Constructed 3D Imagery

Composition: I created my composition from imagery I cut out from a book of old fables. These cut-outs were then taped to toothpicks and arranged. I wanted a carefree feel in the foreground with the children playing but some darker imagery in the background. I lit the scene with a book light and occasionally used a piece of red film as a make shift filter. I shot with a small aperture to keep the focus on the boy and girl playing in the diorama.
 

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: Conceptually, I was thinking about creation and destruction and went into the project knowing that I would eventually set it on fire. It seemed strange to spend so much time building something up knowing that it would be a pile of ash a few hours later. This was kind of a reflection on the week and a way to illustrate how life can seem simple and easy one moment and everything can go up in flames in the next.

 Method: I cut out old prints from a book of fables and constructed a scene from them. I then lit the scene with a book light that I occasionally covered in red film. After I experimented with lighting, filters, and a small aperture, I lit the piece on fire and shot continuously while it burned down. My camera was on a tripod and I manually set the focus so that I could light the sculpture accordingly while shooting with a remote.

Motivations: For this photo I really just wanted to play with the idea of creation and destruction and the brief period of time in which things can change completely.

 

Evaluation: I think this collection of photos turned out fairly successfully. In the future, I would frame my image a little differently and maybe play with some other colored filters.

Extension: I had fun building this little scene and wouldn't mind doing a series like this. I might also continue to use fairytale and noir imagery. 

Blog Prompts #9-11

9. Pick a sculpture that you like. Write a description of how you might use 3D modeling in Photoshop to make this sculpture part of a photographic image.

I love Katie MccGuire’s stunning sculptures created of thousands of feathers. Some of the feathers are printed with numbers and others are colored. They overlap and writhe and almost seem fluid in her painstakingly constructed compositions. I think it would be very difficult to replicate her work in Photoshop but if I were to try I would use a 3d tool to make a shape and warp the texture of feathers around it. I could then use the magnetic lasso tool to cut the form out and bring it into a space.

10. Describe an impossible scenario. Describe how you can create this scene using digital photographic compositing.

An anti-gravity bedroom may be interesting? Microscopic animals? Both of these scenes could be made using the lasso tool to cut out individual images and bring them into the setting (i.e. a bedroom or the palm of your hands). You could then apply a drop shadow and warp it accordingly. Colors and levels could be modified to make the image appear cohesive and believable. The more I think about it, the more I want a pocket sized giraffe…

11. Collages, montages, assemblages, and composites often bring together disparate items, objects, scenes, places, and people. The process of combining seemingly unrelated or unexpected items can be inspired by spontaneous thoughts/experiments. Describe some ideas, thoughts, and things that come to mind when you think of “combination” or “assemblage”. Try to perform this brainstorm using a stream of consciousness technique in which you list anything that comes to mind. You can add to this list… Here goes… fractured/combined identities, old newspapers + grass, constant bombarding of images via mass media, looking through a kaleidoscope, doll + baby, cut a bike in half and add a tree, etc. …

One man's trash, old paper, message boards, taxidermy, tin toys, anchors, pin-up girls, pouring paint, Roxy's, neon lights, hand stitching, bird's wings, bug collections, cages, old rope, braids, fingerprints, yellowing tape, library cards, stamping, dirt, robots, quarter machine toys, Chinese finger traps, food labels, bicycle tires, antlers, porcelain, glitter, fake money, game pieces, brown paper bags, cigarette butts, crowns, tea bags, magnifying glasses, confetti, dusty books, keys, 3-D glasses, pressed flowers, hair, baby teeth, plastic dinosaurs!

 

Experimental HDR

 

Composition: I formed my compositions from urban spaces that were in general states of decay. Both images are shot in a way that shows perspective as you move through the image. I drastically increased the concept through the use of the HDR generator in bridge. I am not pleased with the over the top appearance of these images. The level of detail in the images appears fake, and I feel I could have made these HDR images more successfully.

 Concept: Conceptually, I just wanted to emphasize the grit and decay associated with these spaces using HDR, other than that, they were just an experiment in using this process.

 Method: I created each of these images from 7 different bracketed exposures. I merged them in bridge using the HDR tool. I found it slightly confusing to make the adjustments necessary for making a decent image.

 Motivations: My goal for these images was to highlight the entropy in these places and bring attention to the decay happening in these environments. I feel this can be seen most successfully with the moss growing on the stairs of the second image.

 Interpretations: I feel that these images are fairly straight forward and more experimental than anything. There is not too much to interpret.

 Evaluation: I am happy with the spaces I chose to shoot but am not happy with the general level of contrast in these images and wish they did not look so fake.

 Extension: I would like to practice working with HDR again in the future just to get the technique down, but would prefer to make photographs in another way.

Projections

Composition: When I composed these photos I wanted to have the image of my projection interact with Andy. I cropped the images in a way that the projection itself would be the main subject of the photos. I wanted to showcase the red, blue, and purple hues of the stereoscopic images I projected and intended for the projection to become three dimensional with the use of 3D glasses.

Concept: I used the vintage stereoscopic images to try to connect the past with present. I overlapped the bodies on the projections over Andy in an effort to connect the two and make the projected forms a part of his form, These images were also an experiment in whether or not the photographed stereoscopes would maintain their 3D properties.  

Method: I collected vintage imagery from three dimensional stereoscopes and projected them over a scene. I looked for instances in which the subject and projected images formed some kind of contact and documented those moments.

Motivations: In this series, I wanted to create a connectedness between subject and projection and experiment with the idea of three dimensional photography.

Interpretations: I feel that others could also see these connections, but wish everyone could have a pair of 3D glasses to give the stereoscopic factor a try!

Evaluation: I think the use of vintage imagery in a modern setting is working, I also feel that connecting the image with the model worked well, and I would like to work this way again.

Extension: I think I will continue to collect interesting images, stereoscopic and otherwise, to project. The way the images curve around a form is really interesting to me and I think I'll keep this in mind for my thesis.

Blog Prompts #5-8

#5. Think of various cultural, religions, political, personal, scientific associations and symbols of “light” and “darkness”. Discuss some that come to mind.

In religion, God is associated with light and the devil is associated with darkness. Angels are depicted as a blinding light and walking in darkness is the equivalent of walking in sin. Culturally, darkness is associated with evil. Shadowy figures tend to be the antagonist and horror movies are centered around night. Light is a signifier for what is good. One can be in a dark mood, darkness may be associated with depression or anger. It generally holds negative connotations. Lightness is typically positive. If one is a “bright” student they are intelligent and hold potential. Light and Darkness have a seemingly endless number of associations. 

Oh, and the force, Star Wars style.

#6 Think of some experiences that you have had in which you felt a sense of “lightness”. Describe one or some of these experiences.

I have felt lightness in that brief second on the top of a swing where you are neither moving up or falling down. I feel lightness in moments of clarity where I can think clearly and nothing is clouding my focus. I have felt lightness with joy and excitement. Your body feels light when you swim in the ocean. I have felt lightheaded. Light can cause pain when coupled with a migraine. 

#7. Think of some experiences that you have had in which you felt a sense of “darkness”. Describe one or some of these experiences.

I have experienced darkness during power outages, in moments of anger or frustration, with the death of a loved one, inside of a cave, on walks at night. Dark is more emotionally charged for my than anything. Literal darkness has held comfort at times. When I was young we would wander the golf course in the dark and hunt for fireflies. If that failed we would lay on our backs and watch the bats fly overhead.

#8 From the reading on light and shadow, pick an artist/photographer whose work inspires you. Describe why you like her/his work.

Anna Gaskell's photographs were particularly inspiring to me. Her images are both dark and theatrical. She seems to crop out faces so that her subjects maintain some anonymity. I am interested in working with a noir aesthetic this semester and feel that I could learn a lot from Anna's use of dramatic lighting and contrast. Her images are beautifully unsettling. 

Scanograph

 

Statement:

Composition: For these images I made scans of my body over transparencies of x-rays. I lined up my own body accordingly and cropped the images into a square format. I worked with the levels in Photoshop to emphasize the grittiness of the image. 

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: I have been interested in the intricacies of anatomy in the past few months. I wanted to relate what we see with what we know is present but frequently overlook. I was trying to create a connectedness between the x-ray and my body itself. I am also considering noir imagery for my thesis and enjoyed the opportunity to experiment.

Method: In a previous class I had used laser jet transparencies to create images on 4x5 film. I was interested in what part of the image came through the negative space and what was lost by ink. I had been looking at Greys Anatomy recently and wanted to pull my interest in the human form into my scans. To create the scan itself I printed 8.5x11 transparencies with x-rays I had collected. These transparencies were laid on the scanner bed first then I did my best to line my body up with the image.

Motivations: My goal for these images was to show a connectedness in form and reveal something beautiful about the human anatomy that we do not generally think about.

Context: I feel that these images feel more scientific than anything. I am unsure of who I would relate this to, but have seen other artists work with darker imagery in the past.

Interpretation: I am unsure of how others will respond to these images.

Evaluation: We shall see.

Extension: I would like to keep working with transparencies. I wonder if I would be able to use them for some sort of filter over my camera lens. I would also like to continue to work with noir imagery or anatomy.

 

Statement:

Composition: For the composition of these images I wanted to offset the main subject of the photograph and create moody, colder feeling images. I shot in dusky morning light and edited my images so that they had a gritty, almost film like character to them.  

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: These images were more about technique than content for me. I wanted the photographs to achieve a painterly feel through the use of blur. I intended for them to be cohesive in that they are, in a word, dreary. I wanted to capture a sort of lull.

Method: I shot these images with a 50 mm lens and experimented with lack of focus and a steamed up lens. In the first image, I shot a clear Christmas bulb containing a feather against a dusty window. The window brought some grit to the image and a reflection from a light inside the house brings some warmer tones into the photo. The second image I used a similar technique but focused (or rather, did not focus on) cobweb covered window panes. The third image was an interesting accident. I'm not entirely sure what happened with my camera but I like the pseudo-diptych that came out of it.

Motivations: My intent in making these photos was to use blur to create a painterly image by digital means.

Context: The blurred imagery reminds me of Uta Barth's photos of compositions without subjects.

Interpretation: We'll see...

Evaluation: We'll see...

Extension: I would like to continue to experiment using blur and steam on my lens, although I'm not sure a fogged lens is good for my camera? If I could figure out what malfunctioned in my final image I would love to be able to reproduce it.

Blog Prompts 1-4

Our view of the world can be altered both physically and though the experiences we encounter. We peer through fogged windows, wipe the steam from our bathroom mirrors, rely on glasses or contacts to clear our vision, and view the world through eyes fogged by sleep. We have driven through the pouring rain or struggled for bearings as the snow lights up in our headlights. Our contact with the world is limited by windshields or windows, and we see double or perhaps not at all in rooms filled with smoke. Chances are we consider these disruptions an annoyance, when they could be used to our advantage. Our perspective of the world can be changed drastically through the lens of a camera, reflections in a mirror, the glare off our windows, or through bleary eyes. Our experiences can shape what we find beautiful, what frightens us, what we take time to appreciate and what falls by the wayside. They trigger memories, bring floods of emotion, and affect the way in which we interact and view the people around us. Our experiences shape the way we see. What may hold visual significance for one person could be completely overlooked by another purely based off of personal experience. Take notice. Use those tired eyes to see the world in a different way.