New frontiers for me - "No Evil" 18+

sherstone

During my last shoot with Michael we did another totally different set.
I experimented with the possibly over used cliché of, See no evil, Hear no evil, Say no evil.
This image has been stuck in my head for several years and I could not resist shooting it since Michael is perfect for the part.

In triptych style:

No Evil

Thanks for looking.

Sean

Richard

Excellent! clap

Nikolai

Sean, this is awesome!
Idea, execution, model, props, postprocessing... Man...

rsquared

Awesome idea and an incredible execution!!

sherstone

Wow - I certainly did not expect such a great response.
Thank you so much for the feedback everyone.

My wife and daughter both looked at the top one (see no evil) and thought that the folds of skin near the groin area were "underwear", so I have updated the image to fix that. Even though it was never the case I prefer it to look like it was intended.

Brody

All if them are interesting, but I like #3 the best - the post and texture are quite nice, but the eye visabilty really make the difference to me.

JohnBiggs

WOW! This is great! Maybe I missed it tho, 18+?

Scott_Quier

This is an excellent execution of this theme. The texturing masks the intent enough to force the viewer to really dig at what it is you are trying to convey.

One small nit - maybe - is the processing of his left eye in the first image. The difference between his two eyes leave me with an "unbalanced" feel - or was that what you were intending?

sherstone

JohnBiggs wrote:

WOW! This is great! Maybe I missed it tho, 18+?

Reading the rules I was under the impression that when in doubt put (18+), I do realize that in today's world we have been quite desensitized to the view the human body and most are not offended. But better to be safe than sorry IMHO.

Thanks for the comment John

sherstone

Scott_Quier wrote:

This is an excellent execution of this theme. The texturing masks the intent enough to force the viewer to really dig at what it is you are trying to convey.

One small nit - maybe - is the processing of his left eye in the first image. The difference between his two eyes leave me with an "unbalanced" feel - or was that what you were intending?

Thanks Scott, I agree the difference is somewhat unbalanced and funny enough I looked at it for quite some time considering my options. In the end I think I felt that the left side (his right eye area) drew the viewer towards his face and part of the reason is it is so much different than the shadowed side.

So if that is a round the bush way of saying I intended it then ... yes

Darren Troy C

This is just too cool in so many ways!

VayCayMom

wowowow great job!

sherstone

Thank you!

Idlewild and VayCayMom,
for taking the time to comment, your feedback is much appreciated.

RBrogen

Let me add my WOW to the list. What perfect execution. I'd love to see this in a bigger format to get all of the details but WOW! did I mention WOW!

sherstone

RBrogen wrote:

Let me add my WOW to the list. What perfect execution. I'd love to see this in a bigger format to get all of the details but WOW! did I mention WOW!

Hi Randy!

Thanks for your very generous comment. I realized after reading your post that I had been tinkering with my galleries and inadvertently changed the maximum size on this gallery to 'Large'. I have switched it back so you can see all the details in the 2000 pixel tall version.

I took a look at your site and I must say you have done a really wonderful job of customizing it, you have some really beautiful work.

Thanks again
Sean

RBrogen

sherstone wrote:

Hi Randy!

Thanks for your very generous comment. I realized after reading your post that I had been tinkering with my galleries and inadvertently changed the maximum size on this gallery to 'Large'. I have switched it back so you can see all the details in the 2000 pixel tall version.

I took a look at your site and I must say you have done a really wonderful job of customizing it, you have some really beautiful work.

Thanks again
Sean

Thank you Sean. This series is even more impressive at the larger size. This deserves to be marketed bud! I would love to know more about the processing you did on this if you wouldn't mind sharing.

sherstone

RBrogen wrote:

I would love to know more about the processing you did on this if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Since you asked, I would be glad to share.

Here is the unprocessed shot straight from camera



Then I applied several processing steps in Lightroom
Contrast, Clarity, Saturation (less), Vibrance (less), Temperature, Black Point have all been adjusted.



Next we crop and clean up the box as well as remove small details like the metal braces holding the box together.



The next step is to add a more interesting and gritty background. I love bricks and old brick is even better. It is important not to replace the background but merge the subtle graduations of light on it with the brick. This is accomplished by using overlay mode and a mask.



After adding the background, I decided that I wanted the whole feel to the image to have some gritty texture. Adding this image in 'overlay' mode, on the top layer gave the look I was after.



Here is what we have after all the layers have been added and his ear has been removed for the theme.



Finally, because the final image was always planned on being a triptych style image, we need a matching frame to go around each of the panels. This is another image of cement with mold and peeling paint. I always find myself taking pictures of textures just so I can later use them in my work.



The final piece is 16.5" wide and 42" tall at 300 dpi. so it can be printed quite large. I am going to be ordering some canvas versions of it so I can wrap them using a custom frame.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask them.
Hopefully this makes sense and gives you a glimpse into how "no evil" was made.

Sean

Nikolai

Very nice, thank you for sharing!

angevin1

Much better..the firs tones you posted, I didn't comment, because I couldn't truly discern the work. And it is a work, of art~

Nice to see men in here too..

Textures. Always can use more~

dwinge

This is exceptional !! Very well done.

TrigPhotography

Fantastic! Love the results and thanks for sharing your process.

sherstone

Thank you!

Justiceiro

Super, Super, Super Cool. I even capitalized all those words. It seemed appropriate. This is like the stuff I formulate in my head, but never actually am able to realize. Excellent work.

JR303

This is one of the coolest renditions of an old theme I've seen in a long, long time. Great job.

John

AndMan

Sean, just discovered this as I don't often frequent go figure.
Just wanted to say that this is stunning, a true work of art that I could easily see hanging in one of my local galleries. clap

sherstone

It is certainly nice to get such positive feedback, thank you everyone.

An update: I have had this printed at 24"x72" and will be entering it into an annual local fine arts show that takes place in Sooke BC. Crossing my fingers that it gets accepted for the show.

sser

Very very cool I love this

Tdcompton

Wow... Great way to put a new spin on an old topic..

sherstone

It's amazing how this keeps getting dug up and resurfaces.

Thanks everyone.
BTW - I have a 6' canvas print of this that needs a home in a gallery some where