First Day of School

I normally shoot nudes. (I also make composites that include nudes. I didn't post one of those because I don't know if nudes are acceptable on the group.)

However, I was asked to participate in an exhibit with the theme of School Days. One of my models had posted an image of her 5-year-old boy with a very large green backpack when he first started school. I said, "You have to bring him to the studio with that!"

So, the boy was shot in the studio.

I made arrangements with a bus yard to go there and shoot the bus, and they loaned me a driver. The bus was shot right there in the yard, and there was a long line of buses stretching back into the background. A barbed wire fence from behind me was reflected in the windows. I removed the bus from the background, and then removed the windows from the bus. Afterwards, I added my own windows back in.

The rest of the scene—tree, pole, background, and all—was obtained by driving around a richer area of town, until I found a place I could get back far enough behind the sidewalk to take in enough that I thought would fit the picture.

All blended in Photoshop. Shadows added by hand (including some on the bus). Windows "replaced" to appear as if the scene behind was showing through, and also the reflections from the tree and pole "in front" of the bus.

When I did this image, the whole series that I submitted (10 images in all; maybe I'll post another one or two here later) was done up to have a painterly effect.