In the late 60's I was on a date with a photojournalist, Mike Fleisher, from the Tampa Tribune. The date was interrupted by an oil spill that Mike wanted to photo/write about. So off we went in the MG Spitfire convertible.

It was the first oil spill I'd witnessed and it was horrific. Naturally he grabbed his camera and started shooting....and then he paused for an ethical dilemma....when the best shot was facing into the sunset....but an oil-slimed dead seagull was a few feet away and not well lit.

His ethics were high, after all we were sooooo young. We pondered the problem as if we were the first to EVER experience it. Should he move the dead seagull into better light and better horrific surroundings....or not?

He settled for the shot without the seagull. I was sooooo impressed and immediately smitten ... which may partially have been his intention....

Sorry for the long intro but it is nostalgically relevant as I was practicing with combining photos and also playing a bit with HDR and abstract pp'ing. All of the items were photographed by me with a few different cameras and they were all within a few miles of each other.

Hey, I'm 64 and my ethics like my figure have undergone some less than praiseworthy changes.

[Ash]

Wow - intriguing story and interesting photo collage.
THanks for sharing it.

[cupic]

Interesting story, thanks for sharing that and this intresting shot


cheers

[JMR]

My only concern is the white areas in the sky between the tree branches. I have the same problem when doing my orton images. I think the only way out is to learn masking, so that the aura of light or white areas is not so pronounced. But I very much like the disposition of the elements and the lighting. Very nice.

[stl_stadtroller]

Reminds me of a question my photo I instructor posed to the class many moons ago:

If you were walking along a river bank and saw a man drowning, and you only had time to either jump in and rescue him, or take his picture - what kind of film would you use?

[PentX Girl]

Fascinating story and unique collage

[pardes]

Reminds me of a question my photo I instructor posed to the class many moons ago:

If you were walking along a river bank and saw a man drowning, and you only had time to either jump in and rescue him, or take his picture - what kind of film would you use?

My only concern is the white areas in the sky between the tree branches. I have the same problem when doing my orton images. I think the only way out is to learn masking, so that the aura of light or white areas is not so pronounced. But I very much like the disposition of the elements and the lighting. Very nice.

Interesting story, thanks for sharing that and this intresting shot


cheers

Wow - intriguing story and interesting photo collage.
THanks for sharing it.

Thanks for your kind comments!

JMR, I feel your pain at the blown glowy sun spots. Right now I'm working on a mini computer with a 6" by 9" monitor and with all the dithering, I forgot to get back to address the burns...not that I would have known how to fix them yet. I see I need to buy a bigger monitor...either that or go blind with my eyeball glued to the tiny screen. Thanks for the compliment. Onward and upward.

[wtlwdwgn]

At first glance I didn't see what was going on and then I saw the additions to the original image and it made it a real treat. I'm slow but I'm not very fast. Must be the 3 years I have on you. BTW, the Spit was made by Triumph. I know this because I bought one in'64.

[pardes]

At first glance I didn't see what was going on and then I saw the additions to the original image and it made it a real treat. I'm slow but I'm not very fast. Must be the 3 years I have on you. BTW, the Spit was made by Triumph. I know this because I bought one in'64.

Of course! Triumph! Not MG.

Ahhhh another "super senior." Okay, then you can appreciate what I didn't add to the story... as in looking back on former loves with bittersweetness and humor.

The photographer let me drive the Spitfire. We were wheeling through the city and he leaned back in the passenger seat and shouted, "Look at me world! It's a beautiful day in Florida, a beautiful woman is driving me around and things don't get better than that."