Category: arts

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Still life.

On By dalecooper57In arts, photography13 Comments

Good day to you all, I hope you had a pleasant break, now it’s time for The Cosmic Photo Challenge to brighten your Monday, with this week’s theme being; Still life.

As always, however you wish to interpret the prompts on our challenge, we’re here for it, that’s the beauty of our lackadaisical approach to rules.

But when I set the theme on Friday, apart from having no real idea of what I was going to do, it occurred to me that I wasn’t entirely certain what “still life photography” actually meant.

So I looked it up.

Amongst other things, it seems the general guidelines come down to:

Backgrounds: Select simple, complementary backgrounds that don’t distract.
Cohesive Objects: Pick items that tell a story or share a similar style (e.g., antique theme).
Create Layers: Arrange objects at different heights and levels for depth.
Rule of Thirds: Place key elements on imaginary lines or intersections for balance.

Also suggested were; using fabrics to soften and create textures; adding bowls of fruit or flowers to connect to nature or give a “lived in” feel; give depth by lighting from the side, instead of from in front or above, and drawing inspiration from classical still life paintings.

So, taking all of this sage advice on board (I could only manage a small ramekin of blueberries at short notice), I spent Saturday evening setting up a photo shoot in my living room. I rather enjoyed it, too.  ;~}

Here I present three differently lit shots, each taken from slightly different perspectives, you’ll have to decide for yourselves if your favourite is the same as mine…

Now let’s see what still life means to you…

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Abstract.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography9 Comments

Hello there, it’s only two weeks until the holidays, but here at The Cosmic Photo Challenge we haven’t got festive yet, in fact we’re positively vague about the subject of today’s theme; Abstract.

That gave us almost unlimited scope for our photographic offerings this week and I spent a Zen-like couple of hours yesterday creating this abstract collage from strips I cropped from pictures of random objects around the house and other old photos.

Where did your artistic muse lead you this week..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Pick a shape.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography11 Comments

Hi there, I hope you had a good weekend, now there’s just the small matter of The Cosmic Photo Challenge to attend to, before you plunge headlong into another Monday.

This week your mission was to; Pick a shape.

Any shape will do, as long as it somehow informs your choice of pictures, whether that’s by subject matter or design.

I decided to go with circles, using two separate layouts to create my images; a random selection of circular household objects for one; and some records from my collection, chosen for their colourful vinyl (and a small rug), for the other.

Now let’s see what geometric journey you went on this week…

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Summer fun.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography9 Comments

Good morning, it’s time to welcome in the week with The Cosmic Photo Challenge and our look back at the seasonal shenanigans we’re calling; Summer fun.

As the holiday season comes to an end and we begin the cooling off period before autumn arrives, let’s revel in the making of memories and recap the summer highlights of 2025.

As I hinted at on Friday, this week’s theme was largely an excuse for me to post some photos from Honeyfest festival at The Barge Inn, which we attended over the bank holiday weekend, so without further ado, here are some of the best bits.

From the front, an idyllic English pub by the canal…
…but in another world, not so far away; “Igor Rasputin’s Caravan Of Lost Souls” arrives to amaze and entertain
And when night falls…
…we prepare for the music to begin
The Honeyfest Illuminations
Day two and our host, Lenny, braves the whip cracking trick as Mr Rasputin and co return…
…also providing fiery entertainment as the sun goes down
Our weekend accommodation
My video diary of musical highlights
My favourite outfit of the weekend, what a dapper gent he was
A live rock band, playing classic rave anthems? Yes please!
To bring proceedings to a close, the incredible (and incredibly strange) Experimental Sonic Machines set up his DIY studio next to the stage
What a fabulous weekend, look forward to doing it all again next year

So, what floated your photographic boat this Summer? Come on, let’s see your sizzle reel…

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Symmetry.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography12 Comments

Another weekend successfully navigated, now we just have to get through the upcoming week, starting off with The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which today is concerned with; Symmetry.

I chose to create all my images from one photograph; namely this rather handsome piece of Twin Peaks inspired wall art I made from some clay discs, mounted on red fabric.

Each of the iconic symbols already have their own individual symmetry, but after a lot of fiddling about, the whole image becomes but a small component in larger masterpieces…

How did your search for symmetrical satisfaction go..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Art for art’s sake.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography7 Comments

Good morning, welcome to The Cosmic Photo Challenge, on a day we’re all about; Art for art’s sake.

I was hoping to take some pictures in the museum at the weekend but it was closed, so I took a walk around town to see what random art I could find.

As it turned out, along with a great mural, I saw some very odd sculptures in a shop window, so I relocated them to the empty pannier market and made my own virtual exhibition.

But the strangest art project by far was my experiments with an AI video generator I found online, called Dream Machine.

The machine takes a single still photo and animates it in line with whatever written prompt you provide it to dream about.

Here are the three photos I gave it to play with…

…and these are the results, along with the words which prompted them:

“The Twin Peaks reunion wasn’t going quite as well as everyone hoped.”
“A giant, pink, carnivorous alien flower reaches down from the sky and searches for food.”
“David Lynch was impressed with how many new friends he made after adopting John Justice Wheeler’s style of striped knitwear.”

What artistic treasures did you unearth at the weekend?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Music on film.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography14 Comments

It’s a trawl through the archives this week on The Cosmic Photo Challenge, after a bout of festival nostalgia inspired me to set the prompt as; Music on film.

Here’s a small selection of the many images of musical folk I’ve captured over the years.

Where did your musical muse lead you at the weekend?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.

Tag your posts with  #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: I’ll see you in the trees.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, nature photography, photography18 Comments

Hello there, welcome to this week’s special bank holiday Monday multimedia bonus edition of The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which today is inspired by the prompt; I’ll see you in the trees.

Our run of extraordinarily fine weather in the UK continued right through the weekend, so early yesterday morning I took tranquil walk around Venn Quarry Woods in the already warm summer sunshine.

You, too can enjoy a moment of peace and quiet in this woodland wonderland, complete with relaxing birdsong, via the embedded Instagram player below.

*BONUS CONTENT*

I had quite a musical weekend (what with the release of my new album of original material), including making this glitchy electronica audio-visual piece, incorporating the birds of Venn Quarry Woods on vocals.

I’m sure you have some tree-mendous photos to fit the bill, so why not join in, it couldn’t be easier…

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.

Tag your posts with  #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Art for art’s sake.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, photography15 Comments

It’s Monday again and time to get creative for The Cosmic Photo Challenge, because this week’s theme is; Art for art’s sake.

I always enjoy a bit of mucking about, so I spent a couple of very pleasant, zen-like hours yesterday, making this single composite image.

Where did your artistic muse take you at the weekend?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.

Tag your posts with  #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.