The purpose of this shoot was to a. give the Mamiya 645AFDII with a Phase One back.with a Phase One back from the previous shoot, as I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I didn't have the best experience with it, but I was shooting alone without an assistant and didn't want my judgement to be hazed by my struggle to use all of the equipment alone while taking self-portraits. To help with this, I used a colleague on the course as an assistant.
Because Asteria is a Goddess who turned into an island, it seemed fitting to choose a location where you'd be able to see a lot of tree behind the subject (me). I also wanted to shoot this at blue hour to give the images a more mystical and otherworldly feel, however despite planning the exact times one of us had an unforeseeable emergency and had to make a number of calls, meaning by the time we were shooting it was pitch black. I decided to proceed with the shoot anyway, as I felt it still had potential.
Because of these unfortunate events from earlier, our time to shoot became limited and so the shoot didn't last as long as I would have liked. However, I hope it was enough to determine whether to continue the use of this camera or not.
The subject of this shoot is the Titaness Asteria, who rules the nocturnal oracles and later turned into an island in Greece by transforming herself into a quail and jumping down from olympus. She plays the Lyre which has engraved birds within the wood, linking to her relationship with the animals as well as a reference to The Charmer, by John William Waterhouse (1911). She's dressed in a bold royal blue dress - of which the colour tells of her status, embroidered with gold embellishments that form the shape of feathers coming off the shoulder. In my personification of her, I wear my own hair as the series is about turning myself into these Goddesses. The image is shot at night to reflect upon her relationship to the darkness and how she thrives in it - aiming to make her appear calm and comforted by something that many find unnerving.
Unfortunately there are only two images from this shoot that I think are acceptable quality, which are shown below alongside my photoshop process.
This image again wasn't as well focused as I would have liked, meaning if I were to print this large it would look very blurry in the face especially. I don't think that this is ideal, perhaps if it were even more out of focus it would actually be better as to draw the line between reality and myth, however I feel that this just sits at an awkward mid point.
I feel that the image just feels plain, it's nothing interesting and I don't get a powerful or calming feeling from it, and so I don't think this was a success. I believe this was partly down for the very bland angle, being straight on. I think that if I were to use a lower angle as I did for the Selene shoot, this would have been far better as it would have made the image more visually interesting and eye catching as well as giving that sense of power.
I also find the lighting a bit dull - while I purposely made the image a little less contrasty as to make it appear more whimsical, however I'm not too happy with the angle as it doesn't create any dimension to the image - like the angle of the camera, it's just straight on to the subject. This doesn't create any boldness or interesting shapes, and is again rather flat. As a result the photo feels amateurish and boring - not what an image of a Goddess should be.
In terms of editing, I first knew I wanted to crop the image in order to remove the dead space, as this made the image rather unpleasant and annoying to look at because it was so off centre. After a few corrections in the camera RAW filter options, I started to edit with the use of a gradient map that helped the image cool down in tone a little using blues, as well as adding earthiness with browns. This was to highlight both her relationship with the blues (connotations of night time) and the ground (her turning into an island - using brows). I then brightened by hair and dress using two different hue and saturation layers in anticipation of them dulling down with my future layers.
Then, I added a vignette effect to the right half of the image as to encapsulate it within a soft sort of frame. This was to try and create an intimacy between Asteria and the viewer, as it not feels a lot closer rather than open.
After this, I added a second gradient map of navy and pink in order to get that cool feeling back into the image, especially in skin tones. On top of this was a colour fill of brown, to add earthiness on top of the cool tones - this part was a lot about trying to find a balance of colour that worked well. I then brightened the image back up using curves, and added a final purple colour fill layer at 14% opacity in order to give a more mystical and fantasy feeling, as well as to match the images from the previous shoot as i'm thinking purple would be a good colour to have running through all of these shoots due to the otherworldly, magical connotations, as well as the connotations it has with space and night.
I believe that this image is a lot stronger than the one before because the lighting and the pose makes it far more interesting to look at, however I still don't think it's where I want my images to be at. This is not necessarily bad though, as it gives me the opportunity to learn from what I do not want my images to look like to then finalise how I do want them to be.
The pose of looking away offers the viewer the question of 'what is outside the frame?', as well as seemingly being unaware of the viewer's gaze - giving the feeling that this is an intimate private moment for the subject.
However, the issues with lighting and composition are still present - the image looks flat, staged and uninteresting. While some projects this can work really great with, it doesn't with mine as it is about escapism. How can I induce escapism when it looks this staged and forced?
I think perhaps the images of Asteria would suit the camera being further away from the subject in order to represent the loneliness of an island being separate from its country. This would also allow more escapism because the viewer gets to see more of the scene and become immersed within it - but if I hadn't have done this shoot I wouldn't have known that's what I want to try next.
To edit, I closely followed what I did for the previous image. I first used the hue and saturation tool to make the image slightly more blue toned as to show her relationship with the night and to appear more mystical. This is followed by a gradient map of blue and brown in order to add both cool and earthy tones to the image as she has connections to both the night and the earth. Then I added a curves layer, slightly bringing up the highlights to make the image appear brighter. After this, I added two hue and saturation layers. One was masked for the dress and brought out the gold details, done to highlight her importance, and the other to brighten the hair to make the image more vibrant. A vignette is added to the layers, which gives the image a more intimate feel. Next was a brown colour fill layer at 21% opacity, giving it that earthy look yet again. On top of this was a gradient map which is predominantly blue with a bit of pink, and then finalised with a purple colour fill layer at 14%. While it may seem counter-intuitive to keep adding warm and then cold colours, working like this helped me create a balance that I was happy with. The final purple layer gives a more mystical feeling.
Why purple?
During these shoots I have been aware that the colour purple gives the image a more mysterious, prestigious and otherworldly feel but I haven't known the origin of it.
According to colormatters.com, "purple symbolizes magic, mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, dignity, royalty – and it evokes all of these meanings more so than any other color."
This is because purple is not found in nature, and so before our advanced dyes today, the colour was rarely seen. The website claims that the earliest purple dye was made around 1900 BC, but it took over 12000 shellfish for just 1.5g of purple dye.
"Today, science has revealed much more about purple than our ancestors ever realized: Purple is the most powerful visible wavelength of electromagnetic energy. It’s just a few steps away from x-rays and gamma rays. (See the chart here.) Perhaps this explains why purple is associated with supernatural energy and the cosmos than with the physical world as we know it."
https://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/purple
I think that the history of the colour is really interesting and supports my use of it, as it's very relevant within my work as I am dealing with mythical figures of high importance.
Because Asteria is a Goddess who turned into an island, it seemed fitting to choose a location where you'd be able to see a lot of tree behind the subject (me). I also wanted to shoot this at blue hour to give the images a more mystical and otherworldly feel, however despite planning the exact times one of us had an unforeseeable emergency and had to make a number of calls, meaning by the time we were shooting it was pitch black. I decided to proceed with the shoot anyway, as I felt it still had potential.
Because of these unfortunate events from earlier, our time to shoot became limited and so the shoot didn't last as long as I would have liked. However, I hope it was enough to determine whether to continue the use of this camera or not.
The subject of this shoot is the Titaness Asteria, who rules the nocturnal oracles and later turned into an island in Greece by transforming herself into a quail and jumping down from olympus. She plays the Lyre which has engraved birds within the wood, linking to her relationship with the animals as well as a reference to The Charmer, by John William Waterhouse (1911). She's dressed in a bold royal blue dress - of which the colour tells of her status, embroidered with gold embellishments that form the shape of feathers coming off the shoulder. In my personification of her, I wear my own hair as the series is about turning myself into these Goddesses. The image is shot at night to reflect upon her relationship to the darkness and how she thrives in it - aiming to make her appear calm and comforted by something that many find unnerving.
Unfortunately there are only two images from this shoot that I think are acceptable quality, which are shown below alongside my photoshop process.
This image again wasn't as well focused as I would have liked, meaning if I were to print this large it would look very blurry in the face especially. I don't think that this is ideal, perhaps if it were even more out of focus it would actually be better as to draw the line between reality and myth, however I feel that this just sits at an awkward mid point.
I feel that the image just feels plain, it's nothing interesting and I don't get a powerful or calming feeling from it, and so I don't think this was a success. I believe this was partly down for the very bland angle, being straight on. I think that if I were to use a lower angle as I did for the Selene shoot, this would have been far better as it would have made the image more visually interesting and eye catching as well as giving that sense of power.
I also find the lighting a bit dull - while I purposely made the image a little less contrasty as to make it appear more whimsical, however I'm not too happy with the angle as it doesn't create any dimension to the image - like the angle of the camera, it's just straight on to the subject. This doesn't create any boldness or interesting shapes, and is again rather flat. As a result the photo feels amateurish and boring - not what an image of a Goddess should be.
In terms of editing, I first knew I wanted to crop the image in order to remove the dead space, as this made the image rather unpleasant and annoying to look at because it was so off centre. After a few corrections in the camera RAW filter options, I started to edit with the use of a gradient map that helped the image cool down in tone a little using blues, as well as adding earthiness with browns. This was to highlight both her relationship with the blues (connotations of night time) and the ground (her turning into an island - using brows). I then brightened by hair and dress using two different hue and saturation layers in anticipation of them dulling down with my future layers.
Then, I added a vignette effect to the right half of the image as to encapsulate it within a soft sort of frame. This was to try and create an intimacy between Asteria and the viewer, as it not feels a lot closer rather than open.
After this, I added a second gradient map of navy and pink in order to get that cool feeling back into the image, especially in skin tones. On top of this was a colour fill of brown, to add earthiness on top of the cool tones - this part was a lot about trying to find a balance of colour that worked well. I then brightened the image back up using curves, and added a final purple colour fill layer at 14% opacity in order to give a more mystical and fantasy feeling, as well as to match the images from the previous shoot as i'm thinking purple would be a good colour to have running through all of these shoots due to the otherworldly, magical connotations, as well as the connotations it has with space and night.
I believe that this image is a lot stronger than the one before because the lighting and the pose makes it far more interesting to look at, however I still don't think it's where I want my images to be at. This is not necessarily bad though, as it gives me the opportunity to learn from what I do not want my images to look like to then finalise how I do want them to be.
The pose of looking away offers the viewer the question of 'what is outside the frame?', as well as seemingly being unaware of the viewer's gaze - giving the feeling that this is an intimate private moment for the subject.
However, the issues with lighting and composition are still present - the image looks flat, staged and uninteresting. While some projects this can work really great with, it doesn't with mine as it is about escapism. How can I induce escapism when it looks this staged and forced?
I think perhaps the images of Asteria would suit the camera being further away from the subject in order to represent the loneliness of an island being separate from its country. This would also allow more escapism because the viewer gets to see more of the scene and become immersed within it - but if I hadn't have done this shoot I wouldn't have known that's what I want to try next.
To edit, I closely followed what I did for the previous image. I first used the hue and saturation tool to make the image slightly more blue toned as to show her relationship with the night and to appear more mystical. This is followed by a gradient map of blue and brown in order to add both cool and earthy tones to the image as she has connections to both the night and the earth. Then I added a curves layer, slightly bringing up the highlights to make the image appear brighter. After this, I added two hue and saturation layers. One was masked for the dress and brought out the gold details, done to highlight her importance, and the other to brighten the hair to make the image more vibrant. A vignette is added to the layers, which gives the image a more intimate feel. Next was a brown colour fill layer at 21% opacity, giving it that earthy look yet again. On top of this was a gradient map which is predominantly blue with a bit of pink, and then finalised with a purple colour fill layer at 14%. While it may seem counter-intuitive to keep adding warm and then cold colours, working like this helped me create a balance that I was happy with. The final purple layer gives a more mystical feeling.
Why purple?
During these shoots I have been aware that the colour purple gives the image a more mysterious, prestigious and otherworldly feel but I haven't known the origin of it.
According to colormatters.com, "purple symbolizes magic, mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, dignity, royalty – and it evokes all of these meanings more so than any other color."
This is because purple is not found in nature, and so before our advanced dyes today, the colour was rarely seen. The website claims that the earliest purple dye was made around 1900 BC, but it took over 12000 shellfish for just 1.5g of purple dye.
"Today, science has revealed much more about purple than our ancestors ever realized: Purple is the most powerful visible wavelength of electromagnetic energy. It’s just a few steps away from x-rays and gamma rays. (See the chart here.) Perhaps this explains why purple is associated with supernatural energy and the cosmos than with the physical world as we know it."
https://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/purple
I think that the history of the colour is really interesting and supports my use of it, as it's very relevant within my work as I am dealing with mythical figures of high importance.
Asteria test shoot
Reviewed by BethCorbett
on
January 25, 2020
Rating:
Reviewed by BethCorbett
on
January 25, 2020
Rating:
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