It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post and I have been absorbed by working on Transitions my entries for the Green Door group show at the Brewery Arts Centre here in Kendal. It’s been the first time that I have worked to a theme and it has allowed me to explore the boundaries of photography and digital art. It was a challenge at first but after googling for a couple of hours around the word ‘Transition’ some ideas began to come together. Since I am a B & W photographer I came to the idea of tracing a journey from colour to B & W. The first idea was quite literal and was a series of photos where I would desaturate a colour at a time until I got to a B & W picture. It was a bit too linear. So the next idea was to put them into a collage, non linear and resizing the pictures, putting some into a vertical format and others in a landscape format. But that looked too fussy and busy so another rethink was required. I finally came up with the idea of transforming existing photos into a new photo and at the same time converting to B & W and then selectively adding back some of the colour. A lot simpler but more effective, I started work on one of my seascapes, I converted it to B & W and then began to choose areas of the picture and selectively add the colour back. As a final touch I then began to use other filters to create another element of movement or flux. A few days later and I had three pieces that I was happy with. There at the framers now so I can relax and enjoy the next 10 days with some friends from California. I’ll let you know whether I get selected in February.
Something different
Exhibition activity has gone quiet so I am turning my hand to a submission for the Green Door ‘Transitions’ show. I have decided to ‘play’ with my photographs on the theme of transition. I could have gone out to look for a straight photograph on the theme of Transitions. However I have decided to explore some of the more artistic elements of the software I use in my photography. I have selected 6 photographs that I have previously taken and am exploring the theme by using filters, frames, blending effects that I would never use in my usual practice. I have spent about 3 days on this so far and I have found it quite liberating. It is more digital art than digital photography it is also in colour which is new as well. I am making collages out of several photos and playing with finishes, paper and generally going where mu ‘mojo’ takes me.
Something different 2
Thinking about how to show my exhibition to my friends scattered across the globe, well Belgium and US. Having just upgraded to Lightroom 4 you can export slideshows as video. So I had a go, messed about with transitions but ended up going back to a simple fade. Then had more fun going through my music collection to select a track that I felt would work. Spent about a day on it in all. Then stuck it onto Facebook and YouTube.
Tried to load it on this blog but it did not appear to work – so here is the link if you are interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eJzBHpc-Ws
Good start to 2013
Been a bit busy since the Christmas/New Year break. Hung my exhibition at Low Sizergh Barn, attended the preview last Friday. Good write up in the local paper which created some aditional interest.
Preview went well. I am more confident in talking about my work, part of it is just practice but the other part is that I am comfortable with my style and feel that it can help identify my work.
Getting ambitious now – applied for acceptance in an American photography exhibition for later in the year. Just posted 2 holding pictures for now to get me fired up and thinking about the real candidates before the May deadline.
Just heard this evening that the exhibition I was selected for in Fife is going to be extended in another custom made Arts venue.
So a good start to the year.
Next steps
The Art group to which I belong is having an exhibition in The Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal. The theme is Transition.
So the aim this week is to get 3/4 pieces together for the submission in early February. I have already decided that it will not be a straight photograph but more a digital print based on a photograph. It will be an opportunity to have a play in Photoshop and mess about with the images far more than I normally do. Feels quite liberating and different.
