Buddha & bamboo, Jefferson Island, LA

I buy a lot of film from Adorama.com, and it's where I get my large prints (for exhibit and sale) made. Yesterday I got a coupon from them for a free 8x10 aluminum print; of course I had to pay shipping, but it was only $7--without the coupon it would have cost $32--and I've been curious about what those prints look like, so I used it.

This is the photo I used. It's one of my rare forays into digital manipulation: I turned up the contrast and played with the color levels until I got a cool purple-and-green look I really liked. This is the original, unaltered photo:



Aluminum prints come with different finishes, I chose silver satin because the description said it reduces glare and the colors "take on an almost luminous, iridescent sheen bouncing back the light like colored foil". Eh, maybe it's bullshit, but it's a free print so what the hell.

In other news, I'm getting really excited for my aunt's wedding in Laguna Beach next month. I'll get to see the Pacific Ocean again! But choosing what cameras and film to bring is torture!