Make Light Real

Neil November 5th, 2009

There are many facets of guided imagery. Much of it comes from how much you surround yourself with your art. That is, doing your morning pages each day, doing your artist date each week and taking your creative walks three times a week. When you constantly do this, all of a sudden, you start to hear whispers in your heart (no, not the schizo type of voices) and all of these inspirations start to naturally come to you. These are the things that will make you pick up your camera simply for the pure joy of clicking the shutter.

Get something that is near and dear to your heart: A teacup from your grandmother, a clay artpiece from your kid’s secong grade class, anything. Grasp it in your hands and sit in a quiet space in your home. Close your eyes and relax. Things will go through your mind, things not even related to what you are holding. Let all things pass through your consciousness. What you will be searching for are the stories that come in relation to that piece you are holding. The stories may not be necessarily true! It could be a story from a far off place.

The key is to write down what you saw when you are done (it only takes about 5-10 minutes, but if you can go longer… You want to remember those fantasies and then the magic begins. You start creating what’s in your heart, not someone else’s.

The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron

The Artist’s Way Workbook - Julia Cameron

Walking in this World - Julia Cameron

Finding Water - Julia Cameron

• Comments(0)
• Creativity , Inspiration , Self Assignment , learning

Neil September 11th, 2009

Journal to the Self: 13 Tools to Make Journaling Work for You

• Captured Moments: “The Captured Moments journal technique allows you to celebrate and savor, preserving in prose the glory and anguish, the serenity and sorrow, the pleasure and pain of your life” […]. A great candidate to be sent in a time capsule to the future.
• Stream of Consciousness: Very intuitive in nature, this is also called ‘meditative writing’. Here you just let yourself be guided by your subconscious. You will be surprised where you may end up. You may use aids like visual imagery as well, such as in a mental sanctuary.

• Comments(0)
• Creativity , Inspiration , Self Assignment

Neil January 7th, 2009

PROJECT: Action and Preset Extravaganza by the Epic Edits weblog

THE REQUIREMENTS

If you’re planning on participating and having a chance at some of the awesome prizes, be sure to read the following requirements very carefully. I’ve provided some useful links to appropriate resources, so don’t overlook them!

1. CREATE AN ACTION OR PRESET
   The first important part of the project is actually creating the action or preset. The choice of software is up to you — whatever you happen to use. The action(s) and/or preset(s) that you choose to create and share are also totally up to you — they could be workflow timesavers, creative tweaks, or whatever else you can dream up. If you’re not familiar with creating these things, you can read up on creating Photoshop actions and Lightroom presets. And the creations must be your own — no swiping somebody else’s work!
2. MAKE YOUR FILE ACCESSIBLE
   This is the hard part, but we’ve got some options for you. You’ll need to upload your action/preset file to the web so others can download it. If you have your own blog or website, this is no problem and you can host the file yourself. Some forums also allow files to be attached to posts. But sites like Flickr don’t allow this, while they do allow you to link to external files. To accommodate those of you with fewer options, Neil has offered to host your project files on his site. You can email him at action@makelightreal.com with your file. He’ll upload it to his server and send you the URL so you can link to it in step 3.
3. WRITE ABOUT YOUR CREATION
   Once you’ve created your tool and made it accessible to others, you’ll have to write about it. There are many forms of self-publication, so don’t be intimidated. You should tell us what the action/preset does, how it works, and any special instructions for using it. You should also link out to your file from step 2 so others (including me) can download it and use it.
4. SUBMIT YOUR LINK AT EPIC EDITS
   When your written post is complete (with the link to your action/preset), fill out the form at this link. Just plug in your name, the location of your write-up from step 3, and your email address so I can contact you if needed.

THE PRIZES:

• 1ST PLACE: LIGHTSPEED WORKFLOW PACKAGE
  Valued at $290, this prize includes a Nostromo n52 left-hand keypad, “ONE” Lightroom/ACR preset, “ONE” Photoshop Action, and tutorials. This is an awesome package! This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
• 2ND PLACE: PHOTOSHOP LIGHT REAL VIRTUAL COURSE
  Valued at $250, this prize includes the “ONE ACTION” workflow scripts plus a 4 hour training course covering the workflow scripts and working in LAB color space. This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
• 3RD PLACE: ONE ACTION AND GOLDEN TOUCH PACKAGES
  Valued at $79 and $49, respectively, this prize includes the “ONE ACTION” scripts and presets for Photoshop and Lightroom, plus extra training materials along with additional Photoshop actions and 30 textures. This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
• 1ST AND 2ND RUNNER UP: $39 CREDIT
  The two “honorary mentions” will each receive a $39 credit toward the purchase of any item from Neil’s offerings.
• 5 RANDOM WINNERS: $39 CREDIT
  Just to shake things up a bit, we’ll select another 5 random winners to receive the $39 credit toward any item of their choice. So anybody could be a winner, you just have to participate!

So… basically we’re looking at over $1000 in prizes given out to 10 different winners. Not bad!

DEADLINE: JANUARY 12, 2009

• Comments(0)
• Action download , Photoshop Retouching , Self Assignment

Neil December 4th, 2008

Following in the footsteps of my retouching tutorials:

• Understanding the suggestive power of darkness
• Eye of the muse : photoshop retouching deconstructed

I know these are written to a more abstract level and so today I’d like to provide a more hands-on experience and so I have posted this L*A*B* colorspace photoshop file for you to download.  There are eleven layers in this file, from the starting image, on up through the finished look.

Let’s dig in

• Comments(6)
• Creativity , Hear the Shadows , How To: , Inspiration , ONE Action , Photoshop Retouching , Real-light Overlays , Self Assignment , Technical , Textures , Tutorials

Neil November 11th, 2008

Signalnoise.com | The art of James White » Signalnoise tutorial: The O series

I have had many requests for tutorials over the past months, but given that they are quite time-consuming to create I have stayed away from them to continue with my poster designs and freelance work.

Last week I posted a few images entitled The O Series.  The process behind the images is fairly simple and I thought it would make for a good first tutorial post. There is nothing advanced here, and all you will need is a basic knowledge of the layers palette, blending modes and masks.

I enjoyed this tutorial as an exercise in creating a lighted shape without shape or light.

As a raw exercise it’s a beautiful way to stretch your conceptual powers.

• Comments(0)
• Creativity , Photoshop Retouching , Self Assignment , Tutorials

Neil November 10th, 2008

How to shoot textures outdoors | MostlyLisa.com

50mm, f/4, 1/80, ISO 200.

Lurking around every corner is texture. You may not notice them upon first glance, but if you take a closer peek in the crooks and crannies of your neighbourhood, you will find a whole world of excellent textures to capture: Mossy rocks, rotting wooden fences, rusty hinges, chipped paint on window sills, and corrugated metal doors. It’s out there just waiting for you to shoot! And unlike people and animals, mossy rocks sit still for hours with little to no complaints.

Read more… | MostlyLisa.com

Why shoot textures when you can buy some?

Creativity is often exploration

Creativity is seeking beyond what is known.

Let your creativity flourish with a simple exercise where you only focus on what you find most interesting before you!

Let nothing else interest you – and clear your mind of clutter.

• Comments(0)
• Creativity , Self Assignment

Neil November 9th, 2008

greyscale gorilla/blog » Overlays: Double Exposure Photo Technique

Street Corner Technique

This variation is a fun way to turn a single location into one Overlay collage. Pick one location to go and shoot. A street corner works well. Shoot four distinct photos from this one location. For instance, for the example in the post above, I shot a tree, a face, a building and a texture. When you get home, overlay those four images you took and go through the “basic technique” steps above.

Show some of your Photo Overlays! in the Overlays Flickr Group for your to upload your final images.

Take a creative exercise where you simply respond to what interests you in the moment….

• Comments(0)
• Photoshop Retouching , Real-light Overlays , Self Assignment

Neil September 21st, 2008

Expounding on last weeks ‘big space’ tutorial…

When I speak on achieving higher creativity, I talk about light being the entryway for more possibility.

Above is one of my shots lit with an Alien Bee 800 with 11 inch reflector with a Roscoe 3442 gel for 1/2 CTO conversion. Below is a shot within seconds of the above, without the off camera lighting.

I shot that basic image with a couple different focal lengths:

I hope that these shots inspire you to look at the big things around you and consider how your creativity would lead you to interpret them with lighting. However, don’t just assume that your off camera light must light the whole building, I prefer to think of lighting a scene:

Since my strobe lighting my photographs is 40 meters away, I don’t have difficulty choosing an exposure when my subjects move because the whole scene gets even light.

So when I have my exposure, I begin to explore the space photographically just as I would with natural light. Sometimes I look to my LCD for review, but otherwise I just work off the concept of the light that I felt and saw as I was setting up and testing. If you’ve never seen any available light photographs from me, take a look at this Bahamas Destination beach wedding photographer’s dramatic, atmospheric, cloud, sunset, portrait slideshow.

For an exercise, setup your light at dusk and get far enough away that your exposure is consistant. Get comfortable and explore the light, hear the shadows with me.

• Comments Off
• Exposure , Hear the Shadows , Inspiration , Photographic Flash , Photography Lighting , Self Assignment

Neil September 13th, 2007

So over on the Strobist blog he came up with an assignment called the ‘umbrella specular portrait’ detailing how to use an umbrella and the reflection it can create on the background to bring it as a design element in the photo. I don’t usually do ‘assignments’ as the paid kind are my favorite, but I was supposed to change the oil in my car and it was raining….so….when ideas flash….you gotta roll with it. (and avoid auto maintenance chores)

So this is what I came up for my final entry.

Although I think this one^ is actually my favorite, and closer to what I was hoping for although it turned out that i couldn’t get my umbrella close enough to my head to get a large enough reflection to encircle my head.

With one of my favorite sayings being ‘mind like water‘ I can’t help but adore the concept of this self-portrait. Of course the mind like water saying stems from the martial art’s notion that any action should act and react like water – with the perfect amount of response to absorb without distraction. This is a state I try to achieve when shooting, and it’s fun to try an illustrate it. The fun part is that this feels like it illustrates the artist side of the equation – that you achieve the balance of water – you are filled with the electric energy of the whole spectrum of color and potential – to respond to your subjects.

My basic idea was to use the specular reflection of the reflector on water and transform it using the interference rainbow of the oil. To do so I had to follow the standard rule to get a specular reflection which is angle of incidence = angle of reflection. However, as light is a wave, if you cause the waves to stop lining up with each other, you can get the ‘up’ part of one wave aligning with the ‘down’ part of another wave, and these can cancel out. This is called interference, and it causes a pattern of colours according to how much interference is occurring. Oil films of different thicknesses cause different amounts of interference, so you get a rainbow effect. The rainbow effect is in line with my gaudy propensity to color and contrast, and so I thought it was just right for a self portrait. Besides, since Liesl wasn’t about to lie down in a puddle of oil – who else was going to do it.

Now for the setup!

Liesl shot this one of my making the oil slick. You can see the whole batch of setups on Flickr.

A shot of the ambient light with my Photoflex 60″ umbrella, on a tripod with the Alien Bee 800 on top and the 1dsM2 on the bottom of the tripod post. The tripod with the light over and the camera under allowed me to shoot this with a 24mm Sigma 1.8 lens.

Exposure was 1/50th of a second at f/22 with an iso of 400. I believe I was underexposing ambient by 2 stops but that may have actually been 4 as I was pointing my camera at blacktop. If you look closely, concentrate, let the day’s concerns blow out of your mind with the wind – you can separate the difference between the interference and the reflection – just use your imagination and feel smart anyway!

Now my ambitious sense of design led me to believe that I could stick my head down there and I would have an oil slick halo – but as this is a 24mm lens the difference 7 inch between my eyes and the pavement disallowed me from getting that perspective (cause my head become a balloon). BUT – if I had a piece of plexi that big I could have done the shot so that the plane of rainbow oil was nearly the same as my eyes, it would be a killer halo! Look for it in the future – copy me and I’ll kill ya.

Inside the contraption on top.

Camera mount on the bottom – camera is in my hands – sorry.

There it is with the camera mounted, I must have gone inside for the other body.

• Comments(7)
• Color Theory , How To: , Mind Like Water , Photographic Flash , Photography Lighting , Self Assignment

Neil September 6th, 2007

Joshua Waitzkin was talking about how he trained himself to time his martial arts attacks when his opponent was to blink. When it worked smoothly, they didn’t even see what happened to them.

Non-Assignment: Try and time my your shutter to capture the blinks of the person – instead of avoid them. That way we’ll learn to further time, tune and refine my trigger finger. The learning is of course to closer read my subjects and predict their action(s).

• Comments(0)
• Reviews , Self Assignment , The Zone , learning