Blog
Soar
I have been working on a series of images called “Signs of Life.” The concept is really simple: combine everyday photographic objects and text together to create an inspirational message. Now, if you’re asking yourself what does that mean? Take a look.
“Follow your Dreams” was shot at a nearby park on a very foggy morning. The arrows are part of the road that lead down the hill towards the lake. So, the plan was to take this image and with the help of Photoshop add the words “DREAMS” to the road. This was the beginning of the “Vital Signs” concept.
Since then I’m always trying to come up with new ideas to add to the series. So, I thought that I would write about my latest image, “SOAR”, and take you through the creative and technical steps in putting this image together.
The image of a group of helium ballons lifting off has been “floating” around my head for the past 3 decades. Way back in elementary school we had a balloon launch. Every student put there name and address on a card along with a postage stamp. We then tied the card to the balloon string and released our balloons. I still remember this like it was yesterday; two hundred balloons all being released at the same time! As the days and weeks passed, the cards came trickling in. The strangers who found the cards sent them back to us with a note where they were discovered. Some balloons travelled more than 200 miles.
So I have this 30 year old image stuck in my mind, and I want to recreate it on a smaller scale. The easiest thing to do would be to get a bunch a balloons and release them into the air, but I don’t want the nearby trees littered with the remains of my efforts. So, I decided to shoot all of the pieces separately and put them together in Photoshop.
Step 1: Up, Up and Away (sort of)
Here’s a shot of one the balloons. I taped a piece of monofilament to the top of the balloon and then clamped it to a lightstand.I didn’t use a real helium balloon because I didn’t want it floating all over the place. I then laid on the ground and shot the balloon from the bottom. I had the sun as my main light, and then I filled in the shadows with an off-camera flash.
I did this about 50 times shooting from different angles. I ended up using 3 different shots for the final composite.
Step 2: Tie A Yellow Ribbon
The next step was the string and card. I wanted this to look as natural as possible. I got a yellow ribbon and tied it to a card and with the help of my trusty lightstand and some copperwire, I made a simple rig. I needed a large depth of field, so the card and the ribbon could stay in focus. So, I cranked up the camera to a 6 second exposure. And with several short burst of off camera flash I tried to recreate some natural shadows on the card.
Step 3: The Road Trip
Now comes the fun tedious part; putting it all together. It’s kind of like taking a long road trip: the first hour is exciting then it starts to drag on, and you wish it were over. I spent the next several hours “cutting” out tiny yellow ribbons, but I knew hoped all of this planning would pay off.
Step 4: Shoot the Sky
Everyday I would go out look up in the sky; search for the best clouds and start firing my camera. The neighbors probably thought it was a little strange, but hey– this was art. Besides, I had a great UFO story to use in case they asked.
Step 5: What to say?
I have the sky I want, I have the balloons arranged correctly, now I need some words on the cards. I didn’t do this when I shot the cards, because quite honestly I had no idea what to put on the card. My original word was “Hope.” Then I showed the rough picture to some friends and family to see what they thought. Everyone had a different opinion. I went through the suggestions and came up with “SOAR.” The other advantage of doing the text in Photoshop is that I can change the words at a later date if I ever change my mind.
Step 6: The Color Wheel
I have most of the elements in place, but the balloons are an ugly shade of green. It’s now time to pick the colors. Adobe has a great product called Kuler. It’s a simple program that gives you “hints” designing color schemes. And best of all it’s free!
The final balloon colors I used are “loosely” based around the compound colors of the sky; light and airy, as my sister suggests.
Step 7: The Countdown
Four days later the final composite has surfaced.
The Photoshop file has about 90 layers. I think this is a new record for me.
My computer hated this file.
Step 8: The Launch
Since putting this image together, I’ve gotten a lot of great comments about it. It’s always difficult when you are doing something creative, because you operate in a bubble. Everytime I start a project like this it’s a journey riddled with reflection, doubt and discovery. But that’s what makes it soar.
Don’t Adjust Your Set-Yet
During the summer months when I do the art show tour, a lot of photographers stop by my booth to talk shop. The thing I hear most from the other shooters is, “their prints don’t match what they see on their monitor.” When I ask them if they’ve calibrated their monitors; the overwhelming answer is, “no.”
Now, I understand that spending a couple of hundred dollars on a hockey puck with tentacles isn’t as fun as getting the new lensbaby, but think of the money, as well as the aggravation, you’ll save by not throwing away your money on bad prints. The colorimeter, or spyder, which really is about the size of a hockey puck, sticks to the front of your monitor and measures the color values as well as the brightness of your screen—it takes the guess work out of setting up your monitor.
I’ve worked in the television industry for the past 17 years, so when I had trouble wrapping my head around this whole calibration issue, I thought about it in terms of something I knew best—television— the original digital industry.
Have you ever fallen asleep on the couch only to wake up to those strange-colored vertical bars filling your television screen? These color bars, in a way, are like a colorimeter. They take the guess work out of the set-up for a video technician. The bars are used to properly set-up the videotape, so the show looks the same on every tape machine that it plays on. In theory the idea is the same; create a color neutral work environment.
So, if you’re having trouble with your prints do yourself a favor and calibrate your monitor. And the next time you wake up on the couch with drool running down your face, and the TV is filled with color bars, you’ll be rest assured that all is calibrated in your world of color.
The 95 Degree Connect
I wanted to say thanks to everyone who stopped by at the Art in the Park festival this past Saturday. I had a great time despite the 95 degree weather. Thankfully I had a nice spot under the shade of a tree. I enjoy doing shows close to home, because people recognize the locations of my Maryland landscapes. And everyone has their own stories to lend about these special places. That’s why I love doing the shows. I have a chance to share my work with so many people. Just this past week I was interviewed by the Carroll County Times, a local newspaper, about making the connection between the artist and the viewer. You can read the article here.
Stay cool.
In the Gray
The other day a morning fog had fallen on Central Maryland. So I grabbed my gear and headed off to Piney Run Park to do some shooting. I’ve gone to Piney Run hundreds of times and I’ve taken thousand of pictures there but this time the park looked different; really different.The fog was so thick Piney Run took on a whole new look. Like a fresh blanket of snow, fog has a way of changing the landscape. I began to “see” things differently. Ordinary objects like trees and boats were now floating in the frame. Hints of shapes appeared in the distance through a curtain of gray; distracting backgrounds erased.
I’ve shot in fog before and I’ve learned that I have to work quickly. As the temperature rises, the fog will dissipate quickly. But this time it was as if time had slowed down, and I was able to move much slower and really work on my composition. I actually found myself having to wait at times because the fog was too thick.
Eventually the sun burned it’s way through the fog; the veil of gray quickly disappeared. I can only hope the memory of this misty morning will last much longer.
Rust Never Sleeps
Here’s a simple recipe for creating a Photoshop brush using a shot of rusted metal. You can have a lot of fun making these “grunge” brushes. Once you get the hang of this, it opens up a whole new world of photographic opportunities.
Step 1: I’ve included the demo texture here. Open it up and save the image to your computer.
Step 2: With the Crop tool (shortcut: C) Crop the best part of the image.
Step 2:
Step 3: This next step, selecting the texture, is probably the hardest part of the tutorial.
Open the Magic Wand tool. (shortcut: W) Start with the tolerance at 40. Click on the part of the image that you want to use as the brush. The “dancing ants” will hopefully show up where you want them to. If you’re having trouble selecting the correct area try adjusting the tolerance. With a little practice you’ll have a good selection. I usually start with a small portion of the image and then I’ll add to the selection–holding down the SHIFT key as I click. If you accidentally select too much hold down the ALT/OPTION key; this will subtract part of the selection.
Step 4: The selection is all set, now it’s time to create the brush. Go to “Edit”. Then click on “Define Brush Preset…”
If the “Define Brush Preset” is grayed out try reducing the dimensions of the image-it may be too large.
Step 5: Give your new preset a name. That’s it! You can find your new brush in the Brush drop down menu.
Now you’re ready to use the new brush.
Here are some more high resolution textures that you can download and play with.