(Source: annaboth)
Chasing Down the Dreams of Yesterday
Another aspect of this shoot that I was focusing on was developing the relationship between the two models. My goal was for the photos to portray a close, friendly relationship. What I found interesting was that all I had asked of them was to run up the stairs; all of the pushing and competition between them came out naturally without my instruction. Therefore, the interaction seen between them is natural, it is a genuine relationship. The finished products of these shots reminded me of childhood, of the friendly competition that always seemed to arise between my friends and I in what seemed to be any situation (even when competition was completely inappropriate or unnecessary).
Infrared
I find that infrared photos look best when done with nature photography (although a good infrared portrait can be stunning, not to mention unique). With that in mind, I went into the loads of unused nature photography I have and chose a photo that I thought had more to it than just trees. The infrared effect in the foliage looks like your typical infrared image, however, what I liked most about this image was the drama created through shadows from the towering trees. This contrast gives the image a sort of mystical and haunting feeling, which differs greatly from the calmness of the original.
“Wires and the Concept of Breathing”
This was done as another manipulation image. I followed this tutorial. I was initially intrigued by the example image, and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do the tutorial any justice. Nevertheless, I still tried it out, and I’m very pleased with the result. Rather than using the vectors they provide in the tutorial, I used a set of vector brushes I already had, which worked just as well. My favorite part about the finished product is that it appears to be something that would’ve taken a long time and a lot of work to complete, when it reality it was quite simple.
“Search and Rescue”
This is a photo-manipulation/composite photo done using three different images. Two of them (the ones set in the mountains) were taken in July 2010 while hiking in the Tatry mountains near Zakopane, Poland. The other I used as the sky, which was taken outside of my house here in the good ol’ USA. I didn’t use an actual tutorial for this, however, I was inspired by various different manipulation tutorials. It has been almost a year since I did a real composite photo like this, so I enjoyed being able to explore more of the particular elements of photoshop again, and not just concentrating on the basic levels, curves, etc. It’s simple and not necessarily surreal, as there really was a helicopter cruising around in the mountains training search and rescue teams.
This is my poster that was displayed with my work in my senior exhibit at our Spring Art Show. The statement is only an exerpt from my full artist statement, but I felt that this portion from it did the best job of representing my feelings about my work. While there really was a canvas broken over my head, it was not really my photo printed on it (you think I’d be able to waste that kind of money?). I composed a similar photo with the same concept about a year ago, so it was cool to be able to go back and create a sort of “revamped” version of the original.
I have been working towards my black box senior exhibit since I began art at DGS my freshman year, and since then have taken 11 semesters worth of art classes. I was extremely pleased with how the show turned out, as everyone’s work looked amazing hanging all together as one cummulative compilation. For all of the stress that was caused over preparing for the show, it was extremely rewarding, and it’s ultimately rather sad as I now realize that my high school career has (finally) come to an end.
one step closer by Christophe Dessaigne
nightmares and sleeping fits by Brooke Shaden
The interesting thing about this photo is that the original, unedited photograph was really just taken as a joke. However, upon looking through my shoot, I saw some potential in it, especially considering the image I had in mind. The style of editing was inspired by Brooke Shaden, whose photography I absolutely love. The surrealistic aspect of the image creates a mysterious feeling. The identity of the subject remains unknown as he is enveloped by the sky.
