The Parade: A Senior Surreal Photo by Lauren Gerughty (2017)

In my Surrealism I have many images layered and morphed together. The background is a creek near my house. I wanted a dark background to emphasize the rest of the elements. I morphed photos of lightbulbs and baskets in order to create something resembling a hot air balloon and put them in a trail leading down the creek to create the illusion of a procession or parade. Then I used a partially opaque brush to create shadow to further the illusion of floating balloons. There was some difficulty when I was trying to decide the best way to morph the basket and lightbulb for the hot air balloon, but I was easily resolved with some advice from my peers. I was going for a fairytale feel, I wanted my piece to remind people of the fairy tales they heard when they were younger. The light bulbs as hot air balloons give a magical feel and also make us wonder what could be riding in them, and where they could be going. There was some difficulty when I was trying to decide the best way to morph the basket and lightbulb for the hot air balloon, but I was easily resolved with some advice from my peers. I am very happy with how my final photo turned out.