Jana's CD Design Project

Project: CD cover design for music featuring flute and piano. The title is "sparkle and wit", and I began listening to the music while I sketched out ideas. Remembering my grandmother's costume jewelry, I fished it out of my closet, and with my camera, tripod and a piece of white foam core, headed out to my patio picnic table a.k.a. table-top studio. The time of day was about 3:30/4:00 when the direct sun is off of my U-shaped backyard patio, but still has lots of light. I "tossed" the jewelry onto the board and began shooting tight, macro images. My goal was to create bright, sparkling images of the jewels with small areas of focus, lots of white, and shallow depth of field. Using these settings: F8 and shutter speeds ranging from 1/6 - 1/10, I began to shoot down on the jewelry, while standing on a small step stool. I used the tripod for some images, but not for others. I also used forced flash for some. I tweaked the images a bit further in Photoshop, and did some layering of several shots for the red jewels. These are a few of the resulting images and the final published (by Azica Records) cover design. Of course, this could not be possible without my bedazzled photo assistant, my miniature pinscher, Dirk. 

Jana's collage finals

Finally posting this! – two finished collage and solvent transfer pieces. One was shown here in progress in a post from August 17th. Solvent transfer uses safe, non-toxic materials to transfer photographic imagery onto a variety of substrates. For these pieces, I used wintergreen and peppermint oil which are both available at a health food or organic grocery store. The oil causes the Xerox toner to release and adhere to the paper underneath. My process works something like this:

• look through magazines for ideas about my concept or sketch a concept and look through magazines,
• make rough cut-outs and place around the page to plan the composition deciding what to photocopy and what to transfer, 
• make photocopied imagery,
• trim out imagery,
• transfer first, apply colored pencil, and paste/collage last

When making solvent transfers, use a small bit of transparent tape to secure each piece in place, Xerox side down (images will be backwards unless you reverse them), then coat the back side with oil using a cotton swab. Pressing down with my left hand to hold the transfer in place, I use a spoon, using the edge to rub back and forth over the image. For more tips on solvent transfer, attend one of our classes on Transfer Imagery!

Duality, 2012. Jana Perez.

Flora and fauna, 2012. Jana Perez.

Angilee shoots basketball athlete, Tony Mitchell

I find it interesting shooting athletes--they tend to have seriousness about them, seldom revealing too much about their personality. Instead of casual banter, or camera jitters,  they stand erect, posture straight, patient and silent, ready to receive photographic direction. I respect this stoic delivery and can see that for them, their life as athletes is very much about the challenge of the game and self-discipline.  This unique combination of confidence, discipline, reserve and strength is what I hope to define through the camera. Tony Mitchell, Power Forward for UNT is one of those rising stars that exhibit all of these qualities.  Knowing I wanted to create a powerful image to match the 6’8” 220 pound presence of this athlete, I took the time to scout and do a test shoot weeks before the assignment. With the assistance of Gary Payne and Michael Clements we composed and lit a 6 light set up in one of the tunnels of UNT’s coliseum. Using raw strobe light we emphasized textures, Tony’s muscle form and athletic grit as well as created dramatic shadows.  Later in post, I bumped up the tonal contrast to give the image even more punch. I always enjoy the challenge of carving out creative ways of representing an individual’s strength and character by way of the lens and light.

Using the camera's timer - an afternoon in Monhegan Maine

This afternoon i had a bit of free time after my FCPX workshop so i took a ferry out to Monhegan Island. It was gorgeous! I will be uploading photos from the excursion in the next few days, but first i would like to share a collection of images i took with my Nikon's automatic timer. I hiked out to a lovely spot with rocky cliffs and boulders and spent the afternoon there watching sea birds, listening to the ocean and making photographs. Being alone, i decided to set the Nikon's timer and do a few self studies. I timed the shutter to release in increments of ten seconds, then 20 and lastly one minute. I then moved freely not ever knowing exactly when the shutter would release (especially since i couldn't hear it over the crash of the waves). Let's not forget what a handy tool this is, certainly a wonderful way to document your experiences and consider self though the lens, but the best part, a patient subject always at your disposal...  

Jana's work in progress...

Spent yesterday and also spending today in the studio for some MUCH needed "me" creative time. Working on four/five collage + transfer pieces. Three are figurative and two are "flower" compositions. This work uses solvent transfer and collaged cut-outs from magazines - both historical and contemporary. I buy old magazines on eBay and newer ones from various sources. These reflect my fascination with our cultural ideas of "female". Here are a few snaps of one composition in progress. 

More of Angilee's Rockport, ME

DAY 3 // As I wandered down to the  pier in the evening, I found myself in a little gallery that was just closing its doors for the day. I became immediately enthralled  with a collection of works by artist Cig Harvey.  Her photographs have a painterly quality reminiscent of the rich hues of a vivid morning dream, and like a dream, her images resonate as a fading imprint might, magically animated in a moment less real than imagined. It's as if the stillness in each image magnifies the potential of the moment she constructs. These works feel feminine and are layered in metaphor. I found it easy to lose myself in them, or perhaps to be more exact, find myself in them... 
 

Angilee's Rockport, ME

DAY 1 & 2 // Driving from Portland to Rockport, I pulled over to buy blueberries and local wild honey from a stand next to the road. I was surprised by how the fragrant floral aroma of the honey was inseparable from it's sweet flavor. Seemed I timed my arrival just right as blueberries and lobster are both in season. This place is a photographer's paradise of green lush vegetation and colorful flowers scattered along the landscape and climbing out of brightly painted window boxes. On my first day here, the harbor was heavy with fog and summer rain. The light, heavily diffused in slate gray, reminded me of my days in Scotland as a kid. Today on the other hand, the sun was warm and cheerful and the previous days rain had left the dewy landscape saturated in color. I attended two lectures tonight in Rockport's old Opera house– by internationally acclaimed photo artists Connie Imboden and Sylvia Plachy. Connie said that art is a way to express complex emotions and both artists said they work from a place of intuition rather than concept. I can relate to this method of work. For me, the concept often reveals itself only after the creative work has taken place.