Nympha Luminis

In mythology, nymphs are closely connected to nature and the elements, much like the beings that we call “fairies”.  This is the last installment in my fairy tale and mythology series. There is no particular story connected to the image. The idea has just been in my head for a while…a light nymph or “Nympha Luminis” (Latin, meaning Nymph of Light). It did not turn out the way I envisioned, largely because translating the images in my imagination into reality is really hard. There are so many factors involved in making a photograph like this. I used a 4×5 view camera, at night! So focusing with a flashlight was the only way to go. Secondly it was windy… causing motion blur, and determining that the model stand very still, which was made more difficult by the fact that it was freezing that night.

Overall though, I am happy with the way it turned out. I like the implied motion in the image because of the blur and the placement of the lanterns throughout the tree(s).

June 2, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Gretel’s Escape

“Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light the fire. “We will bake first,” said the old woman, “I have already heated the oven, and kneaded the dough.” She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. “Creep in,” said the witch, “and see if it is properly heated, so that we can put the bread in.” And once Gretel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would eat her, too. But Gretel saw what she had in mind, and said: “I do not know how I am to do it; how do I get in?” “Silly goose,” said the old woman. “The door is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!” and she crept up and thrust her head into the oven. Then Gretel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death.”

I am interested in Gretel in the story of Hansel and Gretel. She ultimately ends up taking matters into her own hands, saving herself and her brother, while also “cooking” the witch. I focused on two elements of Gretel’s character, her strength and vindication, and also her remorse. Gretel ran away because she could not stand the witch’s screams. Whether witch or not, “cooking” someone alive is simply macabre. I continually notice these unexpected elements in Grimm’s fairy tales (among others), themes such as innocent children committing horrendous murder, because circumstances force them to, of course. It is the common motif of good versus evil, one that is so blatantly prevalent in Grimm’s fairy tales.

This shoot was rather challenging ( and unpleasant, for both the model and I). The “oven” is a fallen, rotted tree’s roots. Inside, the ground is sinking mud. Not just any mud, but the kind that you can sink into if you stand in one place for too long. In addition, there were hoards of bugs. I still have bug bites to show for it! To achieve the lighting, I had to use three strobes through a satin white umbrella (camera left) in order to bring the tree and the shadowy forest in balance with the ambient light streaming through the trees behind. For the “oven” I rented a fog machine (and a generator to power it). I hid the fog macine in the corner by the model and bounced a red gelled strobe off white garbage bags. I had to thread the cord of the fog machine through the side of the tree because the generator was too big to fit in that corner!

Below are a few of the outtakes, it was difficult to get the smoke and the models pose to come all together in one shot.

May 26, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Little Match Girl

“Over in a corner between two houses…she sat down  and huddled. She tucked her tiny legs under her, but she froze even more..Alas! One little match would do so much good!…It was a warm clear flame…the matches shone with such a radiance it was brighter than the light of day…The morning of the New Year dawned over the little body sitting with the matches, of which a bunch was almost burnt up. She had wanted to warm herself, it was said…”

The Little Match Girl is a tragic story, yet it is beautiful in a way. The little peasant girl sold no matches on New Year’s Eve, so she lights them for warmth. Each time she lights one, she sees something wonderful. The first time it’s a warm fire, the second a table with a feast on it, the third a beautiful Christmas tree, and finally she sees her Grandmother as she is lighting her last matches. Her grandmother is the one who takes her to heaven. “She [Grandmother] lifted up the little girl in her arms, and in radiance and rejoicing they flew so high, so high. And there was no cold, no hunger, no fear-they were with God”.

I wanted to focus on the mixed beauty and tragedy of this story. We connect fairy tales with “happily ever afters” and dreams coming true, but that is not how Andersen writes. Many of his stories are sad, strange, and downright weird. I’m drawn to The Little Match Girl because of the character’s vulnerability. She is so fragile and her death so tragic, but the sweet note of the story is the way it ends. In a way, she does have a “happily ever after”, just not in the way one would expect.

It probably is evident to the observant eye that I “faked” the match light (no match would ever throw that much light, and in order to burn it in, the shutter would have to be dragged way to long to get a sharp picture). I had a snoot with 2 full CTO gels on it aimed at Marlee’s (my great little model) face. It was really difficult to get the snoot placed just right since it was such a narrow beam of light, and it was also challenging to make sure that the match didn’t cast a shadow on her face from the strobe, which would have given away my “fake”. Also, even the slightest amount of wind blew out the match, so I had to work very quickly. The other light is one strobe zoomed to 70mm with a 1/2 CTB gel aimed at the wall for added depth and a “cold” feeling.

Many thanks to Marlee, Rhonda, and Cortney for helping out on this one!

Source: Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen

May 14, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Death’s Messenger: Reshoot

In a previous post, I explained how I wanted to redo the “Death’s Messenger” shot by the cemetery gates. I reshot it last Friday, here are the results:

Here is the original photo with a diagram of how I wanted to change it:

I did not add water to the path, nor did I use a back light (the sun did that job). I did balance my camera to tungsten in order to “cool” down the warm sunset, then I warmed up my strobes with full CTO gels in order to bring them back to white. In Photoshop, I removed a lot of that awful cyan color (awful in my opinion) that is so prevalent whenever you use the tungsten white balance in daylight. I’m still not sure if I’m happy with the color, but I know that I want the image to feel cool in tone and creepy in mood. So you can see the effect of color balancing strobes and using tungsten white balance, here is what the image would have looked like had I used auto white balance in camera. Note the orange color of the strobes because of the CTO gels and the yellowness of the sun:

On a side note, I actually had a run in with the campus security at SMU during this shoot! The security guard inquired about what I was doing, and I calmly explained. He was kind enough to let me finish the shoot.

May 11, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Long Shot Photo-thon 2010

As a class assignment in Documentary Photography, we had an option of participating in the Photo Center Northwest Long Shot Photo-thon. The event is open to anyone and everyone. The idea is to photograph for a full twenty-four hour period, asking people to pledge money for every hour you shoot. It is designed to raise funds for the Photo Center NW and to support local photographers and artists. Shooting for a day straight? And for a good cause? What fun!

So, the Photo-thon kicked off Friday night at 6 PM and ended at 6 PM on Saturday. My classmate Miranda and I wanted to choose a theme so we wouldn’t be wandering around aimlessly with our cameras. I remembered London based “street” photographer Nick Turpin whose street portraits are really dramatic and interesting. He uses snooted strobes balanced with ambient light to create mini studios on the street and to add drama to everyday scenes. I particularly liked his Bridge series. So, Miranda and I decided to do street portraits Friday night, a la “Strobist” style.

Our first set-up was on the path near Capital Lake. Since it was cold and gloomy, there were not very many people out and about. Plus, because this was the first time I’ve ever asked strangers to take their portraits (I’m naturally shy), I think I overcompensated and got a little too enthusiastic. I practically ran at the first person I asked, explaining I was doing a project and if I could take her picture. She just stared at me and shook her head. After that, I learned to be a little more subtle.

Since the walkers and joggers around Capital Lake were getting very few and far in between, we decided to pack up and move to a more central location downtown.

We decided on this orange wall near 4th Street. As it got darker, the street lamps shining through the trees created some pretty crazy shadows. I was amazed at how many people consented to having their photo taken. Some kid even asked me if it cost money! “No, not at all!” I replied.

I was also intrigued by all the different characters we met. There are definitely some crazies out there. We couldn’t get this one guy to leave us alone; he must have talked to us about nonsense for fifteen minutes straight. I just looked at Miranda, pretending to listen but really trying not to laugh. A few people were really interested in what we were doing; a lot of people asked me what kind of camera I was using. Some people even thought our snooted flash was some sort of “gun”…uh it is “flash gun”, I guess!

The photo above is by far my favorite from the evening. This man consented to having his photo taken so graciously. I titled it “Memories” because he looks like he is really contemplating something.

These two were an interesting pair. They really got into posing and talked with us for a while afterward. It is interesting how taking someone’s portrait can establish a form of connection; I found that sometimes the person you are photographing will open up to you and tell you things about their lives that you would have never even asked about!

This was a fun couple. Before the photo the girl asked me if she needed to get rid of her cigarette. I said, “No!” I like how it adds a little red glow to her hand.

I found another photographer participating in the Long Shot Photo-thon!

For our last set-up, we moved around the corner and bounced the light off a shop window (there is also a snooted strobe below the person for a highlight).

I love this photo. He was distracted by some loud street noises and gave me this adorable, timid look! However , by this time it was almost ten o’clock. Miranda and I were both tired and a little wary because of the arrival of more and more shady characters. We decided to call it a night… we were both too tired to try and shoot through the night. So we decided to resume the Photo-thon the next day.

Saturday morning I had a track meet to go to…along came camera. I was not only photographing for the Long Shot project, but also for my final project in Documentary Photography (a story on my sister’s last few weeks at college).

I mostly focused on photographing my sister, but I got a few other interesting shots like the one above.

Participating in the Long Shot Photo-thon was really fun and really exhausting… and I didn’t even make it the full twenty-four hours! Now I just need to decide which ten images to submit. Out of the ten that a participant sends, at least one if chosen for inclusion in the Long Shot Exhibition on June 4th!

May 4, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Rapunzel Let Down Her Hair

“Rapunzel had beautiful long hair that shone like gold. When she heard the voice of the witch [crying, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"] she would… unbind the plaits of her hair, and let it down…” – “Rapunzel”, Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales

What is striking about the Grimm’s version of Rapunzel is how macabre it is. Rapunzel is locked in a tower, forced to cater to an ugly witch’s needs. Her prince’s eyes are gouged out. And yet, somehow, the story ends happily ever after. Rapunzel is a victim in the story, vindicated by a prince. My twist on the story is putting the power in Rapunzel’s hands, she chooses whom she “lets her hair down” for. She takes command, not needing a prince to save her from utter despair.

In my version, Rapunzel is locked in a dilapidated room in an old, abandoned warehouse. She is plotting her escape and her revenge. Her hair is a symbol of her independence, since in the original story her hair is the means by which she was oppressed.

Below are some outtakes from the shoot. I loved the close ups with Rapunzel and her braid, but I felt they looked a little too studio like for my narrative series. It was really difficult for me to choose the right warehouse room shot; I liked so many of them! But I felt the one I chose was the most dynamic and fit my theme of “defiance” the best.

April 29, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Death’s Messenger

In many fairy tales and even in Classical mythology, Death is often personified as a person or a thing. Grimms’ Death’s Messengers is an example of this. A brief synopsis of the story is as follows: Death is personified as a man who gets beaten down by a giant in ancient times. However, a young man finds Death along the road and takes compassion on him and helps him. In return for this kindness, Death promises to send “messengers” to the man so he will be forewarned before he dies. For Death says, “I am Death…I spare no one, and can make no exceptions…” And so, the young man goes about his life, fully expecting to receive a grand sign before he is to die. However, it does not happen that way. “Then one day someone tapped him on the shoulder.” It was Death, he had come to take him away. The man was surprised that he had received no “messages.” But Death merely explains the messages where the sicknesses that came upon him and that his brother, Sleep, had been reminding him. “The man could make no answer; he yielded to his fate, and went away with Death.”

For my interpretation of the story, I latched on to the idea that Death has a “messenger” or some sort of warning system that will alert one to their fate. I asked myself, if there are such things as these “messages,” what are they and what do they look like? Ultimately, I came up with the idea of “Death’s Messenger” as a young maiden bearing a white rose, who haunts one through dreams and Sleep, sending “messages” of fate.

Below are a few outtakes from the shoot.

I had this idea for a shot with the model between the gates, standing as if “welcoming” one to Death. It did not quite turn out the way I wanted it. I used one umbrella camera left, but kept on getting flare. One strobe was placed behind the model and zoomed with a blue gel. I shot with a Nikon D80 and a 50mm lens at f/1.8. I marked the changes I would like to make if I get a chance to re-shoot on the below photo. In addition to the marked changes, I’m also going to get A-clamps and some black matte board so I can start gobo-ing (I think I just made up a word) my lens to avoid lens flare!

Oh and just for fun… I had one of my “crazy but just might work ideas”… the idea? Stick lights in the model’s hair like a halo! Well, needless to say that was one of my just “crazy” ideas, but I had a good laugh seeing the result.

Source: Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales

April 14, 2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »