Strawberries are Beautiful, and I Don't Want to Paint the Bathroom, So I Learned to Animate with Photoshop

Yesterday I had the wildest random urge to photograph some strawberries. Except, I didn't have any strawberries, so I went to the store to get some so I could fulfill this strange need...even though I was in the middle of painting the bathroom. Of course, I like to eat strawberries too, but it wasn't the taste I was craving; I just had to see that color! It was almost as if my day wouldn't quite be complete if I didn't behold that beautiful juicy glossy red hue...

I know, what a weirdo!! But hey, I'm an artist. (That's what I say any time looks at me like I'm the nuttiest person in the world. I am sensing that you are sort of looking at me like that right now).

Anyway, I configured my fancy lighting set up with natural light from the window and a reflector of tin foil and proceeded to snap away. The photos looked so amazing in the camera, but I was sorely disappointed upon uploading them and seeing them on screen.

Maybe I just didn't have enough contrast or something, and my exposure was off, but they didn't really pop the way I wanted them to. So I did a little playing around in photoshop to bring out the glorious berries I was craving. I ended up with a pretty 'watercolor' painting (above).

Then I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I could figure out how to show the progression in an animation, starting with my crappy photo and turning in to a luscious bowl of beauteous berries? So, since I was already procrastinating on my bathroom painting by photographing fruit on a whim, I thought I'd better go all out and learn how to do it. So I did. And here it is!

And below, you can see the before and after photos:

I think I'll print it and frame it and hang it in the bathroom when it's finished...whenever that might be (?)