My Nightmare has a Pulse (Warning: Graphic Content)

nachtmerrie

I have a fear of going blind.
I think sight one of the most precious gifts of life, and it's natural to sometimes not even realize it and maybe even take it for granted.
As a photographer, I use visual images to get my point across, to show you what I want to show you. After all, a photo is worth a thousand words. Personally, I don't think I'd be able to live without being able to see.

And that's why I decided to create these photos.



Click the link to see it larger: http://bloodpromiser.deviantart.com/art/My-Nightmare-has-a-Pulse-100923009

kombizz

I am not sure why few photographers instead of using the POSITIVE aspects of life, they try to produce something that is not true. I am sure you watch too many Hollywood movies which were made by few irresponsible actors/actresses who like to sell their movies by showing scary scenes.
If YOU really interesting in bloody stuff, why don't you get a return ticket to Palestine, Iraq, Africa, Afganistan, and troubled countries and SEE THE REALL BLOOD rather than some red coloring or ketchup?
I am sorry, but I think you be positive and appreciate you life in the Western World.
:ivar
p.s.- If your model was shot by an imaginery shotgun, FOR SURE she did not have that sexy pouty lips in peace!!!

I am sorry to write you my SINCERE feeling.

Raphy

Well, you certainly got a rise out of the person above, but maybe that was the intention. I like the tones in he skin and softness. Not sure why there's blood on the mouth if u were talking about going blind (involves eyes as far as i know) and the blown out highlight in the eye-bandage distracts me. Also, the blood looks real on the bandage, but a big orange on the skin....

I like the idea and the execution is almost all there. Not sure if u were looking for a critique, but you got one anyway... lol... Overall a good image.

BTW - if u haven't heard of Andzej Dragan, you might like his stuff...he's a bit on the darker side of things ... http://andrzejdragan.com/

nachtmerrie

kombizz, I see that you're from Iran. My sincere apologies; I didn't mean to offend you or anyone else.
I can see where you're coming from. But I'm going to try to explain myself as best as possible.
Part of the reason why I love photography is that it literally SHOWS you what I want you to see. I guess it relates to that phrase "a pciture's worth a thousand words". With a photograph, no explanation is needed.
I think a lot of things is this world go unnoticed. I don't think most people notice how gorgeous nature can be . . . and how ugly human nature can be.
I like to shoot things that people don't notice. There's only so much I can do at 16, so I'm keeping it really simple. But there's nothing I'd love to do more than go out into the world and take photos. Of everything. Especially the brutality of a war or starvation or extreme poverty, ect. It'll make people see and realize what's going on.
I don't watch too many Hollywood movies; I think they're too glamorized.
I didn't mean to come across as a typical American, but I guess, in a way, I did. Even if you don't believe it, I can't tell you how thankful I am for the life that I have, for the opportunities I'm getting.
As for the photo, again, I have to keep it simple. It's true, people aren't walking around with bleeding eyeless sockets. It's an exaggeration. But if you read the description, you'd get a basic idea of why I created it. I guess the reaction I wanted, my ideal reaction, was to have someone look at it and wince, feel some kind of pain. And then be thankful that it's not them, that they can see.

Raphy, always looking for a critique. Thank you.

Qarik

it is artistic in nature, surely you can undseratnd that.

sweet caroline

Nachtmerrie is expressing her fear of going blind, something most visual artists can relate to. The image may trigger disgust in some because of it's graphic nature. It's a dramatization for impact. I think art is not always something to look pretty, but something to evoke thought and emotion.

It seems her attitude positive in her appreciation of her sense of sight, even though her image is disturbing.

Caroline

cj99si

I like what you are saying... but

The "brutality" of war(I've served) is why you have the freedom you have now.

You said this picture represents your fear of being blind, so why is your mouth bleeding?

The quality of your work is impressive, but let me say this: Shock value is easy.You have a lot more in you than that.

nachtmerrie

Thanks for the replies.
I'm not going to get into politics.
About my mouth, I tend to overdo things.

Redoing this soon though.

zacker

sweet caroline wrote:

Nachtmerrie is expressing her fear of going blind, something most visual artists can relate to. The image may trigger disgust in some because of it's graphic nature. It's a dramatization for impact. I think art is not always something to look pretty, but something to evoke thought and emotion.

It seems her attitude positive in her appreciation of her sense of sight, even though her image is disturbing.

Caroline

i hear ya... politically correctness is out of control these days..

Rustydiva

I went and checked out your galleries...for a 16 yr old you are an awesome talent.
As for the photo here...it is a bit disturbing...BUT, i do get it.
What we need to remember is that photography is a form of ART and everyone's vision of what is artistic is different.

nachtmerrie

I think RustDiva pretty much summed it up in her last sentence.
And thank you.

urbanaries

I agree with your assessment that the mouth blood was a bit overkill...

BUT, I fully applaud your artistic use of the medium to evoke certain feelings from the viewer. Are you in art school? Your lighting and processing are stellar, you could teach us a thing or two clap

post more!!!!

nachtmerrie

Urbanaries, nope I'm not in art school. Actually I'm going to major in the medical pharmaceutical field in high school. Photography is just a hobby.
But thank you, and feel free to ask any questions. ^_^

AaronNelson, thanks for the critique. Don't worry, I don't see you as a hater.
I guess I added the blood because, again, it goes back to the photo being exaggerated.

Darren Troy C

nachtmerrie wrote:

Thanks for the replies.
I'm not going to get into politics.
About my mouth, I tend to overdo things.

Redoing this soon though.

Why? I hope not because a few may have led you down "that" path. It is what it is....yours. It's an image. Some will like it, some will hate it, some won't get it, some won't care either way. It's yours and it's a great image. Your creation can only change if you see it fit to do so. I can't for the life of me imagine that you spent only a few seconds putting this through a speedy post-production. More likely the scenario would be the fact that you worked hard enough to get to a point where you saw it fit for posting up here....hoping for comments and/or critiques on your final draft. You may have gotten more subject matter than you planned for but we are human and unfortunately, we all have opinions of which some will be against the grain. The image is fine. Better than fine, in fact. Powerful, disturbing, dark, conversational and after a few of the comments posted here....maybe even a little confrontational. I love it. Is it because I am into the macabre? Not hardly! What I do enjoy, however, is the "image" and the thought and hard work that went into it.

Get over it people....it's a photograph! (only my opinion, though )

nachtmerrie

Idlewild, thank you.
I know what you mean, but ever since I opened up the photo, I wanted to redo the whole thing. The blood is really off, and although I did an edit, I'm still not completely pleased with it. Yeah, I'm quite a perfectionist. lol
But I'm really glad you think that about the photo.

AaronNelson, I don't know. I figured if I added anything like that, the photo would seem too forced, too fake, too tacky. Something along those lines. That's why I decided to just keep it at a tight crop of my face with no expression on my face. And if I should be screaming when my eyes are bleeding like that, well, pretend I've already bled to death. lol
But all of that is just my personal preference. Thanks for your suggestion.

ian408

Site is one of the most precious gifts. You won't appreciate that until you have not seen--even temporarily.
When I was kid, I had eye surgery. And since as a kid, they don't tell you much before hand, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up from the surgery and could not see. Both eyes are bandaged afterward so that healing can take place and so that you won't rub your eyes. But I didn't know that at the time. I can see fine now but that is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood and I'm a tad bit older than the OP

With the explanation, I get this photo. About the only thing that's extraneous is the blood from the mouth. I feel that if it were left out, the image would be seen more clearly.

Overall, I like this and some of your other work. Although not main stream, it is art and it does provoke thought. I respect that.

chrisdg

the fact that she can capture these self-portraits with effective lighting, composition, props, etc while being essentially blind-folded speaks for itself. This is a young lady (16?!?) with lots of talent and potential...even if the content isn't for most. As she grows and changes, so will the content.

When art gets people talking, it's doing its job.

jsedlak

cj99si wrote:

I like what you are saying... but

The "brutality" of war(I've served) is why you have the freedom you have now.

I do not understand how this photo has anything to do with war or freedom. The picture is not trying to show anything of the sort. Would you be telling me the same thing if I decided to prick myself with a needle? That the brutality of war gave me the freedom to do so and because of that I shouldn't be doing it?

cj99si wrote:

You said this picture represents your fear of being blind, so why is your mouth bleeding?

I agree with this.

cj99si wrote:

The quality of your work is impressive, but let me say this: Shock value is easy.You have a lot more in you than that.

I agree, but I don't think the point of the photo is to only shock you. If its purpose was to shock you, it would have been way over the top.

To the OP, I like the idea and think you should continue with it.

nachtmerrie

jsedlak wrote:

I do not understand how this photo has anything to do with war or freedom. The picture is not trying to show anything of the sort. Would you be telling me the same thing if I decided to prick myself with a needle? That the brutality of war gave me the freedom to do so and because of that I shouldn't be doing it?
.

We got a little off topic, I don't know if you noticed. But the photo itself doesn't have anything to do with war or politics of course.
And if you decided to prick yourself with a needle and take a photo of it, I'd say your photo was too mundane and that the blood wasn't worth it. (I used fake blood).
And, thank you.

Chrisdg, thank you very much. ^_^ Yup, 16. lol
And I love it when I can get any kind of strong reaction with my photos.

Ian408, I can't even imagine getting eye surgery. =( My uncle recently had it and he was describing how much he wanted to rub it, but he couldn't.
I need to redo this shot without the blood on the mouth. I didn't get a chance yet, but I did get a chance to edit it to make the blood look a little less orange.

cj99si

nachtmerrie wrote:

Especially the brutality of a war

jsedlak wrote:

I do not understand how this photo has anything to do with war or freedom. The picture is not trying to show anything of the sort. Would you be telling me the same thing if I decided to prick myself with a needle? That the brutality of war gave me the freedom to do so and because of that I shouldn't be doing it?

Yes my comment was a "bit" off topic its just a little tough to swallow (and i'll keep it at that)

The fact is shes got talent, is 16 and belongs to a site called "bloodpromiser".........

I worry what we think is art these days.

NM dont mind me I'm just being a pain in your butt(not all is directed at you), I look forward to the one without the "extra" blood

nachtmerrie

Actually, the site's called deviantART; my username's just BloodPromiser.
What an intense question . . . what is art?

kundalini

Great shot T... errr..... I mean, nachtmerrie.

Agree with the concensus. The blood on the mouth is too much. After a while Minority Report came to mind.

cj99si

nachtmerrie wrote:

Actually, the site's called deviantART; my username's just BloodPromiser.
What an intense question . . . what is art?

my bad...

shane

Love it.... not boring, not mundane, creative.
Though I would also like to see the lips free of blood.

Good stuff, keep it up.

ian408

nachtmerrie wrote:

I need to redo this shot without the blood on the mouth.

I look forward to it

davidweaver

Wow...what a thread. I've been shooting zombies, among other things, for the last two weeks. Fake and gross stuff relating to the dead and Halloween. I've seen people shot in the face and torso with fake blood and bits of fake-bloodsoaked foam (the chunky jucy bits) so this pic isn't all that different from that stuff except I didn't set it up.

You did.

Nice work.


Cheers,
David

flyingdutchie

Hi Nachtmerrie,

I like the shot, although i would like to see a version where just a little blood comes out of the bandages around the eyes...

Your gallery on deviant-art looks good. You have talent!
I'm wondering how you post-process your pictures...

BTW: how come you're using the dutch word for 'nightmare' for your nickname? (i'm a Dutchy, that's why i ask )

nachtmerrie

Thank you.
To post process my images . . . hm. When I first started using Photoshop, I just played around until I liked what I saw. Now I have more of an idea of what I want to do with certain photos. So, that's how I learned and how I post process my images.
But I keep two general rules in the back of my mind: flash creates harsh lighting and contrast is a little thing that goes a long way. =D
Hope that helps, even a bit.

And I chose the Dutch translation because it just sounds so much nicer. ^_^
I'm Guyanese, but Guyana was ruled by the Dutch at one point. Fun fact even though it has nothing to do with why I chose my username.

jdryan3

nachtmerrie wrote:

I need to redo this shot without the blood on the mouth. I didn't get a chance yet, but I did get a chance to edit it to make the blood look a little less orange.

Take #1, that's all. Many photographers shoot the same scene or concept over and over, trying to get it right. I love the concept, and know that fear. Both my professional life and hobby depend greatly on vision. Even my son knows I am very protective of my eyes. I had my lens literally scraped off my eye by a woman's long fingernail a few years back.

I concur with the group on no mouth blood. And given the tone of the skin of the model (you?), I am OK with the blood color on the flesh. It is the crimson color on the bandages that seems out of place to me.

nachtmerrie

I think the difference of the color on my skin and on the bandages has something to do with the fact that I let the blood soak into the bandage about a day before using it.
Yup, that's me.
Thanks for the feedback.
That sounds really painful. =/
About two years ago, my cat scratched me in my eye . . . hurt like a bitch. I can't even describe it.