I've been fairly lazy with posts for the past few days however been busy with edits and new projects and photo shoots! I've finally edited my modern interpretation of Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss' image. For my A2 photography class assignment we had to recreate an iconic image and originally I was going to choose Steve McCurry's 'Afghan Girl' however after realizing many people were using that image as their original source of inspiration thought I'd try something completely different and choose this beautiful painting. (scroll to bottom of post to read an excerpt from my essay on why I chose this iconic image (c) Nisha Haq) Part of my 'Intimacy' project.
This was quite a fun shoot to do and I chose lovely real life couple: Lauhren Jones & Dan Ecclestone. Very kind of them to agree to this and they look adorable together here! Dan even carried a ladder to Lauhren's bedroom (she lives round the corner from me) so I could get a high above angle to shoot down. Also they were great to work with despite my often confusing direction (trying to recreate the poses in the image) they grasped the concept very quickly and got right into it which is always the right attitude to work with. Thanks guys!
Photography, Post-Processing: Nisha Haq
Models: Lauhren Jones & Dan Ecclestone
Taken: 25 Nov 2010
Location: Lauhren's bedroom
Camera: Canon EOS Kiss x4
Software: Photoshop CS2
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| (c) Nisha Haq |
It was rather a pain to edit this considering the original image was messy with objects and unnecessary things in the picture. There was a lot of cloning and airbrushing done but I eventually got there. I realize this image isn't perfect and there could be extra Photoshopping done however as a first go I believe its ok. What do you think? Check out the before & after photo effects:
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| (c) Nisha Haq |
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| Gustav Klimt's - The Kiss |
Here's an excerpt from my essay for part 1 of our photography project: 'Why The Kiss is such an iconic Image':
For this project I have decided to create a modernised version of Gustav Klimt’s, ‘The Kiss’ painted in 1907-08 which is one of the most beautiful oil paintings I have seen. It’s one of Klimt’s most recognizable pieces and is the pinnacle of his ‘Gold Period’. I later saw a very iconic image by Annie Leibovitz of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the front cover of Rolling Stone, Jan 1981 issue which reminded me of ‘The Kiss’ as the bodies were in similar shapes however Leibovitz cleverly and artistically reversed the gender roles. These two images shows intimacy, sensuality and emotion captured never before and I’m captivated by the raw beauty and how the two are very different but share similarities as well. By selecting two very famous images, one a painting the other a photograph shall give me the freedom, creative burst and the best aspects of different art mediums yet also a challenge to recreate a 21st century interpretation in my own style...
... Why choose ‘The Kiss’? There are many great aspects in this painting, one noticeably being the vibrant gold leaf he used with the oil paints and distinctive symbols and colourful flowers. This image features in my mother’s bedroom and I always find it fascinating to look at every time I walk in. The pure intimacy of the moment and how Klimt manages to paint all the small details from her shoulders hunched in from ‘breathing’ him in and embracing his sensual touch to his hands passionately grasping her jaw and head. Her feet peeping out of the elaborately decorated dress is a wonderful touch to the painting and adds character and a greater story. This theme of intimacy follows on nicely from my previous Exposed project where I explored themes of voyeurism and desire. This project will be about the softer side in a relationship and the way people connect and interact with each other.What are your views on my new Intimacy project? Get regular updates on this project at Flickr > Intimacy Project
Nisha
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