DP Challenge: Gift / Word-A-Week Challenge: Face

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.”

Albert Einstein

PAMLETTO SUNSET

Today’s Daily Post has suggested we select a photograph to demonstrate the concept of “gift”. Albert Einstein and I agree that nature continutally gifts us with wonderful surprises. In an effort to deliver a small gift to my subscribers, I’ve turned some of my favorite nature shots into “orbs” for a unique take on the challenge.

TWO EGRETS

“What reason can deny that gift so sweet, so natural that God has given a stream, a fish, a beast, a bird?”

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

In the orb above we see two egret faces surrounded by their beautiful feathers. This one is a nod to Skinnywench for her word-a-week challenge, Face.

PURPLE IRIS

“Instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend.”

George MacDonald

Flowers are often given as a gift, and indeed they are a wonderful subject for an orb. Above we see the glories of a deep purple iris transformed into a perfect circle.

CIRCLE OF VEGETABLES

“Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection.”

Pindar

Orbs can be created from most any photograph although you never quite know what will work until you’ve tried. Some that seemed promising were quite a disappointment, while others, such as the vegetables from a farm stand in Provence, were a very nice surprise.

UMBRELLAS

“Find out what your gift is and nurture it.”

Katy Perry

And although it is not a gift from nature, I’ve included one of my favorite shots, “umbrellas” to show that perhaps the most important element of a photograph for creating an interesting orb is the presence of color. As an added bonus, if the image has a graphical quality, so much the better.

My thanks to my friend Ann Gridly for her tutorial on orb-making, and to the Kiawah Island Photography Club for their continued focus on expanding our photographic horizons :-).

For a tutorial on orb-making, go here. To see more DP challenge “Gift” entries, go here. For more of Sue’s Word-a-Week entries on “Faces”, go here.

Tags: mother, Orb

59 thoughts on “DP Challenge: Gift / Word-A-Week Challenge: Face”

Sherry Galey on June 20, 2013 at 8:00 pm said:

Thanks for sharing your orbs with Still and All, Tina. They’re terrific. I agree that making them can be addictive.

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- Tina Schell on June 20, 2013 at 8:11 pm said:
  
  My pleasure Sherry!
  
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Margie on June 18, 2013 at 10:13 pm said:

Lovely orbs! I found the directions for them just a few weeks ago, and have been busy making them ever since. I call them marbles – some of them look so much like steelys!

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- Tina Schell on June 18, 2013 at 10:19 pm said:
  
  Thanks Margie! I had such a kick making them too. Totally addictive 🙂
  
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Amy on May 30, 2013 at 1:09 pm said:

They are all so gorgeous, Tina! I’m having hard time to pick…

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- Tina Schell on May 30, 2013 at 5:47 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much Amy–they are great fun to create!
  
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Steve Schwartzman on May 25, 2013 at 9:53 am said:

It’s good to keep up the “continued focus on expanding our photographic horizons.” I shutter to think that we’d let anything stop us.

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- Tina Schell on May 25, 2013 at 5:24 pm said:
  
  LOL Steve 🙂 Thanks for your clever comment!!
  
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Paula on May 24, 2013 at 2:16 am said:

I really like your orbs and perspectives Tina .. I’ve seen this type of photo manipulation before, but I bet it is exciting to see what it does to your regular shots and how it twists them ;). I am a big fan of purple onions too 😀

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- Tina Schell on May 24, 2013 at 7:32 am said:
  
  Thanks Paula. I had never seen them and had so much fun playing around with them! Glad you enjoyed,
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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Bill Barber on May 23, 2013 at 8:56 am said:

Fun Stuff, Tina! Just FYI, if you are on Facebook, there is a group just for those who like orbs! You can check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/181794065304487/

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- Tina Schell on May 23, 2013 at 9:30 am said:
  
  Hey Bill and welcome! Loved the tutorial and now addicted to orbs. FB site is terrific but I couldn’t see how to post??? Next stop Out of Bounds!
  
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  - Bill Barber on May 23, 2013 at 10:14 am said:
    
    Join the group and you can post.
Ginny on May 22, 2013 at 2:45 pm said:

These are amazing!! I need to get the tutorial!

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Dilip on May 22, 2013 at 11:58 am said:

The beauty of the images creatively enhanced and the quotes so apt. You certainly are gifted. I just came to know what an ‘orb’ means 🙂
Many thanks

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 12:28 pm said:
  
  A lovely compliment Dilip! Many thanks.
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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Jane Lurie on May 22, 2013 at 11:10 am said:

Orbs have hit Kiawah. The iris works well. Fun technique.

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 12:34 pm said:
  
  Thanks Jane
  
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april kanew on May 22, 2013 at 8:22 am said:

these are quite fascinating…and YES..I do see the value of color in an orb….
so FUN to look at!!

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 8:42 am said:
  
  Thanks April, it’s quite addictive. I had tons of fun playing around with it!
  
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1annecasey on May 22, 2013 at 8:11 am said:

These are really beautiful! So creative.

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 8:43 am said:
  
  Tank you Anne. Just think how Monty would look in the center of an orb 🙂
  
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  - 1annecasey on May 22, 2013 at 8:51 am said:
    
    : ))))
viveka on May 22, 2013 at 4:08 am said:

Hi there, I would love to pass this award on to you – http://wp.me/p293Pw-6gn –
No MUST attached – if you don’t feel for it.

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 8:47 am said:
  
  How lovely, thanks Viveka! Watch for it in an upcoming blog.
  
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poppytump on May 22, 2013 at 1:30 am said:

What a great surprise in this post Tina ! What a great effect I’ve never heard of before that does look fun ..
You have chosen some good shots there to show us the possibilities . I love the umbrella particularly 🙂

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 8:57 am said:
  
  Thanks PT! I liked that one as well, especially because it shows you can orb just about anything! It’s fun seeing what comes up after completing the process-always a surprise!
  
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Sonel on May 22, 2013 at 12:23 am said:

I love what you did with your lovely photo’s Tina. Making these Orbs are quite fun indeed and Bill’s tutorial was very easy too. Thanks for sharing your results. 🙂 *hugs*

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 12:39 am said:
  
  Excellent Sonel! So happy you gave it a try!
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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  - Sonel on May 22, 2013 at 12:49 am said:
    
    I sure did Tina and it was quite a while ago and found it on Anne Camille’s blog. It was truly fun to do. 🙂
    http://sonelcorner.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/playing-around-and-making-orbs/
  - Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 9:10 am said:
    
    Beautiful Sonel-you were way ahead of me!! Loved the ladybug especially!
    
    Sent from my iPad
  - Sonel on May 22, 2013 at 1:36 pm said:
    
    So glad you liked Tina and thanks for the lovely compliment. 🙂 *hugs*
Uday Narayanan on May 21, 2013 at 11:53 pm said:

Interesting! Didn’t know anything about orbs..thanks for sharing, Tina 🙂

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- Tina Schell on May 22, 2013 at 12:37 am said:
  
  My pleasure Uday!
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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Ann Spencer on May 21, 2013 at 9:18 pm said:

Fascinating and intriguing! Thanks for introducing me to a new world of photography! Wish I could do that!
Ann S

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 10:50 pm said:
  
  Thanks Ann! You can! Check out the tutorial-I promise it’s easy!!
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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jakesprinter on May 21, 2013 at 7:45 pm said:

Amazing post Tina I really love it 🙂

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 10:57 pm said:
  
  Thanks Jake! I had fun with it
  
  Sent from my iPad
  
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Svetlana Grobman on May 21, 2013 at 3:38 pm said:

Glorious!

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 3:39 pm said:
  
  Thank you Svetlana!
  
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Linda Wyatt on May 21, 2013 at 2:37 pm said:

How you do dat? Awesome!

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 2:39 pm said:
  
  LOL, happy you enjoyed! Miss you – come home please 🙂 Hope Whitlow is doing better every day.
  
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penpusherpen on May 21, 2013 at 2:32 pm said:

amazing results, showing such differing aspects and the eye and mind try so hard to ‘undo’ the orb.. .. x

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 2:37 pm said:
  
  Thanks Penny! I actually considered including the original photos but thought the post would get too long. Hope you were able to visualize!!
  
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Sharon Buehler on May 21, 2013 at 1:36 pm said:

Tina, how in the world did you do those???

Sharon Buehler 843-442-9602 (cell)

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 2:16 pm said:
  
  LOL – aren’t they fun?! That’s why I put the link to the tutorial at the end. It’s quite addictive!
  
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Follygirl on May 21, 2013 at 12:22 pm said:

I love that !!!

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 2:15 pm said:
  
  Thanks FollyGirl – I had so much fun playing with it!
  
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Heyjude on May 21, 2013 at 11:43 am said:

Wow, these look like fun. I especially like the umbrellas and the sunflower!!

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 11:44 am said:
  
  Thanks Jude – they are great fun! It’s very simple, give it a try!
  
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  - Heyjude on May 21, 2013 at 2:53 pm said:
    
    I have done, it’s brilliant! I’ll post my first attempt in a few days and look for other images to convert. Thanks for the link to the tutorial.
    Jude xx
  - Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 3:01 pm said:
    
    Excellent!! Happy to pass it on :0)
Gracie on May 21, 2013 at 11:34 am said:

These are great stuff, Tina! The colors definitely made them extra special.

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 11:36 am said:
  
  Thanks Gracie! They were really fun to play around with.
  
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Pride in Photos Photography on May 21, 2013 at 10:06 am said:

These are fantastic orbs…here is an area I haven’t tried yet. It sure does look like fun my friend.

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- Tina Schell on May 21, 2013 at 11:34 am said:
  
  Thanks PinP, they were great fun to make, and its very addictive! Try it, you’ll see – be sure to do it when you’ve got time to play!
  
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