Love is in the Air!

I absolutely loved seeing the warm and cool colours hiding in such a tiny area on the inside of this oyster shell. When looking at this I see, and hear, the percussive sound of the waves crashing against the cliff heralding their sculpting effect. Now you know why I named this piece “Percussion”. Your perception may be different, but I think that’s what makes Oyster Art interesting—each one generates a conversation!

This is the very first piece of Oyster Art created where I needed to use my macro lens’s ability to photograph at 4X magnification. Being so close I had to take forty photos, each one capturing tiny in-focus areas. (Three of them are shown below.) My camera was moved at .045 millimeter increments closer to the shell between each photo. All forty photos were then blended into a single in-focus image. The area I wanted to capture was so small, I needed to get especially close in order for it to be the only thing I could see through my viewfinder. This method allows for maximum pixel count for high resolution results . . . meaning the ability to make large prints!

The blue rectangle drawn on the shell below shows the small area which held nature’s masterpiece. The outside of this Love Point Oyster from Maine was striking but the inside won my attention when exploring the surface with my macro gear.

Instagram has been a fantastic way for me to connect with people who love art, or oysters, and best of all BOTH! Jake Gerry @oystahguy of Keystone Sea Farm heard about Oyster Art and messaged me to see if he could send me some shells. My answer to this question is always “Yes!” The shells, including one from a scallop, made the long trip to my Studio & Gallery.

Among the ones Jake sent was this one from @lovepointoysters a small farm located in Harpswell, Maine. Their oysters are cultivated for over two years while they grow in the clean, cold waters of Casco Bay. The oysters never touch the seafloor; instead they live in floating oyster bags where they are gently tumbled by rolling waves moving through the bay to develop deep cups and plump meats.

Percussion has been added to the Limited Edition Collection and can be seen here.