For this project I wanted to explore more costuming and prop work as a major component of my work. My primary idea centered around installing lights into a petticoat and capturing the movement of the fabric with the attached lights. This was a LOT of work and I cannot recommend it to anyone that doesn't enjoy sewing; The hem of the petticoat was nearly 50ft around. I also sewed the rest of the outfit (top skirt, sleeves, corset) to create the finished fairy look.
I wanted to create the illusion of movement, so I set a scene of a fairy hanging out on some old stairs in the woods and then noticing the camera. I photographed multiple poses on different points of the staircase, as well as long exposures of me going up and down the stairs to create "fairy dust" trails made from the lights in the skirt. I used a modified light toy from Walmart to draw the wings. I used gen-AI to remove the houses from the background and add additional foliage to make the scene more forest-like. I also used it to correct the shape of my smile since I did not have time to reapply the makeup and take better pictures. Also to this end I tried to utilize the accidental over-exposure on the face to look like an intentional part of the image and added a rainbow overlay.
I wanted to create the illusion of movement, so I set a scene of a fairy hanging out on some old stairs in the woods and then noticing the camera. I photographed multiple poses on different points of the staircase, as well as long exposures of me going up and down the stairs to create "fairy dust" trails made from the lights in the skirt. I used a modified light toy from Walmart to draw the wings. I used gen-AI to remove the houses from the background and add additional foliage to make the scene more forest-like. I also used it to correct the shape of my smile since I did not have time to reapply the makeup and take better pictures. Also to this end I tried to utilize the accidental over-exposure on the face to look like an intentional part of the image and added a rainbow overlay.
This piece depicts a fairy character descending a set of old wooden stairs in the forest, leaving rainbow colored and blue light trails behind her, and after images of the different poses assumed during her descent. In the foreground the fairy stares directly into the camera lens mischievously. I attempted to utilize diagonal and zigzag movement within the piece to create an active and slightly unsettling composition. I also used scale to simulate both time and movement through the fairy getting gradually larger in the frame. Beyond the struggle of trying to construct an entire costume in such a short span of time, I also struggled with understanding the settings on my camera and how to optimize them for specific light levels and focal range. I was fighting the clock for the images that weren’t long exposure, since I had to capture them outside in the hour before sunset to avoid capturing obvious directional shadows. The long exposure aspect of the process was much less tedious, and I enlisted the help of my brother to hold down the button while I climbed up and down the stairs and ran around like a weirdo in a fairy costume. I got some weird looks from at least one woman walking her dog. I ended up with a lot of additional light trail images that did not serve the overall composition, but in turn taught me what kind of lights and movements were needed to complete the work.
ReplyDeleteThe work is about curiosity, in a kind of abstract sense. In terms of content, it is about curiosity because of the character in the image displaying active curiosity towards the viewer. In terms of process, it is also about curiosity in the form of the experimentation, specifically using lights and costuming elements, done to create this piece. There’s not a lot of deeper meaning beyond that, the piece was more meaningful as a process than a product.
I feel I did a fairly good job using light and darkness in a creative way to create motion and a narrative. If I were to change anything technique-wise, I would likely give myself more time learning the ins and outs of the camera’s settings to get much more crisp character images. I had problems with some being out of focus or over exposed compared to others. I used blending modes and doubled up on certain layers to create more glowy or ghostly imagery in places.
I am not certain that this image has much to do with larger culture. It is a fantasy themed image of a fairy on a staircase. But I also did not create it with a greater meaning in mind. The image is meant to be fun and imaginative and reflects the process of creating it. Maybe that, itself, could be a meaning: sometimes it’s okay for things to just be, and the process of making something is meaningful enough.
I think the work that I most relate to my own is Aliyah Valcin’s “Light Angel”, because they both depict a fantastical being or character and use light as a means of portraying that character as being ethereal and more than human. The light streaks around the face also give the impression that the angel is lifting their head and creates the illusion of motion, which I can compare to the light trails created when my fairy character moves.