JavelinaCrossingA lone woman stops and stands still on a hot, asphalt path as two javelina cross in front of her. Waves of heat bounce off the ground and her striped dress billows and blows in the breeze and the desert pigs seem to pay her no notice as they cross the road into the greenery on their way to Oak Creek, in Sedona, Arizona.

We are told all the time that javelina are dangerous and to stay far from them, yet this woman stood confidently still, as a whole band, not just the two peccary in the frame, passed only a few feet in front of her. She held her ground, and even filmed them on her phone., something that has been removed from the final piece. The woman seemed completely calm and unfazed, as if this were an everyday occurance for her.

In life, we choose our reactions to the circumstances we face. We can panic in the face of danger, or we can remain calm and trust in God to protect us from any harm that might be in our path.

Javelina Crossing

A lone woman stops and stands still on a hot, asphalt path as two javelina cross in front of her.  Waves of heat bounce off the ground and her striped dress billows and blows in the breeze. The desert pigs seem to pay her no notice as they cross the road into the greenery, on their way to Oak Creek, in Sedona, Arizona.

We are told all the time that javelina are dangerous and to stay far from them, yet this woman stood confidently still, as a whole herd, not just the two peccary in the frame, passed only a few feet in front of her.  She held her ground, and even filmed them on her phone (something that has been removed from the final piece).  The woman seemed completely calm and unfazed, as if this were an everyday occurrence for her.

In life, we choose our reactions to the circumstances we face.  We can panic in the face of danger, or we can remain calm and trust in God to protect us from any harm that might be in our path.  

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
 

The Making of Javelina Crossing

This is the original image:

ITL_6064Hamilton High School, Arizona, AZ, In the Light Photography, Jeanette Brown, Sedona, Field Trip, Photography
As you can see, the heat waves already created a flowing effect to a lot of the background.   I removed her phone and "painted" her dress to look as if it were blowing in the wind, while removing more identifiable details.  I also copied her left arm and replaced her right arm with it, as I changed it's shape slightly.  I then added a couple of layers, with different transparencies and blending modes (along with masks on the areas I don't want covered) of the same image with different effects.  Here is what those look like on their own:

Screenshot 2025-11-15 at 1.15.19 PM Screenshot 2025-11-15 at 1.15.41 PM

With the combination of just those layers, it brings us to here:

Screenshot 2025-11-15 at 1.20.18 PM For some depth and texture, I flipped, stretched, and then added the bottom of this image into piece:
IMG_3707CircularRocks

For a splash of color and highlighting/vignetting, these two images were added.  I removed a few raindrops first and there are two copies of the clouds to create a lighter portion in the center of the image.
IMG_9969RainyWindow IMG_0221SunsetClouds

The cloud image duplicated and flipped looked like a distorted star or flying bird before I changed the way the images presented, it may end up being a future piece all on it's own.

Screenshot 2025-11-15 at 1.29.04 PM

I hope you enjoyed learning more about how this piece was created.

Prints and products of this piece may be purchased here:  https://inthelight.pixels.com/featured/javelina-crossing-jeanette-brown.html