Photo-illustration :architectural themes

ArchiTexas

Howdy everyone,
I've been a member of the DGrin community for over a year now. At first I simply lurked and admired the wonderful work that others posted here. Eventually, I began posting images here: family portraits, vacation shots, or random things I'd seen and photographed. This time I want to post some of my "real" work - that is images that have found clients, or those that I prepared for a specific project. My clients have tended to be businesses seeking images for an office or for a conference room wall. Most of the following work is recent.

I'm aware that the style of these images is not to everyone's taste. Indeed, they are so heavily post-processed and posterized that I hesitate to categorize them as photographs. Some have referred to this style as "photo-illustration" or "digital-art". Fair enough, the name of the style or genre does not particularly interest me. I do however want to share some of my images with the DGrin community; and in my own way "give back" to all those whose work I've admired.

Thank you for looking.

kelsow

Really fantastic work, I like the look.
Care to tell us some of your techniques you use to make these images?

Azzaro

GOOD STUFF!!!!!!.....I hope you post more...azzaro

ArchiTexas

kelsow wrote:

Really fantastic work, I like the look.
Care to tell us some of your techniques you use to make these images?

Thanks Kelsow, I'm glad you like them.
In terms of technique, I begin by trying to shoot something that will provide a very graphic composition: stark shadows, forced perspectives, and uncluttered backgounds all help. I like architecture and buildings tend to make good graphic sunjects because they are already so geometric. I post-proc in PaintShop Pro. Usually the shadows/midtones/highlights get really tweaked. Then comes channel mixing and playing around with the color map - the objective is to essentially "herd" all of the colors down to a palette of perhaps two or three colors plus black. The better images usually result from my having some sort of iidea of what final look I'm seeking; that said, several succesful images have been pure accidents.

Before any of this, of course, I have to photograph a suitable subject - on some days 1 in 30 shots is worth attempting a composition with. Sometimes its 1 in 50, or worse. Of the attempted post-proc images perhaps half are pure failures. Of the remaining images, maybe one in two or one in three is worth posting to one of my galleries.

ArchiTexas

Azzaro wrote:

GOOD STUFF!!!!!!.....I hope you post more...azzaro

Thanks Azzaro, I will.:ivar