Maria Mazo, PPSA
December 2025 - Difficult to Handle
Original
About the Image(s)
For this month’s image, I created a composite using some of the photos I took during the trip - specifically, sculptures I found in pagodas and temples. I selected the dragons and the human figure and placed them together on a foggy mountain background. Then, using a smoke brush, I added smoke coming from the dragons’ mouths and around the human figure to create tension and drama. To finish, I opened the image in the Nik Collection filters and applied a colour-unifying style filter. I also added a vignette and darkened the background to enhance the characters in the scene.
2 comments posted
Maria, Well done! I love how you've blended these various elements to create a magical image that feels like an epic tale one would read in the Upanishads or some similar text. Your choice of a more monochrome image and blending of the elements with fog is masterful. Posted: 12/08/2025 01:30:44
This IS a "magical image" as Brad says. Your fog and dragons work very well together in the dark that surrounds them. My only concern is that the bulk of this image is someone else's art. We all include art created by others (even a house is art created by another), but that art should be subsidiary to our imagination. It's hard to be creative month after month. Sometimes our imagination needs to take a deep breath. Posted: 12/11/2025 16:22:08