Isalos Fine Art

While driving to Ellsworth the other day, we passed a hillside of blueberry bushes that had turned a brilliant red, much like the red in Barbara Southworth’s Blueberries/Granite photograph that so often elicits the “are these colors enhanced” question.

 

I couldn’t resist. I pointed and said “Are those  colors enhanced?”

That’s what I want to show people who ask me that question about any of the photographs. “Just look,” I want to say. “It’s amazing. Enhance? Who needs it? Just look.” Truth though, is stranger than fiction. For some reason, if some people haven’t witnessed it personally, they seem to want to assure themselves that it’s all computer hocus-pocus.

Instead, of course, I say something to the effect that, once you take an image from life, there’s no such thing as not enhancing; it will never be the same as the  original subject. Do they use Photoshop? Yes, but the goal is to create accurate colors, etc, etc...

Admittedly though, our fall colors have been a bit subdued. Of course, we haven’t had much sunshine to really make those colors pop out. Friday night we had our first frost, and since last night the wind and rain have been howling through. I’m guessing there won’t be leaves on the trees much longer.

This degree of foliage color is serious business in a place where people are constantly trying to judge the quality of the economy and life in general by such quantifiable indicators (that everyone lies about) like the lobster catch, the vacancy rate in hotels, and art sales.

We’re still open though, with our neon open sign beckoning, and despite putting out coffee and cookies for bait, we’ve only had a few visitors to the gallery today. This lack of activity has given me time to use my enhancer on a leaf that blew in through the door. On the left is the dreary original. On the right is the way I know it’s supposed to look. In the interest of preserving the local economy, I’m going to head out now and enhance the rest of the leaves.