Blog 8 - Poster

Romance is Dead - 24x36 - 2/24/12 - 11:38 PM - Rexburg, ID - Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT - Shutter priority - f/11 - 1 sec

Edits: Camera raw: Exposure, Fill Light, Blacks, Contrast, Clarity, upped Red, Purple and Magenta Sats. Then into Photoshop. First, I did a layer copy and sharpened the image. I put a black mask on that layer and then brought the sharpness through around the eye sockets and across the cheek bones of the skull. Then I pulled the sharpness back in the flowers too. Then I added a texture layer from the striped granite block I took earlier in the semester. I used the green channel from the image. I copied that layer, and set both at Normal, 60% opacity. Next I added a Levels layer, Color Burn, 80% opacity. On top of that was Color Balance, Luminosity, 80% opacity. And finally, Brightness/Contrast, Soft Light, 80% opacity. The text on top consists of synonyms for romance that I found on a Thesaurus website, one set in white Adobe Caslon Pro 72 pt size, 150 pt leading, and the other set in red Adobe Caslon Pro 60 pt size, 150 pt leading. Both have layer masks. The word "Romance" is in orange the King & Queen font 170 pt size, 60 pt kerning, and "is DEAD" is in orange Adobe Caslon Pro 100pt size, 10 pt kerning. I copied the original skull image once more and placed that underneath the sharpened layer. This one I burned the edges on, to take out some of the carpet texture behind the skull.

I chose this image because I felt the concept behind the original shot and the design of the piece were strong. And because there is a small part of me that agrees with the message the image conveys. It is something that has a narrative force behind it and is true to the photographer behind the lens.