<< Previous Next >>

Bring Colour Into My Life..


Bring Colour Into My Life..
Photo Information
Copyright: Ay Da (chiaraluna) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 435 W: 90 N: 567] (2560)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-02-15
Categories: Experimental, Abstract, Mood, HPP [Heavily Post-Processed], Portrait
Camera: Toshiba PDR-4300
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-03-18 14:51
Viewed: 873
Points: 40
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
this is the first in a series of experiments i'm working on with mirroring techniques.. i find it very interesting and a study of both symmetry and contrast.. also i feel it's a good technique to express feelings of change or conflict within a human being... how the mirror image can represent the different aspects and battling forces within us.. i hope to be posting some images that focus even more on this.. on the battles inside the soul as well as the difference between the way people see us and how we see ourselves... as we are usually the most unforgiving of critics...

this photo represents the search for colour (literally & metaphorically) in our lives.. partly a metaphor for how i've felt since moving to the eastern half of the US where spring comes so late and how desperate i've felt year after year for something to bloom and bring a little colour and joy into my day... you don't realize how precious it is till i' gone.. but most of all it expresses how we often feel such bleakness around us stemming from our own inner turmoil and have this deep need in our souls for spiritual 'colour' to re-enter our lives after suffering so long a seemingly endless monotone existence.. i feel this so often...

***

the eye was cropped from a larger portrait i'll post soon :)

post processing:
* cropped the eye from a resized image rather than the full resolution one so had to enlarge it a little which lost some sharpness.. i could have found the full res shot and done it again but i kind of liked the way it looked this way.. a bit more 'impressionistic' rather than photographically razor sharp
* adjusted the curves a little and added selective saturation to the eye and hair using the lasso tool (eye) and magic wand tools
* made a duplicate and flipped it to make the mirror image
* converted the left flipped eye to grayscale
* made a transparent new document and pasted both eyes side by side (in the first effort i felt the eyes were too close together, so i pasted the full 2 eye image into a slightly wider new document aligned to the left, than pasted the right colour eye back onto that and aligned it to the right, this way creating a slightly wider space between the eyes without having a gap)
* then i did a lot of cloning, painting, smudging & blurring to blend the lines and colours of the 2 pasted images plus clean up a lot of noise and pixel problems caused by resolution reduction, doing this also created a dramatic look i was going for
* then i adjusted the curves once again to 'over-expose' the skin more, intensify the eyes and further blend the tones
* then with the magic wand i selected the eye iris on the right coloured side and increased saturation once again to intensify, did the same with the hair
* finally framed and signed it and there we are..

hope you'll enjoy this experiment :)
Fisher, chefcop, alagoa, zto, nova, smit, DAM, Ah_Thong, pattyjy, maleentjeh, msirois, jmdaoudal, Dingo, mspixalot, ballyna has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekLens members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekLens members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To msirois: thank you :)chiaraluna 1 04-01 22:32
To Shutter2Think: :-)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:45
To Fuji-mon: thx Mike :)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:40
To alagoa: hurray for green eyes :)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:39
To chefcop: :-)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:37
To zto: ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:36
To Maru: :-)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:29
To Werewolf: thx!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:27
To nova: merci merci.. :)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:26
To DAM: thank you :)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:22
To Ah_Thong: thx Thong :)chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:20
To tsumeb: thx David!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:19
To edie: grazie!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:16
To maleentjeh: thx Marleen!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:13
To reddevil: thanks Jos!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:09
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

Hi Ayda,

How neat! I saw the thumb and not your name, and I knew it was you, already! I'm getting used to your style and/or this is that eye from the 60's image. I'm glad to see you are thinking more about putting feelings/thoughts into picture. I hope you were able to get a decent amount of release from this one. Great work!
Take care!
Richard

Ayda, very good experiment, and a success. Very interesting and well done on this composition. I like it.

Mike

It's definitely a very good experiment!! This was a lot of work, but it's worth it. Special note too... Excellent pp work and also very original. You can do more ;-)
Your eyes are the same colour as mine :-)
Ana

Nice idea Ayda, love the composition here, very ingenious. The juxtaposition of the black and white against the colour is an excellent well thought out idea. Your execution of the idea is absolutely perfect. Cracking capture, well done.

Peter

  • Great 
  • zto Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 946 W: 120 N: 59] (262)
  • [2005-03-18 15:36]
  • [2] [+]

What else can i do but to smile at your thoughts and ideas and creativity. We think so alike Ayda. Oh i know how you mis those flowers in bloom in spring. They arrive so late here to. Still we have snow outside, cold and grey. The days are gradually becoming longer now though, finally. Mirror effects liek these can be well used to represent the search or feeling of a split soul. One with colour and one without...which is the true you....

Hope your migrane is far gone by now my dear and that your neighbour will stay silent for the evening. It is friday, so hopefully they will be out...or i guess htey may have a party as well. I will keep my fingers crossed...

  • Great 
  • Maru Gold Star Critiquer [C: 471 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2005-03-18 15:40]
  • [+]

very interesting idea and realization, Ayda!
I like your experiment very much and specially the concept behind it (as mirror and human contradiction), as it is written in the note.
Your pp work is really good ;)
Congrats!!
Marisa

It's well find! The idea is good! Not so complicated look, very good!

  • Great 
  • nova Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2734 W: 263 N: 864] (8651)
  • [2005-03-18 18:32]
  • [+]

I usually do not put too much attention to the text but yours touched me deeply....I was kind of reading myself! Great work! It looks so easy to do and there is so much work to do! And it is the same with our own person,our own soul! When people look at us,they just look most of the time but they cannot see!...

  • Great 
  • DAM Gold Star Critiquer [C: 513 W: 67 N: 268] (1110)
  • [2005-03-18 20:01]
  • [+]

Your eyes are a good reflection to your heart and soul. Your comment is touching and goes very well with the photo. We can see you have very good in your heart and kindness. Your creativity excels. Great job once again.

simple but very impressive , expressive and nice.. very good idea and u did it very well on the pp works... usefull notes.. thanks for sharing
-thong-

Really fine portrait Ayda. These eyes speak volumes. The mirror symmetry adds a special expressiveness. Good experiment. I'm hoping to see more.

  • Great 
  • edie Gold Star Critiquer [C: 659 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2005-03-19 7:08]
  • [+]

I like very much the compo.
Brava!
ps beautiful eyes!

Simple et très beau. Très réussi comme travail. Bravo. Amitié, Patty.

Hi Ayda ! Love the experiment, it came out great. Hope your spring comes soon.

Marleen

The beauty of simplicity…..Ayda.... eyes are the windows of your mind. I hope there more pictures of this project coming soon. Thanks to share!!!!
Greetings Jos

This is beautifully done, Ayda. The balance between the flat and colorless aspects of our lives, and those that enrich us.
I can also sympathize with your desire for a change of season. I won't bore you with the eighty degree weather we're already experiencing here in Houston, except to say that we miss the seasons here too. We only have a brief cooling spell here that passes for winter, followed by eight months of hot, muggy, sweat-inducing days and nights. I always look for every opportunity to leave (for business or pleasure) just to see something different.
You do excellent work.
Michael

Very strong representation here. I like very much your work on lines and colors.
Jean Michel

  • Great 
  • Dingo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2743 W: 369 N: 2624] (11948)
  • [2005-04-11 18:28]

...and into mine now too ;o). Nice experiment, Ayda. It almost looks like a charcoal drawing - coloured in on the right. Beautiful and extensive PP work, I think it paid off here. A wonderful, refreshing image. TFS.
(Nice eye too!)

u've done so many things but it happened to be magnificant.we re the same in ourselves I mean both sided sometimes:-)
everything is not black or white ,we should discover grey. well done,nice picture.
regards

  • Great 
  • sarju Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 109 W: 0 N: 68] (492)
  • [2005-04-18 4:33]

Ola Ayda
It was hard to choose, but I think this is my favourite photo in your gallery
you have some great bunch of photos ... I was happy to go through your gallery and look at stuff thru ur eye
cheers
Sarju

  • Great 
  • Gand Gold Star Critiquer [C: 355 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2005-04-20 14:02]
  • [2]

This one is just for my Theme, "Colors against Gray".
Very functioning dualistic impression on this shot.
Great job Ayda.

ciao chiara, sempre carine e particolari le tue foto and le tue idee. brava . ciao

Denis

you have some great photos, you can feel you in each one, they are very impressive and strong, if you need a friend, holler,
Christine
points tomorrow

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF