Darlene Foster – Gallery One

"By the Light of the Moon" came from a trip to Middle Valley, NJ in search of an abandoned property I had visited almost 13 years ago. To my surprise, a photographer friend of mine ran across it and told me it still existed! The property was a little worse for wear, but it was definitely the same place! On my first visit, the house used in this piece was too overgrown to get any usable images but not so this time! I liked the composition in this shot taken from beneath a huge old tree in front of the house but it needed something more. The old man is from my vintage photo collection, the bird and the moon from the back window of my house. I added some texture, filters and a little tweaking to get the final montage.

"The Water's Edge" is a montage of 3 separate images I combined for the composition I had in mind. The background photo was taken several years ago at a local park in Westfield, NJ. The figure is model and friend Mary Anne Christiano from a photo session we did a few months ago. The two seemed to fit perfectly together, along with the birds, to create a contemplative and serene image.

Another still life including a strand of pearls. For whatever reason, I like the way they drape and flow around the other objects in the image.

I've been doing some still life work recently and was intrigued how dying flowers have a beauty all their own. I love watching the evolution of textures and colors in the leaves and petals.

"The Twelfth Moon" started with a photo taken at Mill Creek Village, New Jersey several years ago. I always loved the textures involved with the with the wood of the old shed, the falling down fence and the rocks in the foreground but I never found the right composition until now. I was arriving home one day just after sunset, looked up and saw a perfect crescent moon with a beautiful lavender sky behind it. Of course, I ran for my camera and was able to get an image that created just the mood I wanted for the background. The title is a Native American name for the December moon which marks the onset of winter.

"Seeking Solace" began with a photo taken at the amazing ruins of the Wolf House in Glen Ellen California not far from San Francisco. It was to be the dream home of author Jack London ("Call of the Wild") and his wife Charmain but burned to the ground just days before completion. Located deep in the woods of Jack London State Historic Park, when I was there in 1998 it was only reachable by a long, narrow path thru the woods. The hike was well worth it when at the end a clearing revealed the majestic ruins of the stone house rising before me, hauntingly beautiful. If you're ever in the area, I strongly recommend a visit to the Wolf House.

I took this image at Cross Estate Gardens in New jersey earlier this year and was pleased with the composition and artwork I used but always felt something was lacking to make it work for me. Then, as if on cue, while I was working on the image, I heard lots of commotion outside my window and realized my birds were back! A huge flock of blackbirds comes to my neighborhood every fall filling the trees and sky and covering the ground! I grabbed my camera and got as many shots as I could before they moved on. They were just what I need to complete "The Gathering".

The quaint New Jersey town of Lambertville is located on the east bank of the Delaware River. Raritan Canal State Park runs through the heart of town with a picturesque path along the canal for walking or jogging. Many of the backyards of the row houses butt up against the path and this one became "A Quiet Corner". It seemed a perfect spot for daydreaming or reflecting according to the cat lying lazily across the wicker table.

A favorite pastime of mine on Sunday afternoons is getting lost on the back roads of New Jersey looking for photo ops. I especially love finding old, abandoned, rundown houses or buildings. They seem to have a soul of their own.

"The Ruby Slippers" began as a photograph taken at Cross Estate Gardens in Bernardsville New Jersey. As I worked on this image, it seem to take on a fairytale kind of feel and even though "the yellow brick road" is only a path and the shoes are my version of "the ruby slippers", it still seemed possible that Oz was just around the bend.

I captured this image (minus the ravens) a few years ago in Millcreek Village, a fantastic historically preserved early American village in New Jersey. I would love to know what happened to this amazing tree- some huge storm or maybe lightning. It's limbs were so contorted and angled it reminded me of a giant insect. I used this photo in color for a painting once but in black and white, all of the detail in the grass and brush reminded me of an etching. So again, it has new life as "The Raven's Wood".

I came across this old building in western New Jersey. The vines covering the roof reminded me of a tousled head of hair. I'm puzzled by all the different openings and what it may have been used for in it's past lives.

This old chair on the porch of an abandoned house is one of my favorite film negatives that I have been revisiting lately with a fresh eye. The image I originally envisioned that would have taken hours in the darkroom is now a lot more possible thanks to the digital medium!

"Miles to Go" began with a photo taken in The Deserted Village in the Watchung Reservation, New jersey. It was just after a thunderstorm and the afternoon light coming through the trees was amazing! I added the hiker and birds to complete the feeling I had in mind for the image. The title was inspired by a quote from a Robert Frost poem "the woods are lovely, dark and deep but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep".

I've always had a passion for gargoyles. To me, they represent protection from harm and a guard against evil. True or not, I have a collection of them all over my house (Hey, you never know!).

"Rear Window" is an abandoned building I came across in my travels. I'm still not sure what it's original purpose was but I love the way the vines crawling up the side seem to frame the lone window.

The Offering began as one of my black and white film photos. The vintage figure was added for interest and to create a mood. The entire image was then hand colored.

I was struck by how this graceful, white limb seemed to flow across all the trees behind it and float above the small stream running underneath.

I happened across this wonderful man on Rue de Chartres in the French Quarter of New Orleans, one of my favorite cities in the world. It was originally shot with black and white film but I think a little enhancement with toning, color and texture gives it a different mood and feel.

I captured this photograph of an old building in the quaint New Jersey town of Mill Creek Village near the Delaware Water Gap. It's a great place for photography with lots of historic buildings, dirt roads, and places to explore.

Exploring backroads can yield lots of interesting finds for photo opportunities. This simple, forgotten old milk can caught my eye. I tend to find a lot of treasures in what other people consider trash.

A montage of two photographs- a window of an old building and the figure of a woman peering in are blended together to evoke a feeling of mystery- just what does she see?

This old house has always been one of my favorites from my archives. Something about the three dark windows and the open door tugs at my heartstrings. It's almost as if the house is crying out for someone or something to come in and bring life back once again.

I came across this guy in a shop window in a small NJ town. The shop was directly across from the gate of an old cemetery, hence his title, The Gatekeeper.

Shelter from The Storm is a montage of two photographs. One is an old building at the edge of a rural cornfield. The sky was rather overcast and gray so the threatening storm clouds were added to enhance the foreboding feeling of the scene.

I first photographed this old stone building in 2006 on my New Jersey backroads travels. The resulting piece became "Shelter from the Storm" with the drying cornstalks trailing off into the tall grass in front. When I came across it again in 2009 the scenario was totally different. The cornstalks and grass were down revealing trees and fields in the background that weren't visible the first time around. The new image seemed to lend itself to minimal color and starkness that became "The Morning After".

The Lamp Post was originally a black and white film image that I digitally hand colored to achieve the final look.

When Shadows Fall is a montage of several photographs and scanned objects creating a thought provoking image for the viewer.

A thought provoking montage of a number of different photographs.

The Gardener is a montage of several photographs beginning with a bouquet of flowers. The woman was added along with color and texture to convey a feeling of mystery and draw the viewer in.

Lily began as a photo I took of a window in an old building. The black and white vintage figure of the little girl was added, hand colored and digitally painted to create a mood.

"With Strings Attached" is a still life of a bouquet of tulips with books that I photographed and digitally painted in the style of traditional oils.

On Golden Pond was digitally painted from an image I captured while roaming the backroads of New Jersey.

portrait digitally painted in the style of traditional oils

The Guardian is a montage of two photographs, digitally painted to evoke a feeling of protection and hope for the viewer.