Photo(s) I Always Wanted To Shoot... #2

So the quarter has finally drawn to a close, and it was a very quick, yet drawn out 11 weeks.  I remember getting the first assignments in class, going on photo trips and then here we are taking final exams, doing final presentations, handing in final reports, and presenting final images.

Wow.

Next quarter will be on us very, very quickly, and it'll be a little more intense than this last one - at least for me.  I think I said that about this last quarter at the end of the first, didn't I?  I dunno, I think I did.  :D

For the final image of the quarter, I'll post the image that was the final in my Photo Design class.  Like the first Photo I Always Wanted To Shoot (PIAWTS), this is a concept piece that I want to carry through to other shoots in the future.  It's a recreation of a sculpture of the Greek Hero, Theseus, slaying the Centaur.  It was originally done by an Italian sculptor, Antonio Canova, in 1811 for Napoleon.

Hopefully this is just one of many to come in the future.  I love the Greek/Roman sculpture of heroic scenes and mythological characters from their old pantheon.  To be able to "bring them to life" is a desire of mine whereby I recreate them with artistic quality and aesthetic grandeur, bringing my own vision to the classic/archaic masterpiece as well as updating the vision behind the dynamics of the sculpture.

I'm looking forward to images to come, and sharing them with others!

©Carlos Paradinha Photography

Canon 7D with Photoshop manipulation of the Centaur.  ;-D

Symbolism

So - it never ceases to amaze me that life has a way of making itself known in a tangle of ways which ultimately makes it more complex than what it needs to be.

I've noticed that each time we have been poised to move from one place to anther, something dramatic looms in the distance, waiting to strike and spitting piss and vinegar.  This time it's no different.

I would like to be able to rant and rave and carry on about the woes, trials and tribulations that accompany this move, but I will not.  I dare not.  The reason is because I feel that the more that it's dwelt upon, the more life it's given.  What I will do is move forward and allow the past to recede into the background.  As it does, it will not only become smaller in my rearview, it will also become less din.

So onward - this past week's assignment for Photo Design was to come up with an image that would tell a story in and of itself through the imagery alone.  We had a very broad range of topics from which to choose.  Hopefully my topic is readily apparent.

©Carlos Paradinha Photography. 

People have prescribed many different people to the wearer of the black shoe in this image.  Undoubtedly you will too.  What remains constant is the feeling that the image conveys the sentiment and acknowledgement of a lot of folks who feel that it rings true.

The Magic of Lighting

As a photographer in training, one of the first things I was taught was that no image can be captured without light.

I was like "duh."  But the truth of the statement sank deeper and I thought about it a lot more as the weeks progressed and I was playing, shaping, caressing, toying, experimenting with light.  Oh yes, I also cursed it and its fickle ways, but I knew it was a tool that was constant as math, and sometimes just as frustrating and confusing.

I learned a bit about the absence of light as well - I believe that's something more to be explored, but the appearance of something can be just as dramatic as its non-appearance.  "negative space" as it's called.

I'm hoping that as these weeks go on that i refine my shaping of light, and constrain it some - enough- to make images that are not only alluring, appealing and interesting - but memorable as well.

Lighting Class' Product Shoot.  This was supposed to have had specific
criteria as far as background gradation and lighting on the products.

Lighting Class' Silverware Shoot. Trying to light very shiny objects without
getting 'hot spots' with the light and blowing out the edges is tough.

Lighting Class' Texture Shoot.  This was a lesson in directional lighting
to capture the textures of the objects lit.  Directional lighting is key,
and shadowing plays a huge part.  I kinda missed the mark a bit on this,
but I learned a lot in the process.

Lighting Class' Glassware Shoot.  This is mostly to get the
idea that backlit objects can be not only beautiful, but
practical in its execution.

Lighting Class' Glassware Shoot.  This is extra credit work.
We had to come up with some alternative lighting styles
to light glass in a pleasing way.