Image Bank

Surrealism is definitely going to play a huge part of my Unit 4 - Fantasy portfolio,  because I love that idea of creating the impossible, or people's wildest of dreams. I think this idea opens up a lot of windows and a lot of methods I can explore for with this topic. I like the idea of creating creatures, and this will come from photographing animals. This idea of reversing the role of animals and humans is interesting as in the real world, animals are likely to be the ones running away scared by humans. But what if we were put in their shoes and we had to run from them? Although it looks quite complex, this idea would be rather simple to replicate as all you would need to do is capture the animal looking aggitated, and then photograph a model separately acting a response to the animal, and with a little bit of Photoshop work, you can make the person smaller and hide them against objects within the composition. I would definitely like to attempt this idea with my dog. 

Animals don't necessarily have to be menacing creatures within a Fantasy environment. In stories such as The Little Mermaid of Cinderella, the animals actually play the part of the friends, or the assistants. I really like this mermaid-inspired image because of the use of colour, and the movement in the dress gives the impression that the model is underwater. It is then easy enough to photograph a 

few goldfish and Photoshop them into the creature to add realism to the setting. 

Animals are also stereotyped to the theme of Fantasy, as they are all associated with such mythological creatures which often features in fantastical stories and fairytales. Creatures such as unicorns and dragons often feature heavily in the idea of Fantasy. I like this image because of the reduction in colour to give it that dream-like hue, along with the creation of the rainbow to give it more of a fantastical element.

This photo is from Kirsty Mitchell's (see research log) portfolio. Creating a successful Fantasy portfolio will rely on me heavily creating stunning props, settings and costumes to make the scene all the more realistic and believable. Whilst Fantasy is often associated with happiness and dream-like state-of-minds, I could also incorporate more of a gothic, horror theme to my work like Kirsty has done here by using darker hues and lighting.

In preparation for the theme of Fantasy, I have also researched into other media types such as film, music and video-games as these can all often be associated in the same way. Looking at Fantasy-games which are highly popular, they consist of cleverly-designed settings which reflect from the imaginations of the people who typically play such games. Old, vintage castles and buildings stereotypically feature quite a lot, whilst this is combined with more modern, futuristic ideas such as making them appear to 'float' in the sky and appear from nowhere. 

I think because one of my favourite films as a child was The Little Mermaid, the idea of underwater creatures and settings influences me greatly, and I love this image of two characters floating underwater. I think that the use of colour is really important and helps to make the image itself stand out, whilst also adding verisimilitude to the created composition. Strong lighting often associated with underwater scenes also adds the idea and hue of a dream-like substance often associated with the imagination.

The idea of insanity is another great interpretation to look at for the theme of Fantasy as this also represents peoples dreams/nightmares and their wildest imaginations. As this is quite a dark theme to explore, I think that the use of dark lighting is essential, like in this image here, along with a busily filled composition; making it more believable for the viewer.

The complete opposite to the idea above would be the idea of dreams and purity. With the creation of a fairy or angel character like in this image, the presence of strong light is important as it makes the colours softer, creating that dream-like state-of-mind which is often associated with said characters. The use of smoke/mist in this image is interesting as it creates the sense of magic and also gives it a fantastical eery nature.

The above three pictures are all actually pictures, rather than photographs, but nevertheless they are still inspiring to me. I am fascinated by the idea of manipulating parts of the human body, especially the face, in a way to create different types of creature, beast or god like those featured in mythological tales. This idea looks quite effective in black and white as seen with Ueslmann's work, but I like the 'pop' of colour brought into the ideas with these paintings, and such an idea I could easily replicate with interesting landscapes and overlaying them with portraits.

I think Photoshop will play a huge part of this topic, as it will really allow me to experiment and make the silliest, wildest things happen straight from my imagination. Although not strictly Fantasy, I think the idea of astrology and space can make for really interesting images, as this really links in with the idea of magic, hypnosis etc and may be interesting to explore in landscape photography.

Rather than combining people with landscapes in unusual ways, I think the idea of combining landscapes with objects or other landscapes is another unusual way to explore the idea of fantasy, like this photo as an example. Using photo-frames as an object will open up plenty of ideas for me as they can be used in so many ways, and i think the use of texture in this picture is what makes it look so effective as it adds realism to the photo. I could montage photo-frames and landscapes like in this example, or I could explore having things or people come to life through a photo frame and so on.

The ideas for the topic of Fantasy don't even really need to be that obscure, it can all come from the way I edit images together to create something unique and reflective of someone's own personal fantasy. Like in this example, real book enthusiasts might dream to become a part of a book themselves, which this image in a sense also shows by placing the character inside the reading glass.

If you talk to people about Fantasies, they are likely to say that they would create their own world, which is what I like about this images as it essentially creates a new world or planet using what we currently see as our world around us. This editing is actually conducted through a simple Photoshop tutorial/technique which I could too replicate in my work if i create different settings/set-designs to create my own idea of a 'perfect' world.

I think it would be a really interesting idea to explore existing Fantasy stories such as fairytales, mythological stories, nursery rhymes etc and re-create them in Photography, much like the work of Annie Leibovitz. With this, I think that the entire set design is important, along with props, costume and  makeup in order to make the re-creation believable for the viewer. Both of the examples I think are really effective as you can immediately tell what stories they are re-telling, which is something i think I could replicate. Similarly, I like the work of a DeviantArtist who illustrated famous Disney heroes but turned them into villains, something which has influenced a lot of my previous work for past Units.

This is a photograph of work created by painter Alexa Meade.
She works by painting on models to make them look like 2D characters - but adding shading to make them 'look 3D'. Essentially she is painting scenes like normal but simply using people as her canvas. I may not essentially be able to paint on someone like Alexa has done, but I love the idea of bring something which is usually 2D to life, such as statues for another example. I think the use of colour is particularly important as it makes the overall image all the more surreal, adding more of a fantastical element to it.

This is an image by one of my favourite photographers, Kirsty Mitchell. She creates unique characters and settings based on the stories her mother used to make for her when she was a child. I think her work is most impressive as she is creating completely new and unique characters which have never been seen before, and her influences are normally poetry and literature which I could explore in my own unique ways. She always uses the forest and fields as her settings, as this is a highly stereotypical environment for anything that falls into the Fantasy genre, which I think is also important for me to replicate. I particularly like Kirsty's use of dramatic colour for beautiful, eye-catching pieces.

Queenie Liao used her three-month old son as the perfect model for her works based on Wonderland. Babies/children are essentially perfect models for this type of work as they can be placed into all sorts of places and arrangements and they won't fight back or argue. I love the basic poses she uses her babies for, but it all comes from the arrangements of the props around him which works really well when she transitions into various different Fantasy settings. The use of fabric props adds a certain softness to the images, making them have that 'cuteness' factor and also more accurately representative of a babies' dream/life.

Obscurity is an interesting theme to explore - who would expect to see a girl on a swing over the whole of New York!? The sort of scenarios which would make a 10-year old utter the words 'that is SO cool!' are interesting ways to explore the theme of Fantasy as everyone has different dreams, and they are constantly changing as we all get older. I think this image is interesting because of the lack of colour actually as it suggests that perhaps it is an insight into someone's memory of childhood, which again could be something interesting to explore in my own portfolio.

The sheer use of colour in this image is what draws me to it as it is so dramatic and the composition really gets the mind working - another key to successful photography. The deeper reds and the dark, dramatic lighting would suggest that this is more of a horror-fantasy picture, maybe the girl wants to die? Or in another interpretation, she could find comfort and peace here, which is something really interesting with this topic, as I will be able to make it whatever I want it to be, which is why good lighting and strong colours, I believe, is essential as it helps to draw on emotions in an image.

Both of the above images are taken from the same photographer, exploring the idea of water falling from a shower. Whilst the first image is creative in exploring the alternatives to showers, the second explores the alternative to water, drenching the model in coffee - essentially something that she loves and would adore to happen - her fantasy? The lighting in both pieces is really effective as it is darker on the edges and gets brighter in the centre, allowing the viewers to focus completely on the action occurring in the middle. Once you have one image of the model in the bath, this could easily be manipulated to feature anything, which I think is what this photographer did with the coffee image - something which I could also explore in my work. 

Something I've not explored an awful lot so far is the idea of magic and astrology, which could be represented by something as simple as gems and stones like in this picture. Just from the use of such props, the viewer can immediately create an analysis of what it represents as most people would associate this sort of a board with Fantasy and magic. The colours are also important as blues and purples often symbolise the idea of magic, therefore anything I do should too reflect these sort of colours.

Evil villains may represent something completely the opposite to the fairytale princesses in Disney films, but they are still a part of the Fantasy world. Black is an important colour in such an image like this example as it automatically shows the representation of darkness and evil. This character I believe has been derived from the mythological character Medusa who had snakes for hair. I like the combination as well of the 2D-painted background with the model standing in front of it as it adds depth and something unique to the work. 

This image is very similar to the image of the photo-frames along the beach as you wouldn't expect to see them there - just like you wouldn't expect to see a dolphin floating in the air. The use of a sepia filter suggests that this is occurring within the girl's head and it's essentially her dream to see and talk to a dolphin. I really like this image as both the child and the dolphin represent something very innocent, which is often also associated with dreams and imagination.

Myths often suggest that there are two different types of fairy - good and evil. Whilst evil fairies are often represented in a dark, sexy atmosphere, good fairies are often associated with youth and innoncence. The dark purple hues i the first photo suggest the dark, evil atmoshphere whilst the acrobatic positioning of the model is enticing and draws in the attention of the viewer. The second image has the exact same effect - having a child as the model attracts automatic innocence whilst the white costume proves her to be good and happy. The elegant posture of the child also suggests this idea whilst the darker colours around the border alone add the magical element to the image.