About Robert Fournier

"I wanted something that was really going to be different. I wanted the sense of mystery," said Robert Fournier. "Moody, ghostly, out of this world. I wanted to get the feeling of a ghost town."

Click on photo for larger image.

Fournier traveled to the ghost town of Bodie on a field trip with the Peninsula Photo Slide Club. The day was overcast, a "miserable day. Not a great day for taking pictures," said Fournier. However, he was inspired by a figure bundled up in a jacket walking towards him, and took a picture.

Back at his home in Portola Valley, Fournier scanned the color slide into his computer. He worked in Photoshop to give the photo its dark and ghostly mood.

"I did different things with the different layers, a little twirl, fractlization. I wanted to get the feeling of night so I took the negative of the positive, I wanted to emphasize the lone figure."

Fournier played around with the photo to digitally create "Ghost Town." He describes himself as "pretty much self-taught," on the computer. Fournier got his start taking pictures working for the U.S. Geological Survey. He traveled the world and always carried a camera. Since retiring, he has pursued photography fairly seriously.

-- Kyla Farrell