Once again this week @shaka offered the LMAC community a striking photo as a template for collage creation in LMAC round #158:
For many of us who chose to make a collage the tree was front and center. People went in different directions with the tree, some of them positive. To me, the tree suggested desolation, and that's how the collage at the top of the page came about. I started thinking about parts of the world where water is becoming scarce.
In my own country (the U. S.) the Colorado River provides water to much of the West and Southwest. Farmland comes to life because of the Colorado. People drink from its waters, and bathe in it. It is a source of sustenance, and recreation, not only for people but for life all along its route.
The river is 1450 miles long. It runs through the Colorado River basin and provides water to seven states, and to Mexico.
Map of the Colorado River Basin
Credit: Shannon. Used under CC Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Hoover Dam on the river was opened in 1936 and the resulting reservoir became Lake Meade. Working together, the lake and the dam provide electrical power to 25 million people. The lake is not only a source of water for several metropolitan areas, but also is a recreation resource.
Lake Meade is drying up.
View of Lake Meade From Hoover Dam
Credit: APK. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.. According to the caption associated with this picture: "Lake Mead in October 2021... the white band showing the high water level".
In my collage, the presence of a broken canoe suggests that a body of water might have dried up. In the case of Lake Meade, different sorts of material are being revealed in the falling water levels. Along with a formerly sunken boat and other artifacts that one might expect to find, human remains are coming to the surface.
According to the World Economic Forum the Western United States is experiencing a 'mega drought', the worst drought in the area for some 1200 years. There is no end in sight. The WEF attributes the drought to high temperatures and low precipitation. These, according to the WEF, are brought about by a number of factors, including global warming and overuse of water resources by humans.
Dry Lake Bed, California, USA
Credit: NOAA. 2009. Public domain.
As is always the case with me, I owe not only @shaka for providing a wonderful template image, but also owe members of the LMAC community who contribute pictures to our Image Gallery, LIL. There are more than 10,000 images in the LMAC library, all available as a resource for everyone on the platform. This week I am indebted to--
- @muelli for the spider in the sand
- @quantumg for the desert
- @redheadpei for the canoe
- @yaziris for the wilted tree profile in the distance
- @agmoore (me!) the road
I also borrowed images from Pixabay
- PublicDomainImages armadillo
- mrpowerlifting coral snake
- Francescobovolin man
I wanted my collage to be stark and lean, but know that this may look like a little too simple to some observers. So I spiced up the image a little with movement and a sandstorm!
I even made a collage with dancing trees (cow's head, thank you @redheadpei and dog's head from me, @agmoore). Please note that I do not compete in the contest. I make collages because I love to do this.
For each collage I used features on GIMP, Paint, and Paint 3D.
I tried two interesting filters on GIMP in making the collages. To create the sandstorm effect (not entirely successful) I used the hurl feature. I had to play with the colors and intensity a bit.
Also, for the road that runs through the center of two collages, I extracted the bottom part of a tunnel (from LIL, one of my images) that showed perspective. I ran that extraction through the distort filter on GIMP to give the squiggly effect.
Obviously, making collages is fun (look at how much I enjoy the process). It is a creative exercise and a learning experience. Doing this as the member of a community makes it more fun. Sharing your creations is rewarding.
Please check out this week's winning collages at the LMAC community site. Tomorrow we begin another round (#159). Come back then, discover the new template, and try your hand at making something unique.
You can see that LIL, the LMAC Image Library, is an important part of my collage creating process. Everyone on Hive can contribute to the library and borrow from the library. Learn about the procedure here..
I wish all my readers peace and health.