MC-12 short on time, maybe some quick C&C

Molotov Everything · May 29, 2011

Ok finally got a chance to actually take a photo for MC12, I'm on a little mini-vacation so time is getting short on everything but I think I might be able to reshoot tomorrow.
Anyways, here's the idea: my first thoughts on the challenge were maybe to do a wilted flower, or an old gravestone, or this abandoned farmhouse I know of. But then I thought, this is a mega challenge, let's think MEGA.

So I racked my brain for ideas of things that are withered and worn out, and came up with a good one, but when Joan Rivers wouldn't return my phone calls I had to go come up with another one.

Basically, this is a recreation of the imagery of the poem Ozymandias by Percy Shelly (Read it here if you never have http://www.online-literature.com/shelley_percy/672/ ) The name Ozymandias referring to Ramses II. Full disclosure: this is actually Ramses I in the photo, for whatever stupid reason a casting of Ramses II was $100 more than this one.

So I figure I owe it to the people that created this nice model of Ramses to show what it was supposed to look like before I ruined it.

Then... time to do what I do best, ruin stuff.

Anyways, after a bunch of grinding and chiseling and painting here is the first finished photo I like. I MIGHT be able to redo it tomorrow but I'm not sure, so maybe just notes on the processing more so than composition.

Anyways, love to hear what you all think.
1)

2)Another angle with more sand showing

Jenn · May 29, 2011

I like it with more sand but maybe more cropped.. only thing is I can't read the text that's written in the sand very well.

Molotov Everything · May 30, 2011

It's actually not written in sand, I carved it in to a paving stone with a dremel. Which I totally recommend NOT doing, it took forever. But I just went and washed over it with some really watered down paint which should make it pop more, going to try to reshoot as soon as it's dry.

sapphire73 · May 30, 2011

Great idea here. The second one is looking a little dark to me. If were choosing between 1 and 2, my preference would be 1 for that reason.

WhatSheSaw · May 30, 2011

I agree with Gretchen. The 2nd is a bit dark, but I like the lighting more than in the first. Maybe you could lighten it in PP. I really admire the work you put into this. And the end result is almost there.

I can read the writing, because I know the poem. The middle line is hard to read. There are some dark lines there that interfere with the carving.

I think the writing needs to be both clearer and more weathered. Here is a sample of a naturally weathered stone from a nearby cemetery. This is less than a century old and is virtually unreadable.

The stone with the writing also looks newer than Osymandius. I don't know what it is made of. Maybe you could try a chemical bath - bleach, vinegar, some other household chemical that you have laying around. If you go that route, make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. And take some pictures before trying it.

Molotov Everything · May 30, 2011

Ozy there is plaster, which was really easy to work with, and the stone slab is a concrete paver from home depot. In retrospect I wish I had picked something else for the slab. Everything about the paver was a pain in the ass. I agree, it looked too new so I went to town on it with a hammer and chisel for a while then glazed it with the paint to help out a bit. I could do better if I had more time but, well, Ozy is the main subject and he turned out pretty much just how I envisioned from the start so I'm happy with that at least.
I reshot it today and put the new one in the gallery, I found a much better spot to shoot and was able to really bury him in the sand a bit. I think I'm happy with it, it looks almost exactly like what I pictured in my head before I started the project.

Going with this one

sapphire73 · May 30, 2011

Looks good to me!

MC-12 short on time, maybe some quick C&C

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