This is a variation of my picture of the Daibutsu Buddha of Kamakura from an earlier journal entry (1-8-06).

Both of these versions were made from the same picture. The first, in color, was a more realistic view. A very wide angle lens was used to force the perspective and give more emphasis to the statue's legs and to the bowl of fruit in front of it. This gave the statue a horizontal aspect that matches the framing of the camera.

To make this version, the background was removed and replaced with a plain background, which was extended to give a little more space at the top of the picture. The statue is on a separate layer, above the background.

Then a gradient was added to the background, giving the impression of a light from above. Since it's only on the background layer, it doesn't affect the layer with the statue. The last step in this part is to drop the layer with the statue onto the background, leaving everything on a single layer.

Now things get interesting. Using a special process, the picture is converted to a black and white version with grain to give it some texture. Although the image seems to be made up of gray tones, it is actually been reduced to just black and white dots, like a halftone.