"Waiting to let go...." is your highest scoring image on DPC. A surreal, almost fantastic scene in a fairly regular neihbourhood. Why do you think this image seemed to strike a chord in people? How did you come up with the composition? Can you explain the significance of the title?
"Waiting to let go...."
Once I was outside smoking and there was this wonderful light snow going on. And the roads were covered with snow without any thread marks or footprints on them. And immediately I got struck with this idea for the "letting go" challenge. I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph: "a man sitting on a stool in the middle of a street with his suitcase". But just as the idea settled in this car drove by and ruined the snow texture and I decided to go ahead with other ideas, because the exact spot I wanted to take the picture in was contaminated.
"Alternative 1"
But about half an hour into taking photos another car drove by and created a stunning 4 evenly spaced thread marks. And I took advantage of the scenario and went ahead with the original shot but this time with the threads included. I wanted to give it a surreal and fantasy feel and I think I achieved this. Grain was as a result of my old camera's capabilities. I wanted it to provoke a strong emotion in people and I think that is precisely what it did and I think that is why people liked this particular image.
"Alternative 2"
Title I think signifies several different things, first the picture implies a waiting for something that is unknown. And it also signifies death, as the man as well be waiting for his final journey since he is obviously in the middle of the road which resembles a suicide scenario. Also it has a contradictory feel because of the darkness conflicting with the white colored snow and I wanted to also make it look mundane in the middle of this strong compostion by giving it a duotone coloration.
My personal favourite of all your images is "Handscapes'. Were you inspired by kiwiness for this shot? Tell us how you achieved such a wonderful piece. What difficulties did you encounter?
"Handscapes"
Yes in fact I was inspired by kiwiness and from his highly creative art. I knew I could produce comparable results because of my photoshop knowledge and I went on a self imposed challenge to see what I can come up with following images are other results of this particular attempt:
Alternative 1
Alternative 2
Alternative 3
Alternative 4
I basically used several different shots and layered them in photoshop and masked them to only reveal the parts that I wanted them to. Layers and layer mask is capable of miracelous results and every digital artist should add this weapon to their arsenal. I already had a pretty good idea on how to achieve this kind of creations and only hard part of it was the tedious time consuming layer masking.
You have shot a few nude/erotic pieces. What do you feel is important with this type of shot? What was your lighting setup for these shots? What advice can you give for people attempting this type of photography?
I have absolutely no experience with nude photography other than those shots in my portfolio. And I had to experiment and learn by my own mistakes. At the time I shoot those pictures I had no studio setup whatsoever so I had to get creative with regular lights that I could find around the house. I think lighting is the single most important element as I realized in these type of photography. Human shape is intriquing as it is and with good lighting and a relatively good eye for composition nude pictures can be eyecandies. I think what I am trying to say is when you have a good subject for nude photography it is hard to go wrong.
Some of your recent pictures, that have been heavily modified in photoshop, are really some exceptional work. I'm sure a lot of people would like to know how you achieved this, can you share a few secrets?
"Nude Complexity"
"Wood Riding Hood"
Surely I can: let me explain the process I have gone through to create "Nude Complexity" in brief.
There is a nude picture I have taken.. I have started off with that image.. I copied it into a new layer and blended with overlay.. I brought in 4 different high resolution textures I have found.. I have put them in each seperate layer with different blending modes.. mostly color burn and overlay.
I embossed one of the textures and added as a multiply layer and adjusted the layers only to show shadowed areas.. This gives it a nice 3d look in the cracks.. I have layer masked all the layers and only let the parts show that I wanted in each layer.. and adjusted levels curves and hue in each layer.. After that flatened image. Cloned out imperfections and one more levels and curves and hue adjustment. I added a sepia filter as the last touch and sharpened it.. and experimentation with different layer blending options and layer masks is what is necessary to achieve a nice looking effect.
What has been the hardest image to photograph, out of all of your entries on DPC? Why?
"Waiting to let go..."
It has to be "Waiting to let go..."
It was 3 oclock in the morning and it was freezing and as I explained on a previous question the cars kept coming through it, but I did not yield and got it done and I feel very happy with that picture.
Please go through the composition of "Disproportional Strength".
"Disproportional Strength"
It is my hand pushing against my 7 year old niece's hand. It was meant to create a opposition in the picture. Like strong vs weak or old vs young. It was a pain in the neck to get her to pose and that is what I remember most about that picture:)
Where did you get the idea for "Light Bender"? How hard was the lighting to set up in this? Did you have any other difficulties?
"Light Bender"
I always am fascinated with shadows. I just used a candle for lighting and since I used the self timer, timing was the most difficult part of it.
Can you explain the post editing in pictures like "Self-conflict", "Handman", "Birdy" and "Headman"?
"Self Conflict"
I got several different shots of my face and my hands and my back, after analyzing them I picked the best ones and combined them into one using layers and layer masks in photoshop. levels, hue/saturation adjustments were done after flattening the image.
"Handman"
This is done very similarly to the self conflict, different photos were blended in photoshop using layers and layer masks. layer masks allow only a portion of the image on that layer to be visible. and layer mask can be used just as a canvas whch you paint on. black areas block white areas reveal.
"Birdy"
I cropped to get closer to the bird in the frame, I used hue and saturation to make it sephia and dodged, burned and sharpened. and also I used shadow highlights in photoshop cs to bring out some detail in dark areas.
"Headman"
I basically layered 2 photographs on top of another using layer masks. and erased my body in one layer by coloring that part of the picture black in layer mask.
Some of your most expressive work is in your collection of portraits. Do you use a delayed camera time for self portraits? What do you aim for in particular when composing a portrait? What advice would you give to anyone attempting portrait photography?
I absolutely love portraits. I enjoy every second of taking a portrait whether it is a self portrait or not. I usually use timer when taking self portraits. I try to capture a striking expression or a mood in portraits, but I think human face makes for interesting photos in any state it is in. Lighting I think is the key element when taking portraits. And experimentation with lighting should bring the interesting results.
If you would like to explain any more of your images in more depth, please feel free.
I generally like to hear what other people think of my work rather than trying to explain what I feel about it. I think it is one of the most fun parts of being a photographer is to listen to what everyone else has to say about your work. Photography or any art for that matter is for expressing one's self and expression without a recipient is a wasted thing in my opinion. That is why I care what others think about my work and I indulge when they praise and I learn when they critique. |