Contact sheets or a sequence of similar pictures on one page.
NOTES ABOUT THESE SELF-PORTRAITS
(Technical and otherwise.)
Introduction
Painters have been creating self-portraits for years. Some of the most famous paintings ever created were self-portraits such as those of Rembrandt and Van Gogh. However, photography (until now) has been unable to accomplish this. The photographer had to be behind the lens to preview the photographic image. In short he or she could not be behind the lens and in front of the lens at the same time.
With the Casio QV-100 camera, that I use, the lens can be rotated in just about any direction (270 degrees). With some digital cameras the lens can be taken off the camera.
These pictures were NOT manipulated in graphics program. I used the quirks of the light sensitive material (and also the way that digital imagery is stored) to achieve most of the unusual effects. All of the still enhancements where achieved in the basic "darkroom" processing program QV-AutoCam with simple commands.
These 26 photos were selected from over 400 that I shot.
Personal Notes
I like to explore extremes of light and exposure. I have found that many photographic processes do something odd at these extremes which are often unusual effects. When my digital camera is underexposed, for example, the texture becomes very grainy and the colors take on extremes of blue, purple and yellow.
Each photographic process also responds to various types of light differently. For example, a digital camera will see neon light differently from traditional film.
In all cases I am limited by the length of my arms. This determines the furthest distance I can move the camera away from my body and also the furthest that I can accurately frame and judge the picture in the view finder.
And BTW I am not an ego-maniac. I am just the most willing model who will do what he is told, will work for nothing and who is always available even at 4 in the morning. And I never have to worry about whether I can find me.
As an interesting additional piece, the 'Featured Artist' page contains
'Animations' by Rick Doble. A selection of several of his 'small
animations', some of which can take a little while to download, but which
are well worth the wait. _Enculturation_ is definitely taking advantage of
an aspect of the electronic medium that a print journal really cannot
compete with.
Doble creates 'photographic animations', a series of photographs, taken at
intervals to accommodate the movement within time of the object. These are
then placed in a loop, or repeated, but with asynchronous intervals between
each shot. The randomness inscribed aims, Doble argues, towards the same
goals as those of the futurists, or the cubists: the visualising of the
whole of an object in both space and time. It is the perfect example of the
way in which technological innovations change the way art is created, and,
in this e-journal format, the way in which it can be disseminated and
received. A particular favourite was the somewhat vertiginous 'ceiling'.
The shadow of the smoke alarm perhaps tracing a visual analogy for time
passing, the shadow of a sundial? Whilst 'driving', due to Doble's
inclusion of himself within the shot, with its changing backgrounds
coexisting with the (illusionary) unchanging position of the artist, is as
good an example of Deleuze's theory in _Cinema 2_ as you are likely to
find. In essence, Doble's art is akin to having your own 'flick-book'
included in your print journal
My notes about my animations from the Enculturation Film/Image Site
My small animations are NOT "mini-movies" but an art form that is quite different. Because they loop and
repeat, because the timing is often different from frame to frame, and because pictures may have been taken at
different intervals (not regular short intervals like film or video), they are more like music or a pulsing living being.
(Animate means "having life" according to the dictionary.) Unlike still photography which deals in two dimensions (x
and y axis), these photographic animations deal in four dimensions (x, y, z axis plus time). Little animations may
achieve what the cubist and futurist painters at the beginning of the century were trying to achieve, that is the ability to
see the whole object in space and time in one work of art. Four dimensions is not just a concept but a reality of
physics. For example Einstein adapted the age-old Pythagorean formula for the hypotenuse of a triangle to
accommodate time as another component.
Go to my Digital Visuals site to see a full listing of my visual work on the Internet.
If you would like to use any of these images, send me an e-mail message at: Send Me A Message
for permission. I am very open to working with students,
web sites, zines, ezines, schools and other groups,
so please be sure to ask.
NEW BOOK!
