Selene Shoot 2

    This shoot aimed to create an image of Selene in a way that references Nicolas Poussin's Selene and Endymion (1630). The painting depicts a scene of the Greek Goddess of the moon, Selene and her human lover, Endymion upon a great display of activity within the image. There are many referenced to performance, with a helper pulling back the curtain of the night, as Selene's brother, Helios, rides his chariot to bring the sunrise.

    I shot with the Nikon D810 and a 24-70mm lens. The images were taken with a focal length of 38mm at f/20, 1/20th second exposure time and ISO 64. These settings were needed as the sun was very bright during this early hour. f/20 aperture and 1/20th second exposure allowed me to let in less light and therefore manage the brightness better. I ensured I was shooting in RAW also, as it was hard to perfectly expose both the sky and the subject at the same time. This allowed me to later edit the sky and the subject separately and yet effectively without having to take two separate exposures and merge them within editing, which would have been more difficult as the pose and costume were changing a lot due to the wind. An ISO of 64 will considerably reduce any grain, as well as controlling the harsh light. This means when printing large, the image should look of good quality. One issue I found within editing is that sometimes the dress was not as sharp as the rest of the image due to the wind and exposure time, and so if I were to do this shoot again I would choose a faster shutter speed and compensate by boosting the ISO a little.
I also used a Nikon SB-900 speedlight, placed on the ground and facing upwards to the side of me, in order to mimic the external light source that can be seen in the painting by Poussin.

   For the costume, I decided to wear a dress that is perhaps more modern in material and design, yet was visibly inspired by both the painting and the typical Greek fashion of white and gold flowy material. This was mainly because of my own personal funds, and struggle to find a dress that matched better. I already had this dress in my possession and it seemed to have a link with the painting. However, there was a large difference in the opacity of the fabric. Whereas Selene in Poussin's painting wears a flowy yet solid colour dress, mine was far more transparent, allowing a viewer to see my legs through the dress. While it is a significant difference, I am not sure if it takes away from the images. After all, the images are a tie between modernity, reality and the past and the fantasy. Other aspects of modernity can be seen within the background of the image, where there are small houses visible - and yet these only strengthen those ties.

 

 Selene and Endymion, Nicolas Poussin (c. 1630)

Selene and Endymion, Nicolas Poussin (c. 1630) (cropped)

    This and the other two images don't follow the exact same pose as the reference. However, I don't think that this is something that will ruin the effectiveness of the influence of Poussin's image.

   I made sure to have the sun to the right of the image, to show reference to Helios pulling across the day time from the right of the painting, heading towards the left. You may notice that to the left of Selene within the painting is a section of land in the background, which I believe has been replicated successfully within my photograph, as shown below.

All of these small similarities are what pulls the photograph together to create the links to painting as discussed above. This then gives some leeway in the pose and costume, as those strong links are formed elsewhere in the image.

    The rest of the background is fitting also. Luckily, the day I shot was a cloudy day, helping me replicate the sky from the painting easily, albeit a bit brighter. As I didn't want or have an Endymion figure in my photograph, the space is filled by something more subtle. On the horizon, you can see a row of houses among the trees - a modern feature to the image. This helps tie the references from the painting with reality. 

    Selene, within Poussin's painting, is clearly the centre of the painting and where the eye is supposed to be drawn to at the beginning of observation. The artist achieves this by giving the Goddess and external light source to illuminate her and her lover. The Nikon Speedlight aimed to replicate this external light source. I think perhaps my lighting was stronger than Poussin's, however with little else to focus on in my mage due to the lack of a full scene, I think that this change is justifiable - the subject cannot be bolder than something else in the image because there is no secondary subject.

   I feel like the pose in this image is closest to the one in the painting. The costume shows her as beautiful and elegant, and the pose is more fierce and strong, creating a balance of the two that I believe is present within Poussin's painting. This strength is shown by having the shoulders back, her looking down on something that is out of the viewer's sight, and the external light source highlighting her, as well as the leg being bent and giving her an active pose rather than more stationary. Unfortunately, the dress has less movement than the image, which reduces how active the subject looks. 

    While in some parts the lighting for this image seems blown out a bit, particularly the sun, I don't actually mind it. It gives the sun, and therefore Helios, a strong presence, such as in the painting. The main subject is exposed correctly, and the brightness from the sun adds the ethereal feeling.

To edit this image, I first started by creating two versions of the same image. Within Adobe Camera Raw, I edited one version to expose for the sky, and the second version to expose for the subject. Adobe Camera Raw allows for greater editing power when you shoot in RAW in-camera, and so I chose to use this feature instead of taking two separate frames. I then opened the second version and placed the first on top of it. I then created a layer mask, and painted the subject in black as to erase this first version from the base layer where I exposed for the subject. For the grass behind me, I lowered the opacity of the layer to about 50% and painted the layer so it was between the bright and the darker versions, balancing the image.

I then used the clone stamp and spot healing tools to erase anything in the image that shouldn't have been there, like the clip on my back that held the scarf up.

On layer 3, I slightly edited some of the clouds I had clone stamped over to make them feel a bit more natural.  I then used the brush tool in another layer to even out the skin tone on my hands, which had become very red in the cold.
I then changed the hue of the yellow scarf to be less orange and match the tone within the painting.
After this, I used a curves layer to brighten the image and add some contrast, making it bold and strong to look at, which would match and emphasise those feelings towards Selene herself.
I then used a colour balance layer in order to make the image much warmer, in order to match the colour toning of Poussin's painting. In fact, I think the painting is even more yellow toned, but I was happy with the similarities and colour tone of it at this point; I didn't want the toning to be a distraction. After this, I then used a hue.saturation layer to darken the ground and make it browner than green, which is influenced by the painting. Having the ground brown gives the image a more earthy and natural feeling, as well as making the subject stand out more. I then added another hue/saturation layer in order to brighten up the tone of my hair and make it redder after the other layers had reduced the red tones. The hair colour goes really well with the warm colours throughout the image and feels very natural to be in the frame. The last two layers are simply to even out the skin tone in the face, making it look plumper like Poussin's version of Selene.

   This second version of the image is slightly different in pose, and because the sky had changed through time, it seems a bit more dramatic despite the pose being more feminine and soft. This image is also more contrasty, intensifying the drama further. The pose here is significant because it seems more pleasant on the eye. This is due to the smoothness and continuation of the lines within the body, as shown below;

 These lines and curvatures of the body are less harsh than the previous image, and this softer figure makes for a more feminine looking outcome.

   The head in this photograph is higher than in the previous image, giving the image a different appeal. In the first image, the subject has her shoulders back, head down and looks more serious and a more forceful approach. The second image, she has her head up. This makes her look more elegant, and yet having her head up is a symbol of dignity and strength. She seems more elegant and composed rather than intense. I'm not sure which version I prefer. I think the first is more accurate to the painting.

 To edit this image, I used the same or similar layers to the previous one. I first made two versions of exposure, one for the subject and one for the sky, and put them together using layers masks. I then used the spot healing tool and clone stamp in order to remove anything unwanted from the image such as the dress clips and then worked on evening out the skin tone with the brush tool. I changed the hue of the scarf to match the yellow from the painting, used curved to brighten the image and make it seem more powerful, and changed the colour balance and hue and saturation of the ground to be more earthy. I then used another hue / saturation layer in order to make my hair more saturated, and have a key part in the image. I then added some pink to my cheeks as per the painting, and put a bit of white at a low opacity over the bottom of the dress, as I found the line between underlining and tulle rather blunt. 

Overall, this image is similar and yet rather different to the one before. It seems more restrained and elegant than forcefully strong. I am not sure which is more appropriate, however, I think the first is more like the painting.

I then decided to do an even more modernised or contemporary, or even more human version of the painting, simply by wearing the scarf around my neck. This adheres to a conventional way of using such an accessory, reducing the ethereal feeling slightly, however, I think that the lighting helps retain some of this, creating an intertwining of reality and fantasy. 

Unfortunately, the sun behind me had gone in and didn't come back out to the extent of the previous two images, meaning the image is less bright, vivid and powerful. If I were to like the concept of this, I would want to reshoot it, however I much prefer the two images above that relate more closely with the painting. One of the main parts of this series is escapism, and I'd like the modernism to be a little more subtle than this.

In terms of editing, I used the same techniques as above.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this shoot and how it creates a sense of escapism for me, and hopefully others. I think that when combined with a few other images of myself, the series will be far strengthened by these images.