edited photographs [outside]
I edited the photographs I took outside with the app VSCO on my phone. My initial idea was to edit the photos to have the same cool-toned highlight and shadow hues as the photos that I took from inside my house. This was to maintain the colour theme of purples and pinks and establish a sense of continuity throughout my concept book. I realised that this editing muted the warm tones that are seen in the original, unedited photos which discounted the meaning that I wanted the photos to convey.
[ THESE ARE SAMPLES I MADE WITH THE SAME COOL-TONED PURPLE HUES IN THE PHOTOS I TOOK INSIDE MY HOUSE ]
However, I opted for hues that would contrast with the colour scheme of the interior photos in order to indicate how different the interior of my house feels to the exterior and what is outside. The editing for these versions of the photos greatly emphasised the visual and metaphorical warmth that I planned for the photos to exude. The opposition of hues from cool to warm represents the temporary transition I went through as soon as I entered my backyard, the outdoor environment. At this point, my familiarity with simply existing in my house for the last few months has made it seem as if the outdoors is a foreign place for me. I wanted to use warm colours (orange hues from editing and the subject of the photos themselves) to reflect the emotional warmth I felt as soon as I am surrounded by the natural world and frankly, anything other than the inside of my house.
[ THESE ARE SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT I ULTIMATELY CHOSE AND USED IN MY CONCEPT BOOK - I THINK THE MOOD OF THE PHOTOS HAVE NOTABLY SHIFTED BY SIMPLY FLIPPING THE HIGHLIGHT AND SHADOW HUES ]
My ideas for my concept book were sparked as soon as I saw the shades of the sunset radiate through the windows of my home. The photos that I took of the outside were the first photos I took for this project yet my initial ideas were very weak and not concrete. I kept those photos anyway, in case some source of inspiration or other ideas that I actually liked had manifested. As for these photos from inside my house, the shadows and framing created by these shadows provoked me to highlight the dark composition depicted in the motion picture ‘Quinoa’ featuring David Lynch. The setting and story of the video are not very enticing at first, but this seemingly mundane scene becomes mesmerising and draws the viewer into an intimate space with David Lynch as he shares personal anecdotes and frequent, random comments. It was arguably calming until it reached a ‘climax’, as indicated by the darkness swallowing Lynch and the dramatic, non-diegetic music. I wanted to take this idea of the darkness of the being a key factor of the composition and accentuate it in my own photos. Upon quick glance of my photos, I noticed that another element that stood out to me were the lines creates by the shadows and light, as well as the staircase railing and curtains. In a way, the geometric shapes created by the lines are reflective of how I am stuck inside a personal box, my house. I personally like confinement due to the comfort I find in it but the elongated time I have spent inside of the same living space has made me feel as if I am behind bars or in my own jail cell. Freedom and a breath of fresh air (literal and figurative) are right outside yet I have remained in the darkness, the familiar and comforting unknown turned known.
I was going to include these photos of me looking bothered by my boredom and the stillness of my life yet I thought that it seemed too obvious in what sort of message and emotion I strived to portray so I left them out. I did not want the photos I included to be too blatant because that removes the challenge, confusion and curiosity the viewer goes through in order to decipher what the narrative and connotation of each image may be. If it is too obvious or easily analysed, these elements are removed and the intrigue of the images is lost or does not exist in the first place.
The photos I took of myself in the bathroom and of the bathroom itself (included earlier) signify the attachment I have established with it since self-isolation began. I randomly thought of the phrase “Time is money but I’m broke” and thought of how I have been using my time poorly throughout the past few months. I immediately thought of my habits of snacking/eating more often than not and inhabiting the bathroom to simply sit there and hear the echo of my thoughts in my head and reverb within the bathroom walls. My eating habits have become repetitive and unhealthy for me, just like how staying inside has made me develop immense cabin fever that I did not know was bad for me until I became lost in my own thoughts, thinking about my life currently.
I aimed to incorporate any sort of inspiration from the motion picture ‘The Tale of a Fairy’ (2011) which is why I thought of money and the dissatisfaction and unfulfillment felt by having an abundance of something ultimately spent thoughtlessly. The protagonist of the video, a blonde, wealthy lady, wanted something more than money could provide. She was jealous of what the female, brunette character had yet did not face this truth because she wanted to keep the illusion that she was happy with having so much. She maintained a facade. I attempt to show this in my own photos and show an adaptation of that narrative. In her case, she had so much money yet spent it carelessly. In my case, I had so much time yet spent it carelessly. We both want more but did not know how to achieve it. What I wanted from liberty from the dormancy of my daily routine and life; an escape from the worries and responsibilities I have been silently consumed and overwhelmed by.
