Nisha Haq Photography > The Kiss 0.2

It's been a while since I did a post on my work. This piece of work is a GIF and I've only experimented with creating these only on a few occasions. Though they look rather simple there is quite a lot of work involved! I made 'The Kiss 0.2' for a short project at uni (BA Photography at Southampton Solent University) to do with time. I was thinking of a few ideas and thought I'd revisit a shoot I did this Jan. 'Kiss Me Kay' (Jan 2011) are stills from a video I made. I was experimenting with time lapse and the subtle differences in each frame in a kiss, a simple act with so  many expressions. For my current time project I wanted to have a slightly different twist but fundamentally have the same basis for the idea. This time I shot outside against a fountain background which was also on a time loop for when the water would shoot out. I also used a tripod so all the shots can be level. Thinking about when to shoot and wait for the fountain all involved calculating correct timing and using a very fast shutter. I shot on continuous shoot mode and as it was outside I could shoot at a fast shutter at a low ISO so more detail. 

To create the image I first resized all the images to 600 pixel width and saved the images again using Fastzone Photo Resizer software I downloaded for free from the internet. This meant I had low risk of Photoshop CS2 crashing due to uploading a lot large images. I then edited the first photo and saved the actions I did to it to apply the action to other photos easily. I added contrast, a few colour filters, soft Gaussian blur and used the sharpen image filter. I opened all the photos I wanted to use one by one and replayed my 'The Kiss' action 26 times. Now all my images were ready to use. I then created a Photoshop document to create my gif. This involved opening all the edited images and simple placing the images on top of each other. I opened the 'animation' window, the tool to use to create gifs. I then selected all the layers and chose the option 'Make frames from layers' from the small arrow on the right of the 'animation' window. I then selected all the frames and chose 0.2 second delay from each frame to the next. To save as a gif I selected 'Save for Web' and chose GIF format, not JPEG.

Here's the image I created: Tell me what you think? Being relatively new at creating GIFs I'm quite happy how it turned out.

Kiss Me Kay (January 2011)

M.A.S.H

Video of the Week > Shame Trailer 2

I've been a fan of Michael Fassbender since seeing him in 'The Devil's Whore' which was shown on Channel 4 in the UK in 2008. Since then he's been a rising star and I think it's safe to say he is hot property at the moment! He is currently a well sought out actor in Hollywood with the box office hits such as X-Men: First Class which was amazing, a beautiful retelling of Jane Eyre and 3 highly anticipated films coming out next year: Haywire, A Dangerous Method and Shame. The trailer for Shame really caught my eye which was directed by Steve McQueen. McQueen had directed the hard-hitting drama, Hunger featuring Fassbender 3 years ago which brought Fassbender into the limelight. The pair have teamed up again and Shame looks like an intriguing, mesmerizing drama. Fassbender plays Brandon who has a sexual addiction in New York but when his sister comes to stay everything is turned upside down. Though my very short synopsis of the film seems very shallow the trailer speaks for itself. From just looking at this short trailer it shows that McQueen is certainly a director to watch. My favourite part in the trailer is at 1.00 / 1.34 when Brandon (Fassbender) softly touches a woman's hand on a vertical rail on the NY subway. The mere touch has a sexual energy which I find fascinating.

The film is due to be released 13th Jan 2012 in the UK, rated 18. It also features Oscar nominated Carey Mulligan from An Education, another star in her own right.

Watch it here:

I also love the poster promoting the film. How the meaning of a word can change with the presence of a picture. Text placement and images are powerful tools in advertising. I particularly like how they've used an image of crinkled bed sheets with the simple noun, 'Shame' written in plain sans serif white font. I'm thinking it could be Helvetica however I think the subtext is, not the main title. If anyone knows please drop a comment below! Thanks!

Sources

IMDB: Shame

Youtube: FilmsActu

Shame Poster

M.A.S.H

Photograph of the Day > Stunning Swarovski Shoot by Benjamin Lennox

My friend Kirsty had just bought the latest issue of Vogue with Gisele on the cover which came with a 'best places to party' guide. On the back of that cover I came across such a captivating image that I was searching the net for the shoot as I only had a glimpse of the image before we left for our train. I took a snapshot on my phone to remind myself to look it up! I think this image is pretty spectacular.

This was shot for Vogue Promotions, Vogue UK Dec 2011 by Benjamin Lennox. I had found these images on Kim Howells blog who was the stylist for this shoot. I think this shoot is beautiful especially the vibrant colours and the model's expression in my Photograph of the Day. I love the styling, fashion and how it's shot. There really isn't anything I can critique on! You certainly see the sparkle in Swarovski.

Source: 

Kim Howells Blog

Further Reading: 

Swarovski Website

Models.com - Benjamin Lennox

Combination top, Jason Wu. Chocker piece Andy Farrow. All designs made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

See the rest of the shoot here:

Dress, Roksanda Ilincic. Hat, Jane Taylor. Earrings, Anton Heunis made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Dress, Monique Lhuillier. Hat, Jane Taylor.

Jacket and skirt, both Marios Schwab. Hat, Catherine Piederriere, for Crystal Obsession. Necklace, Jacques Fath.

Dress, Marios Schwab. Headpiece made using Chunky Chain necklace, Dannijo; Aquitaine necklace,Simon Harrison; chain, Martine Wester; all made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Earrings made withSWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Dress, Giles.

Dress, Kanzi, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Dress, Rodarte, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Headpiece, by Helmut Newton, Swarovski Corporate Archive.

Dress, Mary Katrantzou. Headpiece, Otazu. Cuffs, Holly Fulton. Panther bracelet and Caddis Cascade bracelet, both Simon Harrison. One-stone ring, Janis Savitt. Matching button rings, SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED. All designs made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Dress, Holly Fulton, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Headpiece, Jane Taylor. Crystal fringe, stylist's own, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Jacket, Jason Wu. Bra, ID Sarrieri, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Earrings and necklace, both Anton Heunis. Three-stone ring, Miquella. Gold bracelet, Rodrigo Otazu, available at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED. Red crystal bracelet, Simon Harrison. Matching large and small circle stone rings, both SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED. Small crystal matching rings, Chelsea Taylor. Multi-stonering, The Earring Boutique.

Dress, Jenny Packham. Earrings, The Earring Boutique. All embellished with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Skirt and top, Jason Wu. Body piece, Jose Miro. All made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Photographer: Benjamin Lennox

Stylist: Kim Howells

Hair: Kenna

Make-up: Ashley Ward

Nails: Zoe Pocock

Model: Iekeliene Stange

M.A.S.H

Video of the Week > It Will Rain - Bruno Mars

Following on from my previous post 'Stewart Sizzles in Michelangelo di Battista Shoot' where Kristen Stewart is promoting her Breaking Dawn film I couldn't help but blog about the official song for the film, It Will Rain by Bruno Mars. Despite not being that interested in the new film coming out or the hype surrounding it, I thought Mars' single was beautiful and heartfelt. His vocals are stunning and I particularly love his lyrics and how he puts a song together. His ballads are always a hit and he's only been in the limelight for a year or so yet he's certainly put his stamp on the music industry. I love the soft piano echoes throughout the song and the chilled out beat. I've enjoyed this song so much that I've decided to play it on guitar!

Check out the new video here featuring clips of Breaking Dawn:

M.A.S.H

Stewart Sizzles in Michelangelo di Battista Shoot

It certainly has been a while since I've blogged so to start the 're-vamp' of M.A.S.H I've decided to blog this beautiful set of images by renowned fashion photographer Michelangelo di Battista of Kristen Stewart for November 2011 issue of Vogue Italia. She wears designs by Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli, Blumaine, Marchesa to name a few. Well known for her portrayal of Bella in the Twilight Series she certainly oozes gothic vampire sex appeal. Stewart is certainly the one to watch with her highly anticipated new movie being released, Breaking Dawn and also a new trailer for another new film, Snow White and the Huntsman coming out next summer. Although I'm not really a fan of Twilight or the media obsession with Stewart I love how Battista captures her raw simple beauty with a touch of class and mystery. These images are most definitely captivating and atmospheric which I love. I also think the hair and make up is alluring.

Sources:
Touchpuppet.com / FashionGoneRogue.com

Further Reading: 
Vogue.it
Management + Artists - Michelangelo di Battista

M.A.S.H