Past vs Future

Remember your past with love and compassion.

Look to your future with your eyes wide open,

carrying with you the lessons of your past.

I created these images in November 2014, when I also created my image “What the Future Holds”. In fact, “Past vs Future” was the concept I originally had headed out to create that day. Although I photographed the pieces I needed to create “Past vs Future”, I was just not sure it was working. Admittedly, I was also somewhat worried I would not be able to create my vision in post. So instead, I photographed my backup concept which I used to create “What the Future Holds” and ended up focusing more on that.

I have a habit of leaving images in my folders for quite some time before I start working on them. The images seem to tell me when I am ready for them. When one is on my mind a lot, then it means it is time to get to work on it. This practice has never failed me.

I do not typically create images that are creepy. A few of my images are slightly darker in mood, but I have never really aimed to create something creepy. When I first envisioned this concept, creepy was not what I was intending. I must admit though, “Past vs Future” totally creeped me out while I was processing it – so much so that I almost abandoned finishing it. I then started processing “Future Dreams” alongside it to balance out some of the creepiness. I am so thankful I stuck with it as I do not find the end product creepy. Instead, it turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.

"Future Dreams"

You will note in the before and after images for this series that I made the mistake of not ironing my dress! A mistake that made for a lot of extra work in post. Not that ironing my dress may have made that much difference as I still had to fold it up rather tightly to fit into my backpack. Here is a little tip if you end up in a similar situation, i.e. I first used the healing brush to take away some of the very harsh creases and then used a surface blur filter in Photoshop to smooth the rest out. Saved me a ton of work and also gave my dress a more “floaty” feeling ;)

- Before & after processing video for "Past vs Future"...

- Before & after image for "Future Dreams"...