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Warflight — Simple Nude
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Published: 2009-10-24 00:53:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 7092; Favourites: 92; Downloads: 273
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Model ~Butterfly1020Related content
Comments: 40
Although simple lines on an image can work very well - I am unsure that the background works so well with this. Personally I find it a little distracting and sorry if this sounds unfair but I'm being honest with you and it is merely my taste. Others would say something completely different am sure.
The model looks (to me) a little uncomfortable or unhappy - I'm unsure what but her eyes are a little distracted. I have been told that I pick up on things like this so it could be me noticing something the camera did not.
Apart from that soft tones of the image work well and the simplicity could work in other instances. Keep on keeping on.
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Perfectly fair, actually... and yeah... at the time of the shoot, it wasn't so much boredom, as it was distraction. If I recall correctly, there were two things going on behind the scenes at the time this image was taken... one was the anticipation of a new costume that Eva (the model) wanted to try out, and the second, and probably biggest, was during this particular set, there was a kitty.
Yes, that's right... one of the cats was walking by, and as we all know quite well, kitties, and possibly puppies, are the greatest distractions of the modeling, and photography world.
The look on her face in this one, I believe was her version of surprise of seeing the cat as it was walking behind me (like she wasn't quite sure what the movement was she saw) and the expression just seemed unique to me once it was captured... like an expression that I couldn't quite put my finger on (you are both right, it does look a bit like boredom, or hesitation... like she would rather be somewhere else) but I think that confusion came more from knowing what was going on, than facial recognition.
But yeah... thank you very much for this critique... it is fair as always, and it does help a lot, indeed! (and yeah... the backdrop is fantastically bad, isn't it? The reference I personally like for the backdrop is "Bad 70s Highschool Pictures backdrop" because honestly... it does look like a bad 1970s backdrop... only, without the cheesy earth tones)
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Thank you so much for understanding my take on it and basically it is just that.
So interesting that there was something going on, wierd how we pick up on things like that isn't it? Oh kittens, well they have alot to answer to on a shoot - thank you for explaining.
Hey tis your backdrop, keep it and use it in unusual ways - def see some ways of recreating things here with this.. go for it. Enjoy.
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Oh, I plan on it... the backdrop here has it's own story... I was looking for a backdrop that wouldn't cost me a lot, and I looked EVERYWHERE in this area (I FINALLY found a good place for new backdrops that's only about 50km (about 25 miles) away, up the coast... if that... see my newest deviation to see one of the new backdrops)
So here I am, looking for backdrops, and not wanting to use eBay, and the prices I'm being quoted was simply ridiculous! The San Diego Opera Supply Company is asking $2k (about £1200) for a 10x20 painted muslin...
So I find this dusty old shop, in the middle of one of those neighborhoods that you read about in fantasy fiction... coffee houses, and odd little book stores, and shops selling unusual items that may be an antique, or may be a cursed item from Diagon Alley... you know... the sort of place I would hang out... and this old shop sells nothing but used photography supplies. The first thing I notice walking in, is the old Tin Type cameras, and the barrel of flash powder, but the place reminded me a bit of a photography museum, with lighting, and cameras, up through the ages. The shopkeep, a friendly sort that tells me he wasn't usually open during the week, but figured he would come in that day, because it seemed like the sort of day that someone may come into the shop (it was a bit surreal, but, it was just one of those neighborhoods, where you don't question something like that)
He then tells me that he has having a sell on backdrops... as if he knew that's exactly why I was there (even if I was drooling over an old 1898 Tin Type camera... I believe it was a Simon Wing "Puzzle Box" if I'm not mistaken)
So I look at his backdrops... he will only let me look at colour, and the size is a mystery for each one... only that they are each 9, or 10 feet across... and he offers me three for $150, my choice...
Well, I'm looking at them, and realizing that these were all hand painted canvas... like very THICK painter's canvas... made to last the ages. So I chose three... the one in this photo, one that I thought was brown, but is rust instead (and way shorter than I thought it was) and one that I hated the SECOND I saw it because of how hideously UGLY it was... so I just KNEW that I MUST have it. (I've used it a few times for some Doctor Who shots)
So that's the story behind that backdrop... it works for B/W photography, and the colours that are in it making up the gray, are versatile enough that I can get anything from a brown tone, to a pink tone of of it depending on lighting, and costuming... but it seems it would be very well suited for shoots where I am using smoke effects.
And besides... in my own opinion... compared to the models that I use, any backdrop is ugly, as their beauty outshines all that around them.
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wow what an amazing story to go with that backdrop, oh to have met that guy and been in that store... in fact, oh to have photographed it but then he would have known I was to do that that day also!! Spooky in a kinda ok kinda way.
I love the rusty brown one, really love the tones and yes, this one will give you all kinds of looks dependent on lighting.
Thank you for sharing that and what a lovely thing to say about your models... they must love working witn you.
If you were closer, would invite you to my exhibition coming soon ... but the ocean gets in the way
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Heh... and even Google maps suggests a nice long swim!
Personally, I love finding little shops like that... and little neighborhoods like that.
Little out the the way downtown places like that are slowly disappearing in this country... every time a new mall, or Wal*Mart goes up, yet another little area like that disappears...
But there are a few left, fortunately. Places that resemble a museum more than a store...
I remember an old used book store I used to go to years ago (it's gone now) that was so charming... there was a basement that few were allowed to go to (I got my first copy of "The Hobbit" from that little shop while I was serving Jury Duty, as it wasn't far from the court house) I remember the first time going into the basement of that used book store... and realizing that not only was there a MUCH bigger selection of books (as well as much older books... and odder books... they didn't lat many people go down there, because the stairs were rickety, and honestly, they were a death trap... and Americans like to sue, more than they like to be careful where they step) but there was an employee down there... a guy they said had showed up one day at their shop, knew everything about every book there, so they just kept him around... this guy was stocking books, and was dressed in 1930s clothing, and when he spoke, he sounded just like a 1930s Chicago gangster (Hollywood version) in his accent, and speech patterns... he even used a vocabulary that hasn't been spoken outside of movies in at least a good 70 years...
The shop didn't even know his real name, let alone where he came from...
That little store closed down several years ago, and it has been missed... that sort of atmosphere just can't be found at a Barnes and Noble (don't get me wrong... Barnes and Noble is a cool book store, but... given a choice, I prefer the atmosphere... and the things I could find there that I couldn't find any place else)
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Oh you live in an amazing town and what a shame all these places are closing ... least you have many stories from them all.... enjoy and remember
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Well, not all of the places I find are in my home town... the old book store was Riverside, back when I lived there... the camera shop is San Diego, as I live in the San Diego area now (about two hours away from Riverside) but... every city has places like this...
One of the reasons I have always wanted to travel to London, has been to find places like that there... I know they have to be there...
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Oh yes we have mad n wacky places like this but the independent bookstores are becoming less and less sadly.
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Ah... but... do they still have that place, in London if I recall, where you get folks setting out old blankets, and selling old books and whatnot in the open?
I'm personally still looking for the "Floating Market" myself...
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Come and ye shall find
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Heh... I may have to...
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I wouldn't say bored, but there's definitely some hesitance in her face. If I was to see this look, I'd assume she was waiting for me to say something.
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Definitely interesting what we see isn't it?
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Reminds me of the muse and wife of sculptor Gaston LaChaise, who provided the inspiration for works such as this: [link]
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Yeah... little bit... hmmm... I woonder hoiw much art would have been lost to this world (in favour of a different sort of art) had LaChaise had a DSLR camera?
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There is a picture he took of his wife/model here: [link]
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She has been such a great addition to your photos.
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Must say, I am envious of your shots! There is great contrast and the brightness flows with her body, such a unique style. Job well done
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WOW! Thanks! Honestly, I almost didn't post this one (or any from that particular series) because I wasn't 100% happy with the lighting... or more, I wasn't really happy with the shadows on it. I liked the colours it produced, but I really think that next time, I'm going to use a fourth light for the backdrop to eliminate that shadow.
I did these in two styles (well, three, actually) the ones like this showing the blues in the backdrop, ones using a softbox flash, and an umbrella flash, that lights the backdrop a bit better, but eliminates that blue effect (and gives more of a gray, in yellowish tones) and then of course the flashes with the camera being set in black and white... the nudes from this series didn't turn out well at all with the flashes (well, nude... I only did the one with the flashes in colour) but that was because it was the end of that series, and time for a costume change, and I only managed to catch Eva as she was running off the set. (and of course, with the settings I had when the camera popped, it's just a blur, mostly)
After a comment I got from another member on a different photo, I had been considering retiring the sets all together... he referred to them as looking like a reject from a 1970s school photo photographer... but then, that same bloke also insulted the model, and the watchers, and... but over the past two days or so, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback with these shots, and this backdrop (it is one of my favorites, even if it is old, and scratched up, and starting to get a bit ratty around the edges... that's because it's an original hand painted backdrop, and hand painted canvas tends to crack, and wear with age... especially when it is long enough for standing on... probably why I like it so much, is it's length)
I really do appreciate the compliments, and as you can see from the sets that I've done, I'm still finding that "defining style" for my photography, as I would rather not have my defining style to be "suck" because... well... that wouldn't be a good style at all... probably...
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No worries! You're good at what you do, so don't ever stop! What you do is not just photography, but the beauty in one's self. That's something not everyone can do. I'm sure your style will eventually grow enormous. Just keep at it. Hope to see more great work from you!
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Aww, thanks! I appreciate hearing that, I really do!
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she seems more gorgeous in each shot you take
how does you do that?
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don't sell yourself short
anyone can take a picture
not everyone can capture greatness
(you do that very well with her)
granted when you work with someone as inspiring as her, the rest must come easy
stay inspired
(and tell her to stay inspired too)
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eeee
that is too effin awesome
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