ever since i can remember i’ve been trying to find out how things work. i can’t count the toy cap guns and other toys that i couldn’t figure out how to put back together again so they worked. but after reaching my quota of toys to learning ratio i figured out where the original springs, screws and various parts went, BANG i was back in business.
and so it is with the rest of my life. i never became an expert at one thing but more of a ‘Jack Of All Trades’ or in other words an artist. i don’t claim to be a photographer because there are so many other ones out there that know a hell of a lot more than i do. heck i’ve got to remind myself to take off the lens cap.
i am in awe of real photographers who ply their trade making wonderful pictures, right exposure, timing and location along with a clear vision which i seem to lack.
i am lucky enough to be part of photo salon, a group of heavy duty togs including Howard Schatz, Jack Reznicki and Jay Maisel, well i am not really part of, more like an observor of their work. they’ve never asked to see my work so i guess saying i am part of isn’t correct. I sometimes go over to SVA to see the monthly presentations. oh well i learn from them anyways. one of Jay Maisel’s pictures of the Venice canals changed how i looked at things in the world of photography and i told him so. he liked hearing that.
i’ve a portfolio on model mayhem website which is mix of all levels of photographers, models, makeup people, etc. we all need to start somewhere. I don’t do fashion, beauty or comp cards, so why am i there, i’ve asked myself that many times. but as i say i am an artist who takes pictures and why not be there?
there are occasions when i meet someone there who just clicks with me, so that’s enough reason. i am working with an artistic person, a fellow traveler as it were who clicks. of course she is a designer along with a beginning model so we both have a chance to learn from each other. This weeks assignment we trying to glue flowers on her body, starting with her breasts, something left over from my flower power days which she’s totally ignorant of. ah youth…..
beginning experiment
What we tried to use to adhere the flowers was eyelash glue to be gentle on her areolar. one yellow one whitish.
cutting the flowers from the stems the leaves fell off the centers and had to be glued each leaf at a time which took her hours.
close up
so now what do we do now that this isn’t working?
retouched image
China doll, as i’ve called her here suggested we do some plastic drop cloths shots which we had discussed a while ago. sure why not? but we didn’t have much set up time. i pulled a lowel dp and stand out with a full blue placed it behind a sheet of plastic and around a corner of a hallway as a back light/key. her tungsten key light consisted of a mini mri 75w clear spot coming from the left between sheets with a frost gel. i white balanced camera to tungsten to match her key light. not the idea lighting locations but far enough away from the plastic to not melt it.
dropcloth test
test
pretty boring right? So this is where my painting skills come into play. i guess all that money and hours of being a student and teaching assistant at ICP photoshop classes paid off somewhere. i always do something to my images, darken the corners do this or that. heck i did the same in the darkroom though i wasn’t as good at it then.
gold tint
white bouquet
and these two we both like, i guess because she is relating to something we all see. i understand it’s so hard modeling and figuring out where to place my hands, eyes or feet. working together as a unit creating on the fly and we are not professional or experienced takes a bit of learning to trust in the process. maybe that’s the creativity part, just relax listen to the inner voices, whatever feels right.
who will buy my lovely flowers?
usually the image below would wind up in the trash but thanks to jay maisel it’s a keeper for me
keeper
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