The person in silhouette is my friend Zoe. The textured glass was one of the boardroom windows where I was working at the time, and I would pass them every day thinking of ways to use them in a photograph. I shot a small series in black & white of Zoe in different poses, and added the colour overlay in photoshop. It’s good to have friends who are willing to do silly things in the spirit of creativity, even at work.
Remember what I said about taking your camera everywhere?
I just happen to be wearing these on my feet today.
The above shot was flickr blogged yesterday, which is pretty neat. It’s not a photo I would have chosen to represent my work to a wider audience, because it’s underexposed, the scan was really dirty, and I have a bazillion other shots that are so much better. (That’ll teach me to be lazy about cleaning up my scans when posting to flickr…)
Utata’s latest weekend project to get the creative juices flowing is “Utata goes to the movies.” I chose the Matrix as my inspiration.
My first thought was to recreate the poster of the original movie. I had to give that idea up due to space limitations in my apartment, and a lack of the right props. Instead I decided to go with this poster as my point of reference.
The image is a combination of the following two shots:
I used the radial blur filter on the shot of the dryers, lay it above the self portrait and then partially erased it using layer masking. The binary numbers were created in photoshop, and were blended with the rest of the image by changing the layer state to colour burn.
…even to the laundromat.
I don’t usually take portraits with the Holga because it’s always seemed like a ridiculous thing to do. I can’t get close enough to my subjects in the way I like, and the camera distortion didn’t seem right for portraits. Now after getting this shot back, I’m not sure why I’ve shied away from photographing people with it. I obviously need to reconsider.
I recently came across the terrific photography site Lens Culture via Caterina.net. It’s a very informative site and seems to showcase a good variety of photographers from around the world. Each article includes a gallery of images as well as an audio interview with the featured photographer speaking about what they do. I highly recommend it if you want to fill your brain with more things photography-related, and expand your knowledge of modern photographers.
Currently the site features Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky and his latest series of the monumental changes taking place in China and its impact on the environment. His photographs are taken with a large format camera, and his subject matter always deals with industrialization and its effect on our ecosystem. To quote his artist statement, “nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work.”
I last saw Burtynsky’s work at his 2004 show, Manufactured Landscapes at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. It was a very powerful show because it captured in minute detail the environmental devastation we humans are wreaking around the globe. The above image is one that has always stuck with me from first viewing, because it contains a terrible beauty. The stunning colours really drew my eye (even more so in the large scale print) while my mind struggled to comprehend the posioning to the land this visual likely indicates.
Or so I thought until this past weekend. The following is a cross-post from my personal blog:
At the Northern Voice blogging conference on the weekend I had the challenging, but interesting, experience of stepping into the roll of speaker.
I was asked to speak because a last minute replacement was needed on a panel talking about blogging, passions and personal expression – an ideal subject for me.
My initial reaction to this request was a flat out refusal because public speaking, especially when I’m not prepared, scares the living crap out of me.
I’ve never felt comfortable being the centre of attention, even in small groups, because I’m too self-conscious.
I was very shy growing up, and even though I’ve worked hard to overcome that shyness, it’s still never entirely left me.
But here I was being offered an opportunity to do something on a larger scale that I do anyway which is to share my experiences, my passion for art and photography, and also inspire.
I hate missing opportunities I should take, and I really hate letting FEAR stop me, so I decided to do it.
I can’t really give a good summary of what I said because it was kind of a blur, and I was working off the top of my head.
I do know I mentioned all the blogs I write for, how my writing has changed, the Vandigicam gang, and spoke about the effect flickr has had on my life.
I was really nervous and uncomfortable for the most part, but I think I clearly made my points in the short time I was given.
Afterwards I wished that I’d had more time to talk, to interact with the audience and other speakers, but maybe next time.
(I can’t believe I’d want to do that again, but I think I do.)
I’m glad so many of my friends were present to convince me to do it and offer encouragement, because I don’t think I could have done it without them.
Special thanks to Kris Krug and Darren Barefoot for asking me.