I need to write about this process which, in truth, is not finished.  I wanted to do some sort of collage to get back into the mindset of composite photography.  For a while, I was tuning out, figuring that everyone was doing it.  I was thinking about my favorite composite, the young hairless girl in the window in the rocks, thinking to myself that it's a tough act to follow. The girl in that photograph is actually a little girl in a swimming cap, but she looks bald, she looks lost and she was perfect for her photo.  She's a vintage photograph.  I LOVE to collect vintage photos.

How was I going to follow that act?  I think I've been avoiding it forever because making a series of it might be most difficult.  How many windows can I park on the rocks in Joshua Tree?  Then, I thought that perhaps the series could be more about vintage photographs, perhaps just vintage children.  I thought about that a while longer, like even longer.  I took myself on a tour of the LIbrary of Congress website to see what I could take for the taking with no copyright issues.

I found a black and white photograph of a little girl eating ice cream, 1906.  I took a fast youtube tutorial in colorizing -- I surely could get better at this.  I was a little bit in a hurry and I see where I'm going to improve on this photograph -- like painting in her hair.  I colorized her on a fast track, assuring myself that it was a first try and I'm in a hurry to see what I have.... I promised myself that I would get better at this.  The truth is, I do not consider this a finished product just yet.  Its always a process. If you are a photographer who in the beginning of your career over sharpened the hell out of everything, you know how important it is to go back to the original file and do it again when you have more experience.

Overall, I had mixed feelings about the entire picture.  I put it to facebook.  The response is very good,better than I imagined.  I think I will go with that. Usually, I'm so wrapped up in my own message that I failed to see what this message might send to other people.

Art can be narcissistic - we have our vision, our sight and our message. Remember, a message received is a stronger communication. Art is personal, but what might seem less personal to us might be something more impactful for the viewer and so as much as I might beat myself up on this piece, I am going to let it find its own path through me. I am an artist er oh I am a technician and a fascilitator.