The Finished Product

Earlier in my blog I made a post about a project I contributed to called Axiski. The product is well in production and currently being sold in stores all across the UK. I got my hands on my own personal copy, which is also the only one in the world of this colour and effect.

I was quite surprised at the durability of the skiboard. It's extremely sturdy and also lightweight, which means it'll be perfect for kids to have fun in the snow with. The upper side is also very grippy, so you won't go slipping off it. I can't wait to test it out myself!

My contributions are the figures on the packaging, the front and back of the attached tag, the circular design on the board itself, the slogan, as well as the brand logo. Here are some unpacking shots:

Somewhere In-between

Today was very busy and unfortunately I had to miss college, which meant that I hadn't had the usual Wednesday afternoon time to work on my observational drawing. All day long the door kept on ringing with various packages, including the one which kept me at home; the fridge. In between I found myself opening goods, researching Robert Mapplethorpe and FINALLY doing comparisons between the set of filters I bought a while back.

The sun was out all day and there was a pretty nice moody sky. Sadly from the side window, a lot of that was missed but with a Tripod, I was able to set up a small test composition for the purpose of testing the effects of coloured filters with black & white photography. 

All of the following shots were taken at F/8, ISO 100 and 1/5th sec with an exposure bias of +1 to make it a fair test. No increase of contrast was used. I should also note that while it shouldn't be, quality is degraded during the computer to internet transition.

The first shot was taken using the Blue Filter. Because of this being the darkest colour, everything appears dark as a result. I do feel that it makes the setting look more moody but at the same time, can turn a bright sunny day into a boring Sunday afternoon. One thing that does seem to stand out more are the sheep.

The next was using the Green Filter. In this one, everything is a light brighter but at the same time, most areas seem to take on "near" tones with each other. This to me lacks contrast but I think it works well for bringing out features that are otherwise overpowered by green (for example, the tree trunks)

The following is with the Orange Filter. I think in relation to the Green, it's a little darker but also with less contrast. The same cannot be said however for the grass that is further away, which appears to be somewhat lighter. While there isn't a huge difference between the two, the thing that stands out most is the light hitting the branches on the trees, which are clearly more defined.

The next is with the Yellow Filter. This one seems to be a little bit more balanced. The grass is similar in tone, whereas the darker areas remain dark. The lighter colours seem to have been almost drowned out and are harder to separate with the surrounding colours.

Finally, is the Red Filter. The first thing that strikes me with this is how the edge of the clouds has become quite sharp. This didn't make much sense to me so I did actually take another shot to see if it was random, it wasn't. I can't really explain why that would happen but I'm guessing it has something to do with flattening the tones in the sky into one. That seems to be true for the rest of the image in certain areas. The grass looks quite flat and darker tones appear to be more gray and have less contrast. I think a secondary test needs to happen sometime, maybe on a MUCH brighter day.

I think to most people, all of these images will probably look the same and the "why bother?" question may arise. I think it's important to get the exact sort of contrast in an image, without having to depend on later techniques. In todays age of post-processing and RAW images, filters become less useful because any effect they give can be replicated digitally and more often than not, better. For Film Photography, I think they are crucial because apart from editing exposure, you can't really do physically what Photoshop or Lightroom can do digitally.

Here is a comparison of all the different filters side by side, to show just how much of a difference it makes.

Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow and Red.

Alexa Meade

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was really cool how she painted real life people into a scene, to the point where they no longer look real but part of the surrounding. It doesn't relate to any of my units but I really wanted to share it because it's worth the look!

The full article can be seen here

Pretty Pleased

After a few portfolio days, I finally finished my observational drawing of Lucinda. I feel that I put a lot of time and effort into this but looking at it now, I think I could have done more with the facial features; which are definitely a weakness of mine. Something else which I find difficult is toning very dark colours. The boots seemed to work great because of the way that leather shines and reflects, but the cardigan I found to be a little trickier when balancing light, dark and shadow. Even so, I would consider it my best hand rendered drawing of a person so far. I fear that my slower approach to drawing will be a disadvantage when it comes to quick life drawing, though the exercise could definitely prove beneficial in furthering ability.

Later on, we had to cut our renditions of classmates out and mount them on the wall in a composition. For some reason, the concept of "smaller = further away" wasn't at first grasped, which lead to a difference in opinion. At that moment in time, I chose to stay out of it and see what the class came up with. The first result was all a little messy and due to odd placements, made one or two of the drawings appear to be out of place. It also didn't help that tables/chairs were missing, which threw off the structure. The final composition worked a lot better and it seemed that everybody was on the same page. A few late comers added in their work and personally I feel that the composition may need to be tweaked some. Overall, it was interesting to see how the different sizes and styles worked in relation to each other.

The following image is what the second composition looked like. I thought I had taken one of the final layout but it appears that I didn't. Perhaps I'll try and get a shot of it tomorrow.

Edit: The final composition is below. Kindly borrowed from Lucinda.

Feedback is always...fun

After posting the portraits from my previous post around a few photography forums, I have had a lot of mixed feedback, mostly negative, which I had expected. I didn't however expect people to be disgusted or even horrified by the results and it just goes to show how simple minded some people can be. I can understand that the images are not very appealing or pretty but this was known prior to taking the shots. Art shouldn't always have to be visually appealing and I feel in ways that getting a negative reaction to these, is more satisfying than joe public saying they're "nice". If an image disturbs you, then that has affected you in some way which in turn, gives the piece additional legibility. If someone doesn't like my work just because it's not pretty, then that's an opinion I don't care for. Least that's my take.

Here are a few of the quotes:

"Personally, they look like S**t"

"they look too made up, not real"

"In the current days of photoshopping, it's nice to see a reverse approach."

"I find them a bit unsettling and I don't scare easily."

"I think it's quite interesting to see what our eyes don't normally see."

"They don't look healthy... was that the intent?"

"Even though they look unrealistic, they also emphasize our natural appearance, which I find to be quite beautiful."

Numerous times I've had to explain that these portraits are not done in a negative fashion, nor was anything physically added to alter each persons appearance. Simply put, I removed the blue light in the image which enhanced certain areas. Yes, this made pores and cracks much more prominent but they are something that already exists. It was risky yes, but art is all about pushing the boundaries. It would be no different if I had used a modified camera that only takes in UV light, a persons appearance would be completely different to what they had expected. 

Though, I have no intention of offending people and I think in the future I'd probably stray from using the technique. I do however, think it may work on other subjects because it has a sort of HDR feel to it, so it could be interesting to see what details can be pulled out from environmental scenes. 

Who knows though, my approach on a different technique could one day get me noticed, for the better or for the worse. Getting a strong feeling of disgust from somebody in regard to photography, that's quite a powerful reaction.

Trying Jeffries

On Wednesday I took my camera into college with the hope of getting some portraits to try and replicate the style in the previous post. I didn't really feel that comfortable asking people to take their photo, so in the end I only managed to get 4 people to agree. I told them prior that I didn't really want them to smile and that I'd prefer just a regular expression or whatever felt comfortable to them. I also explained that the end result would not be pretty and the purpose wasn't to be looked upon negative. I didn't have long to take each shot as class was starting and my ring flash is quite bright, so I didn't want to blind the people by keeping it on.

I spent quite a few hours trying to figure out how to match or come close to Lee Jeffries style. I found it quite hard because I got results that were too harsh or results that were very far off the mark. In the end I developed a process that seems to work on every shot, regardless of lighting.

First I opened up the unedited RAW image and duplicated the layer so I had two of the same. The bottom layer was converted to standard black and white, whereas the top layer was converted to black and white but using the "High Contrast Blue Filter" setting. This is supposed to mimic the use of a Blue Filter in Black & White Photography, it also enhances pores and other features. Because the emphasis of these images is on the eyes, I removed the eyes from the top layer so that the regular eyes remained. This was due to the blue filter sometimes making the eyes completely black, which gave more of a demonic look. After some editing of levels and curves, I blurred the non-facial areas to give more depth and sharpened the rest of the face. Unfortunately, I had opted to use my 50mm lens, which isn't as sharp as my 40mm, so results would definitely of varied; something to take note of in the future. The final step was to crop to a square format, which cuts out a lot of unnecessary space and draws you in on the subject.

The first shot was of Ellie, which I think turned out quite well. I don't however think it captured her personality and in a way I feel the image is quite blank and doesn't say much. That's just my opinion though and I'm sure somebody else may think differently.

The second was of Lucinda and I feel that out of the four images I took, this one worked the best. This year I have spent a lot of time with her and to me, I really believe that her intensity and personality was sealed in the following. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out and the only thing I would change would be to reshoot it steadier.

Rosie had kindly allowed me to take her photo and this turned out a lot different because of the room. The previous images were shot in our secondary classroom which had no lights on and the blinds down. This was so Ellie could do a little light painting with her Laser Pointer. The only light source was my direct Ring Flash and the cloudy, dull light from the back windows. The following shot was taken in the larger room, which was overflowing with light. Not only was my own light source present, but there were the large windows behind Rosie as well as the overhead lights. This gave an interesting result and led to a lot more facial features being brought out. I think lighting-wise, it's the best out of the 4. I also feel that even though the image is in semi-harsh tones, it does give off a sense of warmth which relates well with Rosie and her personality. 

So that was my experiment with this style of portraiture. I should add that it's pretty much the first time I've taken portraits and while the results aren't what you'd call pretty, I think as a means of testing a look/technique, they came out better than expected. I would like to test this using black and white film and a blue filter to see what results I get without editing, though I don't think this will happen due to a lack of time and resources.

I should also add that it appears that Blogger crippled the image quality during upload, so some areas look blurry and odd.

Additional equipment used: Polaroid Macro LED Ring Flash

Edit: I have found out that this is more closer to the technique known as "Dragan", as opposed to Jeffries style that has a lot more manual work done to each photo. I also have no idea why some of the images turn sepia once clicked? That's random.

Edit2: Fixed quality issue by uploading images to imgur.

Lee Jeffries

There is a style of portrait photography that I've really wanted to try out and while it does involve quite a bit of post-processing, I feel that it severely adds more depth to the initial shot, which is a base for the final photograph. I've seen people doing this style before, but I was to yet find out who.

Today while going back to see if I could find out more, I came across Lee Jeffries who is a British Photographer that makes amazing use of this technique. By adjusting contrasts in his images, he brings out so much clarity, which greatly enhances detail and is further boosted by sharpening. This appeals to me because I love capturing detail with photography. I think his work is beautiful and it reflects the subject matter incredibly well, emphasizing the harsh reality of homeless life.

These are a few examples from his "Portraits of the Homeless" series. I really want to try something similar and I think it will be quite fun trying to replicate his style.

Regarding the technique: It appears that he is making use of natural lighting and maybe one or two additional soft lights. I can't tell if he uses a digital or film camera for this but it's certain digital editing is done afterwards. It might be a good idea to try both and see which yields better results. Definitely one for the Sketchbook!

Further pieces of his work can be found at http://500px.com/LeeJeffries

Testing Orange

Today I went out with the sole purpose of testing an Orange Filter (screw on) with Black & White Photography. As much as I love spending time editing my photos, lately I've been trying to get away from that and take on a more natural approach. That doesn't mean I won't do that in the future, I just want to see if I can actually achieve that. I took over 100 shots but these are the only ones that came out to my liking. 

A typical Orange Filter. I used a 58mm one with an adapter for a 52mm threaded lens.

I discovered through this test that the light meter within the camera was slightly off and I was getting mixed results. I decided that to get an even set of shots, to over-compensate the exposure by two positive stops and see how that worked. It helped give a little bit more light, especially as it was looking like it was about to rain. All shots were taken using Monochrome settings with maximum contrast. I never use anything but manual mode.

The first shot was taken in the garage before I left town, the reason I took it is pretty self explanatory.

f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO 400

The next was taken on a quiet country road. I say quiet but 3 cars passed before I could even get the composition I wanted. I like how the road just disappears into a flat surface and you're left wondering where it carries on. Also, the sky at that moment in time reminded me of a big tidal wave that was slowly creeping upon the land.

f/3.5, 1/125 sec, ISO 200

There are many fields of sheep around the countryside of the borders but this one caught my eye due to the Rams. I really liked how they were grouped up together, it made for an easy composition. I don't usually like things that are centered but seeing as this is below centered, it worked. The only let down is that I wish I had taken a zoom lens with me because I would of loved to have gotten some closer shots. The Ram second to far right was just frozen looking at me the whole time, so I definitely would of had time if I had brought the right equipment.

f/3.5, 1/125 sec, ISO 800

This statue was upon a hill and behind a fence, so I had to do a little bit of hiking to reach it. Thankfully I'd come prepared with the appropriate boots. I took various angles of the statue but nothing really stood out to me. I liked this angle best because the light is directly facing the right side of the stone and the trees add to making him stand out more. The only thing I didn't like was the intensity of the light, so I had to try and balance between having a bright statue and bright trees or having a dark statue and dark trees. I forgot to take a note of who this actually was.

Edit: It is James Hogg, a Border Poet.

F/3.2, 1/80 sec, ISO 400

As I was walking back, I saw a lot of wild mushrooms and this one had been snapped, maybe by my careless walking or someone else. I didn't want to just shoot it in the grass it was laying because grass quite frankly, is boring. I moved it to a nearby rock that was covered in a subtle moss. I believed the extra detail in the rock went well with the underside of the mushroom and helped bring out the contrast.

F/3, 1/160 sec, ISO 800

Driving along at regular speed, I had to think twice to what I'd just seen. I wasn't sure at first, so I went back. Somebody had sellotaped an inflatable saxophone to a gate. The complete random nature of it made the decision of shooting it for me. Funnily enough, the Saxophone was bright orange but because of the filter, it had turned closer to white. If this had been a colour image and turned to b/w in post-processing, the result would be very different.

f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO 800

Slightly further down from the Saxophone was an area where walking down to the edge of the water was possible. I didn't want to get a shot that just went water > scenery > sky because I've tried that before. I found this little corner where a broken bank and stream ran into the loch and I feel it added a sense of depth in regard to the scale of the loch. 

f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO 800

Capturing motion is something I really like because it fits into the category of detail that is otherwise missed. The following image is a composition of two shots because on their own, they don't really work. I really like how the second water splash has a hole in it where the skimmed stone jumped back up out of the water. One thing I was unhappy about at this time was how the light was really starting to dim. I had to push up to ISO 3200, which started making grain more visible.

F/2.8, 1/800 sec, ISO 3200

Ideally, I want to try this on a sunny day, where I don't have to worry about pushing the cameras sensor due to bad lighting. I also aim to test the effects of the other colours of filter and see how black and white responds to them. I think for quick purposes, a small home-studio setup may be the best bet.

A Different World

Yesterday we were sent across to the High Mill for a little workshop revolving around textiles. It was nice to get out and try something different but I can't really say that the later techniques were something I enjoyed. The tutor was really nice and the people were very friendly. Stacey was a great help and it was interesting hearing about her own projects. 

I first tried screen printing, which having done it before came naturally. I liked the idea of combining nails and the "Peace Sign". For some reason I was thinking of Pink Floyd at the time. It didn't turn out so bad but the colour scheme was disgusting, hence sticking the image in black and white through phone image-processing.

The second technique was by screen printing a substance (can't remember the name) over the material, waiting for it to dry and then going over it with an Iron. The point of this was to puff up the material to form a raised surface. I did this over a dried screen print, thinking it'd look cool but in the end it just looked like one of those really cheap t-shirt prints that cracks after 2 washes. The black and orange gradient I had previously printed pretty much disappeared completely.

Lastly, the same process was used as before but instead of it puffing up the surface, it removed fibers in the material and left a semi-transparent design. A different type of material was used due to the structure of the cloth, it wouldn't work on the previous type of material. I didn't like this technique but I can see how it could be used for table cloths or similar.

One thing I did notice when first entering this building was it's sheer size and the equipment. They had huge working spaces per person and everything you need to screen print. For example: An exposure machine, quick drying racks and even a spray room to quickly clean the screens. I was actually annoyed with how much resources this place had in comparison to our art department, which practically has nothing. I know there is a difference between University and College, but this big? Unfortunately, that's how the system goes and is unlikely to ever be changed.

So that's basically how that morning went. While I did have insight into some otherwise unknown processes, I personally didn't find the workshop to be that beneficial. I did however find it interesting what another girl was doing, using a magnetic technique of spraying metallic fibers into a design. 

Overall, it's definitely a wonderful place suited for Textile and Fashion Students.

Drawing Classmates

Today was actually pretty cool. We started off by trying to draw each other using the same technique we practiced last week with the hands. This time it was more of a challenge because we had to hold the clear perspex up and draw at the same time. I had trouble with it because my hands kept on shaking but I tried my best to minimize that. I found that keeping my right eye closed enabled me to keep a pretty tight view on my subject, so my proportions came out fairly accurate.

After using the projector, I did notice that a lot of my initial sketch was way off, so I spent a lot of time tidying it up. Many areas still need work but I'm really pleased with the result. Humans are one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to drawing, so I think I made a positive step forward with today's lesson.

This is just a progress shot on what I currently have. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time in class for me to finish it (mostly because I try and take my time) so I'll be finishing it at home for next week. I'm actually looking forward to working on it this weekend and thankful for having my phone back so I have an accurate photo to work from.

Slightly enhanced the contrast for web viewing! I'll try and darken the appropriate areas when I've filled in the rest of the tone!

Hands!

Today was quite interesting and as a class, we were presented with a new approach to drawing from life. The process was to take a piece of clear PVC and using markers, draw onto clear projector sheets whilst positioning our hands underneath. It sounds tricky but it wasn't really. The hardest part was keeping still because the slightest change could screw up the drawings proportions. I found that taking the suggestion of closing one eye really helped with maintaining accuracy. After we had finished drawing onto the clear sheets, they were then projected onto A2 paper and then traced. 

This was my initial outline sketch of my hand after it had been projected. Just basic lines with no toning.

The next step was to add in tone and what made that difficult was the ever changing light source from in and outside the room. I found that the hand position I had chosen wasn't particularly great when it came to harsh shadows, which would of made things a little easier. Another problem I was having was with the creases in the skin. I think my drawing gave the impression of a hand that was much older than mine.

By the end of the day, this is what I finished with. It was pointed out that the palm lacked a curve which would of added further depth to the drawing. I hadn't considered it at the time due to the "flat" lighting in the afternoon, though looking at it afterwards I can definitely see that further work needs to be done on it.

Overall, I liked how class went today and it was pretty awesome to try something new even if I didn't get spectacular results. I am pretty pleased with how my drawing turned out but I think I'll be more content with it once I've made some revisions. Definitely a positive experience and I do believe that things like this couldn't happen if we didn't have the entire day devoted to observational drawing.