Photography (with digital manipulation)
Framed size 13.5" x 19.5" (artwork 12 x 18)
I served for 8 years in the USAF as a crash fire rescue technician. After Desert Shield/Storm I decided to become a civilian firefighter and spent the next 26 years in that profession. I was interested in photography while I served but I never had a camera to pursue my interest. I found that photography allowed me to focus more on the little things and slow down. I attended classes and workshops to help me improve. I've shot sports photography for about 20 years but was still looking for ways to be more creative. I started taking some classes with the Joel Fund which helped me reconnect with veterans and allowed me to pursue some different avenues such as macro and black and white photography. This particular piece that I submitted started out as something different. I shot this picture at an air show using some techniques I was practicing between classes with The Joel Fund. The weather was not cooperative due to rain during the show. I was trying some software tutorials to see if there was a way to "clean up" the image when I made a mistake that took me down a completely different path. I began to twist and turn the image to give it a touch of surrealism. After several attempts and many hours I was able to get a final result. - Larry Blankenship
Photography (with digital manipulation)
Framed size 13.5" x 19.5" (artwork 12 x 18)
I served for 8 years in the USAF as a crash fire rescue technician. After Desert Shield/Storm I decided to become a civilian firefighter and spent the next 26 years in that profession. I was interested in photography while I served but I never had a camera to pursue my interest. I found that photography allowed me to focus more on the little things and slow down. I attended classes and workshops to help me improve. I've shot sports photography for about 20 years but was still looking for ways to be more creative. I started taking some classes with the Joel Fund which helped me reconnect with veterans and allowed me to pursue some different avenues such as macro and black and white photography. This particular piece that I submitted started out as something different. I shot this picture at an air show using some techniques I was practicing between classes with The Joel Fund. The weather was not cooperative due to rain during the show. I was trying some software tutorials to see if there was a way to "clean up" the image when I made a mistake that took me down a completely different path. I began to twist and turn the image to give it a touch of surrealism. After several attempts and many hours I was able to get a final result. - Larry Blankenship
