Surreal Layering

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I am pleased with the way these pieces turned out. The first piece, the water piece, is my favourite as I think it fits well with the overplayed image. I like the way the duller colours within the forest contrast with the brighter blues within the water. I am pleased with the way the surreal element is brought out with the model walking on the water as well as the water running through the middle of the forest. This work was inspired by works by Merve Ozaslan by combining the idea of people and nature. Ideally I would have taken more photos to be able to work with and experimented with more combinations. If I were to continue or redo this project I would try and make the process a bit neater as well as experimenting with various overlays and a stronger contrast in shades such as monochrome and colour or using photoshop to adjust the levels and saturation. I would also try and increase the contrast between the two subjects such as overlaying a city scene over water which would add more of a surreal element to the pieces. 

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Emulation: Take Two

When reviewing how my original emulation turned out, I decided to try and redo the emulations again to try and achieve a better result. When I redo the shoot, I will try and match the colours more accurately to create a more realistic image. 

Emulation Take Two Images (BELOW)

Personal Project

For my personal project I am going to experiment with pouring paint and ink into water and capturing the colourful clouds and mixtures that are formed.

I have looked at artist Mark Mawson as he has used this technique. His images are created by pouring varieties of paint and ink slowly into water. 

Mark Mawson

Own Photos

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Emulation Photoshoot

Artist Work

Own Work

Vanessa Mckeown

Stephen Mckmennamy

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Emulation Plan

For this emulation, I will use an empty starburst packet and some sugar stars sprinkles to spread out of the packet.

For the first emulation on this page, I will take a photo of a swiss army knife and then take separate photos of various tools. I will then use photoshop to arrange and place the tools in the correct place on the swiss army knife to make it look as realistic as possible whilst maintaing the element of surrealism. 

With the second emulation on the page, I will first photograph a light bulb and then I will experiment with taking several photos of cracked eggs. I will then use photoshop to combine two halves together to create the overall surreal effect.

Camera Functions

Free lensing

Free lensing is considered the inexpensive way of producing a tilt shift effect with added natural light leaks. You disconnect the lens from your camera body and essentially just hold/position it in front of the camera. This changes the focus plane and allows for a tilt shift like effect to come out in the photo.

HDR

High dynamic range is a technique used to create a greater dynamic range than is possible with standard techniques. It aims to create similarities to what the human eye can see in everyday life. The human eye constantly adjusts to the changes in our environment and the brain is continuously interpreting it so people can see in a wide range of light conditions. 

The use of AV and TV

AV (aperture value) is aperture priority on the camera. If your camera is set to AV it will automatically prioritise aperture and shutter speed will adjust accordingly based on the amount of light to get the right exposure. 
TV is shutter priority. It is essentially the same as AV but the variables are switched around so you manually change your shutter speed to the desired value and your camera will automatically adjust the aperture. 

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Review of Unit One

I started off the unit with my theme of surrealism. I think that throughout my blog this theme has remained consistent. Before I came to the conclusion of the idea for my final piece was decided later on in my project. Originally, I completed some development and looked at exploring cyanotypes. I also took to experimenting with analogue photography which I then continued to use through to my final. Approaching my mock exam, I came across a few artists, such as Charlotte Caron, who experimenting with paint along with photography. I liked this idea and for my mock, I experimented with taking some landscape shots which I could then paint over. I used acrylic paint and oil pastel to create new skies using different colours above the trees. From this, I decided to move on from the cyanotype idea and look more down the 'painting with photography' route. For my final piece I combined my previously experimented oil pastel and analogue photography to create four pieces. From these four, I selected my favourite two and I am happy with how my project has progressed and turned out. If I were to do this again, I would try and stick to my original idea. If, like I did, I were to change my idea, I would try and complete some more research and development work to support my idea. During the experimental and development stages, I would widen my searches and try and experiment with more techniques so I had a better idea of which route to go down for a final piece. 

Exam & Final Piece

Final

Other Pieces 

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Evaluation

To create my final pieces I used a mixed media idea including the use of oil pastels and analogue and digital photography. For my two final pieces I used oil pastel combined with analogue photography. I created the oil pastel pieces on paper and blended the colours together the way I wanted them and then scanned them into photoshop. In photoshop I was able to manipulate them the way I wanted and I could change the saturation etc. I then also scanned in my analogue film and imported my selected photos into photoshop. I removed the part of the photo I wanted to replace with the oil pastel and then placed the two images together. I could then move around the oil pastel behind the original photograph to where I thought it looked the best. I think this has worked well and I am happy with how it has turned out. I think the mixed media looks effective and fits in well with my surreal theme as it shows a juxtaposition between the photograph and the oil pastel. 

Mock Exam Piece

The Original Photograph

My Final Piece

I'm happy with the way my final piece turned out. I preferred the night sky effect so that is the one I decided to proceed with. I also used a paint brush and some white acrylic paint and used a 'splatter' effect to create some spots that resembled stars which I think added to the overall effect. 

Experimental Pieces

With this piece I experimenters with oil pastels trying to recreated a sunrise setting behind a tree. The colours gradually blend into each other and create an end of day setting. It worked fairly well and the blending of the colours worked well. 

In this piece i experimented with acrylic paint instead of oil pastel. I managed to include several colours and shades and blended most of the colours successfully but after completion, looking at it the colours seem too sectioned and it doesn't give the best sunrise look.

In this piece, I tried to recreate a sundown/night sky effect. I used deeper colours and I think it turned out rather successfully.

Final Idea

For my final piece idea, I want to use a mixed media technique using oil pastel and analogue photography. I am going to take an analogue photograph (of the seaside) and using photoshop I will remove part of the photo - such as the sky or the sea. I will use oil pastel on a separate sheet of paper and draw out my design using a mixture of colours and using oceans and skies as inspiration. I will then scan this into photoshop and put the oil pastel piece in place of the missing feature (such as sky or sea). I can change the levels and saturation of the oil pastel piece in order to see what looks best with my piece.

 I got this idea from artists that use painting mixed with photography such as Charlotte Caron - who's work you can view in a previous post. 

Below is an emulation of what I aim to do

Charlotte Caron - Painting with Photography