Thursday, February 3, 2011

photos with amazing color

i was bored and found these photos. they are landscape photos that make use of some amazing color.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Asmarlak/PORTUGAL#5413806981968486034

Thursday, December 9, 2010

the dead and the beautiful



Mon·tage
–noun
1. The technique of combining in a single composition pictorial elements from various sources, as parts of different photographs or fragments of printing, either to give the illusion that the elements belonged together originally or to allow each element to retain its separate identity as a means of adding interest or meaning to the composition. Compared with collage.


Organization has always been an important characteristic of my personality. At a young age I discovered my love for collage. It enabled me to form relationships between seemingly unrelated elements into a unified composition. Each in their own, these bits of media often served as a fragmented memory of my personal life. This media was often items such as ticket stubs, family snapshots, or even bits of fabric from a favorite shirt. I have always enjoyed the power and wide array of possibilities that this process presents me with. Eventually I became interested with photography. However, I realized that I had no interest in "taking" photos. Instead, I wanted to make images by building fictional environments - both through physical and digital means. As a result, I gravitated towards the technique of digital montage.

My digital montages are meant to imply reality, but only exist through the use of a collage working method. The environments are entirely false, existing only on the screen or print. Color, fantasy, implied narration, and collage of multiple layers are all key characteristics of this series. Some works also include scanned objects. I find that this technique allows me to explore alternative techniques to employ while approching digital photography. Simply put, it keeps me thinking in innovative terms of how to obtain and construct an image.

Furthermore, the concepts of each image in this series have developed from personal interests, obsessions, and experiences. Although these images are essentially about aspects of my life, I have consciously denied the viewer access to the figures' identities. I have done this in order to engage my audience into imagining themselves living within the compositions. To push this idea, multiple point of view techniques have been employed throughout the body of work. My hope is that the viewer will interpret their own narration of the scenes based on what information has been presented.

Below the surface, all of the montages are meant to address the idea of reality versus fantasy. Digital manipulation allows me to photograph a place or object and later repurpose it in a new context. It also allows me to create scenes that could not exist in the natural world. My intent is to force the viewer to question the illusion of a real space that is actuality not real at all.

Russ Billo Final Panoramas

Final Project