I have been playing around with the idea of capturing the flow of objects around a static subject for some time now. This is the result of such an experiment, taken whilst on vacation.
In this instance a number of shots were taken of a Savannah restaurant, handheld and as vacationers wandered by. The goal was to capture lots of images that could be layered and figures selectively masked in to build a story.
I tried to keep this playful, in a manner that I felt best suited the mood at that time.
For those familiar with the Ventosa ITR process flow this is very similar (layer/mask/adjust opacity) but I purposely focused against aligning the subject in each frame.
This is open for comments (good OR bad gratefully accepted, from veteran and novice alike).
** As a side challenge, let's see who is the first to spot the person using their phone.
Alan, I love what you've captured here... the vibrancy, the movement, the sneakily concealed man on his phone 😉 I'm definitively picking up the holiday vibe.
Thanks for the feedback Mike!
You've really captured something here, Alan! This image really appeals to me; Mike puts it well in describing my reaction too.
Where I'd differ is in saying that the young woman is wondering why her guy hasn't rung, when, well - he SHOULD! I didn't realise that your talents extended to mind-reading, Alan. That's supposed to be more my bailiwick as a psychiatrist.
Ha, you are the expert at messing with folks' minds Chris.
That's a great take on the story. I wish I had thought of that angle, then I could have pretended it was intentional and appear to be smart, like you :-)
Perhaps you should get out the house and try this yourself - I'm sure your patients would love to see some of your brain-teasing artwork on the walls of your office.
I think that would make them worse, Alan! I do have eleven of my prints in my office, carefully selected NOT to be too thought-provoking, as it is "interesting" what some people will come up with. Not necessarily in a good way for our work!
FWIW, Alan, I'm not tempted. As we've discussed, while photography offers endless possibilities, and I admire what people will do, and the extent of their experimentation, there's no accounting for taste.
To me, ICM and ITR and some long-exposure work has an inherent slickness to my eye that turns me off, or at least doesn't turn me on, float my boat, press my buttons. Some very fine ICM work, for instance, calls to my mind watercolour or oil abstract or semi-abstract paintings - but I find myself wanting the paper texture in the watercolour, or the rich surface texture (especially on seeing the actual painting) of oils or acrylics. For me the definitive image is the print, not on-screen.
The aesthetic or expressive virtues of photography lie elsewhere for me. All totally subjective, so I'd never criticise ICM or ITR work per se, and as here, can see worth in it. You're a very fine exponent of these genres, and I can admire and respect that, without wanting to personally emulate it; I have to feel some internal drive to press the shutter button, and random experimentation just leads to noise or chaos - for me.
But the very fact that others see your such work, and want to have a go, inspires me vicariously. Good on youse (as we say in Oz)!
You hit it on the nail, Chris. I appreciate the slickness in a lot of the long exposure techniques. That's exactly what I've been experimenting with lately in Photoshop with ITR - trying to get that "paper texture" or "rich surface texture" feel in the photo. Wonder if Alan could give some advice on this in regards to ITR - the other techniques of late probably don't lend themselves to texture?
Hi Jennifer. How are you combining LE & ITR? I'm not clear on how that might produce texture.
I haven't concerned myself too much with applying texture to photos Jennfier - the times I have tried the result looked a bit to gimmicky to me.
That said, there are many texture packs available for PS that may fit what you are looking for. If you find anything that fits the bill I'd love to see the result.
I do use textured paper on some of my prints, that that's a different subject.
Hello Alan! Actually, I meant that LE and ICM cannot really have texture because of the movement while shooting, but ITR has more of an opportunity for producing texture since it's not really so much about movement while shooting as it is about layers of still photos. Should have said in the post ... the other techniques DISCUSSED of late probably don't lend themselves to texture (LE and ICM). Gimmicky is the word for what I've been noticing when I try to add texture.
Hi Jennifer! LIke Alan, I find that simulated textures (and even photographic grain simulation) in digital processing just doesn't deliver an attractive result. After all, the digiral images we're almost exclusively discussing here are two-dimensional with NO depth - zero.
For me, the definitive image is the print, and printing is a whole new, interesting area in its own right. So far, I've only printed on gloss or pearl paper, but can envisage some images, like my recent pseudo-Asian-scroll-painting images looking better, with more life, on textured paper. Some people print on actual watercolour paper intended for that medium. Maybe that approach would achieve the result you seek.
G'day Chris, I certainly understand your viewpoint and appreciate the feedback. In fact, my own wife has serious reservations to what she terms my 'blurry photos'.
I think any form of abstract work divides the community, and as you say it's all down to personal taste.
I appreciate your ability to acknowledge the work, even if it is not to your liking.
I'd really like you to get out of the house and see you posting some of your work again (it's been a while...), so I'll continue to nudge you in any way I can...... ;-)
I can't wait to get out of the house, down the coast, and into the countryside next month, smell fresh air and positively fondle that shutter button, Alan!
With luck, I can finallly resume my habit of taking leave, and lots of photos, in winter (I think that's a bit like your summer....) and spring.
I can actually ask a business if they off Veteran, Senior or Student discounts...I don't know why they don't offer Novice discounts?
I really like what you did here. I seriously need to attempt this.
Thanks for the feedback Dean, if you (others) do try this I'd recommend the following;
- position yourself so you can shoot the static element with somewhat similar position. I have tried shooting on a tripod previously (just to appease Chris...) but the overall effect was not the same.
- think about where you'd like moving objects in the frame, and await those opportunities.
- try to isolate people or groups. Although a throng of people could be masked in/out it is easier to do so if there is space in-between.
- shoot LOTS of frames. Having options on what to include is never a bad thing, and the cost of storing on an SD card minimal.
Other than that have fun!
I always like your colors, Alan. How do you achieve them?
All the colors are actually natural. I typically make global adjustments to vibrance & saturation, and then look at individual colors in the HSL panel, balancing until I get what feels right.
I rarely adjust Hue or apply any color grading/curve adjustments, when I do they tend to be minimal.
I always like the desaturated blues/yellows/greens/corals in the ones you post; so I need to work on my vibrance/saturation adjustments. You do really well with the balance for sure.
That's an interesting observation, and purely unintentional. I simply work the colors until they suit my own personal taste - glad we're on the same page on this.