The Grater Light

A couple of nights ago I was just “putting the kitchen to bed” and noticed an intriguing reflection from my cheese grater onto a brown paper bag behind it on the worktop. I just had to run for my camera!

Close up:

Gorgeous, isn’t it! I love the 3-D effect from the second, fainter reflection. (This might be worth tracing into Inkscape and cutting as two layers… Possibilities, possibilities…) I decided to work on it, using Serif PhotoPlus (my excellent photo editing software) and after cloning out the paper bag crease, and increasing the contrast using the Levels tool, it looked like this:

I then decided to have some fun with it. First, I experimented with changing the colour, using the Colour Balance tool.

Experimenting with some of the filters, I came up with the following. The Kaleidoscope filter yielded this fascinating result – it reminds me of microscopic marine plankton, and the circular shape emphasises this effect, I think.

The Polar Co-ordinates filter produced this:

and finally, the Twirl filter:

If we keep our eyes open, there is beauty to be found everywhere, even in the most mundane settings, and with a bit of imagination, it’s amazing the paths we can be taken down. I am thrilled with the organic, fluid properties of this image of a reflection from an ordinary, everyday object.

With a bit of manipulation in a photo editor, even gash photos that might be consigned to the recycle bin can be redeemed! Amazing backgrounds can be created, and infinite variety can be applied to a single image. There is no limit to where your imagination can take you, given a bit of free rein, a spare half hour or so, and some decent software. Happy playing!!