Reflections on NM4210
18 years ago
The New World Order- Technique used: photo montage + photoshop layer alteration
The montage is made up of 4 photos. The female character, the piler alike tool, skyscrapers, sun. They crop, altered (using eraser, blur, smudge, liquidify, layer type alteration, healing tools etc.)
- Expression: As mentioned in prototype 1, the concept of 'urban' (be it fantasy or phenomenon) is all about capitalism. And through this ideology the rich get richer while the poor will seemingly get poorer because they were unable to catch up with the rich. And by the term rich, it's not just in economic terms but in terms of power to exercise control over the rest of the people. I always believe that one day I will find out that the whole world is eventually controlled by ONE person. As I grow older and get to learn more things, I realised that huge conglomerates are affiliated, which thus led me to believe in the conspiracy theory of New World Order. Another belief I have was that the world was originally a matriarchal world but the men managed to snatch it from the women and to keep themselves in power, they oppress the women.
Thus, in the photomontage, the female is removed of all her important senses i.e. hearing and sight, to present a sense of helplessness. Other than being able to breathe, the only thing she owns is her mouth. But it is being control by the power, which is represented by the pilers that force open her mouth. And the skycrapers in her mouth symbolises urbanization. So in this sense, urbanization is a kind of forced development that is controlled by the power to maintain/gain more power.
Initially, I wanted to add cranes/construction work on the character's hair. But it was too tough to photoshop the cranes nicely. So they were removed. Other than that, the eyes of the protagonist were in tact, but I felt that the sense of oppressiveness and surrealism is not strong enough. So i removed the eyes and the brows that hints of facial expressions to objectify and distort the human body parts.
Class Critique:
- Disturbing but not morbid enough
- Doesn't really show helplessness
- Suggestions:
The montage is made up of 4 photos. The female character, the piler alike tool, skyscrapers, sun. They crop, altered (using eraser, blur, smudge, liquidify, layer type alteration, healing tools etc.)
- Expression: As mentioned in prototype 1, the concept of 'urban' (be it fantasy or phenomenon) is all about capitalism. And through this ideology the rich get richer while the poor will seemingly get poorer because they were unable to catch up with the rich. And by the term rich, it's not just in economic terms but in terms of power to exercise control over the rest of the people. I always believe that one day I will find out that the whole world is eventually controlled by ONE person. As I grow older and get to learn more things, I realised that huge conglomerates are affiliated, which thus led me to believe in the conspiracy theory of New World Order. Another belief I have was that the world was originally a matriarchal world but the men managed to snatch it from the women and to keep themselves in power, they oppress the women.
Thus, in the photomontage, the female is removed of all her important senses i.e. hearing and sight, to present a sense of helplessness. Other than being able to breathe, the only thing she owns is her mouth. But it is being control by the power, which is represented by the pilers that force open her mouth. And the skycrapers in her mouth symbolises urbanization. So in this sense, urbanization is a kind of forced development that is controlled by the power to maintain/gain more power.
Initially, I wanted to add cranes/construction work on the character's hair. But it was too tough to photoshop the cranes nicely. So they were removed. Other than that, the eyes of the protagonist were in tact, but I felt that the sense of oppressiveness and surrealism is not strong enough. So i removed the eyes and the brows that hints of facial expressions to objectify and distort the human body parts.
Class Critique:
- Disturbing but not morbid enough
- Doesn't really show helplessness
- Suggestions:
- make a clean cut of the eyes instead of soft blurry cut
- leave the face just dig out the eyes/erase the eyes/cover the eyes
- stick needles in her eyes
- make the lips red so that the pilers can remain in its color and be the center focus, then the eyes can have more manipulation
the capitalist society
- Technique used: photo montage + bit of photogram via Photoshop layer alteration
4 photos were used i.e. water wheel with escalator background, mannequin x3
- Expression: The word 'urban' to me has a very strong capitalism notion to it. And to me capitalism is about how it feeds on consumerism to survive. Thus there are mannequins, consumers and escalators to represent consumerism, and the water wheel to represent capitalism. Surrealism to me is about distortion of images in a morbid fashion and involves the objectification of the body, thus emphasis has been placed on certain body parts of the mannequin.
- Self critique: After completing it, it seems rather complicated to me. Not really something I really wanted to express. And I felt that it is not morbid and surrealistic enough. So watch out for prototype 2! I shall attempt Bavari's style. And come up with new ideas! What else does urban phenomenon/fantasy mean to me?? ....
Idea (1): Myth of Fairy Tales
- Always had this idea that fairy tales are gothic and shouldn't be for children.
- E.g. In Snow white there is a Witch that gives Poison Apple (concept of evil-ness, death, murder), and Prince Charming Kissing Snow White (concept of romance, love, sex)
- Thought there is nothing innocent about fairy tales.
- Fairy tales is a concept that is very surrealistic in nature.
- Thus photomontage of fairy tale character i.e. red riding hood, in a urban setting (skyscrapers at the back) with dense forest/trees in the foreground. Photo manipulation of shadow that looks like a wolf. Mannequins planted like scarecrow amongst the trees to represent consumerism, capitalism...
Idea (2): The Capitalist Society
- People are like hamsters working and running on the wheel to produce energy etc.: thus photo of water wheel/flyer to represent the wheel.
- Superimposed with escalators, mannequins etc. to represent consumerism/capitalism.
- Consumers are trapped in the society: add in bird cage
- But trapped or not is a idea/matter of perception, relativism: add in concept of optial illusion, superimpose escalators in upside down manner...
After some thoughts, thought that idea 2 is more workable then 1. Can't get ideas how to present/act as red riding hood etc...
Chair by David Hockney
I thought that this style of montage is very interesting. Although the actual object is being distorted, yet one can see very clearly what the object is. It's compelling to me because I didn't know that montage could be done this way and it somehow evoke a kind of disturbed feeling. Maybe because I have the urge to rearrange the photos because it's distorted. Haha. But it provides a feeling of: there is more than meets the eye, because of the layering. One may start wondering just how many layers is involved here? But to link this to surrealism I guess color distortion is needed to strengthen the disturbed feeling and more elements to be manipulated, lets say give the pigeon at the corner of the montage 2 heads etc.
Tryptichon:
Destruction of a Hero and Construction of the Man
by Alessandro Bavari
Summarizing the story of the artwork:
This is actually a 3 part series staged photography, photomontage and manipulation work. It attempts to portray the fragility of men on one hand, and a men who can "hold a mountain on one finger" with the will to attain power, to survive and restort to the use of violence. "The symbolic statements rely entirely on body images with the concept that men's body may mirror even more than the face" that is thought to be an essential part of human biography.
http://www.alessandrobavari.com
Alessandro Bavari, 2001:
When I realized TRYPTICHON, deconstruction of a Hero and reconstruction of the Man, I painted once more a human body without face, being its absence (subrogated by the fragments of the head of a statue) not a synonymous of anonymity but the magnification of an anti-individualistic ideal, aimed to representing the man in his whole universality. In TRYPTICHON the absolute protagonist is a vital body, impetuous and vibrant, that just like a sculpture is dismembered and reassembled, becoming the allegory of the history of mankind. This body will get to temper its own exuberance transforming into a sublime and transcendental object, but at the same time fragile and unstable, in which the balance of body and soul is kept by a thin rope tied to a twig, and the balance of mind and knowledge is counter balanced by a head held in the palm of a hand, with the awareness that this will be an equilibrium forever unstable and swinging, on the edge of the infinite abyss of the eternity.
My thoughts:
I have always love morbid stuffs. Haha. So When I came across Bavari's artwork I was filled with awe. I wondered how he actually photoshoped the images to give that dramatic curves and color effects, and is impressed with the content of his work that is disturbing and morbid. To me surrealism is like his artwork. It involves the objectification of living things esp. human body parts and present them not in horrific way but in a beautiful yet very disturbing manner. Surrealism to me, is the opening up an window for imagination and presenting realistic issues in a dreamy and unrealistic way. Yet this unrealistic way provides a clear critique of reality. So yeps, I am more into veristic surrealism.
CNM NM4212 Seminar Class
Class Critique:
- Underexposed, be careful of classroom lighting
- Better if more context is added i.e. capturing the students too
- Try adjusting the curves of the image to add in depth and improve on the lighting
Class Critique:
- Good group photo
- Informative, with lecturer in the background, shows group discussion
Class Critique:
- Nice 3/4 profile of girl
Class Critique:
- Informative photo (shows the context and actions)
Newly Added:
- Found that it's a nice portrait of the girl and there is present of context etc.
- Girl looks pretty expressive too.
- Need to edit/adjust the white balance (blue-ish looking)
Selection based on:
1) In focus
2) Context of what the class is about must be captured
3) Practical use (not to be artistic, given that the photos are to be used for brochures/publications)
Challenges/Thoughts/Lessons learnt:
1) Lighting! During the time when the shots are taken, hadn't learn about white balance. If taken into consideration, perhaps less editing is needed.
2) Finding the right moment. A need to be opportunist with FAST reaction.
3) Taking clear/in focus photos is a great challenge in classroom setting. Exceptionally high number of blur shots! Guess because of the lighting in class, the hands must be extra steady, with fast shutter speed (need adjust ISO to make sure photo is not underexposed too). Once a shot is blur, the moment may passed. Need to practice more to reduce the chances of getting blur shots.
Metering
Spot Metering 
1/1250, F7.1, ISO400, 70mm
Multi-metering
1/320, F5.6, ISO320, 200mm
Center Metering
1/200, F5.6, ISO400, 300mm
Zoom
1', F18, ISO100, 35mm
1', F5.6, ISO400, 75mm
Sensor Latitude
High Key
1/60, F5.6, ISO100, 18mm
Class Critique:
- Not considered high key
- Should loose details i.e. clouds in the sky, due to (on purpose) overexposure
- Yet still be able to see the context of the photo
Low Key
1/8, F5.6, ISO400, 70mm
Class Critique:
- Not considered low key
- Not dark enough
*Note to self: high key and low key is not just about the histogram leaning on either side! It involves under/over exposing the photo.
Perspective
1/60, F3.5, ISO200, 18mm
1/60, F7.1, ISO400, 18mm
1/3200, F5.6, ISO400, 18mm
Class Critique:
- Very nice composition
- But in terms of technical aspect, there is a need to cut of more of the sky and move closer to the building to further elongate the building
Close Up
1/20, F5.6, ISO400, 300mm
Class Critique:
- 'Correct' close up photo
- Close up enough
Symbolic of the Sun
1/800, F5.6, ISO100, 140mm
Selection based on:
1) Fulfilling the technical aspect
2) Composition
3) Different angles to look at things (perspective)
Challenges/Thoughts/Lessons learnt:
1) Collecting a variety of photos. Based on previous assignment experiences, I tried to take things from different angles and attempt to have a wide variety of things. But it is super tedious having to travel around on a good (HOT) weather. Almost died!! But well it's pretty worth it. Managed to collect pretty good range of photos.
2) Zoom shots. Didn't managed to get them right till revisiting the techniques at a later stage. But after getting it, it is fun because it is using the camera to manipulate the image and lights instead of the usual photoshop-ing.
3) Concept development. This challenge is mostly referring to symbolic of the sun photo. Had been thinking of it since the assignment was released. Realised that concept is one thing and being to find and capture the image is another, in the case of straight photography.
4) High and low key shots. Had a misconception that it is all about the histogram and black/grey/white scale. Need to try out on over and underexposing things in a nice way....
Tips on high/low key photography:
http://www.photographyicon.com/highlowkey/index.html
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Z91nBDaZO_kC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=elements+of+high+key+photography&source=web&ots=SQOrQ9vEDs&sig=_yv5HljQ20WhhLwgqcFW4FoJKVg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result
P.S: Found a new way to present my album. Enjoy~ You can view it at full screen even. =)
Mini Research: *Zoom shots tips*
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/using-the-zoom-effect/
Freeze Motion
1/160, F8, ISO400
1/160, F8, ISO400
Self Critique:
- Rather flat composition due to taking the side profile of the Merlion. (Didn't realise it on the spot though...)
Motion Blur
1/8, F36, ISO400
Self Critique:
- Similar problem with freeze motion. Great if the weather is good. Definitely needs a retake with the clear blue sky! And of course from a different angle.
Shallow DoF
1/125, F5.6, ISO250
Class Critique:
- White against white background is interesting
- But may cause the subject to lose it's attention
Deep DoF
1/20, F20, ISO400
Panning
1/80, F5.6, ISO250
Motion Blur
1/8, F5.6, ISO800
Photo selection:
1) Based on portrayal clarity of the technique
2) Composition
3) In focus shots
Challenges:
- Weather!! (LUCK...)
- Panning shots are a killer. I stood there and tried till I gave up and it started to rain just then...
- Keeping hands steady in the event of the absence of the tripod.
Thoughts/lessons learnt:
It's great to learn how to manipulate the amount of light going into the camera and all the different technical components of the camera. Upon uploading the photos I realised I spend too much time trying to perfect a shot then trying out new perspectives. Thus important notes to self: Try to take from different angles! Capture what the eyes cannot usually see! Will add more interesting elements to the photos and to prevent them from looking dead flat! Patience, patience, patience~ A need to wait for the right opportunity to capture the right moment (learnt from airport motion blur pic).
Individual Album:
Mini Research: *Panning shots tips*
- use tripod
- set at shutter priority (1/15 for biker or slow moving vehicles; 1/30 or 1/60 for faster ones)
- lock in focus (half press)
- place yourself at the composition you want
- follow through the object till it is in front (the composition you want)
- full press
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Camera-panning
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/mastering-panning-to-photograph-moving-subjects/
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The End … ?18 years ago
