One photo with seven variations

I took the following photo back in Decemeber 2010 during a visit to Old Montreal.
                         
                                   Hotel Nelson - Place Jacques Cartier, Old Montreal

Because it was a bit overcast that day, when I processed the above image, I boosted the saturation a bit to give the image a bit of 'oomph'. Not being one to leave well-enough alone, I started playing with the image.

First came the Line Art versions.

                         
                                             Hotel Nelson - Coloured Line Art

                         
                                             Hotel Nelson - B&W Line Art

                         
                                             Hotel Nelson - Line Art Sepia

Playing with the line art version led to finding out what it would look like as a painting - a watercolour actually.

                         
                                                    Hotel Nelson - watercolour

More recently, I played with the original by converting it to a B&W image. And then to a B&W with sepia toning.

                         
                                                    Hotel Nelson - B&W

                         
                                                    Hotel Nelson - sepia

But my favourite play to-date is this textured version.

                         
                                                    Hotel Nelson - texture

Clicking on any of the above images will bring you to my SmugMug galleries or to my RedBubble pages for those images that are available for purchase as Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Photo Art Update

According to that Label thingie on the right, this will my twelfth blog post where I mention Photo Art. Something I've not written about since May of this year. Admittedly, I do tend to get a bit lax (cough) in posting to this blog. It appears that I've been just as lax in updating the Photo Art gallery on my Smugmug site.


But I am doing my part to correct that by writing this post as well as just having updated the Photo Art gallery with about 40 new digital paintings and watercolours. To entice you to pay the gallery a visit, I'm posting a small sample of the digital art images that were uploaded.


Peace Garden

Portland Head Light

The Crypt

The Lake

Saint Enfant Jesus

Moored





Clicking on any of the above images will bring you to their RedBubble page where they are available for purchase as Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters. These and other digital paintings can be seen in my Smugmug Photo Art gallery where you will find a link to my RedBubble site where they may also be purchased in various formats.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Montreal's Exterior staircases

Laurier avenue East, Montreal

One of the unique features of Montreal architecture and often commented on by visitors to the city is the abundance of exterior staircases.

Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal

It is difficult to find the exact reasons why this architectural feature is so prevalent, but two reasons do get mentioned most often.

Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal

One reason often cited is cost savings. You don't heat exterior stair cases thus save money.

232 Laurier East, Montreal

But the reason most often cited and actually given by the City of Montreal on one of their websites is that this all started because of a by-law trying to improve the city's green space.

Back in the 19th century (Think I read somewhere it was 1840) Montreal passed a by-law requiring all new buildings to be so many feet back from the sidewalk. This meant smaller buildings on the lot, so to compensate and maximize the living space in the building, staircases were placed outside over the required green space.

Rue Drolet, Montreal

Another oft asked question is why are the staircases open? Obviously only asked by people who have never spent a winter in Montreal. With an average annual snowfall of 210 cm (86 inches) the open thread makes snow removal a bit easier.


Back stairs - rue Le Jeune, Montreal


Thanks for stopping by. If you are interested you can see other photos taken on my walkabout the Plateau area of Montreal in my Walkabout the Plateau - 30 August 2011 gallery.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site where you can view a larger version.

These and other images may be purchased in various formats on my RedBubble site.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

New Product at RedBubble

Last week RedBubble announced a new product -- iPhone 4 cases

Within the first 24 hours, 2400 plus case designs were uploaded by RedBubble members. As of today, some 4 days later, there are almost 10,000 designs offered for sale on the site. Not sure if there's yet to be a single sale, but the membership is certainly prepared should there be a rush on iPhone 4 cases .

And in case there is, I uploaded a few designs of my own. Below are nine (9) designs for your viewing pleasure.


Clicking on any of the above designs will open their RedBubble page. If you would like to see all my iPhone 4 case designs, you can see them here.

Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment. I'd be happy to hear from you.