Gaia or Galia - Either way it's a Small World

TheBigYin

TheBigYin

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Mark
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As per usual, the only place I can get away with posting my January 2011 POTY entry is the creative forum...

So - Here we go then,


Gaia or Galia ?? by The Big Yin, on Flickr

It's a shot I've been meaning to get for ages - pretty much since I bought the Globe to be honest, brought on by my Dad seeing the globe and commenting "Thats not much of a Globe - I was expecting something a bit bigger - I've eaten bigger pieces of fruit than that!" - I think that he was secretly hoping for one of those godawful 70's Globes that were really disguised Drinks Cabinets tbh :LOL:

Anyway - it got me thinking, and when I heard that the entry numbers were a bit low for the January round, I thought "Hmmm - maybe that small globe/fruit composite might at least make the numbers up"

Unusually, this time there's no real significance to the components or intended hidden symbolism, I just grabbed some props from the big box of props, and a melon from Asda :LOL:

As to the technique - well - obviously it's a composite - I pretty much just shot the original picture, then carefully replaced the globe with a sliced-up melon on a carefully crafted stand, which turned out to be slightly the wrong size anyway. Shot the Melon, and the rest was all in TattyChop :shrug:

I know last time I'd promised a couple of "behind the scenes setup" shots, but frankly this time there was so little setup, it wasn't worth it... though I do have the original source images for the composite...


IMG_2935.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr


IMG_2936.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr
 
Mark, that is exceptional. I love the idea and the finished product has a lovely tone and feel to it. Plus its a clever title....

Cheers

Andy
 
Sectionate said:
That's really clever. And besides your old mans pun on fruit sizes, it is a good illustration of plate theory.
Click to expand...

Thanks - glad you liked it (y)

Andysnap said:
Mark, that is exceptional. I love the idea and the finished product has a lovely tone and feel to it. Plus its a clever title....

Cheers

Andy
Click to expand...

My only regret was I was a little pushed for time, because with such a simple setup, and the minimal PP work (apart from the montage bit of course) the basic setup would have been a natural for shooting with the Bronny on a nice bit of Velvia :cool: Sadly, I had to get everything torn down and squared away, as the set was built on my bed, and if I fancied sleeping that night, so film wasn't to be.

It'd have been nice to show that most of the shot was actually down to photography though, rather than fancy PP work - there were complaints from some parts that the POTY last month was more of a Photoshop Competition than a Photography one, and I'd have loved to have been able to have posted a photograph of my shot as a slide on the lightbox as an answer to the dissenters!
 
Your still life shots are brilliant.(y) The lighting is always so good. As an Art student many years ago, I was always struck by the skill of the Dutch painters. These shots hold the same interest for me. Outstanding work.:clap: Where do you find the props?
 
MWHCVT said:
When I first saw this I thought that it was great (y) I also know who's it was (y) it's a great style that you've developed (y)

Matt
MWHCVT
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Not so much a "Style" as a "One Trick Pony" I reckon Matt ;) I know it was a bit obvious who'd taken it, but as I've said - I'd heard that the entries were a little slow, so it was more of a "make the numbers up" entry tbh - I doubt I'll be able to keep entering all year, but this particular shot was something I'd fancied doing for a while, and it seemed to fit the subject.


feek said:
Your still life shots are brilliant.(y) The lighting is always so good. As an Art student many years ago, I was always struck by the skill of the Dutch painters. These shots hold the same interest for me. Outstanding work.:clap: Where do you find the props?
Click to expand...

Cheers - very nice of you to say so... Lighting is pretty minimal tbh - one studio head, a softbox and a cardboard "gobo" over the front of the 'box to give the "windowframe" effect on the highlights. As I shoot RAW on the 7D, I can normally pull back a little detail in the shadows - if you look at the setup shots, you can see that the shadows are pretty dark and featureless - they are literally SOOC, just resized down (and possibly sharpened - can't remember tbh) by my Lightroom Flickr Exporter. The Main shot got a little more "working up" obviously :LOL: As for the Props - well

Globe - Fleabay - £5 posted
Vintage Eyeglasses - Fleabay - £8.50
Pewter Jug - £0.50p posted!!! (someone made a bit of a loss on that one)
Churchwarden Pipe - Fleabay £6.95+post
Melon - Asda Fruit and Veg Aisle
Books - Family Bookshelf - old family bibles/medical books
Table - Homemade
Walls - Broken Sheet of Plasterboard scrounged from Wickes covered in "stucco rustico" by yours truly...
Skulls - I can neither confirm nor deny that they're anything to do with persons Permabanned ;)
 
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