Gackt in Picasa

testing "cute code"

2006-09-03T22:21:10Z

Electric

2006-07-23T23:09:09Z

Okay, these are just for fun. Re-styling these didn't require any effort at all
and I almost wasn't going to include them here....but, he looks SEXY!

(original photo)

Bliss

2006-07-23T23:04:10Z

And now, my favorite set. I'm crazy about this photo
and crazy about the way these re-creations came out in Picasa.
I was able to do 9 versions!! Which ones do you like?

Eminence

2006-07-23T22:59:29Z

I absolutely ADORE this photo.
I've done 3 versions.

'

(original photo)

Expose

2006-07-23T22:55:29Z

Sexy stuff right here.

(original photo)

Touch

2006-07-23T22:53:01Z

Does this photo NEED any introduction? I don't think so.
Here is my Picasa version.

(original photo)

Blue Eye

2006-07-23T22:50:39Z

These are really huge, so right-click-save to see the original size.

(original photo)

Special Guest: YOSHIDA BROTHERS

2006-07-23T22:46:54Z

Ever so often I present a "special guest". This month, it's the Yoshida Brothers!

I'm a big fan of the Yoshida Brothers. Are you familiar with their music?
It's wonderful! Driving, dynamic, passionate, romantic, mysterious, graceful,
energetic, contemporary, yet staying true to tradition.
They are young shamisen players born and raised in Hokkaido, and extremely accomplished musicians.
They are huge in Japan but over the past couple of years
have been slowly gaining exposure in the
United States, Germany and France through mini-tours.
They have toured the US 5 or 6 times and they play about 4 cities over a
period of a few weeks or a month.
I think they are absolutely brilliant. BRILLIANT!
They create their own sound and style of shamisen music,
incorporating other international sounds into their compostions.
Although the brothers are both under the age of 30 they
compose most of their own music and
have been making CDs since the late 90s when they were still in their teens.
Both brothers began studying shamisen at the age of 5
and won every major award in Japan in their field of music.
In Japan they single-handedly made shamisen come alive again in modern Japanese culture.
Each brother projects his own unique style both in his personal appearance and in his music.
Ryoichiro, age 28, has a relaxed punk look and is the traditionalist
of the two brothers. He's the one who guards the integrity
of authentic shamisen music while still creating the unique "Yoshida Brothers sound"
that relies heavily on experimentation and risk-taking.
Kenichi, age 26, is baby-faced and clean-cut. He's the one that exudes fire and passion
both in his composition and performance. Kenich loves rock music and other music from around the world,
especially flamenco guitar which can be heard in several of the pieces he writes.
Together the brothers strive to honor the ancient sound of shamisen
while at the same time making it appealing to the world at large.
Ryoichiro, in particular, expresses his dream to
make shamisen known and loved throughout the world.
If anyone is interested in hearing a piece by Yoshida Brothers,
I will be more than happy to upload something for you. Just let me know.

Here are some of my re-created photos of the Yoshida Brothers.
(more Gackt to follow, so keep scrolling after this one)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

Kimono

2006-07-23T22:11:22Z

One of my favorite Gackt photos. Beautiful, isn't he?
This is from a series he did where he modeled a kimono he designed himself.
I've re-created 5 versions in Picasa.
Which one do you like best? Or maybe you just prefer the original? :)

(original photo)

Tarzan! Me Jane!

2006-07-23T22:04:42Z

He really reminds you of Tarzan, doesn't he?
This is from the Takano Yuri CM which I really don't even like.
But I thought it might be fun to try something with this photo.
I wasn't sure I liked it, and I wasn't going to include it here...but what the hell.
Maybe someone will like it!
Basically, all I did was change the natural coloring to blue hues,
and add some shadows and glow, plus a little more texture.

(original photo)

Credit for the scanned photo:
http://gakuhai.livejournal.com/117591.html

Gaze

2006-07-15T13:34:33Z

I saved the best for last with this update. (I only wish they were a little larger!)
But I really love this set. And you?

(original photo)

Twist

2006-07-15T13:26:24Z

(original photo)

Pensive

2006-07-15T13:16:05Z

(original photo)

Bust

2006-07-15T13:12:35Z

(original photo)

Bubble

2006-07-15T13:11:01Z

(original photo)

Wonder

2006-07-15T13:08:46Z

(original photo)

Battle

2006-07-15T13:05:50Z

(original photo)

Pati (thanks to kumiko_gackt for use of the scan)

2006-07-15T13:01:21Z

(original photo)

10 Variations on a Theme

2006-06-25T18:28:17Z

I almost let June get away from me without a Gackt in Picasa update!
The reason I went so long without an update is because, honestly, I
was having a really hard time finding just the right photo to
work with. I tried several but it was a road to nowhere.
Then I found The One. I think a lot of Gackt fans like this photo, from
his Mizerable days. I must have come across this photo a thousand
times in different places but it never occured to me to try anything with it.
Now, having done so, I think these are some of the most interesting
ones I've done so far. I was having such good results, I did 10 of them!
I only wish the original photo had been a little bigger.
Anyway, here goes for June. I really like these and hope you do, too.

Original photo is at the very bottom.

ORIGINAL PHOTO

Special Guest: KIMURA

2006-05-28T03:04:13Z

Occasionally I will post some of my re-styled photos of other people that I like besides Gackt. A month ago I featured YOU. This time around it's the gorgeous and talented Takuya Kimura. I just saw this photo of him in some ~~weird~~ unusual kind of dress thing and something like a feathered fan, with his hair looking all pretty...and I was blown away. I don't know what it is but I LOVE THIS PHOTO. I love it! I enjoyed re-styling it so much that I did 6 versions. I might even do some more later on.
Hope you all--Gackt and Kimura fans alike--enjoy these as much as I enjoyed designing them.

(the original photo is in thumbnail at the very bottom, as I usually do)

(original photo)

10 Black-and-White Scans

2006-05-27T00:42:17Z

I really like black-and-white photos. I know a lot of people do. There is something so clean and sharp about B&W, giving photos a new depth and clarity not found with color. These photos are taken from pucca_love's scans which can be found here and here. Thanks again to PL for letting me use her gorgeous things. Hope everyone enjoys these. In most cases I simply made them B&W, with other ones I added glow and/or changed the lighting, or made some small changes to the texture of the photos. Even though I haven't done anything fancy, I think you will enjoy seeing some old photos in a new light. Later this weekend I'm going to attempt a series in sepia coloring. Sepia is very beautiful and creates a different mood altogether from color or B&W.

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

Late-May Beauties

2006-05-26T22:02:25Z

Haven't updated in a few weeks.
Here are some goodies to enjoy.
After this I'm working on a set of black-and-whites!
(This first one is my favorite one of this update!)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

(original photo)

Darling Buds of May, Last Part

2006-05-01T20:12:43Z

Final set. Hope you enjoyed them.

[the original]
Credit to Pucca Love
for her scans at
http://puccalove-70.livejournal.com/

Darling Buds of May, Part III

2006-05-01T20:08:18Z

More random pretties.

[and the original]

[the original]
credit goes to Pucca Love
for her set of scans at
http://puccalove-70.livejournal.com/

[the original]

Darling Buds of May, Part II

2006-05-01T19:53:53Z

Here is a random selection of smaller photos I did.
The original photos and credit for all of them can be found at the bottom.

[the original photo]

[the original photo]
credit goes to Pucca_Love
http://puccalove-70.livejournal.com/
from her set of scans