Evaluation photography

After going through several ideas in photography I settled on the idea of five individuals whom have been inflicted with gashes on their arms which will leave scars, a horrific memory of their pain embedded in their flesh that they must carry for the rest of their lives.

Four of them attempt to hide themselves, covering their faces feeling ashamed of their injuries whereas in the foreground the main subject stands forward, coming to terms with the wounds he now bares and instead of being discouraged by it he embraces it.

I used the same model for each of the subjects in the photo along with words in the background expressing their feelings of their situation.

I booked a photo shoot in a studio and took dozens upon dozens of photos of the model and selected the ones I felt worked the best.

And after choosing my images I utilised my skills in photoshop to the best of my ability to create a frame that combined the five images into one. By removing the back ground, sharping the edges of the subjects and place them into idea positions in the image.

There are interesting aspects to this idea however when I look back I believe should have added other elements to give it a more deeper and engaging quality

For instance it could have a surreal quality by subtracting colour, have the model stand in various distances, explore more exaggerated posses and expressions, show a transition of how they receives their wounds, forming into scars and how they choose to deal with them.

In conclusion I feel that there are deep themes that the image evokes but it could have been expressed more clearly and given a more stylish look. Beauty is only skin deep.

Progress of Tori's scarf project

 The progress of Tori's film was partially inspired by a short film about a plastic bag that narrated its life.

http://vimeo.com/12497654

Our film had a some what identical structure, the object is being separated from its owner, it tries to find its way back, it find a place where it can belong.
















It was a difficult process pursuing this idea of giving an inanimate object a voice and character, getting the moment to look authentic and lively, telling of story of being brought into the world, loosing your way and trying to fid your way back.

We arranged to to find in a variety of locations, particularly Vagina water lake.

After we had all the footage needed we edited the film in premier pro, asked a voice actress to come into to a recording studio and read dialogue which we we add to the film, we looked up soundtracks to elevate the mood and feel. We then assessed the film and decided that we needed some additional footage so we did some reshoots and got the movie completed.

Looking back I'm very delighted to have been involved in this groups project, there are some gorgeous shots in the film and the story is emotionally charming.

I wished that I could have insisted on handling more variety of still shots while we were out filming however we didn't want to overload ourselves with footage that we may not end up using and it was Torri's vision so I respect her wishes.

There are occasional moments in the film where the string that we used to pulls the scarf is noticeable but its not to often, this a splendid film that wouldn't changed had I have the chance.

Other Examples of Scars

Here are some other examples of people scaring themselves.

Scars practice

After watching a few make up tutorials on youtube I've practiced the method of applying make that resemble a scar onto a subject. The results are that scar froming into a scar are as follows. 

New Idea for Scars Photography

Theme of the photography is memory.

The concept of scarring is fascinating, a severe injury inflicted onto someone, they’re left not only physically damaged but psychologically, a constant reminder on the wound they shall forever bare.

Someone is sat on the floor over in the corner on one side partially hidden by the shadows with his/her back faced to us. While another person is stranding out in the light on the other.

They both have scar on their bodies, the one in the shadows is ashamed and trying to hide him/herself from sight. The other standing in the light is more confident and open to display their scars for others to look upon.

To either hide their scar away in shame or embrace it leaving it exposed for all to see.

Sketch of my ideas.

 Experience      Witnessed                    Changed Getting over     Recovering                       Not identified by scar                                Wiser                        More Cautious             Healed                      Adapted          Accepted                   Embraced

  

 Pain   Damage        Never fully healed           Shame                      Regret          Disgrace

Anguish       Loss of Beauty       Disfigure      Hideous       Repulsive    Rebuffed

For a practice I've taken stills based on an early concept where a young man receives an injury on his face.

I've been advised to steer away from applying a personal portrayal in the photography
and delve further into the deeper meaning of scars, portray a variety of examples.

Five become one Photoshop of scarred buildings

In photoshop I compiled the photos of the brick wall into a collage.

I've also used stills of scars taken from the internet on my image of a brick wall looking as though the wall is scarred.