First Image Of My Deep Space Portfolio

Supermassive Black Hole Within The Sagittarius A Galaxy

The base image or original image is a deep dark red bearded iris from my mom’s garden. When my mom was still alive, I used to take a lot of images of her bearded irises. They are a very deep flower, and I used to have to set my aperture to f32 or f64 to get the back parts of the flower somewhat sharp. If done properly, the macro images resemble a very colorful cathedral.

For camera club competition, I would wait to the last minute to come up with a title. I would insist that the image title had to be the real name of the iris. My mom and I would pore over her iris catalogs looking for the right iris. This would exasperate her, especially the time crunch of my waiting until the last moment. These were the days of slide shooting for me, and I would write the title information on the slide then dash off to the camera club meeting.

Looking back, I feel bad that I put my mom through this every time I entered an iris image. She could have refused to help, but her character shined true and her love for me was always there. I think she would be happy and proud of me with the creative art I created from an image of one of her irises.

The technique is from a tech tip column from a PSA (Photographic Society of America) magazine. “Put a little twirl into your work”, was the title of the article. I look for colorful graphic images that have a significant negative space. Then, I follow this technique of creating lines, blurring them, and then using Photoshop’s twirl filter, making a twirl with a positive setting, then on another layer using the opposite twirl with a negative setting.

For me, these images remind me of deep space. Thus, my space portfolio was born. With other base images, I have created a group of a dozen or so of these types of images. One base image is an image of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, another is orange wet sand from a beach at sunset in Santa Cruz. I never know exactly what I get when I play with this technique, but that’s why it is so fun.

In memory of my mom, Lillian A Finocchio, I dedicate this image to her. It is like she is still here with me. We were so close. I miss you so much; I’ll always love you, mom!

Metal Print of this Image is now showing at the Avenue 25 Gallery through January 18, 2019.
32 West 25th Avenue, 2nd Floor
San Mateo, CA 94403,
Open: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm

My Mom’s Iris=War Chief
Base Image!

Author: Dream Catcher Images

Nature, Bird, and Wildlife Photographer Mission Statement: Restore your life’s essence, experience a child-like wonderment and reconnect your spirit with our mother earth. My mission, as the owner of Dream Catcher Images, is to create beautiful photographs that hauntingly sing to one’s heart of the earth and its magnificent wildlife. Through this imagery, a sense of awe about the sacredness of life is shared and communicated to the image viewer or a workshop participant. View all posts by Dream Catcher Images