Page 72 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

IMAGE DOCTOR
IMAGE DOCTOR
BY SAIMA MOREL
Images need a pick-me-up? The doctor will see you now.
LOVELY LAYERS
Akira Nakajima had been experimenting with layering photographs and was surprised by the mysterious effect of layering macro images over night work. “For the macro photograph, I sprayed water on a dandelion and placed a daisy directly behind it. The water formed droplets and some even acted as a lens capturing the whole daisy. The night shot is of two figures walking towards Luna Park in Sydney.”
This deserves top marks for the interesting treatment of multiple images and reflections which create a lovely jewel-like effect. While it may not be a perfect shot, it is an adventurous composition that really distinguishes it from many others. The macro and reflections effect is so busy, and when you put it together with the black and white, it gets even busier. The much smaller mono image takes second place to the colourful and dominating fantasy frame. It is also unclear what the connection is between the plant life and the two
people, Luna Park and the Sydney Harbour Bridge – but maybe there is none. The image has shades of the work of surreal or dada artists who often juxtaposed unusual subject matter in a frame or made the usual appear somehow unusual. That may be something to explore more in your image-making using your macro and night work.
SAIMA’S TIP: Online image galleries of artists and photographers in fields such as surrealism and neo dada-ism can provide ideas that support your own creative style.
TITLE: Entry to Luna Park
PHOTOGRAPHER: Akira Nakajima
DETAILS: Night shot: Fuji X-T3, XF18-55mm lens @ 50.5mm. 1s, @ f4, ISO 160. Macro images: Fuji X-T3, XF56mm f1.2R lens. 1/15s @ f4.5, ISO 250, Macro extension tube.
TITLE: Alleyway, Hue
PHOTOGRAPHER: Patrick Clarke
DETAILS: Fujifilm X-T20, XF 27mm f2.8 lens. 1/60s @ f2.8, ISO 6400, Acros film simulation.
GOOD GRAIN
Patrick Clarke writes: “Taken in Hue, Vietnam,
a friend and I had spent the evening exploring the area around Hue’s walking street. It was the first chance I’d had to try street photography with my new X-T20. We tried a shortcut back
to the hostel, through a narrow, winding alley, and about halfway along, a motorbike passed us and I snapped the shot, hoping the headlight would provide enough light in the dark alley. The original shot was far too underexposed, but I was able to recover detail using CaptureOne. Although the shot is grainy, I think it adds to the atmosphere and gives it a moody, noirish feel.”
You have done well shooting in such difficult conditions. It is a nice black and white with strong blacks and even with a little flaring in different areas, the highlights have not fared badly with detail still mainly intact. It would have been even better if the bike had been coming towards you, but it is what it is. The strongest interest is on the right side of the frame with
the sign and doorway so a vertical crop through those bikes on the left would have made an even tighter composition with more of a sense of depth in the alleyway, and the eye would be drawn in to the most interesting features on the right. With so much detail and different textures in the image, the grain or noise is not a great concern. It is not distracting or unappealing.
SAIMA’S TIP: Grain (film) and noise (digital) can appear similar in effect, but when it’s ugly, we usually say noise.
| 72 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM