.jpg "Don't Lose The Music")
The photography slideshow on digital publication is complete with 12 photos that the user will be able to tap and play and swipe through with their finger. I would like to add a short clip of music for the user to play if they wish to listen to, whilst swiping through the slideshow. I have already created a 1 minute clip of the ambient version of Moby’s song, Isolate. All I need to now is create a simple button in photoshop, so that the user can tap to play and stop playing the music.
Landscape View Portrait View
I’ve made some changes to the outcome of the photos to make the subject stand out more.
Initial Outcome
Latest Outcome
In some of the photographs, the subject wasn’t quite distinguishable to pick out because the image had to many layers trying to show through. I later decided that it would be better to cut around the subject in of the photographs and layer it on top of everything else. That way the subject would stand out clearer. I’ve selected one of my images as an example of the changes I’ve made. I also made some colour correction to the final images so that they correlate with the grading of the documentary. I went for the 2 strip Technicolor look as I felt it blended well together with the colours of the footage I shot on the 8mm app.
I also cut around the shadow of the subject, as a different layer, and aligned it over the previous image.
Like this:
This is the experimental video I did in the style of David Hockney. I did a couple of these in my documentary for the Specialist project, however they weren’t appreciated enough due to the fact they weren’t shown for long enough. I decided for this project to dedicate a separate video for these type of shots to show them in a more subtle way; therefore the viewer can take time to observe it like a piece of art.
With the handheld shots, I never quite know how well the shots will turn out because it’s hard to stay 100% still for a certain amount of time. This then adds to this disjointed look caused by the camera movements in each frame. When I’m putting these shots together, I always make sure they’re aligned as best as they can be for the first frame.
What I like about these shots is that it captures different moments within each frame. I think this particularly works best with the busy street scenes as there’s so much going on. This is part of the concept of being able to document different events happening in one environment.
However, I feel like I’ve not paid as much attention as I’d like to you have done with this particular sequence, which is why I’m questioning it. I’ve come to realise that I’m working in the area of, Cubism, which is a modern art form that was developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. As the various phases of Cubism emerged from their studios, it became clear to the art world that something of great significance was happening. The radical innovations of the new style confused the public, but the avant-garde saw in them the future of art and new challenge.
Pablo Picasso Georges Braque
Hockney’s work has often been strongly linked to Cubism in that his motivation for producing photo montages was to introduce three artistic elements which a single photograph couldn’t do, namely layered time, space and narrative. By taking the pictures from carefully selected viewpoints, and arranging them in the right way, Hockney is able to change the apparent shape of space and introduce the element of time into the work. For instance, using this technique you can make a circular wall seem flat. Imagine walking around the wall taking lots of photos at a fixed distance from the wall, with the camera pointing straight towards the wall. If you just look at the middle of each photo, it will look like you are looking straight on at a flat section of wall. Since every photo looks like this, if you cut them up and lay them next to one another so that they join up, it will look like a flat section of wall. In fact part of Hockney’s (not entirely self consistent) philosophy behind these joiners forced him not to cut up the photos.
To sum up Cubism, be that Painting like Picasso Photography with David Hockney, objects/images are broken up, analysed and re-assembled in a slight abstract form. Understanding this concept I’ve now discovered that the images I’ve created using the Decim8 application is a form of cubism, which ties even more nice with my project.
Going to back to the video montage, I feel the need to add and some shots to try and see if I can gain better results. I really liked the static shot of the walkway long south bank because the shots were completely still, as the phone was on a tripod. I want to do more still shots as they’re more subtle and easier to watch.
Here is another layered image consisting of separate photographs that have been taken at different moments within the same location. I’ve laid out a step by step process of how the final image developed. It’s a very fiddly process with trying different opacity levels and different blending modes. The settings I used varied between all the other layered images I’d be working on. I just continually tweaked each setting until I was satisfied that image showed the events of each shot clearly in the overall piece. I altered the opacity of each image to help show each subjects change of position in each shot.
The first photograph in the screen shot above, shows the first photograph of the sequence with people standing on an empty platform.
The second photograph shows the same people on the platform, but in the distance , you can see a train pulling into the opposite platform.
The third image combined with previous two shots shows the train fully arriving to the platform. This to generate a sense of time and movement within the shot.
The fourth image was taken when a second train pulled into the station but at the platform I was standing on.
The final shot shows all the images layered on top of each other. The fifth photograph consists of the passengers getting onto the train. With all these shots combined, I’ve captured a series of moments in one image to generate a unique narrative.
I wasn’t too convinced by having a series of photos that the user can swipe through. It doesn’t come across very interesting or unique so I’ve been trying to work out how I could merge the sequence into one still image. Then it occurred to me that I should try and layer the images onto of each other in chronological order and play around the with opacity settings to bring through all the positions of the people in each different shot.
This image, called Violent Women, was created by Duane Michals as well. This gave me the idea of taking a photographic sequence and compiling it into one image, which allows you to see the different movements and positions of the subject. Back when Michals did this technique, it would haven a bit more technical for it to work accordingly. It’s obvious from the photo that Michals used a tripod to capture each different shot. Having the camera stabilised into one position makes it easier to compile the other photographs of the subject moving from one end of the shot to the other.
When I did this with all the eight images, it looked incredibly messy and too confusing to look at so I selected only three images instead. Combining three mages together that have been taken at the same location, but at different times really conveys the concept of generating a small narrative within a still image.
Unlike Michals example, I shot these images handheld instead of a tripod. This is why they’re quite blurry as not all the images match up exactly because I’m making slight movements each time I take a photo. I think if I spent more time in Photoshop I could perfect a bit more, but if I had shot the photos whilst using a tripod, they would match much better.
Update!
I’ve just come up with another idea for how this sequence could be viewed instead of a still image. I decided it would be cool to turn the sequence into a video to show it developing into a series of different shots merging together. This way I could also record some sound of that particular location and adapt it to the scene to make it more dynamic. I think this would make the idea behind this technique much clearer by showing the image develop.
As I’m focusing on technology disconnecting people from their surroundings, I decided that it would look better if I separated the man listening to his mp3 player from the other people in the scene.
I could have easily have just video recorded this to capture the same little narrative. However, there’s something quite unique about watching the images transform from the beginning to the end.
Filed under: Photography
Phil showed me this on Monday and I was really impressed by how this person created this really dynamic image.
This photographic series is my attempt to draw out the beauty and passion from everyday objects that come alive during my controlled lighting at night.
By carefully composing and lighting these real-life objects, and with the help of volunteer photographic assistants, I´m striving to interpret them as metaphors for values of character, honor, integrity and pride, exemplified by the people who work with this equipment on a regular basis.
Through my photographs I strive to share with the viewer the passions enjoyed by our fellow countrymen. Whether laborer, professional, volunteer, corporate CEO or just a guy who owns a cool, old pickup truck, we all share this American experience together.
This process could also be used as another form of documentary through the medium of photography.
Like this:
I’m just constantly impressed with the iPhone’s capability of taking amazing photos such as these two. I’m not sure what software they’ve used to manipulate the image with, but I’m sure it’s app you can download onto the phone.
Walk Away by tabiwallah
I like this image because it reminds of the James Bond gunbarrel sequence. I think this shot is really well composed as it draws you in to man walking in the centre.
Untitled By Souichi Furusho
I love the simplicity of this image with it’s strong contrast of black and white. Again, I like the way it’s composed.
These images are really inspiring to me as I’m about embark on another big project involving my iPhone, yet again. In a way I feel they link in with the theme of my title, which I’ve decided to go with; The Invisible Camera, because the subjects in the image are distant from the camera.
Like this:
Here’s an image I created in Photoshop.
I hadn’t used Photoshop in a while so I wanted to mess around with some of the tools and features, just to keep me refreshed about the program. I ended up creating a poster image of Netsky to co-incide with his new album. I never realize how obsessed I am with photography until I go onto YouTube and start searching through some liquid DnB videos. I always come across some amazing pictures and they always relate to the music really well.
For my image, I took some long exposure photos of some light, which creates the light streaks. In the far background I’ve used images of clouds, which I’ve taken from my own images I took from Bournemouth beach. I used the ‘overlay’ effect in the layers menu to make the cloud images appear through the light streak images. I prefer this method than having to change the opacity to make the background show through. For the logo, I used a simplistic font, accompanied with a fine green glow around the edges to make it fit in with the overall piece.
I love this video. Such a nice idea! One of the best time lapse videos I’ve seen in a while.
Animated light paintings of a little piano player performing. Filmed at night with the lovely I-5 and San Diego skyline in the background. This piece was created by Ryan Cashman and Sean Fau-Burnitz. The Music was the first thing they did before they did the shoot and was recorded by themselves. The frames were photographed with a Canon Rebel using 20-30 second exposure time. They used a small green LED keychain light to draw each frame. Once all the positions were photographed they were strung together and synchronized to the music in After Effects.
Here is one of my favorite photographers, Tom Munro.
Born in England, Tom Munro moved to New York in 1990 where he majored in photography at Parsons School of Design and went on to a three-year apprenticeship with the world’s most respected fashion photographers. In 1997 he first gained recognition his self for his editorial shoots for British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Since then he contributed to the major magazines including American Vogue, Italian Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Numéro, Details and most recently playing a key role in restructuring US Elle. Tom also shot various advertising campaigns for prestigious names such as Alberta Ferretti, Armani, A/X, Banana Republic, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Converse, Cover Girl, Estee Lauder, Gap, Givenchy, H&M, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Lacôme, L’Oreal, Max Mara, Maybelline, Miss Sixty and Trussardi. He has also collaborated and co-directed Madonna’s latest music video and is currently working on an exhibition and book of his extensive celebrity archive.
He is now immersing himself in the world of video and has currently worked on the Die Another Day Backdrop for Madonna’s sticky and sweet tour. Really fast paced!
Check out his website…
Tom Munro Photography & Music Video
Filed under: Photography
Photography is an art that I’m really passionate about. I feel I have neglected it slightly since I’ve been at uni, so I’m going to start getting back into it more by including it in my blog.
I started getting into photography when my Media teacher at sixth form showed me his portfolio of his photos. I was really impressed by his work and it somehow made me want to be able to take good photographs myself. I then studied A level photography, which gave me a head start in this particular field. I have used the Canon EOS 400D SLR camera since I started and have used an 18 – 55 mm lens most of the time. All my photos in my portfolio have been taken using that camera. In the next week or so I’m hoping to upgrade my camera to the Canon EOS 550D to give me a kick start back into photography and improve my skills. I am also wanting to experiment with different lenses as well, but it’s all down to money.
Click on the link below to view some of the stuff I’ve done.
