half plus half equals... a hole?

I feel a lot better about this one.  I may still go ahead with the other one, but it´s cliché to say the least.  But I´m a firm believer that one has to go through the motions of cliché to arrive at something original.  Maybe I´m wrong and just trying to make myself feel better about the lack of original ideas in my brain.

Anywho, I´m taking half-face portraits and combining them in photoshop.  It´s fun!  Like putting together a puzzle.  I originally wanted to do black & white simple portraits, and then transfer them onto canvas to give to the Luciérnaga before I leave.  But aside from potential material issues, I had concerns that a.) it´s not original.  At all.  b.) I would be limited in the number of people I could make transfers of (only 10 or 15 max) c.) What if they don´t like the pictures I choose of them?

So here´s my next step.  This way, I can do the same number of transfers and use twice as many of the chicos.  By only using half of the face, the photos don´t offer as much room for people to be picky.  They´re technically much stronger than what I had.  It´s cliché, but not as cliché as what I was originally trying to do.  My new concerns?  Mainly, a smooth transition between faces.

Putting the faces together is a bit more complicated than I originally thought it would be.  For example, how much distinction do I want between the two halves?  I want each image to be able to stand alone, but I want the two images to work together to successfully make one cohesive face.  It means understanding the different shapes and sizes of each half and seeing which fit together better.  As you´ll notice in the following images, the line between the two faces is different in each image - I haven´t decided which I prefer.  The shadows and distinct face shapes pose different challenges in each situation. 

I´m thinking of doing transfers of each half face on separate canvases, and then combining the canvases in a single frame.  Digitially reproduced, the line annoys me, but I think that by creating the line by using two separate canvases, it will be more easily read.  We´ll see, I have to play some more.

Any thoughts, input, criticism is greatly appreciated: leeintechnicolor@gmail.com

These are rough as hell yo...

timshel

I passed the better part of last week being generally angry, but with the long weekend came resolutions.  And this week, so far, my plans have been twisting and turning, but I´m content.

The latest issue of the Luciérnaga came out last Tuesday, and as I assisted in sorting the pages and assembling each magazine, I grew increasingly more horrified as I realized that the only three or four photos of mine that had been published were generic group shots, and were so dark and pixelated that the faces couldn´t even be made out in some of them.  I began to wonder why they´re not using me as much as they did at the beginning.  My second month here, they used my photo for the cover, and every month they have been calling me in to shoot the photos for the Historias de Vida column.  This month they didn´t.  Furthermore, the idea that I proposed for my own personal project has been used for the past three months as the cover photo, only shot by other photographers.  And I proposed it three months ago.  And all of this after I extended my stay here by 3 more months until the end of November.  If I´m only going to be used to take head-on group photos that my Grandma Ethel and her Nikon Coolpix can take, then I´m wasting my time here as I lose jobs elsewhere.  Especially when those photos are being published without any retouching whatsoever.

But I kept my cool.  I didn´t yell at anyone, though I wanted to yell at everyone.

I realized this weekend, that I´m not the same person I was when I arrived on the doorstep of the Luciérnaga.  I´m not as nice as I used to be.  I don´t know how to explain it, I just feel it.  I say no to people now, and I hate excuses.  But even more, I hate complaining, if for nothing other than its uselessness. Like advice, it´s a giver´s present.  Nobody else wants to receive it, but having shared it, the giver feels at least a bit of relief.

And to complain about the Luciérnaga and their recent treatment of my photos, likewise, is useless.  They´re a business, and their business is to sell magazines, not to make young journalists feel good about themselves. If there´s one thing I´ve learned as I cut my teeth in the world of photojournalism, it´s that you get out of something what you put into it.  And it´s true that these photos are garbage, but they´re the photos that they wanted, and it´s my job to realize them to the best of my ability.  These photos weren´t realized to the best of my ability, so I have to pay.  And complaining about it only makes me look like the over-privelaged gringa that I am.  And if they´re not going to give me the opportunities that I´m wanting, then it´s my responsibility to find them on my own.

Rilke writes,  "If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself..."  

I remember a photo shoot that I did with my favorite ex-neighbor and dear friend, where a happy accident turned into a pretty nice portrait.  So yesterday, as I was hanging out at the Luci, I asked a couple of the guys if they would let me play around.  This is what came of it.

Gonzalo

Franko 

Mario

Jose 

Victor

These are some of the only photos that I´m reasonably happy with.  What´s different?  I´m using my flash a lot more - I´m a lot more comfortable with it.  I´m still having some shadow issues, but I think I´ve figured out how to control it better.  I shot these with my 85mm at about F-2, F-2.2, 200 iso, and 1/250s, and my flash about -1.

Morteros

At the border of Córdoba province and Santa Fe province is the pueblo of Morteros, roughly 3 hours in car outside of Córdoba capital.  As the Luciérnaga is growing in the city, it´s expanding to the pueblos in the outskirts of the province.  In early August, I accompanied the director, social worker, and one of the canillitas to a press conference in Morteros where we presented the three newest canillitas with 100 magazines to sell.  The only town in the middle of nowhere, the pueblo is known for being wealthy, so why would people there be interested in selling the Luciérnaga, a magazine sold to fight poverty?  The three new canillitas are special-needs, and selling the magazine gives them an opportunity at independence.  Anywho, for me, the event was an exercise in talking heads and smiling groups.

Press conference with the director of the Luci, the newest canillitas, and the municipality of Morteros 

The ducks were the most visually interesting things I shot all day

After the asado

Día del Amigo

The 17th birthday of the Luciérnaga coincided with Argentina´s national celebration of friendship: El Día del Amigo at the end of July.  To celebrate, everyone at the Luci gathered for locro (a traditional winter stew, native to Andean cultures), and a performance by local cuarteto musician and former canillita, Gamuza.

Los Canillitas y Staff

And kids everywhere...