In high school, I spent two years as a portrait photography assistant and retouching photos the "old fashioned way" with inks. Digital photography and Photoshop really have been game changers, and I would not want to go back.
I also enjoy taking photographs of things and stitching them together into unusual montages that tell more of a story than one image normally could.
One of my favorite things to do is experiment with layer blend options and masks in Photoshop. I'll drop photo in and see what unusual image I can make out of it.
Here is a sample of how I do it, followed by images made in the same way:
The original photograph gets flipped, playing with opacity masks and blend methods
This type of thing can make wonderful fantasy or abstract backgrounds and patterns.
For a true kaleidoscope effect, make sure it's symmetrical.
Here are more made in the same way:
