Fantastic and Strange
Jerry Uelsmann
Jerry N. Uelsmann is a world rewound, American photographer best known for his double exposure work. It was at the age of fourteen the Uelsamnn sparked the interest for photography. After leaving school, he attended Indiana university and Rochester Institute of Technology. In 1960 he taught photography at the university of Florida and had his first solo exhibition in 1967 in the Museum of Modern Art. He assembles his densely constructed prints from multiple silver-halide negatives, piecing together each aspect in an organic process. In photography, a negative is an image which reproduces the bright areas of the photographed subject as dark and the dark parts as light areas.
Uelsmann has a strong intuitive sense of what is setting out to do when creating his art. I enjoy how complicated his work appears to be. There is a lot going on in all of his photographs, and it is difficult to try and comprehend the message being conveyed in each one. I was also drawn to his work because his photographs are not the kind that one would typically see. |
This image to me represents the idea of family and ruined family ties. The black and white filter used (a common feature of Uelsmann's work) reflects the destruction which the viewer is drawn to and the anguish of the image. The damaged windows and walls of the house represents how the family has broken down and become alienated from each other. The roots at the bottom of the house show how the family is grounded to each other and the house and that they cannot escape each other since we can not choose our family. To them this is a curse because their relationship has deteriorated. since Uelsmann thinks a lot about emotion when he creates his images, he may have had some kind of somber theme as this in mind.
Here is one of Uelmann's untitled works from 2003. This image was created using double exposure.
I feel this image is rather thought provoking and unique. Whether this was Uelsmann intent is unknown since he uses his art as a way to express himself so there may be some strong emotions behind this. In the background of this image, the tree line and mountains offer a sense of freedom , nature and beauty. The lake leading into the foreground reflects itself in the water and ripples held in the hands. Since this part is very dark it is difficult to even make out that this is water, giving a layer of mystery to the image. This part of the image is very surreal since water can not be held like this which adds to the mysteriousness of the image. The hands being able to hold the water in this fashion gives a likeness to a godlike presence or dream like style to the image, however the way they blend in with the image odes not make them seem out of place and the sense of realism to the image is returned. As the hands seem to be highlighted (as in they are quite bright) and contrast to the darkness of the lake and tree line, they seem to reflect the brightness of the sky which again links to t the idea of god or heaven. The hands are in the centre bottom of the image which guides the viewer to the vanishing point which is also the brightest aspect of the photo. The black and white used in this image gives a calming but also lost feeling to the image. Calm is reflected in the nature and lost is in the body and arm-less hands. This could show how their soul is lost and they are reaching into the black water which is nebulous and could symbolise forgotten memories of the person whom the hands belong to. The hands are trying to hold onto these memories.
I feel this image is rather thought provoking and unique. Whether this was Uelsmann intent is unknown since he uses his art as a way to express himself so there may be some strong emotions behind this. In the background of this image, the tree line and mountains offer a sense of freedom , nature and beauty. The lake leading into the foreground reflects itself in the water and ripples held in the hands. Since this part is very dark it is difficult to even make out that this is water, giving a layer of mystery to the image. This part of the image is very surreal since water can not be held like this which adds to the mysteriousness of the image. The hands being able to hold the water in this fashion gives a likeness to a godlike presence or dream like style to the image, however the way they blend in with the image odes not make them seem out of place and the sense of realism to the image is returned. As the hands seem to be highlighted (as in they are quite bright) and contrast to the darkness of the lake and tree line, they seem to reflect the brightness of the sky which again links to t the idea of god or heaven. The hands are in the centre bottom of the image which guides the viewer to the vanishing point which is also the brightest aspect of the photo. The black and white used in this image gives a calming but also lost feeling to the image. Calm is reflected in the nature and lost is in the body and arm-less hands. This could show how their soul is lost and they are reaching into the black water which is nebulous and could symbolise forgotten memories of the person whom the hands belong to. The hands are trying to hold onto these memories.
This is Jerry Uelsmann's 2004 Dream Theatre. In this image, the first aspect the viewer is drawn to are the hands on the book. The fact that the hands are transparent could represent that the person in a ghost of a memory. The title of the image 'Dream Theatre' suggest (with the idea of the hands) that the person could be looking onto a projection of their dreams. As the hands are in the onlooker's view point it appears as if we are looking in on a dream, this could mean the hands are transparent because they are an apparition. Since there are clouds in the sky and a gate like column structure on the stage, this could be the idea of heaven and the figure looking onto it, perhaps in their dream. This also links to the idea of ghosts. In keeping with the idea of ghosts, the figure towards the back of the photograph is a silhouette with their back turned to the view which could be the ghost of some one leaving them. This image is a metaphor for their death and remembrance.
Double exposure
Double Exposure, or Multiple Exposure, is a photographic technique that combines two or more different images into a single image.
This powerful black and white image is the work of Bulgarian photographer Aneta Ivanova who specialises in the double exposure technique. Taken from her “Scars” and “Germany”. It beautifully combines the human body with nature and architecture. This image uses double exposure to give the impression of birds flying over rooftops and out of the women's head. This could symbolise freedom or faith and hope of the women as the birds are flying out of her mind. There is also a building in the women's shoulders which could be her home and link to the idea of freedom since she wants to escape her home. Her composure means that she is looking down which could mean she is heavyhearted and sorrowful.
I find that double exposure, used in the way, gives a calming effect to the image.
I find that double exposure, used in the way, gives a calming effect to the image.
For my project I would like to take the technique of double exposure to represent memories of people. For this, I would likely use objects or places special to people and then edit these as a layers on top of the items are specific to in order to achieve this. The images would seem like projections of the persons mind.
First attempts
To create this image, I used Photoshop to overlay the treeline over the girls face. I tried to make the figure appear to be fading into the trees and sky by using the saturation and vibrancy tool. This didn't work as well as I would have like since i did not know how to blend his outline into the tree line therefore the top of his head is still visible. As the saturation in my tree line photo was low there was not much colour and so i had to match the boy to be the same so they would blend together better. This would probably be better had I made it black and white. Due to the lack of colour, I decided to use selective colouring to make his lips stand out against the dull backgrounds. I feel like this makes the whole image more interesting and brighter.
In this image I used the skyline overlay to appear like the subjects hair. This image is another trial of how i could use the overlays and layer masks to create a surrealistic effect. from creating this image, i know i find tree lines and more nature themed overlays both easier to work with and better looking. With the tree lines, i could gradually fade out the overlay and it is not that noticeable. However, with this skyline image it was really clear when it began to fade out and so I had to cover her entire back with the overlay. Although I like how this image looks, it is not an idea I would like to continue. This does not fit as well with my theme of memories since I find that the nature overlays provide more opportunities for different emotions and the subject can also look deep in thought as if they were remembering something; this I can not do with skylines.
I like the composition of this edit because the direction of her eyes seem as if she is looking out into the landscape which links into my theme of memories since she is looking into her past. This is also a contrast to my last edit since she seem aware of her surroundings. The mountains also appear to fit to the shape of her head and the trees mirror her hairline. The black and white filter on this image makes the clouds in the landscape scene look like storm cloud since they are dark. These angry looking clouds contrast to the emotions on the girls face since she is smiling. This suggests that her memory is a happy one regardless of the bad weather. However the storm clouds in her head could also be seen as a metaphor for her thoughts. The thundering weather could be representative of anger or melancholy thoughts. This would mean she is smiling in the photo because she is trying to hide her emotions, since the scene is in her head; she is putting on a brave face.
From my experimentation with double exposure effect in Photoshop I have found that I favour the edits which include ghost like effects and nature overlays. I will try to incorporate these features in my final images.
For this image I used Photoshop to create a double exposure effect. Inspired by my view of Jerry Uelsmann's work, I created a ghost like effect. The slightly faded look of the boy and the leaves overlay gives a eerie yet calming effect. I like how because the overlay has little opacity, the facial features are still visible underneath. This adds a deeper connection to the viewer and the image because you can see their emotions therefore read more into the image.
The calmness of this image is also amplified by the black and white filter, which also adds drama. The white background of the image provides no distractions for the viewer. A sense of drama could also be seen in his expression since he is looking down to the side, at what we do not know. This is appears as if he is gazing into the distance, perhaps recalling something. His manor also has the suggestion that this is a reflection since he seems unaware of his surroundings. Where as some images are often obviously overlaid, this appears to be a much more natural shot, as if it was manufactured in Photoshop. The merging of these images lend themselves to each other rather well since the leaves are in focus more around her face than her body which links to the idea that she is unaware of her surroundings and a ghost like presence. This links into my idea of projecting memories onto people, however, this overlay is not specific to the person involved. To further my work I will need to include images where the double exposure is used to project memories specific to the subject.
The calmness of this image is also amplified by the black and white filter, which also adds drama. The white background of the image provides no distractions for the viewer. A sense of drama could also be seen in his expression since he is looking down to the side, at what we do not know. This is appears as if he is gazing into the distance, perhaps recalling something. His manor also has the suggestion that this is a reflection since he seems unaware of his surroundings. Where as some images are often obviously overlaid, this appears to be a much more natural shot, as if it was manufactured in Photoshop. The merging of these images lend themselves to each other rather well since the leaves are in focus more around her face than her body which links to the idea that she is unaware of her surroundings and a ghost like presence. This links into my idea of projecting memories onto people, however, this overlay is not specific to the person involved. To further my work I will need to include images where the double exposure is used to project memories specific to the subject.
For this image I used an overlay of branches and a black background. Where the branches are in the overlay, the subject is not visible which links into the way his skin has a light glow to it in this image could represent the idea of ghosts. the brightness and pale tone of his skin contrasts with the dark background making it stand out, even though the edges are faded to link to the idea of ghosts. I took inspiration from the Uelsmann's work for this as it could represent memories of a persons experience (the tree overlay).
This image has the same ideas as my previous edits: white and black filters, pale, ghost-like look and the branches running through her body. I left the branch shooting up through her face, it looks as if it is growing out of her and taking over her body. I still like the effect of this, although it is quite similar to my other. to create this, I used the layer mask tool on the tree overlay so select parts were visible of the figure's body. The black and white filter adds to the ghost like element and memory theme as flashbacks and such are often shown in black and white in the media.
These edits are quite different to my previous trials. I found inspiration for these in my mood board and further research into portrait double exposure. This presentation does not lend itself to my original theme of memories, however I like the way these look. To my they are more artistic, especially the third image. The way the images is flipped and treetops continued beyond her body is more interesting than the other two. These images were made using the layer mask tool; I fitted the overlays to the portrait. Although it was sometimes more difficult to cleanly edit the overlay to fit top the body, I prefer the effect of these images.