Conclusion

This is my final presentation of my final image.

"An aspect of surrealism is the distortion of reality and the production of images that explore visual contradictions and fantasy. Examples can be seen in the photographic work of Chema Madoz and Angus McBean. Consider a range of examples and proudce your own work in response to this theme"

I think that I answered this question really well, because I explored distortion that occurs between fantasy and reality. I also think I progressed with my photo editing skills throughout this project very smoothly, as you can tell from editing from the beginning to the end gets a lot better. My final image could also be based on one of the Hindu Gods who was born with 6 arms.  Overall I am really pleased with my final image as I think it is a cumulative finish from all of my other examples. I also think I developed my first multiplicity shot in a secure way which shows how my creativity has developed throughout the course.

My final shoot.

For my final shooting I decided to focus on creating multiple limbs to symbolise the business of a womans lifestyle in the home. I focused this even more upon cooking, as it was taken in a kitchen. This is my final image:

First Final Shoot Images.

I decided in my final piece, that by using the art of multiplicity, I could display a message of how there is never enough hours in the day to complete everything you need to do. I decided that I could use a few different stereotypes to signify this, including:

- Students, having to keep a social life, earn some money, start gaining independence and do well in their exams as well as attempting to get enough sleep etc.
- Women, having to look after the house, children, still earn money and do all of the household chores
- Men, having to go out and earn the money, while still having to attempt to spend time with the family
- I also thought about taking some environmental portraiture of colleagues at my work, which could demonstrate how they are always so busy and as soon as they have finished one job, another one immediately appears.

After some careful analysing of all of these I decided that the representation of women would probably be the easiest to portray. I then tried to think of all the different jobs that woman do around the house, and wrote them in a list, which included:

- Cooking
- Cleaning
- Looking after children
- Job
- Chores, ie taking out the bins, sweeping floor
- Washing up/ drying up
- Ironing
- Socialising

I then tried to think how I could incorparate these in to my multiplicity shots. To take this to the next level from my previous attempts, I decided to include the same person more than once as well as the multiplicity of any limbs. As it seemed most suitable, I thought that I could take these pictures in a set up kitchen, which would be very clean and tidy, linking back to the roles of women.

Ikityc

However, with these images due to the size of my kitchen I was getting in my way quite a lot, and blocked myself. I also didn't like how it wasn't very focused or obvious that it was surreal, so I decided to move back on to the multiple limbs.

More progression

I created this picture which tells the story of a young woman trying to make herself look pretty in all the typical ways. This one is quite roughly edited, but I discoverd half way through that a lot of the arms overlapped in editing, and so it wouldn't work very well. I worked on this picture a bit more than my previous attempts by focusing on the background a bit more, and making sure it was in it's correct environment.

Ideas for final shoots.

I wanted my final piece to be an image which tied all of my previous experiments and research together to create a strong idea. I decided that I would look back over my previous images and decide which had been the most successful.

I knew from the start that I wanted to create a project which was based mainly on the pre production of images, and editing them on Photoshop or GIMP. Therefore, I think it is important that my final image requires a lot of processing from setup, to camera and then to finish. The project that I most enjoyed creating was the panoramic worlds, as I found the end result of these very rewarding. However, I didn't really know how I could further the development of these images. In addition, living on an Island I am extremely limited with the amount of locations I can photograph to create interesting 'planets'. I did attempt some images but the weather has been undependable and everytime I go to shoot it has been raining.

Because of this I decided to move on to the most succesful imagery experiment of mine which I believe is the Multiplicity. I am going to try and further this in some more shoots to develop a strong idea for my final piece.

My Panoramic World

This is my recreation of a panoramic planet from Erik Johansson. It was fairly easy to create, and the hardest bit was probably taking the panorama. However, on my camera I have the function which helps me to 'stitch' images together while looking at them which creates a fluid panorama. Once I had done this I open it on Photoshop, and firstly rotate it by 180 degrees so it is upside down. Then I went into Filter --> Distort --> Polar Coordinates, and selected the option for 'Rectangualar to Polar'. This made the round shape in to a planet, but it was rather squashed. To rectify this I simply went on to Canvas Size and made the height the same size as the width which made it an even circle.

I am quite pleased with this picture as I think it worked quite well altogether. Although I had a bit of a problem with the images fitting together in the panorama on a previous post, you cannot see this in this final image.  If I could do it again, and if I have time I will, I would like to photography some things which are in the grass section,  as this is what Erik Johansson did. Linking back to the question, this image distorts the perception of reality by creating an imaginary world out of what should be a flat image.

Christophe Huet

Another artist that I have found on the internet is Christophe Huet. He is a French artist who specialises in creative retouching, and produces some very high class images. One of my favourite shots by him is this one, which I think is really quite quirky and interesting.

I am going to attempt to recreate this image with some ideas of my own. First off I am going to use a real life Mr Potato Head to give the effect of the sections of the face. I photographed all of the parts of a Mr Potato Head and merging real life features in with it. Here are the pictures that I took of the features, and also the original picture of me.

Photo

I created the nose by taking a close up of my nose and layering it over the artificial nose, but making it slightly opaque so you can still see quite a lot of the original nose underneath. With the eyes I simply took my iris and pupil of my eye and layering it over the original pupil. This was quite easy to do as the fake eye is very simply designed and didn't require any editing.

The first thing I did to my face is blur the features around to create a flat image to place the potato head on top of it. I then layered up the potato head image with all the features on top of it, and created this final image:

Ghost Lighting

I was talking to my teacher on how she thought that my work could progress to the next level and she said  that she had once used a technique in which you go in to a completley pitch black room, and set the shutter speed to 3 seconds, and create some light by flashing a torch onto your subject as it moves around. I thought of that idea fascinated me, so I decided to give it a go in the darkroom at school.


This was one of the first attempts that I took, where I wasn't really too sure what to expect or what to ask my subject to do. In this one she was just moving her entire body, so I thought that maybe for my next image I could ask her to slowly walk from one side of the background to the other to see what that could create.

I really think that this explores the question of surrealism as it looks quite ghostly, which is exploring the fantasy of the unliving. I really like exploring different shutter speeds as they really interest me.

Further Photo Shoots

I am also planning on taking inspiration from this shot of Erik Johanssons:

I thought that this could be quite a simple but interesting image technique to duplicate. I also thought that once I had mastered the technique that this project required, I could be able to do many more different image experiments as it is the base of many manipulations. 

My chosen image

The first thing that I had to do was to capture an image of my model. I took a few pictures of him 'punching' himself, and chose this one as my favourite. This picture was taken with the flash on and quite low lighting to create the effect desired. The first editing technique that I used was to smudge the facial features all together to create a 'blank canvas' for the models face. I did this by using the 'Smudge' tool, and simply blurring everything together. To create a high quality image I ensured that I zoomed in fully so I didn't include any hair or fingers in smudging. Once I had finished this, due to the eyes and lips the skin was slightly oddly coloured so I edited this using the 'Brightness and Contrast' and the 'Hue and Saturation' options to make sure the skin looked real.

Texture shot

My next step was to get an image which I could transfer to behind the skin to create the texture of the skin. I think that in his image Erik Johansson used an air bag, possibly from a car, however as I didn't have one of these handy I decided to use something a bit more simple for my practice shots. I decided with my teacher that I would try to see how to effect worked if I were to punch a pillow and then transfer that across. The picture on the right is the final one which I have chosen. I opened this image as a layer on top of the previous layer, and then turned the opacity down to about 20%. This is only to make the editing easier at this stage and we will fine tune it later. I then had to position the top layer in the desired position over the face if my subject, and then erase any of the image which wasn't needed. This was a very tricky job because, for example, there isn't really a solid line between the hair and skin, so on the edges I used the 'Blur' tool which smoothened out the edges and made it a smoother transition. I then clicked on the top layer, and selected the 'Change colour to Alpha' opition, which basically removes any colour from the layer and leaves only the texture. I then finally fine tune the opacity to make sure there aren't any hard edges and I have my finished project:

I have decided that in order to make my images more successful I will make most of my images self portrait. This is because I feel that in this way I can portray the emotions and actions that I want to show in my picture just as I'd like them, as only I can see in my mind. It also means that I won't need to rely on any other people, or take anyone else away from their studying, which I prefer. It will be very easy to take the images of myself, because I can follow this diagram:

My Canon Powershot has the option to use a self timer, which would allow me the time to get in to the shot and in my position. I also have the ability to turn the screen round, meaning that I would be able to see what the picture looks like from where I am standing. If I want to take a succesion of shots in exactly the same place I could set it to take up to 6 pictures one after another, which could be quite useful.

Inspired shoots

This is my attempt at recreating the shell image in Merel Brugmans gallery. I don't think it was very successful, and I am not too sure why it didn't work out so great. One of the reasons may of been because I only have a low class image editor on my MacBook, so I couldn't explore the depths as well as Photoshop would have been able to. I think this is an important step forward with learning to merge images though, and it shows I need to focus on my photo editing skills to create a stronger final image.

Merel Brugman

Merel Brugman comes from the Netherlands and specialises in still life a portraiture photography, often manipulating his images to create a surrealist effect. My favourite gallery by him is one called 'Body Langauge' which is my personal favourite. These are some of my favourite images by him:

I have decided that I will do some shoots which I will take inspiration from to help to move my project forwards. Merel Brugman also has a gallery entitled 'No Name' which is really surrealist.

Influence from Erik Johansson

One of my main influences was Erik Johansson, so I thought it best to try out one or two of his ideas. The first idea I decided to recreate was this image of a 'planet' like panorama.

To go about recreating images I took pictures in my garden first to aim to create a complete 360 degree panorama. I then uploaded my images to www.dermander.com to ensure that my complete panoramic worked successfully. This created an interactive image which was this:

As you can see, the whole panoramic doesn't quite work, as there is a little bit of confusion when facing the back of the garden. However, I have decided to carry on with experimenting with these shots to make sure that my idea of creating a planet of my garden will work before I waste more time in redoing a photoshoot.

My Mulitplicity Shots

I did some of my own shooting to attempt to recreate some of the multiplicity shots that I previously showed. I first off tried some with two people, to get an interesting different effect and then tried some with just one person included. With two people, the composition of the image tended to get a bit more crowded which kind of took away from the point of the images. However, I did do a few takes with two people in them to gain some experience in that field:

My favourite out of all of these images is the one inside the classroom because I think it works really well together, even though some of the positions would be technically impossible. After then speaking to my teacher, I decided to try some Multiplicity photo shoots with just one person. I looked at some images of similar ideas on the Internet, and decided to make my first photo shoot a self portrait of me. I think that the picture can tell the story of how woman's lives are very busy, and they often need multiple limbs with any chance to get things done. Also, because all of the things I am holding are appearance based, it could be said that it also shows the pressure put on to young woman to look good at all times. 

I am really impressed with my editing on this image, as I think that it does like quite lifelike. I am also impressed because although it looks complicated, the process is actually quite simple. You just take the images in the same place each time, and then open them all as layers in to your photo editor. You chose which one you want to be your background and move that to the bottom of the layers. Then for the other layers you simply erase any of the image that you don't want, which means that the bits that you do want will sit on top of the background create the illusion of many arms.

After this shoot I decided that I would do another similar one but working on many different things I have learnt from this shoot, both positive and negative:

Positive:

- Editing worked well
- Composition was in centre of the frame which drew attention straight to the subject
- Looks surreal because the audience wouldn't be able to figure out how it works

Negatives:

- The background is too distracting

So working on these points I decided to try another shoot, this time with me permanently behind the camera so I would have more control over the image that would be created:

Erik Johansson Surrealism

Erik surreal

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The first image is my favourite surreal image that I am yet to find, as I think it is incredibly clever. As with most of Erik's images it is mainly a amalgamation of two different images in layers to create a really clever effect. I think that he took a picture of road which ended suddenly and also a picture with him with a sheet and worked with the opacity and turning 'Colour to Alpha' in Photoshop. There is a really clever vanishing point, and line of perspective which leads the eye back. Also, because the road and Eriks clothes are both grey/blues, and the rest of the image is all midtones of green it means that both elements stand out a lot more.

The whole style of Eriks work is varied, but always using interesting techniques to keep the audience interested in his work. The picture of the scissors cutting through the house and landscape has a totally different feel to the previous picture as it is very dark and gloomy with a very low lying cloud which gives the whole image a rather negative feel. Throughout his portfolio he expresses the mood he requires by the tone of the sky, and with the brightness levels. In the image of the clothes on a telephone mast, there is also the subtle hint of a rainbow in the background again implying a happy tone. He also always makes good use of vanishing points and lines, as most of his images direct the viewer to the back middle of the image. Most of his surreal images are actually quite simple, but because he is so developed in his Photoshop skills they work really well together. One image that baffles me however is the hands holding on to a vase after a fall, however the vase has remained intact and the arms have shattered. I really don't know how he could have created this effect as it is a very tricky thing to take pictures of. In contrast an image which I think would be really simple to recreate is the picture of the lady painting the floor while the rest of the picture is in greyscale. Once again it is simply merging two images together and using colou effects to create the illusion. 

Erik Johansson

Erik Johansson is a Dutch photographer who specialises in retouching photos to create really interesting effects. First off I'm going to look at his illusional work, which is really very confusing!

The second picture is probably my favourite and I think that it could be quite easy to recreate. I presume that Erik has taken one, or possibly a couple of pictures of the same crossroad, and then played around with them on Photoshop. My guess would be that  he separated the layers and flipped the horizontal ones over and merged them all together. I think that this is something that I might be able to have a go at if I have time as it is in a different route to surrealism.
Also with the third picture which is of the room, with a room on the ceiling I am unsure as to how he created it. I think it may of been a similar technique to the previous image.
The fifth image which shows a man creating a 'puzzle' on the street floor is very simplistic but also very striking. The vanishing point at the back of the picture immediately leads my eye to that avoiding the main subject of the picture. The reflection in the street gives the illusion that the picture is bigger than it seems. I think that this could be quite an achievable picture as I think he simply merged layers of a different floor together and played around with lines to create a puzzle effect.


Overall, I really like Erik Johanssons illusion images I don't think I am going to continue down this path in answering my question. I don't think that it fully explores the 'visual contradictions between fantasy and reality' which the question requires.  

How to do Multiplicity.

Having done some research in to multiplicity I decided I definitely wanted to give it a try so did some research in to how to do it, and it turns out it's quite simple. For my first few images I used my Apple Mac, which has a camera, however this isn't of the greatest quality so as I developed my technique I moved on to using my HD ready Canon PowerShot.

First off, when taking the pictures you must ensure that the camera always remains in exactly the same position. This will make it a lot easier when you come to edit them together, as you won't need to move them around so much. Where you stand is also very important as you should try not to stand in front of yourself in a previous picture, as you will just block yourself out. It's also a lot easier later on if you wear quite simplistic clothes which don't include tricky patterns as this means that you have to line it all up when you put it together, otherwise it won't look very realistic.

Once you have taken your pictures, (you can take as many as you like) you should open them all up as layers in Photoshop. You need to decide which one of your pictures you want to be the background and place that right at the bottom as it is the only layer that you will be able to see the entire image. Starting from the top layer you should then zoom right in and use a fuzzy eraser brush to go round the outline of the section of the picture you want to keep. So basically, you need to remove the background and only keep the main subject.

Once you do this to all of the layers apart from the bottom one you have completed your multiplicity!

Sabattier Effect

The Sabattier Effect is also known as solarization, and is a technique which happens when a film is overexposed to great extents. To do this, you must re expose a partially developed print to light during the developing stage, which is usually done by briefly turning on a light in the dark room. This will make the highlights and shadows reverse, which creates a high level of contrast, like these images:




If I decide to attempt to use analog photography I will try and do some darkroom manipulation, as I find this exciting as it is so unpredictable.

Multiplicity

I have looked in to the idea of multiplicity surrealism photography, which is defined as the art of having the same person photographed from different angles and directions and then the bunch of photographs are digitally re-mastered in Photoshop showing clones of the person doing different things all in one photo.


Here are some examples of these:

Multiplicity

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Compound Words

Here are some of my ideas for compound words that I could use to create one strong and succesful image:

Armchair
Brainstorm
Brainwash
Butterfingers
Catfish
Chairman
Cornstalk
Cowboy
Cupcake
Dogfish
Eardrum
Eyeball
Fingernail
Fishbowl
Goldfish
Horseman
Jellyfish
Kidnap
Mealtime
Milkmaid
Pancake
Peanut
Piggyback
Pineapple
Pillowcase
Potbelly
Seashell
Skyscraper
STaircase


I wanted to look for words which would be easily illustrated and could link straight together so that the viewer would instantly know what it is supposed to be. However, I found manipulating these pictures together quite unsuccesful, and not strong enough to continue for a whole product, so I decided to move on and try and answer the question in a different way. Also after re reading the exam paper, and really thinking about it I decided that this idea didn't really answer the question as it wasn't really a distortion of reality.

Ideas.

One of my main ideas for Surrealistic Photography is to create images which combine two parts of compound words. I got this idea from seeing this image after searching for surrealism on Google.

I have the idea of taking different compound words and combining images of both parts of the word to create on striking image. This is a great picture to draw inspiration from, as I think it does the editing so well. I also like how apart from the actual sea and bed, both parts have something else attached to increase the believability. By this I mean the light above and the headboard with the bed, and the seaweed which is on the beach.

Angus McBean

Angus McBean is a Welsh Photographer who mainly based on surrealist photography. He photographed during the World War II and post war periods, and also created some masks which led to McBean being offered a studio in Victoria, London.

These are some of Angus McBean images which are based on surrealism. I don't really like his work because I feel that there is too much distractions from the main surrealist section of the images. For example, with the picture on the left, the main focus of the picture isn't the head, it is placed among other smaller components which draw the eye away from the surrealist picture. In my work I hope for the surrealist components to be the main part of the image, so that when my audience sees it they are straight away shocked by it. However, because McBean was photographing around the time of World War II, he couldn't of used the modern photo editing software that we use now. I would be interested in how he used methods of editing as I think that this could give me a new depth to my coursework of possibly trying to use analog photography to create a surrealistic effect.

Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz was originally born Jose Maria Rodriguez Madoz in 1958. He is best known for his black and white surrealist photography, which began when he studied Art History at a University in Madrid. In 2011 an exhibition of Chema Madoz's work was opened in Chile by Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain.


The picture on the left is one of the first pictures by Chema Madoz that I found and liked. I like how the point of the mountain leads directly up and is positioned as the though it is hanging up the picture frame. Because the images are in black and white I think it creates a very dramatic effect.


I also really like the picture that is now on the right. The plug in the cup of tea signifies how the person who is drinking it is draining the tea out of the cup. The blank black background makes the image stand out even more, and brings the eye straight to the darker colourings of the plug which is encased by lots of white colours.




Chema Madoz's work is mostly about blending images together. I think that I will take this from her work in to my own, and also possibly only using greyscale colouring. I think that out of the whole process of take and editing images I enjoy manipulating them most, as I really enjoy the post production. One of the main reasons that I chose Surrealism is because of this, and I think that mirroring Chema Madoz's work could create a really strong project for me. I hope for my final images to be based on taking a few seperate images, and blending them together to create one strong piece. However, for this to be a success I will need to do a lot of build up to it so as to train up my Photoshopping skills.

Choice of Question

I have chosen to answer question two which is 'Surrealism' for my Photography Unit 4 piece. To answer tis question correctly I have to make sure that I create some images which distort reality and explore fantasy. To get a range of ideas for my final piece I will begin by researching the artists which are given on the original exam paper.
I am going to present my research portfolio for this unit on this blog. I feel that this will give me the best chance to show my skills to full potential, and it would create an interactive presentation for anyone who views it.

"An aspect of surrealism is the distortion of reality and the production of images that explore visual contradictions and fantasy. Examples can be seen in the photographic work of Chema Madoz and Angus McBean. Consider a range of examples and proudce your own work in response to this theme"