Damian Bradley

Photoshop

I included the tiger alone so that you could see the corrections that I made. You can't really see it in the "designer" version because of the smudging.

The first image is a picture of my daughter that I took this past summer with my Nikon Coolpix 3300. The second is the same picture in a collage and hand colored.

FINAL PROJECT-Self Portrait

Sand and Water:    I live on Long Island. The beach is a big part of our lives as is getting over the water. We spend a large part of our summer on the beach, going 4-wheeling with our kids and other family members to get to our chosen beach. We spend all day there BBQing and hanging out until the sun goes down. Getting on and off Long Island can be troublesome to say the least. You have to take a bridge or tunnel to get to NYC and then again to get over to Jersey. Traffic is a nightmare and the only safe time to travel is in the middle of the night.

Tree Bark and Leaves:    I am an outdoorsy kind of person. I love to hike through the woods, bird watch, sit on the beach and watch the waves and take my dogs wherever I can. I love to be out as early as possible. Somehow the quiet of nature really takes hold of me then. I have been known to walk my dogs at the park in the middle of a snow storm or rainstorm. These are the best times for me, the times when I really feel at peace with myself.

Dogs:    I have  a Newfoundland dog named Moya (means Great in Celtic) and a mixed breed that came from a shelter named Madigan. I truly feel that these two have changed me more than anything else has. We purchased the Newf from a breeder and very quickly she began to have major problems that required surgery and a subsequent hospitalization. Her breeder thought she should be put down. After a lot of soul searching and some totally unexpected financial help from people we didn't even know we decided that we would do what we had to do to make our dog healthy. It was extremely difficult at first but we haven't looked back. We are going to start training soon to get her certified as a therapy dog. When she was nearly a year old we went to the shelter to get a Newfie mix and somehow came home with the total opposite! That's Madigan (means Little Dog...she's 54 pounds but small compared to a Newf). She is my shadow and an extremely loving dog.

Camera:    I am always taking pictures. I have a BFA in photography from RIT and although I didn't use those skills professionally, photography is still a big part of my life. The camera in my piece is the one I shoot with now (Nikon Coolpix 5700).

Eye in the Sky:    The eye is mine of course. I suppose I am looking out over the elements of my life, claiming them as mine. On another level, I have experienced an epiphany over the last year. I've finally figured out who I am and where I want to go. But that's a long story...

Black and White:    I love black and white photography, always have. For me it shows the true nature of things...where the photographer or subject is coming from. There are no distractions for me. It probably says something about me as a person as well.

People:    The people in the pictures are my kids and my husband. My daughter is 4 and my son just turned two. They're the people that make life worth living.

Robert Frost:    I have always had an affinity for that poem. Now, more than ever, it seems to fit with my life.