The DarkOptics Project :
I had been taking more notice of atmosphere, at the cinema I would notice the contrast, lighting, angles and grain of the shot, the kind of atmosphere that the producer wanted to show. I had hoped that this was due to my photography and a newfound sense of purpose, rather than just getting older.
This sense of discovery also made itself known in my photography, I had been an infrared convert since I first picked up a DSLR and I found myself researching more and more, the old films and the photographers that made me get into infrared photography in the first place. I wanted my infrared photos to have the same atmosphere as the film prints and realized id gotten so preoccupied with false colour and sharpness and had lost the atmosphere that I loved in the beginning.
I started to play around with my IR raw files, and using fade Gaussian blur techniques, contrast curves and noise, set upon extracting the atmosphere of film, back out of my digital negatives.
My Darkoptics project would be dedicated to these images, modern abandoned buildings and empty landscapes, recreated in monochrome with noise and halation, leaving my old rules of sharpness and colour in the closet for now.
The plan was to build up a separate portfolio, a new website and eventually an exhibition, the order got jumbled and I ended deciding to progress with exhibition space to start with.
Cameras:
Canon 5D mk2
Canon 450D with 695nm Infra Red conversion
Nikon E5400 Compact with 655nm Infra Red conversion
Panasonic LX3 Compact
Lenses:
Canon 17-40mm f4L
Canon 24-105mm f4L
Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Canon 50mm f2
I had been taking more notice of atmosphere, at the cinema I would notice the contrast, lighting, angles and grain of the shot, the kind of atmosphere that the producer wanted to show. I had hoped that this was due to my photography and a newfound sense of purpose, rather than just getting older.
This sense of discovery also made itself known in my photography, I had been an infrared convert since I first picked up a DSLR and I found myself researching more and more, the old films and the photographers that made me get into infrared photography in the first place. I wanted my infrared photos to have the same atmosphere as the film prints and realized id gotten so preoccupied with false colour and sharpness and had lost the atmosphere that I loved in the beginning.
I started to play around with my IR raw files, and using fade Gaussian blur techniques, contrast curves and noise, set upon extracting the atmosphere of film, back out of my digital negatives.
My Darkoptics project would be dedicated to these images, modern abandoned buildings and empty landscapes, recreated in monochrome with noise and halation, leaving my old rules of sharpness and colour in the closet for now.
The plan was to build up a separate portfolio, a new website and eventually an exhibition, the order got jumbled and I ended deciding to progress with exhibition space to start with.
Cameras:
Canon 5D mk2
Canon 450D with 695nm Infra Red conversion
Nikon E5400 Compact with 655nm Infra Red conversion
Panasonic LX3 Compact
Lenses:
Canon 17-40mm f4L
Canon 24-105mm f4L
Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Canon 50mm f2