Maps & Networks: 2nd Shoot

Hooray for new ideas, it's time to talk about the 2nd shoot. 

As this shoot is with a new concept it kind of came out like shoot 1 version 2, as we didn't plan any specific shots and just wanted to see the effect we get under the red lighting. For the red lighting I have a string of red LED lights that me and my housemates normally use for parties but we strung it up around the front of the studio right about the camera would did if doing a wide shot. It gave a very gloomy and brooding environment, which we found perfect for the concept, as it reflects the deep inside where we shove our unwanted feelings. Through the eye the lighting was beautiful but on camera was another story. For some reason, even after looking up a tutorial, The Nikon D-90 just was struggleing in the low light enviroment and only really worked on tripod even though we kept using it handheld, In the end it worked to our advantage as I really liked how the blurrier pictures came out. 

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

The above 4 images I've collected together as they had the LED's visible in them, Personally the 2nd is my faveourite. Just for me its one of those images that are like 1 in a million. The composition and positioning of the lights behind Nina and the how that effects the lighting on the face, the focus on the face and this combined with the hair movement making it seem like the image was shot with a fixed 25 mil lens with a tight focus, and even the facial expression. It just works for me visually and I feel it also fits the projects concept as it has this almost tired feeling in regards to handling emotions which is very true, like an impatience with negatives emotions. It doesn't fully reflect the projects visual style as its not the cleanest or bright, But we might develop into a direction that is a lot darker and use a black background. 

The 1st image really shows how red light almost blows out on skin an interesting thing to consider in the future of using this LED light in shoots. and the final image is something neither of us though to use, lightpainting, even though it does look cool, like a light crown, its just not what we need or want for this project. light painting is definitely not something we,re going to take further as its connotations of technology and whimsey take the realness away from our concept and almost belittle the negative mental health aspects of not dealing with emotions healthily.  As visually interesting as all of the above images are they feel too far from what we set out to do  and could be potentially used in the future as development inspiration but I feel the second half of the shoot fit better with what we need. 

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

Image from 2nd Maps&Networks shoot - Joe Palmer/Nina Sayuri

I find the blurry photographs we took very interesting as the method of purposely making your pictures blurry isnt something I've ever done before but it came out really interesting for me. I think the blurry figure make it seem more primal and expressive. I find this because the ghostly warped figures add another level to the subject and extend the facial and body expressions. I think it could be good to explore this technique further and perfect it so when hung on a wall the image will still be readable. When it comes the the editing of the pictures for this shoot I thought I'd get more visceral and for them I know edited when I was overcome with an extreme emotions, most of them happened all at once when I was incredibly annoyed.

Angry edit from shoot 2 

Lonely edit from shoot 2 

Angry edit from shoot 2 

Angry edit from shoot 2 

On reflection, I do love these edits I did for this shoot as, I feel atleast, they are a lot more emotional. I didn't really have a method I just kind of let my hands do the work. They all involve layer blend modes and then in a few I played around with the brush tool and rubber to distort the images more. I find each image has its own readability through this edit. The 1st is has a very lonely feeling to me and so does the 2nd image but both at each end of the loneliness spectrum. The 1st is like a frustration and the 2nd is more of a longing feeling. The 3rd image is like a horror nightmare scape, and just all i see is screaming and pain, and the last is definitely my least favourite but i still enjoy it. I kind of reminds me of the Lady Justice, the statue outside of most american court houses.  and then the black line across the neck is very murdery  and the whole image for me acts as like a representation of the death of justice. I feel the biggest downfall for all of the images is definitely the grain on the images and the stock of images I had to edit with.

Mixed Media edits - Shoot 1 &2

Mixed Media edits - Shoot 1 & 2

We both reflected back on our research at this point and realised we hadn't done any mixed media editing, something we both want to explore, so Nina tackled it for this and the last shoot. In regards to our skill set Nina has better skill in more practical editing and I have better luck with Photoshop, so we split the editing load mainly that way to get the best outcomes but in future we will both partake in both in order to push ourselves and build skills. I really like the way they came out in the end, mainly the red edits as they are a lot more of an obvious edit so i feel the audience notices the physical aspect of the edit more, and for me if your going to do something practical with the actual physical image I'd want it to be obvious. The 1st shoots edits are interesting but we will have to find a way to improve the cut out and crumpled look as they are too subtle.

Even though the shoot was successful I we really need to improve on it as becuase its such an ambiguous topic it's hard to focus down on where we want it to truly go visually in the portrayal of the theme. Although I've become alot close with Nina through this project which is awesome and I feel we're meshing well. In order to stay within the aesthetic minimalist style I think moving on from this project we're going to experiment with a different light source for the red.