subject matter in the image.  When complete, I would switch off the light and slip a sheet of photographic paper under the now textured glass before making the exposure.

Nowadays, all so much easier to do on a computer. Cheaper as well and no polluting chemicals.