Hershey Desai

Snake eyes

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:11:44 PST

One of the most beautiful reptiles I have seen.

I just love the emerald scales and the natural lighting in the setting really enhanced the details in the eyes.
Its almost like a dragon.

Also, the particular perspective is something that I've not been able to capture again in the past 3 years.

One my best and rarest photos indeed.

4 elemental dragons

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:26:26 PST

Continuing from the previous post, just by modifying the colors, and tweaking the images a bit, we end up with four different elemental dragon posters.

How to color a fiery background to a dragon tattoo

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:28:22 PST

Hi there guys, Since I haven't been able to capture new photos for quite a while, here's a "how-to" guide for being creative with tattoos. I had done this one wayyyy back in 2007 and I'm surprised its still popular elsewhere on the web soooo finally decided to put it back on my blog.

I used photoshop for this little artwork and before you ask, no the original dragon design isn't mind..its freely available online if you just google "dragon tattoos". However, the sketch shown above is actually drawn by me. Hope that clears up any misunderstandings. Lets start shall we....

Step 1

Easiest step ever. Just fill up the entire sketch using paintbucket. Make sure your edges are all connected and closed off else the paint will spill over the page.It would be a good idea to have the dragon in a new layer too.

Step 2

Select the eye, copy and paste it in a new layer and add a glow via layer styles

Step 3

Add a new color to the background layer using the gradient tool. I prefer using this reddish orange concentric circles. You can use any shape you desire, just keep in mind that they will portray the direction of the flames.

Step 4

Now duplicate the dragon tattoo and rename it. Click and merge the original tattoo layer with the background and use radial blur...around 50% should be fine. This should merge some of the inky blackness with your background

Step 5

By now you should have probably realized I was literally experimenting around and came up with the final layout completely by accident :P Anyway, since the radial blur looks quite dull, add a zoom blur to it. Much prettier now.

Step 6

No you didn't miss a step. Select your dodge tool and...well pretty much go nuts on the background layer, dabbing (clicking) the brush for random periods. Just make sure to stick with whatever shape you used...in my case, concentric strokes. The brush setting was on midtone with opacity at 40%

Step 7

Now select your dragon layer(the copied one remember) and add 10% radial blur, 20% zoom blur. Just trying to make it somewhat ethereal.

Step 8

Notice how the "red" area in the upper left looked too weird?Grab the paintbrush and dab a big yellow circle to it...the entire area is too red. You might end up with such hotspots too where there is not enough mixing of color. Once that's done, repeat the same stunt you did with the dodge tool earlier.

Step 9.

Finally go to tamper with the brightness/contrast... if you know how to use the shadow filters its recommended you use that. In my case, I bumped up the contrast by 30 and midtones by 20. Highlights were boosted up by 15 at a radius of 55. Basically make the image darker and sharper. Add a nice text that says FIRE. and you are done.

Lesson learned from this guide? Experiment with photoshop and eventually you will end up with something pretty neat for a newbie. Learn the steps it took and try to refine them.

Happy Chinese New Year

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:27:58 PST

Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year (Gong Xi Fa Cai!!)

As part of the RedGivesMore initiative that I am working on, here is a special CNY wallpaper pack for you, courtesy of Salvation Army Thrift Stores and myself :)

You can choose according to the individual sizes below:
1280x720
1600x900
1920x1080
2560x1440

Or get the full pack here: Link

Taking a break

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:20:07 PST

Of all the street captures I took that day, this one certainly stands out. The grid fence in the background is set up for construction on the other side, and with the lighting and mood, it appears as if two people taking a well earned break from a hard day's work.

A glimpse of Chinatown

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:21:08 PST

I just loved the sharpness of the image and the pose of the old gentleman in the background. Just a candid shot really.

Curiosity in Chinatown

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:21:16 PST

Its so strange at times to see two people play a game and attract a crowd of nearly a dozen people (and one photographer).

Divine Aura

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:21:29 PST

Created by capturing the image in two different exposures and then compositing the two to create this two-part glow. The color was original though, I just overlayed the brighter image inside the circle. The end result was a beautiful warm glowing sculpture.
I also have a second variation, with a larger difference in the exposures and a tighter square crop...

Divine Focal Point

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:21:38 PST

Came across a wall full of small sculptures and a giant one in the center...it was as if the scene 'wanted' to be captured in the zoom blur style.

The Sentry

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:21:48 PST

A towering sentry sculpture at the entrance of the Buddha Tooth temple. Apart from the pose and the details, I just loved the texture of the stone.

Buddha Tooth Relic temple 2

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:30:00 PST

Another HDR image from a different perspective, aiming more towards the heavens.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:55:45 PST

An HDR image of the Buddha Tooth Relic temple captured on a beautiful day with a really evocative sky.

Language of runes

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:31:00 PDT

It may have originally been english, but under a kaleidoscope...it sure looks like an ancient script, almost like the ones you see written on runes

Palmistry

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:29:36 PDT

It actually would suit as an astrology related poster quite well don't you think? Criss cross lines are beautiful to observe under the kaleidoscope

Note: I know there have been erratic delays between my postings. Just too much work these days really. Will try my best to keep this blog updated frequently.

The art of cars

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:00:00 PDT

Most of the cars, specially the clean shiny ones, are fun to photograph. This was a taxi cab in Singapore

Wall Lighting

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:01 PDT

Found this symmetric lamp pattern hiding on my wall. It took a little bit of tweaking of the lights but finally the color and brightness revealed the natural textures of the wall.

Nature's cogwheel

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:30:00 PDT

Discovering the intricate mechanics of nature. Found out landscapes containing branches look wonderful when viewed under a kaleidoscope.

Wooden mat

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:30:01 PDT

There is always something innately beautiful about the wooden texture. Add some fabric into it and peer through a kaleidoscope and you'll end up with extraordinary patterns.

Keypad

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:00:02 PDT

This is what happens when you spend too much time on your computer... your keyboard starts looking funny.

The Art of Cooking

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:17:33 PDT

Patterns show up everywhere in nature. They exist all around us, even in our food. You just need to learn to recognize them. I saw this little pattern hiding on my dinnerplate.

Ritual of Arcane Summoning

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:09:00 PDT

The mysterious ancient spirits of the forests, the Wisps, performing a complex summoning ritual.
Very Warcraft-oriented...

However that wasn't my first interpretation.
Basically its a wonderful little fractal symmetry trying to mimic the intricate patterns of ancient runes, the beauty of the mystical lore of the past.

The true beauty here lies in the fact that the artwork is open for interpretation.

To purchase this image as a poster/greeting card/canvas etc, please visit : Hershey's Store

Psychedelic Oil Bubbles

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:07:00 PDT

Inspired on a tired and late night, Psychedlic Oil Bubbles is actually a digitally created fractal image made using Apophysis.
I was always fascinated with the way oil paints mix with water; the various swirls and flow of color as it blends in with the smoothness of the water surface.
Also, another fascination lies in the beauty of soap bubbles.

The inspiration for this came when I was cleaning paint off my glasses(photography project) and observed the soap bubbles really popped out in terms of color when mixed with diluted paints.

Realizing the potential of a good fractal, keeping the visual colors in mind and tinkering around in Apophysis, this was the end result...

A delightfully colorful fractal showing the chaotic simplicity of paint and soap bubbles.

If you wish to purchase this image as a print/canvas/greeting card etc, please visit : Hershey's Store

Angels and Demons

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:00:03 PDT

A lovely fractal which, by sheer coincidence, produced angelic and demonic faces within it. The entire fractal reminded me of M.C. Escher. Warped the colors to a bluish white light for purity and black shadows for darkness. A wonderful combination of light and dark, both coexisting in chaotic harmony. If you wish to purchase this image as a print/canvas/greeting card etc, please visit : Hershey's Store

Celestial Explosion

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:42:38 PDT

A wonderful fractal interpretation of the celestial big bang.
The vivid colors were taken from artist renditions of various nebulae and I just wanted to add a floral explosion style to show the big bang.

Chaotic symmetry at its finest.

If you wish to purchase this image as a print/canvas/greeting card etc, please visit : <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/hershey/art/7402872-celestial-explosion" rel="nofollow">Hershey's Store</a>

The Nautilus

hersheydesai@gmail.com (Hersey Desai) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:11:00 PDT

One of my first creations at fractal art.
The cool blue vortex really takes you into the image, trying to conceptualize the flow of the ocean.

If you wish to purchase this image as a print/canvas/greeting card etc, please visit : Hershey's Store