Hey ho. I'll store the fairy idea for now and mull it over for a while. I'm sure it will surface when it's ready.
Into the Deep
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Model (Mermaid): Ella Rose Muse
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Monday, 14 March 2016
Into the Deep
Today's plan was to make a fantasy inspired fairy picture, but that all went out the window when I started looking for some dragonfly pictures I had taken (lesson learnt, be careful how you file your elements. I still can't find the shots), and found some pics of an octopus I had taken for an article written in Black and White Photography Magazine about simple photo-manipulation.
Hey ho. I'll store the fairy idea for now and mull it over for a while. I'm sure it will surface when it's ready.
Into the Deep
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Model (Mermaid): Ella Rose Muse
Hey ho. I'll store the fairy idea for now and mull it over for a while. I'm sure it will surface when it's ready.
Into the Deep
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Model (Mermaid): Ella Rose Muse
Monday, 15 February 2016
Mr and Mrs Jones always looked forward to Date Night
You may remember that I recently entered a nude self portrait into a photographic competition. Well, the results are in... I only went and got Silver in the Men Nude category. (As well as a First in the Academic Nude category and Second place overall in the competition)!!
Please visit www.photoshootawards.com to see the winning entries and this year's catalogue. A superb collection of nude photography.
I like entering competitions. It can be scary to put your work out there in front of professionals from related industries, but I don't think the fear should put you off. Sometimes your work gets nowhere - maybe it just wasn't suitable for that particular competition. Sometimes your pictures get noticed and put into the finalists selection or even better, given placements above being short-listed. It's a very good feeling knowing that someone else liked your work and thought it worthy to put forward as a nominee or finalist.
We often work in isolation (unless we're acting as part of a team), for the past year I've been working in the cupboard under the stairs. When I was at college we had peers and tutors to help critique our work, but then we had to get used to assessing our own performance. This is good up to a certain point and if you're doing something you love then you must find a way to keep doing it (within legal restrictions of course), but by entering a competition you get the chance to ask "How am I doing? Am I any good?" or "Hey, here's some crazy stuff I've been working on and I want a second opinion."
We're never going to agree wholly with the jurors' choices, Some competitions are simply not for me and I know (after failed attempts to prove this otherwise) that my work will fail in some and succeed in others.
If you buy a book of a photographer's work it will often have a bio at the back and competitions are a decent way to legitimise our work and start creating a bio of our own.
Every now and then you might even get a first or a second place. (Or win something awesome like the Leica M Monochrom this blog is based around).
Here I am working in a small town on a small island in a small cupboard under the stairs and every now and again I catch myself having a little smile at some of the results on my competition bio.
Anyways, back to self portraits... I think I've found a comfortable way of being in front of the camera. More Negative Space Man than Invisible Man, it's time for another outing with Mr Jones whilst the Leica is off in Germany for a service.
As it was Valentine's Day last weekend I thought it only right that we saw the romantic side of Mr Jones today...
Mr and Mrs Jones always looked forward to Date Night
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Please visit www.photoshootawards.com to see the winning entries and this year's catalogue. A superb collection of nude photography.
I like entering competitions. It can be scary to put your work out there in front of professionals from related industries, but I don't think the fear should put you off. Sometimes your work gets nowhere - maybe it just wasn't suitable for that particular competition. Sometimes your pictures get noticed and put into the finalists selection or even better, given placements above being short-listed. It's a very good feeling knowing that someone else liked your work and thought it worthy to put forward as a nominee or finalist.
We often work in isolation (unless we're acting as part of a team), for the past year I've been working in the cupboard under the stairs. When I was at college we had peers and tutors to help critique our work, but then we had to get used to assessing our own performance. This is good up to a certain point and if you're doing something you love then you must find a way to keep doing it (within legal restrictions of course), but by entering a competition you get the chance to ask "How am I doing? Am I any good?" or "Hey, here's some crazy stuff I've been working on and I want a second opinion."
We're never going to agree wholly with the jurors' choices, Some competitions are simply not for me and I know (after failed attempts to prove this otherwise) that my work will fail in some and succeed in others.
If you buy a book of a photographer's work it will often have a bio at the back and competitions are a decent way to legitimise our work and start creating a bio of our own.
Every now and then you might even get a first or a second place. (Or win something awesome like the Leica M Monochrom this blog is based around).
Here I am working in a small town on a small island in a small cupboard under the stairs and every now and again I catch myself having a little smile at some of the results on my competition bio.
Anyways, back to self portraits... I think I've found a comfortable way of being in front of the camera. More Negative Space Man than Invisible Man, it's time for another outing with Mr Jones whilst the Leica is off in Germany for a service.
As it was Valentine's Day last weekend I thought it only right that we saw the romantic side of Mr Jones today...
Mr and Mrs Jones always looked forward to Date Night
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Monday, 8 February 2016
Mr Jones
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of joining some of the 2015 BPOTY judges, members of Black + White Photography Magazine and Vicki Painting (This year's winner) for a questions and answers session at The PrintSpace in London. The room was full of interested people asking us questions on the process of judging and choosing competition winners, as well as our opinions on various photography related topics. A daunting but valuable experience (to myself and hopefully the audience).
Black and White Photography Magazine and The PrintSpace are currently hosting a competition to win a solo show in the PrintSpace building. This is an incredible prize. Please check the following web address if you'd like to find out more.
There was nothing Mr Jones liked more than to sit in his favourite chair and read a good book.
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Monday, 5 October 2015
Spellbound
I've always liked fantasy and science fiction films and artwork. I used to annoy my Dad every evening - he wanted to watch the news and I wanted to watch an old back and white sci fi film on the other channel.
Throughout the year I love looking through ImagineFX magazine and at Christmas I always ask for a copy of the latest Spectrum Fantastic Art Book , pouring through awesome illustrations until the holidays are over.
I wish I was better at drawing and painting (I can doodle an idea, but it comes accompanied with writing to explain what it is I've drawn). Corel recently brought out a Photoshop plugin called Particleshop and since I'm getting into fantasy photography after a little break I thought I'd give it a go on this week's Monochrom image.
Stories come into your mind when you're working on pictures like these. In this case I started to imagine a witch out gathering ingredients for her spells.
Wisps...
Model: Helen Diaz
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Influences: Now the summer's ended Christmas is in the pipeline. The latest copies of Game of Thrones and Spectrum Fantastic Art and I'll be a happy man.
Monday, 31 August 2015
The Magician
I love taking pictures and to be honest if I haven't for a few days I can feel the grumpiness kicking in. Like many things though there are times when we simply lose our mojo for a while and enthusiasm, passion and creative energies appear to take a dive.
I'm rather liking my Monochrom Mondays Project. It's giving me the chance to be a bit silly, experimental and have some fun. At the end of the day it's helping me to reconnect with photography and remind me of what a wonderful expressive medium it is and why I love it so much.
The Magician
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Influences:
Film: I'm still obsessing a bit about early camera / film trickery. This week I re-watched The Mirror Sequence from Jean Cocteau's Blood of a Poet.
Monday, 17 August 2015
Seeing Double
I had two shoots booked during August and it rained both times. In a way I was secretly pleased as it meant I could spend the afternoon of each shoot experimenting up in the spare room.
The following pictures were taken with the Monochrom during my wet afternoon with Lulu Lockhart. As well as making short time-lapse/animation sequences we worked on a set of imagery where Lulu would split herself in two so I could bring them together today for this Monday Project instalment.
I like experimenting with my photography. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but that's all part of the learning process. When it does come together the results often surpass your expectations and lead you to want to do more.
Model: Lulu Lockhart
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Influences:
There isn't a specific influence this week, more a general collection. I've been thinking a lot about early cinematic techniques / trickery and when we worked on the time-lapse series it was hard not to remember all the childrens' animation programmes that had been a huge part of my childhood television experience: Morph, Chorlton and The Wheelies, Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley to name just a few,
The following pictures were taken with the Monochrom during my wet afternoon with Lulu Lockhart. As well as making short time-lapse/animation sequences we worked on a set of imagery where Lulu would split herself in two so I could bring them together today for this Monday Project instalment.
I like experimenting with my photography. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but that's all part of the learning process. When it does come together the results often surpass your expectations and lead you to want to do more.
Model: Lulu Lockhart
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Influences:
There isn't a specific influence this week, more a general collection. I've been thinking a lot about early cinematic techniques / trickery and when we worked on the time-lapse series it was hard not to remember all the childrens' animation programmes that had been a huge part of my childhood television experience: Morph, Chorlton and The Wheelies, Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley to name just a few,
Monday, 10 August 2015
The Magic Box
The universe has this strange habit of steering you towards different ideas, away from those you may have planned. I've learnt over the years not to fight this natural current and let go and see where it leads.
I got up for sunrise this morning in order to work on today's picture. Hoping for a lovely, still, sunny start to the day I was instead given thick, cold, damp, windy fog.
Oh well. C'est la vie.
After getting a little lost in a field of cows Tigerbelle and I decided to head home and I spent the morning trying to come up with a Plan B.
Several hours later (without as much as a whiff of any serious inspiration in all that time) I noticed a small empty cardboard box sat next to the torches I've been using recently with some of my photos.
And that is how the universe conspired to ensure today I would make...
The Magic Box.
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Model: Tigerbelle
Inspiration:
Real Life: An ongoing project of mine, taking photographs lit with alternative lighting easily found in hardware stores.
Film: The mystical suitcase from Pulp Fiction
I got up for sunrise this morning in order to work on today's picture. Hoping for a lovely, still, sunny start to the day I was instead given thick, cold, damp, windy fog.
Oh well. C'est la vie.
After getting a little lost in a field of cows Tigerbelle and I decided to head home and I spent the morning trying to come up with a Plan B.
Several hours later (without as much as a whiff of any serious inspiration in all that time) I noticed a small empty cardboard box sat next to the torches I've been using recently with some of my photos.
And that is how the universe conspired to ensure today I would make...
The Magic Box.
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Model: Tigerbelle
Inspiration:
Real Life: An ongoing project of mine, taking photographs lit with alternative lighting easily found in hardware stores.
Film: The mystical suitcase from Pulp Fiction
Monday, 3 August 2015
The Sudden Wave
If it's not fun you're doing something wrong.
Still thinking about narratives and sequential work here's a little improvisation involving an empty room and a roll of cellophane.
The Sudden Wave
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Influences:
Real Life: Taking my wife to the boat this morning.
Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. (My first attempts involved a journey across the cellophane water but I couldn't get it to work this morning).
Film: Almost everything by Georges Melies
Photography: Duane Michals, Francesca Woodman
Monday, 27 July 2015
The Traveller GIF
I've never made a GIF before, so thought I'd use The Traveller series for a first attempt...
The Traveller
The Traveller
Copyright: Clayton Bastiani
Camera: Leica M Monochrom
Influences:
Real Life: A day with Horace Silver
Film: Hector's Search for Happiness.
Book: The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Photography: Duane Michals and Francesca Woodman
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