Third Manipulated Image.

Here I am again with another manipulated Image. I have decided this time to be a bit over the top. I have always had a soft spot for the old horror films with Chistopher Leigh and Vincent Price. They always had a theatrical humourous side and were very tongue in cheek. I have taken some photos of our local graveyard and also purloined some halloween items from our pub and took photographs of these to use as props. These included small plastic skeletons, a crow and a clock.

'Time of their lives'

First of all I used the graveyard shot as the first layer and I changed the colour in Picaso to make it appear to be twilight. I also sharpened the image. I then opened up the photo in photoshop ready for manipulation. I set up the skeletons in a pile of soap powder so that when I took the photograph it would appear that the skeleton was rising out of the ground. The soap powder would not be seen once I had used the Quick Selection Tool. I also took single photographs of the crow and the clock. I positioned all of these props using seven layers making sure that I set them to scale. I also used the opacity tool on the layers of the clock and skeletons to make them look more ghostly. The last layer that I used was a close-up of a picture of a large fake cobweb that I had previously taken from a halloween party. I placed this image onto the whole of the background image to give an eerie aspect. It almost looks as though you are looking through a veil. I also used the Opacity tool so you could see through to the background layer and then after some experimentation I used the exclusion effect.

This manipulation still had the theme of time so we used the clock as an ongoing reminder.



Presenting my work with no limitations.

Given free reign the way that I would like to present my pictures would be inkeeping with their ethereal and surreal nature. Rather than having them hanging on a wall I would have them superimposed upon large semi-transparent material suspended from the ceiling, with each picture curved into a semicircle and at different angles to eachother in a low lit room (not pitch black) , each one being uplit. This would give the sensation of becoming one with the photo.  I would also like there to be a very gentle breeze to make the material sway slightly. I feel this would add to the dream like quality. Sound such as birdsong, babbling brook or the whistling wind piped in as a gentle background noise would add to the atmosphere.

I feel that this way of presenting the work would allow people to feel as though they were actually standing within the picture which would be of a life like size.

The location I would choose for my presentation would ideally be in a large building such as a dock side loft with all four walls being made of glass. Viewing would only be allowed at night when it's dark. This would allow the photos the feeling of having no boundaries. There would be nothing to distract the viewer and it would give the impression of being in the open air. In a perfect world I would have the restriction of only one person in at a time to make it a truly personal experience. I realise however that this would not be practical on any level due to time and that very few people would ever get to see it.

Fantasy Landscape (Manipulated Images).

After a few disappointing attempts at photoshopping, I finally came up with another time related idea that I could work with that fits in with my theme. My grandfather always used the phrase 'Tempus Fugit' (Time Flies), so this is sort of in memory of him. I chose a picture of two small boats on the sea with an atmospheric sky above. I enjoy crafting and at the moment I love the Steam Punk genre. I found some metal clock faces and wooden wings and decided to take photos of the two together. This rather looked like birds. My idea was to have the birds flying towards the viewer being smaller in the distance and gradually getting larger towards the foreground. I was a bit dubious at first but having looked at the finished result I'm quite enamoured. I also enjoyed the manipulating and started to understand what I was doing more. I wasn't so afraid to use the different photoshop tools.

'Tempus Fugit'

First of all I started with the background layer which was the ships on water and then used another four layers for the individual clocks. On each of these layers I used the Quick Selection Tool to pick up the outline of the clock/birds. I then manipulated each one by using the tools such as Skew, Distort and Perspective. This gave the effect of birds flying into the front of the picture from a distance. To perfect the picture I played around with the scale and position of each bird/clock. I decided to have the closest one slightly off view to make it more lifelike. I then flattened the image so I could save it.

It might have been a good idea to have had a few extremely tiny birds in the background to give more depth, but then I was worried that you may not have been able to see the clock faces. The original picture was quite a simple comprising only sky and sea with just a few boats in the distance so I'm glad that I kept the bird/clock idea quite simple as I feel that in this case less is more.





Moon.

Okay I get home from work one night and realise the moon is almost full and it would be a shame not to use this as an opportunity to take some shots through the trees in the garden. Considering I'm thinking of going with the whole 'Trees/Wood' theme for my final six photographs, it seemed silly not to. I hadn't really taken any night time shots, so it was also a test to make sure I got all the exposure, ISO working well. The only problem was getting the right angle, as the moon was quite low, which looked great through the branches but it also meant that the lawn may be seen on some of the snaps. Obviously I could crop this...but then the moon seems a bit low. Anyway...I experimented...

F/5.3  Shutter Speed: 3 Sec  ISO: 800 

F/4.5  Shutter Speed: 3 Sec  ISO: 800

Here I cropped one of the photos I took as there seemed to be to much going on. The trees in the foreground need to be chopped down...If I had the full Photoshop instead of Photoshop Elements, I would try get ride of the fir trees and just concentrate on the silhouetted ones in the background. I also changed this photo to black and white as the clouds seem to stand out more.

F/5.3  Shutter Speed: 6 Sec  ISO: 800

I have manipulated the colours on this image and also cropped it. I decided to cut out the trees in the foreground and also just focus on the branches of the trees in the corner. I also got rid of the moon on this one. I like this photo as it is fairly abstract and it reminds me of a map. It also reminds me of a barren Planet such as Mars, or a dried up river bed.

I used my tripod for all of these shots as it was impossible to take decent pictures in Manual Mode at night without slowing down the Shutter Speed, and for this I had to use the Tripod so camera shake was avoided. I do quite like these shots. If I had to change them in any way, I wish I could have got the moon more sharper. I did try and do this by trying to get the focus right...but for some reason it does come out as a blurry light instead. Maybe I would need a different lens for this. 

 

The Light Task...

As I was going through the checklist for the course I realized that I had not uploaded 'The Light Task' task as I was on holiday at this point. I enjoyed this task but found it harder to take photos whilst it was dark. For some reason it tended to blur more, even though I tried to play around with the ISO.

I chose to shoot at the front of the house as it is quite an open space and thought I may be able to capture some nice skies in the process. Luckily it was quite a fresh, bitter morning with no fog or mist covering things up.

F/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/10 ISO: 200 Time: 07:10

F/8 Shutter Speed: 1/60 ISO: 200 Time: 12:00

F/5 Shutter Speed: 1/13 ISO: 400 Time: 16:02

F/5 Shutter Speed: 6 Secs ISO: 400 Time: 18:00

I found playing with the ISO quite fun, but it can make your photo look totally different. The last photo I actually took in pitch black, but somehow it has managed to make quite a detailed colour background. I do quite like it as I could not really see the clouds. But still, the last picture tends to have a blur on it. As I could not really see whilst I was taking the picture I could not get the focus sharp. I think I maybe should have upped the ISO on the last photo to maybe let more light in. I would like to try this task again some time with using a lake to see how the light reflects. 

Fantasy Landscape (Manipulated Image) Oh dear.

Okay...So far I am no good at this Photoshop world, and I'm feeling pretty dumb. Normally I'm quite good at the technical stuff, but for some reason me and Photoshop just don't click. I've watched numerous tutorials online... I've spent hours on it trying to work it out, then given up as I realise it's two in the morning. I have Photoshop Elements 10 ( soon I hope to get the real deal, but need to figure this one out first).

Anyway...after a very stressful five hours, I managed to do just one photo. As we needed some sort of theme that links the four fantasy landscapes photos together I decided to choose 'Time'. This may change. But I needed to just put something to play.

Recently it snowed and I managed to capture a photo of the trees late afternoon with the sky highlighting the background. I have a thing with silhouettes and the branches stand out against the sky so I had a play around to see how I could manipulate the photo. I have not done much and it may not be effective, but here goes...

'Winter Time'

I got this effect by using Layers. The background layer being the trees, the second layer being the clock. I took a picture of the clock, then on photoshop I used the Magnetic Lasso tool to outline the clock and copied it onto the layers. I then went onto 'Image' at the top and selected 'Resize' on the drop down menu and then clicked onto 'Scale' to change the size of the clock. I then moved it so that it was in the position where a moon should be. I then changed the opacity so that it became a little transparent and so the branches stood out against it. I decided to use 'Time' as the thread as I thought it was an interesting concept. There are lots of sayings and Quotes about time so I decided to use these for the titles of the photographs.



Ways to present your work.

There are many different ways in which to present your work but before you even think of doing this you have to take some time and consider how you can improve the work that you are going to display. It is not enough to merely have a selection of photographs. You must choose the photographs that will show your best work. Your display might have a theme or it might be a selection of random work. By paying attention to detail you will be able to present your work in the best possible way.

Editing your work

• Cropping - This is merely removing unwanted portions of a photo if you feel they are not important. To crop you need to have a particular aspect ratio such as 4x6 inches, 5x7 inches, 8x10 inches... etc. This is very important if you want to make prints. Cropping can let you focus in on the main subject.
• Resizing - You made decide to make the photo larger or smaller. Images are often reduced in size because of the high megapixel count. We have to make sure the proportions stay the same when altering the size.
• Enhancing Image - We can do this by adjusting the contrast and brightness so that if for instance the sky is too dark we can lighten it so that there is more of a contrast between the sky and the horizon.
• Sharpening the Image - If an image looks too soft we can sharpen it so that the outline becomes more defined. We can also correct the colours to give it a more life-like feel. If the colours do not look true to reality it is called having a colour cast. This happens particularly when taking photographs inside when you have set your white balance to auto.
• Lightness/Darkness - We can alter these aspects to give the picture a more 3D look.
• Black and White - To have a photo in black and white brings out the juxtopositon of light and dark. Shadows become more prominent. For example clouds will look more dramatic. Using black and white focuses attention upon the contents of the photo, it's depth and contrasting shadows.
• Sepia - Using sepia can impart an old fashioned look to your photography. It can give it a feeling of a particular era.
• Digital Manipulation - You might wish at this point to use some digital manipulation. This might be to introduce an new aspect to the topic you have chosen or just to remove or place a new addition to it.

Ways of Displaying your work

Portfolio - It is vital to have a portfolio of your work as it is always at hand and easy to transport. It's an easy way to allow both yourself and your work the greatest exposure. A portfolio is a case with different sections into which you can place your work. It can be large, medium or small depending on your chosen work and can also contain different information on the different photos. It's waterproof, zips up and is easy to carry having a handle. Portfolios can be presented on CD ROM, DVD, Video tape, Websites, Web Gallery as well as the traditional way. You should only include the cream of your work. Make sure that your most excellent photos are at the front and the back with your other really good photos in the middle. This way the examiner will come in on a high and go out on a high.Your portfolio should be targeted for a specific market.

Books - Using online services such as Blurb and Photobox you can have all the tools you need to make your own photographic book. This way you could add other artwork and text if you so desired. With this service you will get bookstore quality printing and binding. You can choose hard cover or soft cover, and an array of sizes. As well as using this service to show your work you can also order in bulk for selling on to whoever you want to.

Handmade/Handprinted Books - For those people who are both artistic and creative they might wish to handprint their photographs and any written work and present them in a handmade book. This could be a book that is handbound in the general way or a book that shows the inventiveness of the photographer.

Vistaprint - This is another online service whereby your photos can be transferred onto calendars, notebooks, postcards, diaries, keyrings, posters, T-Shirts etc.

Framed Prints - It is important to choose frames that will compliment your work. These can then be hung in a exhibition centre or gallery. It is best to keep frames simple so that the emphasis is on your photos. Position of prints on the wall should also be taken into account, for example, do you wish to have one long line of prints, a random display or set in squares etc...

Galleries/Exhibitions - This is a good way to get your work seen by people who maybe come your clients. Exhibitions can take place in Galleries, Art Galleries, Craft Galleries, as a adjunct to an art shop. Libraries will often show peoples work. Ohter places might include Churches, Community rooms, schools, Museums, Village halls and craft shops etc. These are all Grist to the mill. The one drawback about galleries is that it will appeal to people who are already interested into your type of work but not necessarily to the general public who might feel that such places are above them.

Prints - This is one of the main ways of showing your work and these can be displayed in many ways. They can be sold via the internet using websites, blogs, Flikr. Prints can be in various sizes and shapes and can be sold as they are or framed and used in many different ways. They can be printed on many different types of papers such as Glossy or Matt for different effects.

Postcards - These can be a useful tool as an advertisement for the photographer. They can be added to an order of photographs and this remind the client of your work. They cna be used as a freebie that the guests pick up with your details on.

Websites/Blog - Websites are an ideal way to sell your work. Online shopping has become a vast industry and is enjoyed because you can shop from home. You have a market that is world wide rather than local. You can also network with other websites so that people can naturally come to your site. Your advertising strategy is totally personal on a website so that your personality shines through. Blogs are very similar to websites, but are more of a chatty, getting people to know you system which can be linked up to your website. Blogs help to build rapport with individuals that visit and make it easy to build up a fan base.