Being part of this project finally made me get my camera out to shoot it. I used my 50 1.2 on this image and after I got out there to shoot, I realized I really should’ve used a wider angle lens, but I didn’t bring my bag of glass with me. I just made do with the 50. After I processed the color version, I wasn’t really feeling much better about it. You know, there was something lacking in the color version. The skies looked gorgeous and the red color of the barn looked great, but you just know when it isn’t making you feel something. That’s what images should do – make you feel something.

So I processed a b&w version of it, and suddenly, I felt like I was watching “Wizard of Oz” and seeing a barn that could be in the movie. I love the old-time feel of it and the “darkness” of the clouds (even though they were white and fluffy). Another thing that jumped out of me were the bare trees on the left side of the image – they almost have this haunting, creepy feel to it, which to me, adds to the overall effect of the image.

Now, if Dorothy and Toto were present, it would definitely be no place like home.

Please go check out another talented photographer and her fine art project for February: Jenn Duguay, Valleyview, Alberta Photographer

So, this is my first fine art project for the next 12 months, and I decided to use an image from the 2011 Flood that my area saw last May. I live near the Mississippi River that borders Tennessee, and to be honest, I’m so very afraid of this powerful creation of nature. So much so, that when I head over to the Tennessee side, I tend to kick up the speed in high gear going over the bridge. I certainly don’t want to be on that bridge should that big earthquake ever hit!

But during the time of the flood, my husband and I went out (on a date, no less) to check out all the damage, on both sides of the Mississippi River. While devastating, it would certainly make one never question the power of God and Mother Nature, and put one in awe at the same time. As we were starting on the bridge on the Missouri side, I asked my husband to stop so that I could get out (yeah, crazy!) so that I could take pictures. Trust me when I say, it was scary, looking out over the bridge to all that crazy water, swirling around. (For those of you unfamiliar with the Mississippi River, it is full of currents, it’s dark and muddy, and their are probably catfish the size of a small car in there. Very rarely does someone survive this river if ever they fall into it, even with a life jacket).

This image was produced looking south of the bridge on a beautiful May day. You can see the trees on the right side of the image which are flooded almost half-way up their trunks. I did a little twist on this image, something I never do, and applied a texture to give it an artistic feel, along with a deep vignette to add to the drama of a flooded river. I can’t wait to complete all of my flood images and showcase them. They all have such power and emotion, especially for those of us who experienced it last year.

Now, go check out my friend Amanda Eller Photography | Salisbury, NC and her first fine art project of 2012.