DSS 34: General Idea for Upside Down

adbsgicom

This was a conceptual shoot I did during the perspective challenge. I'm thinking about working this for this competition. C&C appreciated and welcome.

Original deleted.... Replacing with new ones:


What I like is that the angle is unclear in the picture. I'm not sure yet if the boards add or subtract from that feel. The common center bar is a bit darker for some reason, so that will require some attention. The second set of bars to the left need to go as well. Other thoughts on structure, composition, or 'themeliness' ? Is it considered bad form to use an idea/concept that was born from another DSS ?

Then two other ideas that we played with yesterday:

2.


3.

silversx80

I like it. I can't wait to see the results.

WhatSheSaw

I really like the mirroring here.

I think it is fine to explore concepts more fully regardless of where they were generated. Variations on a theme is a form of creativity.

I am rather new to the challenges, so maybe some of the more experienced will have a different opinion.

divamum

silversx80 wrote:

I like it. I can't wait to see the results.

+1 !!!

richtersl

divamum wrote:

+1 !!!

Wil Davis

I like the idea, but the problem is where the hands come together.

You're using an image plus a reverse "reflection" of the image, and the way you have it set up is interesting. The first impression is that there are two sets of bars at 90º to each other, but on further examination I see exactly how you did it.

There is some confusion in the dark shadow on the ground towards the middle-left of the picture, but those hands… how to deal with them!

Great idea though…

- Wil

BTW: in a similar vein if you're interested - but I don't want to hijack your thread so I'll only post the link and not the picture here. This was an experiment I did back in the mid 1970's using one single frame of 35mm Kodachrome and no post processing (…digital photography? …in your dreams!!! )

adbsgicom

Wil Davis wrote:

BTW: in a similar vein if you're interested - but I don't want to hijack your thread so I'll only post the link and not the picture here. This was an experiment I did back in the mid 1970's using one single frame of 35mm Kodachrome and no post processing (…digital photography? …in your dreams!!! )

The hands will be the million-dollar problem so to speak. Much experimentation to be done there. The rest is all fixable pretty readily, I think. Thanks for the input.

Very cool shot. Very long exposure so his movement isn't noticed, flagged strobe seems too imprecise?

Wil, you got me thinking about a different approach to the same picture. Playing with the cloning in the original processing method, I stopped before the hands were cloned and had:

closeup.jpg

I may get the right effect by getting a carbon copy shot with her hands turned the other way so they are coming up from the bottom. Hmmm..... possibilities....

adbsgicom

Joe, WSS, Diva and Linda, thanks for the vote of confidence in the direction. At least I have something to experiement on while I'm waiting for the weather to clear....

Wil Davis

adbsgicom wrote:

snip…
Very cool shot. Very long exposure so his movement isn't noticed, flagged strobe seems too imprecise?

Actually two exposures on the same frame:

The subject (me actually, in the days when I had long side-whiskers) sitting on the left, and a semi-circular piece of black card taped over the front of the lens. Camera on tripod. The exposure was metered (by hand-held meter) to give the correct exposure for that lighting (might have even been done at night, with flash, I can't remember).

The shutter was re-cocked without winding on the film, and the cardboard was moved to the other side of the lens; I moved to the other end of the settee, and the second exposure was made (exactly the same f# and shutter speed as the first exposure).

The trick is to get the cardboard mask to bisect the lens exactly.

BTW in some of my attempts, I had part of a leg or foot creeping into the other half of the frame, which made it look like there was a ghostly apparition there, so you have to be quite careful as to where things are in the frame for each exposure.

adbsgicom wrote:

Wil, you got me thinking about a different approach to the same picture. Playing with the cloning in the original processing method, I stopped before the hands were cloned and had:

closeup.jpg

I may get the right effect by getting a carbon copy shot with her hands turned the other way so they are coming up from the bottom. Hmmm..... possibilities....

I think that looks pretty good; better (IMO) than in your original picture. Based on my 1970s attempt (if I'd been using my technique), I'd have done the first with her hands close together, and the next with them further apart (on the outside of where they were in the first exposure); but you did the whole thing with one exposure. It should be interesting to see how this develops!

- Wil

adbsgicom

Updated Images
I had a chance to reshoot the original idea, and had two other options to work with. What do you think?

I don't like this as much as my original on the theme, but it turned out pretty good:



This was the idea going into today:


And then my daughter said how about making it look like I'm hanging on upside down on the playground:

WhatSheSaw

I like 1 and 3. 2 is good, but the background is a bit busy.

Pretty girl!

JC3d

Andrew, I like the pose on the mat but would like it better with a different background. Maybe even a mirror if you could hide the camera. Could be hard to control the reflected view, I suppose.

sherstone

I like both 1 and 2. I have been trying to figure out why the first one does not say upside down to me, how could it not be? She is upside down in the image. I think why, is that my brain looks at it and says 'hmm that's odd oh wait maybe we are looking down from an elevated position?'. So said in a different way, to me it looks like you are shooting down from above and she isn't upside down but side by side with her clone.

On the other hand number two is unmistakably upside down you just need to clean up or re-shoot with a more balance background.

HTH
Sean

adbsgicom

Thanks for the input and feedback, Sean, John and WSS. The optical illusion of the first is what attracts me to it, but perhaps it is merely interesting, and not enough upside-down/inside-out unless I get really clever on the naming (I was thinking about "head-on or top-down?") but perhaps this idea just really needs to remain in the perspective category where it was hatched.

I won't get the gym again, but I can likely persuade her to do some back-bends in the playroom with a smaller mat, and I can use the wall (or hang a sheet and try lighting the sheet to matte it out). I can also shoot with my 200mm to up the depth compression.

Last one just just some fun trying to time the hair flick to create something of the effect of hanging upside down. It was fun, though, taking my daughter's idea (which was "just turn the camera upside down and it will look like I'm haning onto the tube") and doing the hair flick and getting her to have a surprised expression to make it work at some level SOOC. In the end, this might also be too similar to Anon.Cuban's general idea, which he executed much, much, better.

adbsgicom

I'm going to try for a reshoot, but this is my fall-back for now:

Kinkajou

I reeeaaaally like #2. I think it's the best one of the bunch... the light on her face is great, the simplicity of the pose is really nice, and the upside-down aspect really works well.

lizzard_nyc

Andrew I vote for the gym back bend out of the three--I'm looking forward to the reshoot w a different background. It just screams "theme".

Ilike the one of her hanging upside down also but not quite sure what's going on in that shot really--just needs a little something. My 2 cents.