Abstract Gallery
One of the reasons I began posting my work for use as desktop wallpaper was that, through my own experience. it was difficult to find good quality imagery at a sufficient size to look good on the largest monitors. That was nearly 3 years ago. Now Apple has made the hunt for decent wallpapers even more difficult by adding a 30" LCD screen to their line up of Cinema Displays. These new widescreen monitors have a resolution of up to 2560x1600 pixels. Not wanting to be outdone, I have re-rendered many of my more popular images at 2560x1600 as well as adding a few new wallpapers to the mix. Of course, these images will also scale down nicely to fit the two smaller models; the 20" and 23" displays.
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PokerEquipment used: Nikon D70s, Photoshop CS3 Extended 'Poker' is a great macro shot taken by Chris Emery, lead graphic designer here at PlasmaDesign. It is free to download and use as desktop wallpaper in resolutions up to 2560x1600 pixels. |
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TurbulenceEquipment used: Nikon D70s, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended The original version of this photo was a shot I took of the water fountain outside the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Francisco at night. The final version has been subjected to a considerable number of adjustments using Photoshop CS3. |
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TransamericaEquipment used: Nikon D70s, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended I snapped this photo of the Transamerica tower on my last day in San Francisco. It was taken on the corner of Montgomery Street and Clay Street at about 2pm. I was blessed for the duration of my week long trip with fantastic weather (especially for January!). |
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FrongEquipment used: Olympus E-500, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended This wallpaper was shot by Chris Emery while wandering around a local water garden. The rich colouring and narrow focusing makes for a great desktop wallpaper. |
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VertigoEquipment used: Nikon D70s, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended Taken on my annual trip to San Francisco for Macworld Expo, this shot was the end result of a 16 mile walk from the Transamerica Tower to the Golden Gate bridge (and then back again). It was an unseasonably warrm and sunny January day and was shot at about 11am from the bay side of the bridge. |
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VelvetEquipment used: Olympus E-500, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended This image was taken using an Olympus E-500 with a Macro Lens. I saw this rose on my travels and thought that it reflected British summer time perfectly |
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HarvestEquipment used: Nikon D70s, Aperture 1.5, Photoshop CS3 Extended This photograph was taken last summer while walking in fields in Mottisfont, Hampshire UK. A fair amount of post-processing was carried out using both Aperture and Photoshop as the original RAW file was a little blurred. |
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TrajectorySoftware used: Carrera 5, Photoshop CS2 The solar system has fascinated me ever since childhood. I used to spend hours looking through books of diagrams and photos of the planets. I have been meaning to create a wallpaper using the solar system as its theme for a while. This is the result. |
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EvergreenEquipment used: Olympus E300, Photoshop CS2, Aperture 1.0 Its been a stressful couple of months. We moved into a new office in November and we have both been working 16 hour days to keep up with the freelance design work (which is great but tiring). So just before Christmas we decided to take the afternoon off, grab our cameras and visit our local arboretum. Chris took this shot with his Olympus E300 with macro lens. We processed the image with Apple Aperture and I carried out some colour correction with Photoshop CS2. |
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RubikSoftware used: Hexagon 1.0, Carrera 4, Photoshop CS2 This is one of the darkest image I have released in quite a while. Five different versions are included in zip file, all with subtle differences in colour scheme. As usual, feedback is most welcome. |
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TideSoftware used: Photoshop CS2, Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet I have been a little short of inspiration in July. Coupled with the success of our plastic business cards I have not had a lot of time to concentrate on much of the 3D rendered stuff. Nevertheless, I managed to find enough time to sit down and experiment with Photoshop CS2. The result is a series of images which make great, clean desktop wallpapers. There are four versions in the ZIP file. A blue, aqua, magenta and red version. Enjoy. |
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United We StandSoftware used: Lightwave 7 Since the bombings in London a few days ago I have heard many people ask 'what is this world coming to?', pessimistically suggesting that we are on a slippery slope to a world where terrorism becomes an accepted part of the world in which we live. I have watched the disturbing images and amateur video footage shot moments after the bombing of the London bus. While horrific, they give me hope. I say this because in the photos and video clips, bystanders are running towards the explosion; not away from it. Running towards it in a desperate attempt to help those traveling on the bus with little thought for their own safety. Every time our civilized world is turned upside down by fanatics with no regard for innocent lives, we become more united. We forget our petty squabbles and differences and stand together. Included in the ZIP file are versions for USA, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Eire. |
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PhotosynthesisEquipment Used : Nikon D70S My sabbatical from the desk continues, forcing me to get some fresh air and exercise. Luckily the notouriously crap British weather has been kind to me, allowing me to get some more practice with the Nikon D70s. I shot 'Photosynthesis' at my local garden centre using a 60mm Nikkor Micro lens. |
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TorrentEquipment Used : Nikon D70S May was an 'interesting' month. One minute I was happily sat at my desk working on a new image, the next minute I had snapped a nerve in my elbow leaving me with no feeling in part of my right hand. While I have no intention of reducing the number of wallpapers added to the site I do need to cut down a little on the time I spend at my desk for the next 3 months. So I paid a visit to my local camera shop and picked up a Nikon D70 Digital SLR. On my way home I stopped off a local beauty spot called 'Salmon Leap', an old mill with a fast moving river. This was almost the first image I took with the new D70. Shot in RAW with a shutter speed of 0.5 secs, what you see is what came out of the camera. No post-processing was carried out. |
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DivisionSoftware used: Bryce 5.1, Photoshop CS2 This image is my attempt at illustrating the process by which a cell divides to form two daughter cells. Upon completion of the process, each daughter cell contains the same genetic material as the original cell and roughly half of its cytoplasm. |
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CausticSoftware used: Photoshop CS A simple photo taken during our family holiday in Spain this month using a Canon Ixus under natural daylight. I have shifted the hue slightly and toned down the brightness to make it more suitable for use as a deskop wallpaper. |
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StamenSoftware used: Photoshop CS Something for the ladies (and those of us in touch with our feminine sides :)) I cannot claim too much credit for this piece. Its actually a photo that was sent to me by a friend. I made some changes to the hue and saturation and cropped it to look dramatic as a widescreen desktop wallpaper. |
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Still LifeSoftware used: Lightwave 7, Bryce 5.1, Photoshop CS This image is a departure from my usual style. 'Still Life' is not a genre I usually indulge in and there is a lot less colour in this image than I would typically use. My intention was to create a really nice 3D render of a graphic designers 'survival kit'. There are many different versions in the ZIP file; an assortment of colours and renditions with a cordless mouse. |
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GoldieSoftware used: Photoshop CS A little while back PlasmaDesign printed some plastic business cards for a guy called Chris Emery. I was blown away by his card design and met Chris for a drink at our local pub. During our conversation it emerged that Chris was an avid and talented photographer. I asked Chris whether he would like to submit a few images to PlasmaDesign for use as wallpaper. This was one of my favourite shots on the disc he gave me. It was taken at a 'Goldie' gig in Southampton, England and IMHO does a great job of capturing the atomsphere of the current dance scene here in the UK. I have done very little post-production to it; just a little hue adjustment and additional blur. |
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Dewdrop (Detail)Software used: Photoshop CS Taken from the same project as Dewdrop (found below), this photo was shot by a friend of mine with a Nikon D70 digital SLR and a ridiculously expensive macro lens. I made some adjustments to the images orientation, colour profile and the reflections seen in the droplets using Photoshop CS. |
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Splash (Detail)Software used: Photoshop CS This wallpaper is a reinterpretation of 'Splash' (which can also be found on this page). I love the original version of 'Splash' but over time I have come to feel that it is a bit 'flat'; not dynamic enough. This image is my attempt at trying to add a little excitement and motion to the original concept. |
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CondensedSoftware used: Photoshop CS My first wallpaper of 2005, Condensed is based on a photo sent to me by a friend. Photoshop CS was used to crop, clone and alter the focus and colouration of the image. It was also toned down a lot as the original was too bright to be used comfortably as a desktop wallpaper. |
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JacksSoftware used: Lightwave 7 I took inspiration for this image while shopping for my kids Christmas presents in the local Toys R Us. There was a small table on display with a set of plastic jacks on it. I remembered having some when I was a child and thought it would make a good theme for a desktop wallpaper as I felt it may take 30 something's on a trip down memory lane. |
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Going Up! 2003Software used: Bryce 5.01 Every now and then I take a look back through my older images to give myself some idea of how far I have progressed. And occasionally I decide to update an earlier piece. The original version of Going Up! (found on the Aqua Collection page) now looks a little washed out and flat to me so I decided to give it an overhaul. |
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FusionSoftware used: Bryce 5, Photoshop CS This is a little different for me in as much as there is no glass or water. In fact there are no solid jobs whatsoever. 'Fusion' is actually a spin-off of another project I am currently working on which is a diagram of the solar system. I have been searching for suitably impressive effects to accurately depict the sun and this image is the result of the experimentation. |
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SplashSoftware used: Lightwave 7, Bryce 5 About 2 years ago I created an image called 'Radial' which can be found below. I had wanted to add the 'crown' found in the center of the splash at the time but I didn't really have the ability to execute it convincingly. Two years on and I have learnt a lot of new tricks so I though I would revisit the concept. 'Splash' is the result. |
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GorbSoftware used: Lightwave 7 I received a lot of positive feedback when I released 'Apple' (found in the photography gallery), with many people commenting on the simplicity and clean lines of the image. 'Gorb' is an attempt to follow this philosophy. The title comes from an anagram of the word 'Borg', which as any trekker knows is the king of the bad guys in the recent Star Trek series'. The cube reminded me of their space ship! There are two subtlety different 1600x1200 versions inside the downloadable zip file. |
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PaperweightSoftware used: AutoCAD 2003, Lightwave 7 It is no secret that I am a proud mac user. I like Windows XP but wouldn't be without my Apple MacBook. So I thought I would give the mac community a treat. My newest image is called Paperweight and is available to all visitors. There are actually five separate images. One each for MacBook's, iMacs, iBooks, PowerMac G4s and (for those of you lucky enough to own one already) PowerMac G5s. |
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OpticSoftware used: Bryce 5.01, Photoshop CS My original intention was to release this solely as a dual monitor wallpaper but I have been hassled into submission. This image continues the theme set by 'Genesis', 'Frozen' and 'Magma' (all on this page). Basically all the image comprises of is a light source inside hollow spheres which have a textured, translucent surface. I guess it may be time to call it a day with this particular concept but I just love the detail created by the light coming through the bumpy glass-like material. Very cool. |
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SpectrumSoftware used: Bryce 5.01 This is a very simple and minimalist in design. It may be less technically difficult that some of my other work but I just like the 'way it looks'. Its clean and cheerful. I experimented with several different backgrounds but all of the detracted from marbles themselves. So in the end i opted for a plain white surface and sky. |
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SnowflakeSoftware used: AutoCAD 2003, Bryce 5 This is a new version of the wallpaper I created to mark Christmas 2003. I have included the original image in the downloadable zip file for those who prefer a little more color. |
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MagmaSoftware used: Bryce 5 This wallpaper is one of a pair of images based upon a hot/cold theme. (Both versions are included in the zip file). They were created using Bryce 5 with no post-processing in Photoshop (a rarity for me!). I took inspiration from my one of my more recent images called ' Furnace ' and a diagram of the solar system I stumbled across on 'How Stuff Works dot com). |
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Storm EyeSoftware used: Bryce 5 This is most definitely one of my more abstract images! I took inspiration from an advert that wa running on UK television earlier in the year. |
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911Software used: AutoCAD 2003, Bryce 5, Photoshop 7 I decided to create this image after visiting Ground Zero in NY earlier in the month. I went there to pay my respects and to lay some flowers on behalf of a friend. What I found was a tourist trap, with stalls selling cheap trinkets, people climbing the perimeter fence to get a 'better' view of the craters and visitors taking photos as if it was an amusement park. I felt that people had forgotten the horrors witnessed there only 18 months ago. The words are taken from one of the many notes left on the church railings overlooking the remains of the WTC. There are two versions in the downloadable zip file. |
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Solar HexSoftware used: Bryce 5.01 This image is based on a photograph of a 'solar sail' I came across while reading a technology magazine during my lunch break. |
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RadialSoftware used: Bryce 5, Photoshop 7 Although this is not one of my most downloaded pieces, its one of my personal favorites. Create using Photoshop 7 and Bryce 5 this image began life as an experiment to add a radial ripple to a landscape image I was working on at the time. Its one of my older images but I like it so much I have decided to use it as part of my new commercial design businesses logo. |
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AquaSoftware used: Bryce 5 The favorite image of my fiancee and love of my life, Donna, is 'Going Up!' (to be found above). Having recently re-decorated our bathroom, Donna asked me to create 3 images of a similar style to 'Going Up!' which she intends to frame and display on the bathroom wall!!!!! I hadn't originally intended posting any of these to the web but I like this one so much I couldn't resist it. |
