Adventures in Digital & Analogue Imaging

Did You Say Gelatin?

Michael — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:05:09 +0000

I know, I know, I’ve been a very bad blogger. It has been quite the while since my last post… Months you might say. I have spent the majority of my hiatus adjusting to actually making a living off my photography. Not easy to do, especially with recent events. In addition to adjusting to a whole new life style I have been spending my time learning and perfecting some cool new processes. That brings us to the subject of this blog. Gelatin.. It can be tasty.. It can be fun to throw at unsuspecting passers by.. But it is also amazing at facilitating the transfer of images onto numerous substrates. My favorite substrate to transfer onto are wood panels. It makes for an impressive, unique, and final presentation solution. There is so much you can with the wood to, prior to making the transfer. That, however, will be the subject of another blog. What I have done (as sort of a mia culpa) is to make a short video showing the process I do from beginning to end.. Well almost the end.. I do have to keep some things secret! As a side note, the Flip Video camera and iMovie make one hell of a team. I hope you enjoy!

New work and works in progress!

Angelia — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:35:46 +0000

Well, I have only 9 more days and let’s just say I am trying to crank out as much artwork as I can without rushing it. Slow and steady is my philosophy. I suppose watercolor doesn’t really allow for anything but that. Surprises have been appearing in my artwork and an evolution of some sorts. I like it. Swimming and kayaking really help keep the creative flow going. Also seeing old friends and eating Milano Cookies has helped!

Tomorrow night I meet with the Senior Art students, chatting one on one about their artwork. I am really excited to hear their ideas and see what they are working on. Should be fun. Hopefully, I will be almost finished with my fourth large painting by the end of tomorrow. Busy week. Thursday I head to DC to visit a friend, see Sue Johnson’s art show at Washington Project for the Arts as well as see the wonderful art museums! Should be fun!

New Work!!

Angelia — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:20:57 +0000

My talk at the Boyden Gallery was today! The presentation went extremely well and students told me they enjoyed it. I have to admit, it was very refreshing to see the chronological order of my work. The ability to reflect on old ideas and new ideas and meet in between is so very important. I am excited to see what comes out of me the next few weeks I have left here. I am so thankful the faculty and students have been so warm and welcoming. Apparently, my talk information appeared in the Washington Post. A few lovely ladies from DC came! Today the writer, Alicia Shandra Holmes, arrived. Great to finally have someone else in the large house with me. I think her and I are going to go kayaking soon!

Artist Residency New Paintings

Angelia — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:39:14 +0000

Currently, I am back in my home town, St.Mary’s, Maryland completing an artist residency. First thing I noticed upon my return was how much everything changed. Not only the county but also St. Mary’s College. There is now a Marshalls, Famous Footwear, and a Super Walmart (yuck.) Not only are there the big box shops, there are also banners everywhere. Visual overload on signage. This also includes evacuation route signs as well. I am not sure what I am supposed to evacuate for, but I suppose if the time comes, I have the signs to point me out of harms way.

The Artist House is fantastic. Since it is associated with St. Mary’s College, I get all the perks of college. They have a state of the art swimming pool, so you guessed it. I am swimming every day. They also have scanners at my service, hence how I am able to display my daily ink drawings here on this blog. I have all these new ideas! My new painting currently has an elephant emerging! I hope to finish that tomorrow or Sunday.

I have giving a talk on Tuesday September 8th at 4:15 p.m. in the Boyden Gallery. I am almost prepared. Still editing my slides. I didn’t realize I have been so productive over the last 4 1/2 years.

Hope you enjoy my works in progress.

Getting back on Track

Angelia — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:46:27 +0000

Many of you may have wondered where the heck Digalogue went? Well, we are back! In it to win it! I would say we are bringing sexy back, but nope, just photography fun!

So I guess I will start with updates.

*Michael has immersed himself into the freelance photography realm and I have to say he is doing quite well. If you would like to say hello to him, you can find him in Union Sq. NYC on the beautiful market days. So go get that amazing fresh juice or baked good and stop by to see Michael’s wonderful Gelatin Acrylic Transfers. If I do say so, they are only getting better! His bookmark (business card) alone is worth the trip. Also if you are a fan, he does $10 off Canvas Fridays.

*I have 4 paintings hanging in a Peruvian Restaurant called El Pollo located at 291 5th Ave Brooklyn, NY and 4 other paintings in the Boyden Gallery in St. Mary’s Maryland. I know this is not photography, but it is still pretty cool to check out!

*Michael has two photographs hanging at Bierkraft located at 191 5th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11217. If you are a beer connoisseur, this is the place to go. His images are quite ironic in this space.

We have tons of new gear to talk about: The Canon ipf6200, our new baby. This thing is incredibly brilliant. We will divulge more information soon. I also just got the Kodak Zx1. I will soon be putting together a little movie to show you it’s magic. So please stay tuned.

This week I am off to the Maine Media Workshops. I am taking a class with John Goodman called In Search of the Personal. The first assignment was to read The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer. When I finish it, I will let you know how it goes. I hope to give you some updates while I am out there. This should be exciting. I also get to see Christopher James, which is always a treat.

No Digital Vacation Photos

Angelia — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:23:34 +0000

Exhibitions that are a must see!

Angelia — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:16:54 +0000

Don’t wait! Hurry now to the George Eastman house in Rochester to see the current exhibitions! I recommend the Orchard Park series by Andy Lock, which ends April 26, 2009. So only one more weekend to visit. When I walked into the dark room uncertainty of what was to be experienced settled in. I looked around the gallery to see these green painterly and illuminative images depicting a room with a very particular window. At times the window was shown in its entirety, other times it was the light from the window shining onto the walls. Some images had lone objects such as a chair or mattress. A sense of abandonment seems present, but the light shines so brightly giving a sense of warmth even though the forensic green conflicts. The process in which these images are produced tap into memory, making one wonder perhaps about the memories within the spaces photographed. This show is one of the best shows I have seen in a long time, so I really do recommend.

Also the TruthBeauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845-1945 exhibit at the Eastman House is quite phenomenal. The autochrome images were my favorite within the show! I wish I could do this process! Who would have known a potato could make color photographs.

The next exhibit I recommend is the Walker Evans and the Picture Postcard at the Metropolitan Museum. This show is running until May 25th. Apparently Walker Evans collected over 9,000 postcards starting from his childhood continuing for more than 60 years. This exhibit was highly informational giving interesting facts about postcard history, but also insight on another way for us to interpret Walker Evans photographs. What he seemed to like about the postcards was this simplicity in the ordinary, which is demonstrated within his own pieces. Walker Evans was quirky classifying his postcards into Summer, Hotels, American Architecture, Automobiles, Outdoor pleasures, State capitols and well the list goes on. Since I live in NYC one fact I learned was that in 1905 The Saturday Evening Post had stated that over 250,000 postcards were mailed from Coney Island! Who would have known!

This Friday April 24, 2009 I will be checking out Isaac Stackell, a friend, Alternate Visions show at SMP Digital Graphics Gallery 135 West 20th Street NYC. The show ends April 30, 2009.

Degeneration Project

Michael — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:07:14 +0000

Deconstructing Coney Series

For those of you who don’t know, I spend most of my weekends (and sunny days that I have off from work), selling my photography at Union Square in Manhattan. Union Square is a major hub for the subway (the NRQW, 4,5,6, and L train) and is also the site of a rather large park which hosts a Farmers Market 4 days a week, as well as a Christmas Market from the last week of November – December 24. That being said thousands of people pass through everyday; myself and a large cadre of artists set up tables and proudly display our work, hoping a passerby will stop and leave with a one of a kind work of art. It’s a funny way to make a living really, relying almost entirely on the impulse sale to pay rent.

A lot of what I sell are original Image Transfers. Similar to Polaroid Transfers, but without all the caustic nasty chemicals. Each time I make a transfer the image comes out different. Each time it is unique, and one of a kind. So what if I happen to make a transfer, and really really like it? If I sell it, well then it’s gone.. I could scan it, and make prints of the scan to sell.. I have far to many images in my inventory as it is. And since I’m a voracious shooter, I’m constantly adding new images to the rotation. Still it was a notion that I found intriguing.

Hence the purpose of this post. I think it is high time we had some audience participation on this blog. I have decided to do a little experiment. Below you will see a poll, these are my top selling images. Of these you will pick your favorite. The three top lucky images will be put to the Degeneration test.

What I intend to do is to make transfers of the three lucky images. After they are all dried and set I will scan them. When the first transfered images sell, I will make transfers from the scans of those images, instead of the original image files. You see where I’m going with this? It’s the whole copy of a copy of a copy thing. I will keep repeating this process until the images degrade to the point of being unrecognizable, or they stop selling (probably the later). I will post images of each generation so we can all see how the transfers change over time. I’m really curious to see how long it takes, and at what point people will stop buying. Or as each image gets more abstract an unrecognizable, will that spur sales of those images?? We will see. The first step is to vote on which images will be our lucky contestants. Polls close April 22nd. Giddy up!

Sunken Garden Muse 2001

Coney Island Horizon

Angelia — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:39:38 +0000

As Michael and I ventured through Coney Island all I thought about were the memories this place provided for so many generations of locals and tourists. Coney represented a past that so many were trying to recapture every spring and summer. In just the short amount of time I have experienced Coney, many changes have occurred. Buildings are now being knocked down, construction vehicles, materials and fences surround the perimeters. On this particular trip to Coney Island I brought the Horizon, a 35mm toy panoramic camera. This is my first time experimenting with the panoramic format and my very first roll from the Horizon. The first trick to this camera is loading the film in right. The next tip, is to keep your hands out from the sides as the lens sweeps around and the third tip is to be gentle while rewinding or you may snap the film in half. Once you get over these hurdles, the camera reveals some amazing surprises. Don’t you worry, I have more images coming from the Horizon. The next roll will be color. Hopefully, I will have something great images to share. I hope you enjoy these few images.

Adventures in Green Screen with the Canon 5D Mark 2 Part 2. The Video Shoot.

Michael — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:13:04 +0000

Angelia and I where trying to think of a clever project to test out the Datavideo CLK-100 rig with the Video function on the Canon 5D MK2. We decided to have some friends over to my flat in Brooklyn for a Motion Portrait Party. The project was to be an Ipod style music video. But we also let out hair down and had a little fun. Our good friend Matt Hill was kind enough to take some really amazing images of the nights frivolity. Again, The combination of the Zacuto Rig, Lowel Lights, and the Datavideo System made for a very easy set up, shoot, and easy post production.

My Lighting for this was pretty simple. I used Lowel Rifa 88 with Fabric Grid and the main light at camera left. I used a Lowel Rifa 66 with Fabric Grid behind the subjects as a backlight. I positioned this light slightly camera left, behind, and above the heads of the subjects. I used the Primatte tool in Apple Motion to eliminate the background. I also used Motion to create the background graphics. After I had run all the clips through Motion, I used Final Cut Pro to assemble and edit the footage. Below is a look at keying one of the outtakes in Motion.

Apple Motion

After making a few adjustments with the various tools for keying, you can achieve very reasonable results

Here is the video.

He are a couple other fun outtakes.

As I said before, I was only able to use the video function of the 5D MK2 at 640 X 480 resolution. 1080p is a little much for my single processor G5 (don’t laugh) to handle. But still, the quality is pretty amazing. Also, I am not a video person per say. I have used Final Cut Pro a handful of times, and this is the first time I’ve done Chromakey with video. All in all I’m very happy with the results. I’m still in awe of how easy this whole process was. I did a very simple lighting set up for my subjects, and didn’t have to worry about lighting a Chromakey background precisely. Once I captured the footage it was a breeze to load into my computer and import into the various applications I had to use. You know, it was just plain fun. I can only imagine how things would be with a faster computer, updated software, and more time to really spend with it. Here is the end result of the nights endeavors. A music video in the tradition of the Ipod commercials we know and love. Enjoy!