I have decided that for my next shoot I will try to replicate this image somewhat. This is another "The Lovers" image by munch whith the introduction of two subjects. I will try to explore the idea of dual suffering, with the idea that people can suffer together, perhapse due to something aflicting one partner causing difficulty for another, or both partners having some sort of issue and being seemingly trapped together, with this force lurking 'beneaht the surface'.
Timings
I will try to shoot my images during the day so as to get a similar lighting to the image
Details
I will ask two family members to be my models as they are easy to access and by now are aware of the sort of images I am tyring to create.
I will take my images in my garden as it has elements of nature aswell as an obiously urban surrounding, with brick houses and backlanes flanking the garden from all sides. It will parody the natural beauty in munch's work.
Equiptment
I will use bed sheets as a thin covering for the face, as not to be too incumbering on the models. I will also make sure my model's wear a dress and a suit to mirror those in Munch's image.
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In these images my lense was slightly damaged and so there are certain marks on the images that I will have to remove using digital manipulation
First set (images 1-5) settings:
ISO 100
Tv: 1/10
Av:22
Second set (images 6-8):
ISO:100
Tv:1/250
Av:11
I believe these images are both ones that I will try to edit further. The image to the left places a strong focus on the subjects, with them encompasing the entire frame. However, the image to the right places some focus on the models, howver incorporates the urban elements more clearly into the background, which was my initial intention.
I decided to continue on with the image on the right as I felt that the emphasis on the parody made for a more effective piece.
I decided to make the image black and white using the black and white filter.
I used curves to make the brighter areas even brighter, and stress the darker tones to the image. I then tried to make the sky more plain white to add a more eerie, unnatural effect.
Though the monochrome was not initially something I had in mind, it adds a subtle unsettling undertone to the image. It gives the image an sense of slience, as if , although in a pose, the models are unmoving beneath their masks.
I decided to push the curves even further, and saturated the brightness in the image.
The result blurred out any semblence of a face in the image, following my overarching theme of 'hidden identity', with the complete white colouring on the face with little shading making it look almost like the heads of the models in the images.
I also briefly tried to blur the background using the "dust and scratches" filter on the background. I selected the background and copied it, making it it's own seperate layer from the models. I did this in the hopes of making the models a stronger focus in the image. However, I fell this gave a somewhat cartoonish effect to the image which reduced the overall effect somewhat.
I attempted to replicate the technique Honaker used in an image, as the model was in a pose (seated in a chiar) with the same formal attire.
I made the image black and white as in Honaker's work, and edited the colour balance (which is still able to be done when the image is in monochrome) and made changed it so that the sky did not blend in to the masks as both were now white. I then applied a motion blur to the faces of the models by highlighting just the heads.
I tried applying some wix filters to the images on the right ,to see if a different effect could be achieved by using the simple to use tools available on wix.
I liked the more sepia tones with my images, so I applied some to my more developed image with the motion blur, as this image fit closer to my choen artist (Honaker) but the implement of different colouring could make the image stand out as my own, simply borrowing from Honaker, not a plain copy of his work.
Happy Memories
I like the sepia tone to the image as it has the effect of ageing the photograph and giving it a more eerie tone. This is useful when expressing mental illness as it is intended to seem disturbing in my images. Again, the bag motif helps portray the idea of identity being stripped away by whatever mental illness aflicts the sufferer. The wedding band is again clearly visible in this image, which is useful when having both of the subjects in frame as it creates the idea of a couple, which was my intention. This image has portrayed the idea of a dual suffering in both subjects, and could be interpreted in many ways. My itention was to portray that the suffering of one member of the couple leads to the suffering of both.
I have titled the image 'Happy Memories' due to the fact that it looks like and old photo, and the 'happy' part is ironic as the subjects are supposed to be battling with their ordeal.
