When I travel, I like to buy artistic things to display in my home. Besides the artistry, though, I also look for subjects that I can photograph and submit to my stock photo agency. In addition, I often apply Photoshop magic to things I buy to create unique, even surreal, imagery. For example, I bought this remarkable mask in Venice in the early 90s. It is made of beautifully dyed leather, and I photographed it against a black velvet background. I then replaced the background with a fractal abstract (you can find fractal generating programs online -- some are free and some of them have a price tag), and then I added a reflection using the plug-in Flood (made by flamingpear.com). Finally, I added a gradient of color in the eyes using the gradient tool in Photoshop.