I often have mixed feelings about doing this to photos--it's really fun to do, and I can get really into the experimentation. But I'm not always sure I like the results. The beauty of being able to play with them like this? The two below weren't very good photos to begin with, and now they're at least interesting to look at--see the before and after.
Before: Booooring
After. "Who's that trip-trapping across my bridge?"
All edits and textures from PicMonkey and Pixlr Express
After. "Who's that trip-trapping across my bridge?" All edits and textures from PicMonkey and Pixlr Express
Before
After--texture can be found hereSo...definitely more interesting than the originals. Definitely a lot of fun to make. But they're not really anything more than pretty, you know? Not that there's anything wrong with pretty, but apparently I have a complicated relationship with making things that are just pretty.
But I don't always feel this way about editing heavily. Sometimes, it's precisely, exactly what a photo needs to become precisely, exactly what it's meant to become. Below, for instance, is my favorite self portrait so far. In altering the image's texture and color, I turned it into something that has less to do with what I look like, and more to do with being...I'm not really sure how to put it. But it became something outside of myself, something that has a deeper story, and something I hope is more than merely pretty. And I love that.
Also interesting--the texture on the self portrait is the very same texture I used on the orchard photo above. It works well on both, but it's astonishing how vastly different the total effect is, no?
oh, i love that edited orchard image. i don't think at all that it is just 'merely pretty'... there's so much mystery and lush-webby-textural hidden magic, and it so draws me in, i want to explore in those shadows, in that sparkly canopy...
ReplyDeletei love it. keep up the rad work, amy.
Oh, thank you, Anna! You know, several of the folks in the class seemed to really like these too (actually, especially the bridge one), so between their comments and yours, I think I may need to reevaluate my stance! So lovely to see you here. xo
DeleteI love your self portraits! I've been stalking them (you?) on Flickr because I want to do some paintings with figures in and your images inspire me so much. This one with the 'stars' is too gorgeous.xx
ReplyDeleteWow! Stalk away, my friend--I'm terribly flattered. (And if that's the case, it occurs to me that I have some others you might care to work with. I can set up a way to give you Flickr access to them--watch your Flickr mail.) xo
DeleteAmy, I really like the dimensions in that self portrait and the bridge is very mystical. Sometimes I just liked to "play" with photos and see what happens. Their stories sometimes change for the better (and sometimes not...).
ReplyDeleteExactly--play is key. And sometimes it works, and sometimes, not so much. Either way, the playing is fun!
DeleteYou know, when I was reading the text of your post, I expected a hyper-digitalized, heavily pixel-maximized version of the photos (if that makes sense? Like those overly perfect photos that have clearly been touched up) But these have this mystical, magical quality to them, a little surreal, which for me totally draws me in (whereas with photos that have been edited to be overly perfect, it's like nothing was left to the imagination). And it's interesting how it works in different ways, depending on the subject. For the top 2, I feel like I am peering into the landscape of a richly imagined inner world, whereas for the self-portrait, as you say, it speaks to the depth of your personality and being.
ReplyDeleteAh, no! No airbrushing here. ;-) Layering and texturing to tell more of a story, yes--but making things all plasticky perfect really isn't my bag. I do love the mystical and magical, it turns out, though--that's usually where my photos are trying to head. I'm not always sure they succeed, but everyone else seems to really like these, so clearly, something worked, even if they don't quite work for me. And I actually find that a really interesting problem to contemplate.
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