By Ted Grussing
… have lost your mind, or perhaps found it …
This is one of those giant projects I did a number of years ago and I put a couple more hours into it tonight. My friend, John Soderberg, is one of the finest sculptors I have ever known, he has been at it all of his life, his daughters have been at it since their childhood and their work is found in major public and private collections worldwide. John did the sculpture that resides within the circle at Whole Foods in West Sedona and it is a magnificent larger than life sculpture of Merlin, with amazing detail.
I saw further possibilities for Merlin that could not be completed in a physical piece of art and so with John’s permission, I took a number of shots of his Merlin, imported them into Photoshop and my mind went wild … “Unleashed”, is how I best describe the process I follow. Merlin was partially lost to “Q” our Star trek character Black Cat who took over the face in the image and since he is a nearly supreme spiritual being all the additional work followed naturally … John liked it then and I think he will approve of this new one … and I hope you like it too. New crop size since this is going in the book too.
John’s website is: http://www.johnsoderberg.com/index.html Heather’s site is: http://heathersoderberg.com/ and Misty’s site is:http://mistysoderberg.com/ take some time to explore all three sites and you will see some of the finest work you have ever seen and in subjects and styles that will likely attract you …
InDesign has a very easy learning curve and I am making a lot of progress on the book with the first 15 pages done; estimating about four weeks to finish working the photos, another two weeks to finish writing the commentary associated with each image, four weeks for reviews by friends and re-write, then into the publisher … likely first copies available in May. If I was still using Word, it would easily be another year or ten … great for the law office, but not for this.
I heard from my friend in Max’s home town of Terra Haute, Indiana, today, and although Max is well coated with snow and ice, he said that Max is still smiling!
Down to the Gilbert Water Park in the morning to do some shooting with a friend … maybe I’ll get that one, most fabulous shot I have ever gotten … or not … regardless, it will be a beautiful day.
Keep breathing and smiling … life is wonderous as are most people.
Cheers
Ted
Give me to gladly go my way and say no word of mine own woe; but let me smile each day.
Give me the strength to do my task, I ask; and that I shall not rue the toilers grimy mask.
Give one loved hand to me, and leave the eve all undisturbed as we our strength of souls retrieve.
And lastly give sweet sleep, closed sight, no fright that fears will o’er me creep;
And now a last good night.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
More about Ted Grussing …