Fragmented Commentary

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Page created  April 28, 2012
Sitting date:  August 5, 2011

 

Like many "ideas", the inspiration for Fragmented Keira came from the convergence of several separate ideas. 

One concept:  I've been seeing a lot of "collages" of models, usually a 3x3 grid of model head shots, where the model is posing with an extreme facial expression on each images.  Something like this...

 

 

I've done animated images before, like this one made 12 years ago.  I did another sequence with an animated GIF 6 years ago -- for those of you with access to the Out Takes Galleries, you'll find that sequence associated with the out takes from Yulia's third visit, the sequence from the back stairs.  Check it ouit.

In any case, I got a good animation utility as a bonus when I purchased an earlier version of Paint Shop Pro.  Frankly, it makes creation of these animated GIFs easy -- in fact, it took less time to put together these animated images than it took to edit a single image.

 

One final inspiration element contributed to this idea.  When I was very young (i.e. before I learned to drive), I spent one summer in an "art" camp.  There, I was interested in learning film making.  I made one memorable "film" -- it was a moderately long loop of images -- I only put together quick images of 3-10 frames, so each shot lasted only a fraction of a second -- just enough time to show a gesture.  With the loop, these images repeated infinitely.  The soundtrack?  I collected 3-5 metronomes, and had to click away at different speeds.  It was interesting -- the brain could find patterns with those semi-random noises from those metronomes.  (Now that I think about it, that film loop with those metronomes must have been very annoying for more adult viewers).

I liked the randomness of the images & the clicking of the metronomes.  I loved how, after a while, one found patterns and how one saw more detail each time through the loop.

Frankly, that project taught me that I had no business trying to be a film maker -- that project convinced me to try my hand at still photography.  That was over 40 years ago.


In any case, the 60-70 individual images used in Fragmented Keira were created from a larger number of images created for the express purpose of that concept.  Each was cropped from larger images.  Presented here is a selection of those larger images.  Enjoy

 

 

 

 

I occasionally get feedback from viewers, requesting more color images, but hey, it's my web site, and I've got to have a reason to post a color image -- otherwise, I prefer the abstraction of the monochromatic images.

Here's a good example -- although this is a full color image, it uses a limited palette.  Why make it a color image?  Any color in my images have to be making a contribution, otherwise, expect a B&W image.   

 

 

 

I've got to say that there is something alien to me about this concept.  Normally, I'm photographing naked people -- we are having a natural conversation, and the model simply reacts with natural gestures.  This time, however, we are really challenging Keira to show me a variety of poses that are more focused on specific body parts.  This is not how we normally work together, and for that reason alone, this is a good thing.

 

 

 

... That's not to say that we didn't get a few "natural" reactions from Keira.

I was a little concerned about the camera perspective.  For both the head & the torso images, I put the camera on a tripod, with the camera set at around breast level.  When I later photographed Keira's hips, I lowered the camera perspective.

I probably didn't have to worry.  I didn't notice, but during these exposures, Keira did wander a little bit -- closer & further away from the camera.  Since the camera's lens was set a mild wide angle, the little change in position did make a bit of an impact on the image perspective.

In the end, it didn't matter all that much, because I was not being careful about dividing Keira's form consistently.

 

 

 

 

We dabble a little with some props -- in this case, a nice scarf.  To be honest, I didn't like the prop-work we did.  For one thing, Keira has a magnificent head of hair, and it was a shame covering it up.  

Keira looked terrific on her own.  I think I liked this setup without the props.  We used classically simple studio lighting, and that with Keira's world class figure was all we needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Yes, I still do these "artistic effects" often.  I love how we can reduce the information in an image and still have it recognizable.  A little about me -- I have a graduate degree in computer science, and I worked in R&D for a Fortune 50 company for ~24 years.  During the course of my career, I was often asked to create & present status report for projects involving hundreds of engineers.  We engineers loved diving down into the details, finding significance in the tiniest subtlety.  However, managers were the typical audience for these presentation, and they wanted to hear summaries that they can trust.  They wanted to hear:  are we on track, are we on schedule, who's been doing the best work, what problems are ahead, and so forth.  So, throughout my career, I became successful by reducing millions of details into the essential information.  Perhaps that's why I like these artistic effects.  Indeed, if I were to go back to college for another advanced degree, I'd do a study in methodologies to present complex information in a non-verbal manner.  I love maps, charts, tables, and so forth.  My problem is that I don't exactly know what the discipline would be -- I certainly find the challenges to be part art & part science.  

By the way -- we are now producing images meant for the torso collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keira is doing a terrific job; we are leaning heavily on her experience.

But this kind of work is a tad alien to me.  She is moving & showing me a wide variety of poses, but I like the images that show some kind of connection between the model and the photographer.  I like Keira's shape; I like her gesture, but I got to admit that when I see a picture like this (and I often see pictures like this), I wonder what the model is looking at.

Around this time, we lower the camera on the tripod and focus a little more on Keira's hips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I'm glad we tried this "Fragmented" concept.  Both Keira & I want to try new things, and the result is interesting.

But I'm not overly pleased with it.  We lost a bit of the connection we usually feel when working together.  And I think we could stand ensuring that the "fragments" better connected with each other.  But hey, if you aren't failing once in a while, you aren't trying hard enough.

My Day With Keira

 

(Remember -- feedback is always appreciated) 

All images (c) 2012 Looknsee Photography

Keira, Fourth Visit Out Takes

Over 150 more images from this sitting are available in the Out Takes Galleries, which are available to those who have made a donation to the upkeep of this web site.  See this FAQ question for more details.