The Land Of Oz

Rather crude modern rendition of the subject:

The Land Of Oz:

Wow - that place sure has built up since I was last there!

I like it. Like something out of a scifi movie.

- DL

Don,

thanks for looking!

I realized that I have the shots of both the Bryce and Downtown LA made from almost the same angle.. The rest was entry-level PS

Nikolaj, do you use the original Oz as your inspiration or Alexander Wolkow?

Nikolai,

You are so very talented. I really like that! Commendations and a salute! That would be a great print.

Asher

Dierk,

Dierk Haasis said:

Nikolaj, do you use the original Oz as your inspiration or Alexander Wolkow?

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Wow, I'm impressed! You've heard of Wolkow

Yes, I grew up in USSR as a kid, so the Alexander Wolkow' version was all I knew.

I didn't even *know* it was *not* an original tale until I was like 16-17 y.o.

Same thing happened with most of my favorite childhood stories: Pinocchio, Wizard Of Oz, Dr. Doolittle... They all were publish in USSR as "original art" under different titles. Only when I grew up and realized the sad truth, I managed to find some *very* fine print in some of them - not even in all of them.

Anyway, since I came to live in California at the end of last millennium I always thought of it as the land of Oz - a beautiful country separated from the rest of the world by oceans, deserts and mountains...

And when I realized that I have a clear aerial shot of a Downtown LA (which is a rare occasion all by itself due to an almost eternal haze) that matches by angle to my sunrise shot of Bryce Canyon (taken from the Bryce Point) - the rest was just to find out 10 minutes of quiet time with my copy of PS CS2

Thanks for looking!

Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Nikolai,

You are so very talented. I really like that! Commendations and a salute! That would be a great print.

Asher

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Thank you, my firend, you're too kind

Nikolai Sklobovsky said:

Wow, I'm impressed! You've heard of Wolkow

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No need to, I have a soft spot for children's literature [curiously not a left-over from my university days]. Although I, having been born, raised and lived exclusively in Germany as opposed to the Soviet Pacified Zone* I have another soft spot for eastern Germany, particularly Leipzig.

A few years ago I offered my services as a translator and literary critic [majored in English Literature and Language] to a publisher in Leipzig. Before 1989 they had been the sole rights owners for children's literature from the "brother states". And while Baum's original Oz stories never took hold in Germany - naturally for the Communist part, not so for West Germany - Wolkow's five novels and the ones written by others after him are a huge success still in our eastern provinces.

Apart from the first Wolkow, which is almost a word for word plagiarism, they are quite good; he was much more consistent in his Wonderful Land than Baum has ever been.



*Now, anybody getting all three allusions?

Dierk, I see...
Very interesting, thank you!

Funny, the only book that never got even the fine print was the Dr.Doolittle. I figured out that the reason for that was that in the original title pirates ships were carrying... red sails. As you are no doubt aware, everything red in USSR as associated with being "communist" and "good", so I guess they had just decieded, "oh, screw that, we're so NOT giving this guy ANY credit"...

And, believe it or not, as I mentioned, it was one of my (and everybody' else) favorite childhood tales...

Nikolai Sklobovsky said:

Rather crude modern rendition of the subject:

The Land Of Oz:

Click to expand...

Nik, this is absolutely wonderful.

What could you do with this jpeg, from a RAW file I shot and then ran through LightZone's Channel Mixer, and afterwards downsized to fit Village Photo's size requirements for a free account.

We came near to a Kansas-style storm here around noon today--or at least it felt like it. I was out trying to shoot the clouds, and caught my dormer window and chimney pot at a tilt. Sky was blue, before I started messing with it, clouds white and gray, chimney bricks red.

First, my fantasy:

To Oz



Second, the reality according to the G2:

JPEG as LightZone created it, only downsized to 34 per cent of original size



If it interests you, or anyone else here, I'll upload the RAW file by yousendit.

Please say if it does.


Mary

Mary,
first of all, sorry for the late reply, very busy at work..

As to the image - at this point I have no idea... Maybe some more artistic person would be able to help you with this one...

Cheers!

Am I blown away, or, have I tumbled down the rabbit hole?

Nikolai Sklobovsky said:

Mary,
first of all, sorry for the late reply, very busy at work.

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I've been getting a glimmer of how crowded your life is lately, Nik, from reading your (few) posts in other threads.

Was pleased to gather that you are selling some prints, along.

As to the image - at this point I have no idea... Maybe some more artistic person would be able to help you with this one...

Click to expand...

I think I got a pretty good idea of how difficult it will be to express my vision of these gables, after I put up some gable images in another thread.

So I'm giving up my idea that images of gables can speak for me, at present.

I am not attached to the photos I take, in the way that I am to my children, or even to my pet cats. Or, even to the occasional poem I finish revising until it pleases me.

Everything I've shown at OPF is intended as a learning exercise for me.

Nik, you have already found out where your basic mindset and vision and gifts lie, when it comes to visual images. I'll never forget the marvelous things you did with my mushroom and my rabbit.

I don't know where I am, yet. It feels to me as if I have stumbled into the wonderful land of Oz. Or tumbled down the rabbit hole and had a bite of the magic mushroom.

Thanks for the reply--and I don't mind a bit that it's late. I'm on White Rabbit time here, myself.

Mary

Nikolai.
You never fail to amaze me.
Fantastic composition, although I’ve never read Oz; I was (and still am) a vivid fan of SF.
This evokes thoughts of a city rebuilt after a mayor asteroid smash.
My felicitations, a wonderfully executed concept.
Ivan (IGD)

Ivan,

Ivan Garcia said:

Nikolai.
You never fail to amaze me.
Fantastic composition, although I’ve never read Oz; I was (and still am) a vivid fan of SF.
This evokes thoughts of a city rebuilt after a mayor asteroid smash.
My felicitations, a wonderfully executed concept.
Ivan (IGD)

Click to expand...

Thank you very much, appreciate your compliment!

It simply was two pictures that suddenly "matched" in my brain...
The rest was pure PS-ing

Cheers!