Temptation

When I started this project I knew I would face Temptation. The Siren song of modes and filters and layers upon layers calls me every time I open an image in Photoshop. As I explained when I started this daily effort, I've always been fascinated by what Photoshop allows you to do with an image. And now, with seven more years of experience with Photoshop, the addiction is even stronger.

I took this photo the other day, attracted by the way the slanting rays of the winter morning sun cast a shadow of tree branches on this sign. Light and shadow are rare enough this time of year to make this a vaguely interesting scene. But then Temptation struck.

Layer five copies of the image, each 80 percent smaller than the previous. Then change the modes on each layer to a soft light overlay. Now that says Dead End.

But Temptation drew me on.

Three layers of the same image, again progressively smaller. This time with glowing edges on the bottom layer, a soft light overlay on the next layer and finally on top a color dodge is multiplied. Now it's so hot it sizzles and smokes.

And on and on I could go, layering and blending, never exhausting all of the possible permutations.

Day 39 of 365