This Alien Earth

This Alien Earth

As long as I can remember I used to dream of other worlds filled with strange and exotic creatures fighting for survival in the most inhospitable places. My favorite Science Fiction artists and authors have always been those who can bring those places to life and illuminate my own imagination. When thinking about the details of those imaginary places I've realized that a lot of the inspiration used to create them is rooted in our own world. I began to think about all the strange creatures I have seen throughout my lifetime and just how odd they can be. There are organisms that eat rock, plants that sport growths and spines so intricate they can’t be seen with the naked eye, creatures who create intricate armor to protect themselves from others whose poison can liquefy internal organs. These miniature inhabitants are no less fantastical as some of the imagined creatures of alien worlds I've created in artwork or with the pages of Science Fiction books I have read. I decided to explore this world, one I've often overlooked, and share a glimpse into this alien earth. 

Chris Hackard

Cactus

Le Fleur

Lichen

Male Black Widow Spider

Snail

Inspiration and the Tutorial link

I was online looking for inspiration for the current and next creative project and I found some really interesting Science Fiction photography images. I've always been drawn to images like Alexander Casteel's Scream and before Photoshop photographers like Jerry Uelsmann always caught my eye. I still am in awe when I see works like the two below and how people are pushing the boundaries of just what photography is and how its used. I find myself blending traditional media with the digital more and more and I am hoping that by the end of this class I will be able to get past the technical aspects of Photoshop to more easily create what I envision in my minds eye.

Scream by Alexander Casteels

Untitled, 1972 by Jerry Uelsmann

There are so many tutorials out there on the web how to composite images but this website has good examples of all types and I think some of the work flows still apply 88 The Best Photo Manipulation Tutorials in Photoshop. 

scans'

Scan

Scan

Scanned Images

Here is the scanned item from class.

SIII Scan

I've recently completed a project where I scanned all of my black and white negatives so some of the techniques we learned in class last week are definitely going to be helpful cleaning up the new digital images produced from my negatives. The images below represent a very dirty negative and a fairly quick clean up.

San Francisco Boxer - before clean up -

San Francisco Boxer - after clean up -

I've also recently began a project scanning my old family photos and putting them together in a family tree to share. I was going to start scanning these Wednesday night but decided to start using my scanner at home. I am looking forward to keeping the raw images on hand but posting cleaned up images for other family members to have. It will be interesting to put all of this together so my cousin's kids can look back and see where they came from.

Benjamin and Eva Hertzler (Eva is my Great Grandmother)

Eva Hertzler at 9 years old

Lillian Hackard (My Grandmother) - before clean up -

Lillian Hackard - after clean up -

Scan

An artists that I have taken interest in is Keegan Gibbs who shoots both film and digital. Though he went to school for film making, Gibbs didn't want to do anything film related after graduating, so he started randomly shooting- in which  he received positive feedback from family and friends. While taking photos, he doesn't like to reach too far beyond what he is comfortable with, because to him it makes the image feel "fake and dishonest". He primarily does his work outside consisting of the different beaches around the world, surfers, and his friends. He also has gotten back into film and has released a variety short films. Just this past summer in Australia, his series 'Zuma' was presented in both Sydney and Melbourne. Gibbs is also the staff photographer at RVCA and has his own brewing company with friends.

Below are a few photos from different series that include: Graffiti, Open Spaces, and Zuma.

Here is a link to his website: http://keegangibbs.com/portfolio/display/umbrellas/

HDR stufffz

Panoramic 

                                                                             HDR

                                                                   Composite shot

Panoramic and HDR

1. Pano

2. Merge

3. HDR