Love Letters
by Laurie Search
Title
Love Letters
Artist
Laurie Search
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
I used the “tilt-shift” blur effect (or "miniature" effect) in Photoshop CS6.
Salvation Mountain, Niland, CA....
I have just been to one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. It’s called Salvation Mountain…I’ll be uploading a lot of pictures from there, because it was so amazing, and I just want to share as much as I can! Whatever your religious beliefs, I think you’ll have to agree that this is an amazing creation. Going inside the one structure was like being in a magical little world…very surreal. This man, Leonard Knight, spent about 28 years creating this…He’s lived out there in a converted truck all by himself for most of that time…He supposedly was always thrilled to get visitors there, and happily showed people around. From the sounds of it, he was a man filled with love and joy. Unfortunately, he is no longer able to live out there anymore and continue his work because of poor health. I’m going to paste here what Wikipedia says about Salvation Mountain, but there’s so much more to it than what they’ve said, and I encourage you to do a search on the place to find out more!
“Salvation Mountain is an art installation covering a hill north of Calipatria, California, near Slab City and just several miles from the Salton Sea. It is made from adobe, straw, and thousands of gallons of paint. It was created by local resident Leonard Knight, and encompasses numerous murals and areas painted with Christian sayings and Bible verses.
In December of 2011, Knight (at the age of 80) was placed in a long-term care facility in El Cajon for dementia. Concern has been raised for the future of the site, which requires constant maintenance due to the harsh surrounding environment. Many visitors bring paint to donate to the project, and a group of volunteers have been working to protect and maintain the site.
The site was featured in the 2007 film Into The Wild."
Uploaded
November 29th, 2012
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Comments (19)
Lee Craig
I love the way that your artistic presentation of this image leads my eye and leaves me wanting to see more!
Angeles M Pomata
What an outstanding photo, story, and place, Laurie! The miniature effect and the sandy/vibrant colors provide a fascinating quality. It hooks the eye right away! L/F/T
Laurie Search replied:
Thank you so very much, Angeles!! It's truly appreciated!!! It is such an incredible place to experience!!! :)))
Deepa Sahoo
Laurie,This is a great find and I really admire your generosity for sharing this wonderful work.Simply beautiful and absolutely love it!!! L/F
Raed Ahmed
If only love was eternal, as the beauty of this pic :-)
Laurie Search replied:
Aww....yes, if only, Raed....though I do like to think that some love is....Thank you so very much for the really lovely words!!!! :)))
Scott Campbell
Lens Baby? I love my Lens Baby. This one is really great. I live about an hour from Salvation Mountain and have yet to go there. It's on my short list after the summer heat. I "love", pun intended, the composition and post color treatment of this one. It really, really works for this location. Also the time of day you shot this is fantastic. FV
Laurie Search replied:
I do hope you make it here soon, Scott!!! It's an amazing place!!! Thank you very, very much for the wonderful words!!!! : )))