Inspiration for Work With Infrared Film

I am working on creating infrared photographs digitally, in preparation for my work with infrared film. These are a few images that I'm using for inspiration. I especially like the cityscape converted to infrared, because at this time of year there isn't an abundance of foliage and it's inspiring to see this technique work with a more urban environment.

Joe Farace

(keep looking for artist)

Dave Beckerman

Working with Polaroid Transfers

I really liked the antique and vintage feel that polaroid transfers give to an image, so I knew I wanted to work with a nostalgic and also somewhat abstract subject -- because of the wrinkles and tears that can distort this type of transfer. I decided to use slides of childhood photos, and picked ones that would look interesting with some "wear and tear" in them. I think the pebbles and rocks in the last two do this well, because it almost looks like the tears and wrinkles are part of the landscape. My personal favorite is the one of me standing on the beach, because I like the dramatic (dark) tint to the colors and the fact that it fades into white in the background, because it blends with the paper well. 

Working with Nostalgia

I decided to try to depict the word 'nostalgia' for these photos. In order to evoke that emotion, I overlaid a photo of childhood events with a picture of the place now. For example, I put a picture of me and my mom playing at my grandparent's house over a picture of how the house looks how. You can see the changes the house has gone through, and it creates, in me at least, a yearning for the past and for the old home.

To complete the feeling of nostalgia and the past, I did a transfer onto mulberry paper with these images. The worn-in and handmade quality of the paper is perfect for the personal and earnest content of the photos. 

Independent Work with Vaseline

I recently experimented with nighttime photography and vaseline, as well as long exposures of light. I was toying with the concept of isolation, which I hoped to create by strategically spreading the vaseline to imitate fog. Fog, in my mind, makes one feel isolated and engulfed, and I liked the contrast of that with light. To take these photos, I placed my camera on a tripod at night and shot long exposures (ranging from 2-5 seconds) through a vaseline-coated lens.

Independent Work Inspiration

These are some shots of night photography that are inspiring for my work with night photography and vaseline. 

Night Photography By Przemyslaw Wielicki

Eerie Urban By Bartosch Debicki

 

Brassai By "T Squared"

Vaseline Photography cont.

   

"Night Color" by Joshua Sinn

I saw these night photographs and instantly thought of my independent work with vaseline. I love the way color is used in these, and may want to try either using a vaseline-coated lens at night-time or framing a neon sign (or another urban source of light) using the vaseline on the lens. These photographs feel very eery and lonesome, and I love the way the blurriness -- which is probably created by fog here -- conveys that feeling. I'm especially curious as to how they made the car appear that shade of purple in the picture on the right, but I'm guessing it was some sort of projection light. If they make flashlights that cast color, that would also be something I would want to test with vaseline photography.

"Multiples" Idea

I am planning on shooting photos of quirky and unique houses around Portland and then piecing the images together to imitate Hockney's cubist style. I think this will work well because houses have a lot of single aspects that, put together, make up the design. This will translate well into a one-dimensional plane. I'm really excited to try this because there is a cluster of three houses right by my synagogue that are vibrant and unusual, and I have been wanting to shoot them for years -- now I've finally found a project that will allow me to do so.