New Edits...finally!

It's taken a while due to lack of funds and illness, but I finally did what I imagine is my last ever photoshoot for my degree. Scary stuff! It was at my Grandma's lovely house again, and hair and make-up was a much better affair this time. After getting the films back I found I had a few shots to choose from, but I'm still waiting on my slide film. Ahhh what a labour of love slides are. Anyway, I got back into my pattern of editing in the usual way (see images below) but found it just wasn't hitting the right buttons. It was all beginning to look a little cliched and, well, amateurish (even more so than usual) so I tried something completely different. I was going for a more filmic quality. It's not spot on but it's getting there. I'm just not sure if it's right for the image, although I do feel it adds to the narrative. Apologies for the poor quality, it was a quick scan and a quick edit, I hope that the final image will be better quality in more ways than one.

Format09

So I went to Format 09 , a photocinema festival, in Derby today.  We didn't actually get to spend much time there, due to being in a bit of a rush, getting lost, and the horrible weather, but it was good nontheless.  And I got to see William Eggleston, Gregory Crewdson, et al.  Niiiiiice. I enjoyed seeing Wim Wenders' work 'Once', which was full of narrative, melancholy, and some pretty good images also. 
Known as a film maker, this work features a selection of images with a brief text alongside each set, which consists of Wenders' own experiences along the journeys he went on whilst taking the photographs.  I feel it is often hard to integrate text alongside photographs without it seeming like an explanation to an otherwise mediocre image, but this added to the enjoyment and depth of the images.  The cinematic aesthetic to many of the images included in the festival immediately encourages the viewer to explore the narrative of the piece.  This is something I need to within my own work, and has started to happen with my latest prints.

 

Jason Dee - We'll Revisit the Scenes of Our Youth.

I really liked this projection, which involved a static forground and a moving background.  The age of the scene seemed quite fitting when referring to my own work, but I also liked the use of the noises of the projector, even though it was a digital projection.  It was rhythmic and hypnotic, and a rather odd juxtaposition between still images and film that was intriguing and effective.

More editing

Some new edits on my photos, I'm just trying out some different techniques to show in my crit.  I'm unsure which they will prefer, but it's been interesting trying to achieve the different effects. I'm sure there must be a simpler way of doing the fading techique, but I had to rub out and dodge freehand, hence the non-uniformity of the shape.

Progression

hand colouring

One of my friends gave me the idea to try hand colouring one of the images after desaturating it, which I thought I'd attempt in Photoshop, and then possibly later use the original technique if it was successful.  This was my first attempt, and I was surprised with the outcome, as some parts were much easier than I'd imagined, but some things I hadn't considered became a problem.  I think after my crit on monday I may do some traditional hand colouring, depending what my tutors think is working well.  I'm unsure what they are going to say, but I'm hopeful I'll get some constructive criticism and will be able to move forward.

 

The first two edits I've done on this set.  They still need a lot more work, but I'm unsure which one is currently working best.  I think I need to try to find a similiar vintage image so I can recreate the finish as closely as possible.

New Shoot

I needed to do a new shoot for my project, deadlines are looming ominously. Trying to get the balance between an authentic look with subtle modern elements is still something I'm trying to work out but here's another try. The few I just scanned in are here, unedited, straight from the film. Some of them are looking alright, just need to edit them.  This time I also shot three rolls of slide film, which I'll get back tomorrow, so I can see which method of display works best for the piece. This is probably one of my favourites:

The room is gorgeous for this (aha it helps when your grandparents live on an old farm).  The hair took a while to do, and there were a few moans of looking ridiculous, but I think they actually worked fairly well.  I've got everything crossed that my other films are going to come back perfectly exposed, as I'm still working out what works when using my Ikon and Voigtlander (nothing pricey, unlike Danny's new baby, but full of sentimental value). Old cameras are pretty (and smell of musty leather mmm) but I'm not capable enough to not have to guess at apertures.  Oh well we shall see.  I took quite a few in the garden which was nice, and some more in the lounge at the table, which is surrounded by lovely old trinkets.  If only I could fill my house with nice little things...but that's another story.