Monochrome Journal Entries

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• HOW I WORK MY IMAGES?
  by SylviaHardy

  It all depends on the photograph that I am taking as to how I will work it to a finish. This may sound a bit long-winded, but to really …

  It all depends on the photograph that I am taking as to how I will work it to a finish. This may sound a bit long-winded, but to really understand how my photograph is being worked, it all comes together in a picture that you see in my portfolio on Redbubble! Most of my photographs have been taken in RAW, with my digital camera, Canon EOS 350D and EOS 20D. Not that this should make any difference to the image. Sometimes I will create an image with Sophia’s camera which is a compact zoom 8. Megapix. “Trapped in the light” was taken with that camera and was taken in JPG for ease of use. As for “Searching for Spring” , this image was HDR processed. To do this I have taken three images of the same, making sure that the camera is solid on a tripod, to avoid moving it from position. I then take three exposures of the same image. / 1 photograph is taken two stop over exposed, 1 photograph is taken two stops under exposed and the other 1 is correctly exposed. The subject, in Sophia’s case had to remain absolutely still down to her eyes, which is hard for a five year old to do! But she was a very good girl and it has taken her all the concentration to do it, and it is that what has given her this serious look bless her. I had no intention to portray her as an evil child, so that is something to watch out for when using HDR on youngsters! I always prefer to use natural surroundings and available light from that surrounding. I don’t like using flash, because I feel it can destroy the mood that natural light can create for me. For instance, the HDR method that I have used on Sophia in the mentioned image, the sun is behind her. To use flash would have completely changed the feel and the mood of the photography. Try this for yourself and look at the difference in your pictures and see what I mean? The type of light you use determines the mood that you want to create! This is true for any kind of photography. To create HDR images, I have downloaded Photomatix basic from Google search, and this is FREE! Any one who is interested in HDR? There is a group in RB that may be very useful and helpful to learn. Enhance Photo > Photo Fix / After I’ve HDR’d “Searching for Spring” in Photomatix basic, I opened this picture in Corel paintshop pro XI. In this software, I have “Enhance Photo” and open to “Smart Photo Fix”. This tool has several applications to darken or lighten the shadow area without affecting the over all photograph. The Overall slider affects the whole of the image by darkening or lighting it. A little bit like fill in light. The Highlight slider only affects the highlights of your picture. Then there is the Saturation slider and Focus slider, when you’ve finished, you click OK! I use this on most of my photographs to improve the overall appearance. Selection tool/Lasso tool / Now, I want to isolate and section areas that I feel needs working on without affecting the rest of my photograph! To do this I love the lasso tool or the selection tool that looks like a lasso. I zoom right into the picture for maximum control but leave enough room so that I can still recognise the edges that I need to go around with my selection tool. To select the horizon or the sky, I try to avoid the trees and bushes if I can, for they can get to dark or even black and will ruin the picture. Feather / Before I lasso, I decide what effect I want with the Feather tool from the select tool. This will determine if the edges are going to be smooth and straight, which would be 0! Or if I want a layering or vignette effect around the subject? This would be from 1 – 200! I suggest you should experiment to get to know how the feather effect looks on your work. This is all down to personal preferences. It is a bit like, how much salt do you like on your food? Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Curves / Once the portion has been selected and I have lassoed around the sky, I will go into Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Curves, select curves! A box comes up and you see your selected part of the image in a window. This is the part that is going to be worked on. In my case, I want to darken the sky and bring out the drama of the clouds. In the box there is a diagonal line. Grab the middle of the line and move it about. You will see how the selected part is changing in contrast. I drag the middle of the line slightly down until I am happy with the result, and then click ok! Get familiar with the different tools and experiment with them! This is what I do and am still learning. I build up my experience through experimenting. The result is seen in my portfolio in Redbubble for all to see! Invert selection / If I want to save time and work on the foreground of the picture, while the sky is still selected. I go into Selection and click on Invert. Or you tap on “Alt + Shift + I” to invert my selection. Now my foreground is selected and the sky deselected. Experiment / In the case of “Searching for Spring” I only selected Sophia by lassoing all around her and the Feather on 0. I needed to bring out detail that would otherwise be lost. / I have tried several applications, like Levels, Curves and even Histogram Adjustment. / These can all be found in, Adjust > Brightness and Contrast. Trying very hard to keep her in harmony with her surrounding. The same was also done with the table that Sophia stood on. Finally to the black and white effect! Adjust > Color > Channel Mixer / This method applies to most of my black and white images, whether they are a straight shot or have been enhanced first. I go into Adjust > Color > Channel Mixer, tick the Monochrome box. Red will default to 100, while green and blue to 0. This usually turns the blue sky very dark, and the skin or anything that has red in it very pale to white. A good guidance that I have learned from someone was, to make sure that, which ever way you choose to move the slider to maintain a total of 100%. As an example only; / Red% -40, Green% 28, Blue% 112, and it adds up 100%! Play about with that to get a feel for how this makes your black and white photograph look. / If the red lightens red, the green slider should lighten anything green and the blue, blue! / Use your judgement and then click ok. But make sure you don’t burn out any highlights in your photograph. This can look ugly if it is overdone. Once I am satisfied, I click ok and move on to the next treatment. Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Histogram Adjustment. / To finish of my picture I will go into Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Histogram Adjustment. There is a slider on the side that will affect the contrast of the image. Slide it down, the contrast increases. Slide it up and it will decrease. I like to increase the contrast, trying not to burn out highlights in Sophia’s face. On the bottom of the box of the histogram there are little triangles, / Low Gamma High / Move the middle triangle Gamma towards the high, and will bring out details in the shadow area. While moving towards the Low, it will bring out details in the highlights. / That is where the selection tool will also be useful if you don’t want to affect the rest of the picture but only one aspect. Click ok and I am almost done! Final finishing touches! Learning centre > Home > Effects > film and filter / Corel Paintshop XI have this extra facility that I love t use for effects. It has a learning centre > home > effects > film and filter. I love the Glamour and Warming, which I have been using with “Trapped in the light”. And finally save the finished work which you get to see on Redbubble if I am happy with it! Thank you all who have shown so much interest in my work and wanted to know about how I did them? I hope it makes sense and is easy enough to follow? My best regards Sylvia!

• A SALE! A SALE! (Mk II)
  by Dennis Gay IPA

  An unknown buyer with great taste has just bought a card of my Candid Hats in the Oz Day Crowd...

  An unknown buyer with great taste has just bought a card of my Candid Hats in the Oz Day Crowd !!!!! / A very big Aussie THANK YOU whoever you are!!!!! GB / Dennis

• Street photography, art or an invasion of privacy?
  by Redtempa

  _“You are reminded that under UK law, there are no …

  “You are reminded that under UK law, there are no restrictions on taking photographs in a public place or on photography of individuals, whether they are adults or minors. There is no right to privacy in a public place, although photographers are of course subject to the usual libel laws in the same way as any other citizen and should observe them. Equipment or film may not be confiscated, or images deleted by any person or officer unless a warrant for such action is issued. Any attempt without a warrant is considered assault under UK law“. This is a passage of text carried by a well known photojournalist to protect himself from confrontation with the public when taking street photography I am a big fan of street photography and photojournalism, I love to look at pictures that capture a moment in time of the reality that is around us everyday. I see the artistic quality in good street photography, I also see the historic significance of people attempting to capture life in this way. I believe it is a very important way of recording life as it happens, especially when it is unscripted and shot in a natural environment. That way there is no bias and no ulterior motive behind the image, just the image and how we personally choose to understand it. I however am constantly struggling with the ethics of photojournalism and street photography because there are 2 points of view. I feel sorry for those ‘personalities’ that the media latches on to and decides are ‘newsworthy’ and there to be ’in the public interest’ because this ultimately gives the press (in their eyes) the right to make sometimes disgusting and wholly unethical invasions into their private lives. I find this, at times, to be unsettling, especially after what happened to Princess Diana who ultimately lost her life to the intrusion of it by the press. When you now look at the treatment of celebrities such as Britney Spears or Amy Winehouse you worry that it is not long before a similar tragedy happens to them. I understand this is the price celebrities pay and they have a responsibility to be good role models however members of the press are more and more taking advantage of this. Yes these ‘photographers’ have their own name, ‘The Paparazzi’ and should, in theory be grouped separately just as trashy tabloids are grouped separately from the broadsheets. Unfortunately more and more it is the case that they are not in the eyes of the general public. The problem is the reputation and image of street photographers and photojournalists is being lumped together with ‘The Paparazzi’ by many of the general public and are being viewed with distain. The average Joe on the street is becoming more aware and suspicious of street photographers, often feeling a certain hostility towards SLR holding ‘snappers’. I added the text above to reassure those of us about our rights to photograph in public places and societies need to have these people. However we must also be aware of our responsibilities and the boundaries we must observe to avoid upsetting an already wary general public / Some of the photo’s I have included have been taken on the street, some without the subject being aware of the shot being taken. I’d be interested in what you all think about the ethical side of publishing these shots and whether they could be considered art, journalistic or simply an invasion of privacy? It has bothered me as to whether I should show them on Redbubble or not, what do you think? Alternatively please feel free to comment or debate about what I have said I’d love to hear your side of this argument. Ben

• Sold Mounted Print!
  by Rhana Griffin

  How incredibly cool! Thank you so much to the person who just bought a mounted print of “Circle of Friends” !http://i198.photobu…

  How incredibly cool! Thank you so much to the person who just bought a mounted print of “Circle of Friends” As you most likely know this is a sentimental piece to me as it is dedicated to a very special group of friends who I originally met through the internet some years ago but who I have been blessed enough to meet (most of them) in person. These people have seen me through good times and bad, supported me, nurtured me, growled at me when I was in need of it ;) and always been just a phone call or a mouse click away whenever I have needed them. In return I would like to think that I have given back as much love as they all have given me over the years. So this time round, my thanks need to go not only to the buyer, but also to my wonderful T family who inspired this capture. THANKYOU!!!

• Urban Décor Pt 1... How to get your voice heard
  by Redtempa

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of grea…

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of great bands, writers, artists and film makers that have thrived in tolerant society that has welcomed free expression. The UK’s artists are known the world over for pushing boundaries and mixing together genres of art to create sub-genres and in some cases completely new genres! However I sometimes wonder what this tolerant, free society is going to make of the latest trend to hit the streets of the city, political urban art. Of course I realise Its not a new phenomenon , look at the scrawl on the old Berlin Wall or on the walls in Northern Ireland and you would find political graffiti slogans left in protest and to provoke thought. You can even find the ancient paintings of any native race anywhere in the world on rock faces or cave walls, whether they were made as decorative pieces or with some social impact in mind, who knows? Even in its most recent form as scrawl with spray can on a wall it has been alive in this country for years. The point is it is becoming very evident to me that this is becoming something of an epidemic here in London. When I say becoming, well I travel the streets searching this stuff out and I can tell you it is on the rise in quite a dramatic fashion here! Kids, young men and professional artists are getting more and more confident and ballsy about making bigger and more controversial statements on the walls of our city. The obvious answer is Banksy has created a precedent for the flood gates to open… although he was not the first to create this form of political graffiti in London, he is just the most well known and the first to achieve worldwide fame and fortune. But I feel to blame him or to even praise him for this would be wrong because to me he is only responding to the problems in society not creating them. Almost like blaming Hip Hop for the problems in Harlem, it’s short sited and completely missing the point. These artists are responding to the way the people are feeling right now and trying to get their voices heard the only way they can. For me this rise in political graffiti stems from the feeling that the noise society is creating is so loud and inconsequential the important points are not reaching the people. For example, a messed up singer will get front page headlines of our major newspapers while continued atrocities are being committed the world over by that do not even get a mention! How can a footballers affair be more important to the people than 2 million refugees going without food, water and medicine in Dafur. We are being drowned in a sea of pointless messages, with the substance floating past unnoticed. Whether you think it’s a problem with society or a government ploy to control us it’s clear that that to get the message across artists are resorting to more drastic measures. These measure are to take to the streets and to paint them on our walls for all to see… and in that respect I support what many of them are trying to do. Now I’m not saying all of this is political, some is just a beautiful piece of artwork designed to brighten up a… well Urban sh1thole! As well as this much of it is blatant vandalism that causes distress to its victims and actually ruins a perfectly beautiful building. Whatever the point is I have been documenting these images in my own way for years now. I don’t want to just show the images, I want to show them in context, this means including a bit about their surroundings and even the people that pass them on a day to day basis. The rest is up to you as to what you consider art, political messages, vandalism or even all three put together! So I am making it my mission to bring these images to you in what will be called my URBAN DÉCOR Journal, this is part 1 Ben AKA Redtempa

• Urban Décor Pt 3... Guerrilla marketing, a cheep and effective alternative
  by Redtempa

  You may not realise but the dark s…

  You may not realise but the dark streets of London are littered with some of the worlds most cutting edge and ingenious marketing campaigns. Stencils, billposters and general scrawl are being used to sell products or raise a public profile, in some cases very effectively. You only have to look at the money behind some of the brands turning up on street corners and street signs to realise this is no longer only the work of kids with too much time on their hands. These are big businesses that have recognised the impact guerrilla marketing can have on creating brand awareness. The most recent example to be seen on the streets of the East End of London are stencils of a Zepplin with the word ‘Mothership’ emblazoned across it. To those that know this is advertising the new album from Led Zepplin, and to those that don’t this creates a certain intrigue and awareness that Atlantic Records hope will boost sales amongst a younger generation of music fans. My point is this is not a small back street company that has employed these techniques and Led Zepplin are not a bunch of ‘wannabe’s’, these are big names utilising urban art as part of a high profile campaign. Some, of course are not big businesses and do not have a capitalist agenda. They just want to spread a message or an ethos and are utilising the best cost effective methods available that can reach the widest possible audience. Some of these are even global movements expanding their cause (quite strategically) by using guerrilla marketing techniques. / Artwork by Obey Obey is a great example of this. Obey is the brainchild of Shepard Fairy and is a regular feature on the streets of some of the worlds major cities. He explains his work as “an experiment in Phenomenology” with one of the aims being to “awaken ones sense of wonder about their surroundings“. He says of his work; “The Obey campaign attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the campaign and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with Obey propaganda provokes thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewers perception and attention to detail”. / Artwork by Obey Whether or not you agree with the point the is trying to make or the methods he is employing you have to admire the sheer scale of his work. Much of it is also very attractive and really does brighten up some of the dingiest London streets. I have taken many shots of Obey’s and other guerrilla media campaigns, some of which I have posted here and on my portfolio. To be honest some of them I love, some I hate, some I understand and some, well, I have no idea what their rhyme or reason is! They come in many forms with many points to make on many levels from the blatantly obvious to the completely surreal, the commercial to anti-capitalistic, the humorous to political. I’ll let you make up your own minds! Please feel free to comment, I’d like to hear your opinions on the subject Peace Ben

• Urban Décor Pt 2... Artist vs Criminal
  by Redtempa

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on M…

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on Monday I was interested to see the reaction from the Redbubble community on the subject of urban art. To be honest I was expecting a mixed reaction because this form of art has many guises, some of which have a habit of pissing people off… tagging being one of them. This side of graffiti is the hardest to justify, something even I would struggle to do… not that I would want to anyway! Personally I am not even going to get involved in the debate because I can see both sides of the story and both are as valid as each other… in reality your opinions will probably be individual and varied and will be based on your personal experiences, good or bad. My own experiences have been both negative and positive and I’m pretty open minded on the subject, so I can understand the mixed reactions that some of the images I produce may cause. Some people will say tagging causes distress and is just blatant vandalism created by bored jobless youths with no respect for the property of others. Others will say it has been around for as long as the human race has been able to express itself through painting and (in some cases) can even brighten up the ugliest of human creations. Whatever your opinion in a free society such as the UK’s it is not going to disappear anytime soon. This is because to truly stop it we would need to take drastic measures that would not sit comfortably in our so called ‘free society’. However, as a photographer I like to document a street scene that I’ve found and I see beauty in. As I primarily photograph natural street scenes in urban areas urban art/vandalism is often a major feature of my work. This is because to me it is such and intriguing and powerful form of artist expression completely without censure that can reach and effect anybody or any age. I am intrigued as to the thought processes that go into designing tags and what they tell you about the artist/criminal that has created it. My intention with these is not to express my personal opinion, instead just to document a scene I think is beautiful and to show it in context with its surroundings. The fact these scenes are dynamic and constantly changing as more graffiti/urban art/tags gives me confidence that recording them is an important thing to do. In fact many of the scenes I have shot in my portfolio have been whitewash or replaced, something that makes me feel justified in spending the many days trawling the streets looking for them. Peace Ben AKA Redtempa

• Featured in Gay Themed Art and Writing
  by Judith Oppenheimer

  ...

  thank you John Douglas and butchart !

• Time Flies
  by Redtempa

  T I M E F L I E S !http://images-1.redbubble.com/img/art/framecolor:black/framestyle:box20/mattecolor:black/product:framed-print/si…

  T I M E F L I E S No time to breathe, / to open your eyes, / your part of the rat race, / and for you time flies. In a surreal bubble, / surrounded by lost souls. / Your driven by greed / and souless goals. Time flies, / no time to savour. / You’ve brought the most expensive dish, / but its lacking flavour. Head down and charge, / in a race to the finish. / but if you don’t savour the journey, / the point will diminish! Ben To buy Time Flies click here

• Sunset Group Competition WINNER
  by Deon de Waal

  Before I announce the winner of the Monochrome Sunset/Sunrise Competition I would just like to thank a few people. / Fisrtly, my uncle’s c…

  Before I announce the winner of the Monochrome Sunset/Sunrise Competition I would just like to thank a few people. / Fisrtly, my uncle’s cousin Bob…......Oh sorry, wrong awards ceremony! / :) / Seriously tho’, a big thank you to lys for all the work to organise the comp and thanks to Karin and Peter for judging. Also a special thank you to Paul Vanzella for being our CELEBRITY GUEST JUDGE (hehehe). And now to the results. The winner (who wins a $25 Redbubble Voucher) is….... GEORGIA SUNSET by jldunn In second Place we have Thorpe Sunset by Tony Fallon And rounding out the top three we have a tie between Terminus by Simon Gladwin AND Life is Golden by Paul Tupman Well done to all of you who took time to enter as there really were some amazing entries and to quote Paul “wow – what an incredibly hard comp to judge…”. Unfortunately some really stunning shots didn’t meet the competition requirements as they were not monochrome. A real pity! All for now. Keeps your eyes open for the next comp!!!!!! Cheers / Deon

• Monochromed bubbles
  by hatefueled

  hurro! / Thought I’d have a ramble abt my journeys of late. I have been reasonably busily productive. from sunday to friday I’d been envo…

  hurro! / Thought I’d have a ramble abt my journeys of late. I have been reasonably busily productive. from sunday to friday I’d been envolved in a large collaborative drawing performance in the city. / / The final piece will be exhibited in the junction gallery, possibly with photos of it in the making and maybe with the collaborative sketchbook on display explaining the project and the journey. fun times. / Also I’ve been working on my behold series. the monochromatic human figure works in my gallery…which i think has been going well. / I descovered the groups feature and have joined some… alot. lol. and im thinking abt starting my own. i’ve noticed we seem to be missing a sculptural group. :D / other than that, I’ve been going to more metal/rock gigs, making more friends, taking photos… working on commisions, etc. / I would upload alot more photography if it was keft seperate from the paintings n drawings, like the poetry is, because, my photos of bereaverment from the photoshoot makes a large collection on its own and would push all my art to the back of my gallery. :( or maybe its just me and i should make a seperate account for my photography? / http://www.flickr.com/photos/endless_beauty/1344736816/

• Vandalism!
  by Redtempa

  The Vandal Series Blog CLICK HERE Drop by and let me know what you think… Take care every…

  The Vandal Series Blog CLICK HERE Drop by and let me know what you think… Take care everyone! Ben

• Two Calendars
  by Erica Corr

  I have a couple of calendars available to buy! I’m thrilled with how they have been designed by Redbubble and they look great hanging on …

  I have a couple of calendars available to buy! I’m thrilled with how they have been designed by Redbubble and they look great hanging on the wall. Attractive and practical. Scenes Through a Lens contains a range of my black and white photographs. I tried to tie the images in with the seasons. View a reduced-quality version in PDF. Warm and Blue contains images with orange or yellow and blue tones in them. I noticed that I had a few in this vein and thought they might look good in a calendar. View a reduced-quality version in PDF. Hope you find one or the other to your liking.