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| DARKROOM
TO DIGITAL |
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When I first discovered “Surrealism”
I felt a deep connection to the style of imagery. My passion
is in creating magical “dreamscapes” of scenes drawn
from the depths of my imagination. Through taking up photography
and now computer animation I feel I have the right tools on
hand to conjure up whatever visual concept I desire.
My background as a Magician
first led to my fascination with “special effects”
photography. I was interested in creating visual illusions
within my images. Before I moved into the digital realm I
created my surreal images in the darkroom. I would construct
little “stage sets” to photograph and blend multiple
negatives together under the enlarger. When digital technology
came on the scene I transferred my photographic skills to
the computer but continued to create my surreal style of work.
Working in "black and white" originated from my
darkroom background as this was the medium I first learnt
to shoot and print with. This passion for monochrome has continued
through to my digital work and even my first short animated
film. Sometimes stripping an image of colour helps to create
a more surreal environment by altering the way we normally
view it.
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| PHOTOGRAPHY
TO ANIMATION |
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Often when I dream up
a photographic concept I picture it fully animated. In the
past I have created a number of photographic sequences as
a way to tell a story and express what I am seeing. Naturally
this led to an interest in 3D Computer Animation. By extending
my work through this medium I am able to bring my images to
life with movement and music.
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| IMAGE CONCEPTION |
My approach to photography is more like
a painter who starts with a blank canvas. A large part of my
time is spent visualising the image I want to create. Some concepts
come to me as complete images in my imagination. Others are
inspired by an interesting object I find, which I then build
a picture around. I find constructing a scene that doesn’t exist
more of a creative challenge than recording just what the camera
sees.
When I create a new image I start by imagining the scene and
writing it down on paper. Then I plan what images I need to
shoot to make up the photograph. Once the initial photos are
taken I can sit down at the computer to mockup a rough composition.
The photographs usually take a few hours at the computer to
complete depending on how complex the image is.
Most of my artwork is set at the beach with dramatic skies in
the background. I've always looked to the sky for inspiration
in my work and often an amazing cloud formation is the first
photograph I place in my "Photoshop" file.
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| CAMERA |
| The digital photographs in my Art
Gallery were taken using an Olympus C-4040 Digital Camera,
with 4.1 mega pixels. I have since upgraded to a Fujifilm
S2 Pro to increase the maximum size I can print my work
to. Each image is made up from about 12 digital photos and combined
together in the computer using the software Adobe Photoshop. |
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THE ORIGINS OF HANDBIRD
PRODUCTIONS
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The birth of my surreal photography was marked
by a photomontage of a swan with fingers for feathers. Originally
created while in high school during 1997, Swan
Lake was one of the first photographs I later reproduced
when making the transition from darkroom to digital. The hand-swan
has recently been brought to life through 3D animation in
my short film Dream Within a Dream.
As my work is branded by my "hand-creature" imagery,
the business was named Handbird Productions.
HAND - BIRD
stands for CREATIVE
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FREEDOM
A symbol of my
continuing flight through the realms of Fantasy
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