Old Man by the Sea
“Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
‘digital paintbrush’ converted in Photoshop CS5.
Fish, Shrimp and Photo Editor
Some time ago I downloaded an app ‘Photo Editor’. I had forgotten about it until revisiting mobile phone photography this week.
Unlike several of the other Apps I have spoken about over the last week, Photo Editor offers no range of simulated films, cameras or focus depths. Its a nice simple tool for cropping, adjusting contrast, saturation, and allowing magic wand like selection to parts of the image for selective adjustments of the above also.
Todays image, simple as it is, appealed to me as I had a late lunch/late dinner (busy day). It was enough to test out the crop, selective saturation and contrast adjustment of Photo Editor.
As above, no amazing creative tools, but a decent photo editing app for mobiles on the run.
As I wind up a week of sole mobile photography, I must say I have a new found motivation for the ease and creative fun it offers. A camera that slips in the pocket, edits and uploads – as well as makes calls etc really is the ultimate in portable image seeking. It has limitations, but then so do all our other cameras and tools of the trade…
App wise, all tested had their pros and cons. Keepers (well i can keep them all, but ones I will use often) are Vignette, After Focus, and Photo Editor. The others were good also, but didnt quite have the flow or creative filters I tend towards.
Thats all for Friday!
Tempest
Another piece of art from the Auckland Art Gallery I visited recently.
Painted by Henry Fuseli, Jean-Pierre Simon in 1791, titled Shakespeare: Tempest, Act I, Scene I.
Fuseli’s paintings for Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery, which opened in London in 1786, proved enormously popular, and a number of engravers produced works from them. When living in Rome the artist had made numerous studies of Michelangelo’s figures in the Sistine Chapel, and the gesture of Prospero in this scene from the Tempest is a direct reference to the Creation of Adam. Mezzotint was particularly successful in depicting dramatic chiaroscuro effects; the darkness of Prospero’s cell contrasts with the light cast by Ariel’s flight, which in turn draws attention to Caliban’s grotesque face. (Monsters and Maidens, 2004)
I love old pieces like this. Imagine being a child in 1791 and gazing upon it. It would be pretty scary. Now days with all our technology for the movies, games etc, imagination can kind of take a bit of a back-burner in peoples minds. Imagining back to 1791, as a child, one may have viewed the image during the day, and reflected back upon it as our candle flickered the shadows in our cool room as we tried to get to sleep. I’m not suggesting that still does not happen, but its a little different…
No signature as I just took the image and cropped to fit (its not my art).
Billboard Women
Walking in town one night I came across a long term building site which is surrounded by a wooden fence. Whether it be paid or unpaid, it is covered head to toe in both art and some political statements. Dimly lit by street lights, I made my way around it killing some time as I waited for some friends. With the Ricoh set on 3200iso I capteured a number of images including these two womens faces. The reminded me of olden portraits with their subtle tones and expressions. I dont know who the artist was, but i’d love to see some more of their work – be it on a wall or elsewhere!
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