Task 4

Task 4:

We had a lot of trouble with the printer in r19, but we still went through all the required steps that we learned from Beytan. 

Before coming to my slot in r19 I had already edited my two pictures to what I wanted them to look like for task 1 and 3. (In the end I chose a different picture for task 3, but at the time of printing this was still gonna be my choice.) I had edited them and saved them as TIF files, because TIF is supposed to offer the best quality when printing. 

When arriving we had already heard about some trouble with the printer, and some other groups not being able to print like they wanted. Still, after turning on the iMac and the Eizo, we continued to check that the colour space on the Eizo matched the colour space on the iMac. When customising the colours, we used a white paper to check the white on the screen with the white in real life. After getting the colours on the two screens synced, we turned off the house lights in the room, as those could interfere with the colour we see on screen. 

Task 3:

From workshop 3 

Studio: Lighting the portrait in the style of chiaroscuro art technique (Rembrandt vs. Caravaggio) 

Assessment Task:

Produce three studio portraits, two using the chiaroscuro lighting techniques demonstrated in the workshop (i.e. one Rembrandt and one Caravaggio) and one in the lighting technique of your own choice. All 3 images must be captured in RAW format and mastered as a Smart Object in TIF or PSD file format as outlined in workshop one). Use the techniques demonstrated in the portrait workshop to consider the quality, quantity and direction of light in relation to the subjects pose and this influences the composition of the portrait (e.g. broad and narrow light direction, subject pose and space around the subject and camera and lens settings.)

Caravaggio:

In my Caravaggio style image I took the soft box off the light to create an even starker contrast between the light and dark. I also asked my model to sit slight forward as to seem more imposing to the viewer. I did this to create a darker posture, that might make the viewer feel threatened, as was often wanted from the religious imagery Caravaggio used to paint.

Rembrandt:

For my rendition of Rembrandt I decided to add a little something. When lighting the scene I put one light to shine from the models right at a strength of 3, and another light to the left of the model, with a strength of 1. The secondary light had no flash, and was simply to give the broad side of the face a little light, while the narrow was illuminated and we had the triangle on his left cheek. I asked him to turn 90 degrees, turn his head back 45, and then his eyes towards me to create a dramatic and mysterious effect. I used soft boxes on both lights to create a soft, and smooth image, even though the contrasts between light and dark are very clear. 

Own style:

For my own style I wanted to create something that I felt like the two other styles were missing, although they were hugely inspirational. I put the light behind the model and shone it towards their back and side to create a silhouette of sorts. I didn't want the light to be too strong, as I wanted the silhouette to be nostalgic and dramatic. I discovered in my attempt to recreate Caravaggio and Rembrandt that I always look for facial structure when taking pictures, and that I use the light to better see it in images. For my style I wanted to elevate the cheekbones my model had, and also the outline of his biceps, to compliment his figure. I think it worked out very well. 

TJ

Task 1: 

From workshop One. Exploring and editing the RAW file using the non-destructive Adobe camera raw "Smart object" in Photoshop. 

Assessment Task Capture 5 different images from environments with different light sources (e.g. studio lighting, electronic flash, tungsten (bulb), daylight, mixed light-sources, etc.) using the RAW format from a Digital SLR camera. Process, correct and adjust the images using the appropriate workflow in Adobe Photoshop CC.

For this assignment I decided to first do the mixed light-sources picture, and I decided to shoot at night to better show the different light. I had the idea to use traffic light for my light source, and then also have a secondary one. At one point I also considered adding a third light source by waiting for a car to pass by, and catch its head lights, but after experimenting with this effect at a different location I decided not to use it. 

I played around with the blacks, whites, and shadows a bit to make more of the picture show, and save some of the information in the sky and the bushes behind my model.

The final image I chose to use for my two lighting sources is the one you see in the Camera Raw screen shot further up. 

I love the composition between red and green, good and bad, light and dark. With the the added prop of the cigarette and lighter it creates an aesthetic that I am really please with. When editing this I decided to play around with the following settings to bring more depth to her face, and also burn less of the white in flame. Her hair has more texture because I lowered shadows and contrast, while I slightly increased blacks. The duality of the image looks great and I'm really pleased with it. I did play around with some different setting as well, and I also removed the adobe presets. 

Pic 2:- Daylight

I took these pictures outside around midday so that the sun was above us shining down. On the first I stood right in front of the model with now obstruction, while on the second I stood behind the kitchen door, so that there was glass between us. I really like this because it gives it almost like a dreamy soft light filter. When it came to the edit I had to adjust the highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks all down to compensate for the strong sunlight. If you look at the original file you'll see that it is a little bit over exposed even though my ISO was set to 100. 

By adjust the shadows and highlights I gave her hair more texture, as well as making her make up and facial features more visible. Her left shoulder is also less burnt out, as well as her roots. I played around with a couple of different white balance presets here, and among my favourite were Flash and Daylight. I also tried doing a custom white balance by using her shirt and the window frame in the background. Both the Flash and the custom tool added a bit of a tint that I did not think suited the image, so I ended up going with the Daylight setting. 

Pic 3:- Tungsten

This picture was taken in my kitchen fairly late one day, so that the main light source was the tungsten light in the ceiling. As you can see it gave the image quite a warm, yellow tint. To change this I decided to play around with the setting and bring the yellow down to a more natural colour. I decided to contradict the original feel of the image to fit the imagery better - dead flowers. I feel like my end result was a good rendition of cold, and hard realities. 

Pic 4:- Flash

For this one I decided to do something a bit different. I did try some edits where I changed the setting so that I could see what was in the back, and I got amazing amounts of info back from the darkness. You can see my settings in the file I included in my hand in. I decided in the end to go a different way though - not having used black and white on any of the other pictures, I felt like it felt very right here. Considering flash photography creates very high contrast images, using black and white creates a great grey spectrum. This shows us a lot of detail in her face, while completely removing the distractions of the background. 

Pic 5:- Shade

With this one I struggled. I went out looking for shadows that were very clear and diagonal stripes, to create a partition between the light and dark, but alas, I could never find it. This was sadly a last minute picture. In a way I was able to create the difference I wanted to show the shade, and through editing I managed to make the shade more visible, turning the light into an almost glow or aura. 

TJ

Maps and Networks comes to an end

I have now come to the stage of this project where I have to think thoroughly about my installation while also finishing my project. I have my clips, and I just have to edit them properly - maybe remove some noise without losing too much information. But that comes further down in this post, first I want to talk about installation. 

Hallway Gallery - advantages/disadvantages

During my first presentation I said that I simply wanted to have three screens right next to one another in the hallway. A simple way of showing all three colours and the contrasts between them. Since then I have a thought about many different way of doing it - projection, have the screens on top of another, make a three wall thing in a corner - but they all sort of do the same, they just show the pictures without adding anything. The whole point of putting thought into your installation should be to a) give additional meaning to the project, and b) make people who pass by want to stop and have a closer look, preferably standing there for a while. At this point in my work I decided to do two pictures instead of one. This lead me to think about duality, and how I could show this through my installation. Red and blue are very contrasting colours that both catch the eye, and it is my thinking that if you put them right next to one another you might lose some of that, because they lessen each other. Another thing I wanted to show was that these emotions that the images are based on don't necessarily flood your mind at the same time - they usually linger in intervals. When you're extremely sad and lonely, you feel less passionate, but it is still there in the back of your mind waiting for its chance at the wheel again. 

To portray this I want to place my two screens on opposite walls. 

Considering that its a narrow corridor, and that at multiple point there is a wall directly on either side, I think it would be perfect to have one screen showing the blue footage on the left wall, and one screen showing the red footage on the right wall. That way when you look at one of them you have to turn your back to the other one, just the way emotions do. I think this definitely adds to my project and I hope it can be done. 

Completion of my work 

As I discussed in an earlier post I decided to switch over to Premiere Pro for my editing, as Photoshop didn't quite work out. To be honest that did simplify the process of my videos a lot, and maybe it very easy to complete this task. I simply made sure I had the point of where the screen/phone flickers off, and then alternate between normal footage and reversed footage to make it look more fluid. I did this in Premiere Pro, so that I also could add the tone and bars, and countdown clock. 

This is my finished work: 

Blue

This my final blue piece, without bars and clock. I feel like this video accurately depicts loneliness through colour and visuals. I am also satisfied with the flickering of the screen. Although a lot of people won't realise that it spells out S.O.S. I think it adds a lot to the project. 

Red

As you can see the red is slightly noiser than the blue. I tried very hard to get rid of this and by adjust the original light source, but what you see in the final version is the best I could get. I like the colours, and I like that it has captured an "intimate moment". I also think it works very well in comparison to the blue. 

-TJ

"were you ever happy? and if you were, did you realise at the time"

- the best years of our lives (2016-2026)

Loneliness, anger, happiness - and the headache of it all

After the presentation for this project I left that room with a number of thoughts swirling around inside my head. There were so many things I wanted to do with this project - things I wanted to accomplish, things I wanted to explore. One idea I liked a lot was the idea of changing the haiku I had planned to something a lot simpler, like "help" or "sos". No only does simplify my editing process, but it also fits the simplicity of my idea - the emotions I want to explore are after all basic; the primal feelings that we all feel. 

RED - SEX AND PASSION, image from foot end of bed, raised back, hand on wall, bathed in red light,

BLUE - LONELINESS, asleep in front of computer

YELLOW - HAPPINESS, two people eating together having a good time,

Later in the project I decided to not do yellow, as I feel like red and blue have a nice duality on their own. They are both darkly lit, and portray strong passionate emotions, while yellow might look like an odd out. I also had an idea for how to present it in my installation that would suit two screens better than three. More on that in my post about installation choices.

I've decided to do these images because they represent those different emotions and feelings to me. I am the happiest when I socialise with friends, I am the loneliest on late nights on my own, and I feel the most passionate during sex. 

I've looked into cinemagraphs for this project as well. A cinemagraph is essentially a gif, were the image is frozen, but one aspect of it is moving. I think this would look really cool for the morse code, as it is a subtle way of implementing it into my installation. 

I think this would look awesome

After looking into cinemagraphs, and how to make it, I started thinking about how to use it in my images. In subtle ways, that makes it seamless and not out of place. For the red I was thinking about having the light under the door go on and off, for the blue I want the monitor in front of me to flicker, and for the yellow I want a phone on the table to flash. 

I think I'm ready to do my first shoot, to see how they turn out. 

I decided to first try with the blue image. Right of the bat I ran into some trouble as I had to redo all my setting in my camera to make the quality as good as possible. These shots will happen in very little light, and with that comes noise, thats pretty much unavoidable, but I can try to make it as little as possible. My first try was horrendous. 

As you can see, there is a lot of noise and grain. But I did choose to use this clip to experiment with cinemagraphs. 

Making the cinema itself didn't turn out to be very difficult, but that doesn't mean it was successful. I did it in Photoshop by importing it as frames, then deleting all the frames I didn't need. I then created a copy of the first frame in the sequence - this would be my static layer mask that keeps the video frozen. To then only make the computer move I selected the brush tool and marked the entire area of the computer so that the remaining frames could be seen through the mask. This was all well and good, but after that I encountered two problems. 
1. Because the top frame was a still, the light from the computer would still light me up, even after it was turned off through the mask. This just looked weird, and out of continuity. 
2. I could only save this as a GIF file, which would only be accessible through the internet. This in turn gives me a lot of trouble for the installation, as it would be dependent on the internet. 

How can I improve this, and make it work? 

Well, first of I can change my camera settings. I kept my ISO under 1600, and turned my aperture down to 4.0. Ideally I would use a lens that can go as far down as 2.8, but I don't have that at this time. (I also discovered that my camera was only recording in 720p this whole time. I of course turned it up to 1080p)  Furthermore I can make sure the frame is slightly better lit. I do want the image to be low lit, and moody, but to make up for the reduced ISO, I will have to increase the light. 

Instead of using Photoshop, I will move over to Premiere Pro to keep it as a video, instead of turning it into a GIF. Because of this choice I will have to limit the movement in frame as much as possible to still almost create the cinemagraph effect. The tiny amount of movement might even be in my favour, as it could give the image more emotions. 

-TJ

"...what I want out of art, and the things that excite me, are things that help us see the historical moment that we live in." 

- Trevor Paglen, Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture (2015)

Trevor Paglen is an artist. 

Mrs Paglen is in every fashion of the word an artist. What I mean by that is that he does literally everything. Whatever tool he needs to show the world his art - he will use, whether its a wielding iron, a camera, or a pencil. Most recently he has tackled issues such as mass surveillance and data collection. For this he won the 2016 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Price. 

When I read about his project I immediately thought of our Maps & Networks project, because I feel like that in our modern world "mapping" things is very important. We want everything in the clear, and know what everyone is doing. His installation is compromised of images of restricted military and government areas,  and skylines showing the flight of passing drones. Multiple ways humans are trying to "map" out the world. He goes on to talk about how he feels like we are unable to see the historical moment that we are currently living in because of all the distractions we endure. I think this fits nicely with our  current project.

Another of Paglens projects is this cube that you can see to the right here -->

This project is called "Trinity Cube" and is a part of the 2015 "Don't Follow The Wind" project. This is an inaccessible art installation in the radioactive area around the power plant that exploded in Fukushima, Japan in 2011. The cubes outer layer is made of irradiated broken glass from the Fukushima Exclusion Zone, while the the cubes inner core is made from Trinitite, the mineral created on July 16, 1945 when the USA exploded the worlds first atomic bomb near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Thereby incapsulating the humans race contact with atomic power. I feel like this could also fit our project, although in a different way. When human beings discover something, we become obsessed with fully exploring it. Sometimes this leads to great discoveries that furthers our sciences, and sometimes it ends with mesmerizing destructive force. Nothing fits both these explanations better than nuclear power. Whether its for energy, like in the Fukushima Power Plant, or as a weapon in the 1945 nuclear bomb explosion. It effects everything, thus connecting it to all our lives. 

The installation will become open for the public whenever the Exclusion Zone is safe to open again. This can be anytime from the next 3 years, to the next 3000.

If any of you want to read more about this, feel free to follow this link.

http://www.dontfollowthewind.info/

TJ

"Revolution is about the need to re-evolve political, economic, 

social justice, and power back into the hands of people.." - Booby Seale

These are all my final pieces except Haiti, and as you can see, my hands feature a prominent role in all of them. (Also in the Haitian one as the stitching is a clear sign of human hands.)

I did this for a number of reasons. 

The first one is possibly that revolutions are all about the hands of ordinary people. It's never royalty that fight, no, it's the people. Everyone average can have their hand involved in a revolution if they dare. But it's not only that. It's also about the context of me recreating these flags. I am a boy in the 21st century who is creating flags of importance, over a hundrer years after they were first made. 

Does that not connect me to these events? I think so. I think that the more connected we feel to these events that changed history so drastically, the more we can learn from them. 

When I read about the Cuban flag, and then recreated it, I pictured the Cuban dawn, and now whenever I see a dawn I immediately think of the Cuban revolution, and what they fought for. 

Same with French! Look around, maybe you'll randomly see three people walking next to each other wearing red, white, and blue. Then think of how bravely they fought to gain equality, and liberty. 

 That's why I wanted my hands in the work. They are what connects me to these fantastical happening, and they remind me that although I was never there, I can absolutely still bear those memories with me, and learn from them. 

I had a look at an artist who uses hands in his artwork in truly amazing ways. His name is Guido Daniele.

I tried using his work as an inspiration for how to integrate my hands into my work, but I found it a bit to professional. But I did realise that I could blend in my hands in casual way that you might not notice at first. And example of this my France image, where I use my hands to frame the picture, but it is out of focus so that they don't take away from the picture.

-TJ

"this post was not made the day before the deadline"

Welcome back to the thrilling finale of my five digital stills project! As we know this project is all about revolutions, what the flags of the revolutions mean, and how far they have gotten today. 

Cuban Revolution: 

Now, the story behind the Cuban flag is quite amazing. Apparently freedom fighter Narciso López woke up one morning to the most beautiful dawn sky. He could see a red triangle of the clouds announcing the dawn. In the middle of the red he could see the morning star Venus shining. And to finish it all off, two clouds had broken off and sliced the sky into three parts of blue. 

Another story says they took their inspiration from

an American flag, but lets go with the myth.

This seemed almost too good to be true, and of course I had to use this story as the base for this picture. My only problem was how. I thought about painting, but I had already decided to use paint for my American, and Soviet pictures. Considering an event such as the one López explained isn't just gonna show up because I need it for my project, I had to try to recreate it. 

This is my final product: 

And to be completely honest, I'm not all that happy with how it turned out. It sort of works, and the mix of image and material fits my style, but all in all I feel like the final outcome didn't quite reach the finish line I had made for myself. If I had more time I might've changed what revolution to focus on, or tried to do more in after effects, instead of using practical effects. 

Soviet Revolution: 

Not gonna lie. I'm quite happy with this one. The idea is simple - this revolution was all about the peoples rights, and their flag represented this though the hammer and sikle. 

I wanted to make a piece that comments on how those rights are working out today. It's not a secret that there have been multiple homophobic laws passed in Russia over the last years, and same sex couples are not only shunned, but harassed and killed. So I wanted to recreate their flag with something that symbolises the gay agenda. What better symbol than the literal male insignia? I got to work, and this my progress: 

1. Get that precious cardboard. 

2. Paint it red. (Make it a rough coat though, I want this to have a gritty look as well)

3. Make the insignia. 

4. Take the picture. 

5. Put it through the edit, and voila: 

I'm really please with this one because I feel like it send a message subtly, and look kinda cool at the same time. 

In my next post I will talk about why I have chosen to feature my hands in all the pictures. 

-TJ

"Revolutions force nations to change"

My second idea is the one I went with. 

This is what I thought: It’s not only I who have grown up. The world has as well, and what events, what happenings have brought us to where we are today? And the answer is of course a lot. There are so many variables that it’s almost impossible to pin down 5 instances, but in the end I chose to focus on revolutions. Revolutions force nations to change, often for the better, and they are clear markers for change in the world.

I discussed this with Leah during our tutorial yesterday, and we both found it difficult to portray revolutions in five pictures. I was thinking about maybe recreating pictures from the revolutions, like this painting from the French revolutions: 

But we both decided that would be too difficult, and not necessarily original enough for my project. 

-------

I then happened to mention that the french flags colours symbolise freedom, and that that is because of the French revolutions. Leah then mentioned that after the Haitian revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, took the French tri-colour, and ripped out the white part to symbolise the removal of white power in Haiti. This is when we thought of the idea that the story behind flags might be an interesting idea for my project. I decided to research other revolutions, other flags, and meanings behind them. I also had a look at the work of Alighierio Boetti. His work with flags is quite fascinating, and I will definitely use him as an inspiration. 

"bringing the world into the world"

The French Revolution: 

So as I said earlier in this post, the French tri-colour represents freedom, which is why so many countries today use the colours red, blue, and white in their flags. This is also represented in the revolution, which was all about liberty, equality, and fraternity. So I decided to create a picture of three people in the French colours hanging out to symbolise this equality. This picture also has a part to play in my picture for the Haitian revolutions though. 

The Haitian Revolution: 

Now, when I created the picture for the French revolution I already had a plan for what I wanted to do with the Haitian picture based of the story behind their flag. So, I will take the picture for the French revolution and rip out the white part, before sowing the two halfs together, thus representing the history behind the flag. 

(I was not able to put a picture of my Haitian picture on my blog because I did not have time after the stitching)

The American Revolution: 

Now there is a lot of wrong with America - no doubt. But their revolution were for a good cause, and it’s definitely something we can learn from. Standing up for your rights, and telling those in power that enough is enough, is a memory we should all use in todays society. But I did have a bit of a struggle coming up with an idea for this picture, after all, this revolution happened for a lot of the same reasons as the French one. Then I stumbled upon a haiku about the flag. Although the author is unknown, the haiku still has a lot of power: 

"American flag 

Is red with blood, blue with tears,

And white with privilege."

And I thought that this would be a great foundation for the commentary I wanted to make about the effect of the American revolution, how far they have come. The process of making it was quite interesting, so I want to go through it step for step.

1. Get cardboard from whatever back alley you can find.
2. Spray paint it white for a nice background

3. Dye some water with blue colour to make tears













4. Cut out the stars to float in the tears











5. And finally, make some bloody, red stripes:



After that all I had to do was put it through the edit to make it look grittier, and I ended up with something I was rather pleased with :)

In the next post I'll explain my ideas, and work flow for the Soviet Revolution, and the Cuban. 

-TJ

"now when they ask me about my age, they say how many, I say twenty." 

Memories fascinate me. And lately I have been thinking a lot about how my memories have shaped me, and why I have become who I am. I made a spoken word poem about it that I posted on my YouTube channel. It’s all about turning 20, moving away from Norway, and starting university. Have a look at it here:

Now my initial idea for this project was to take pictures from my childhood, and then recreate those pictures with my grown up self. A lot like what these people have done: 

I quickly dismissed this idea though, after having a conversation with Leah about it. 

My second idea was way better though! Sit tight.