02.22.09 Over My Head

::Foto of the Day::

Sometimes your worst enemy is yourself.

So now onto last week's before and after photos.

Kinda BEFORE:

As you can see my gas mask didnt have any eye coverings.  So that's one thing I had to add in photoshop, not only that but I also added the hose coming out of the gas mask.

Being the shy boy I am I wore a pair of shorts when I sat on the toilet, just incase there were any slip ups. I then edited the lens curve in photoshop to make my upper body look much larger than my legs, in order to bring more of a focus on my face. After adding a few affects and color changes I was finished.

AFTER:

02.16.09 Toxicity

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52/6 It wasn't me!

Ok so now a look at last week's image. I started out by painting my face. This took a long time to do, mainly cause the kabuki picture I was using as a reference was in a different room, so I kept running in between rooms to paint my face.

This is half way through the makeup

And just for reference this is what I looked like before the makeup

So finally I finished putting on all the makeup.

Then I did my photo shoot. Here's a before and after of the photo.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

So as you can see I turned the photo upside down and added some editing. Ok hope you guys liked it.
For more from the 52 Series click here.

2.13.09 Put It On Or Take It Off?

::Foto of the Week::


52/5
There are times in life where we need to remove the masks that we've worn.


Ok this week I'm going to show you a behind the scenes on last weeks photo "Rock and a Hard Place"
BEFORE



I pass this airfield everyday on my way home. It's wear I watch the helicopters practice their maneuvers. I had been planning this picture for a while, so one day I packed all my gear and came out here. Unfortunately I happened to pick the day there were like 5 other photographers taking pictures of helicopters. So I felt really dumb. but I took my pictures anyways. After I took my photos I converted them to HDR images.

I then went through and actually edited the HDR image to get the effect I wanted. This became difficult when adding elements like the helicopter in the background because it wasn't taken in HDR.
AFTER:


And from there I eventually finished "Rock and a Hard Place" The most difficult part of this project was making the fence extend into nothingness. The vanishing point of the fence, and the horizon made it difficult to edit properly. But I like the way things turned out in the end.

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02.02.09 Rock and a Hard Place

::Foto of the Day::


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52/4

You have to make tough choices in life and see where they take you, because the alternative won't get you anywhere.


This week I will tell you about last weeks photo. Here is a before shot:


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I had a few shots from a helicopter base near my house. They were running drills one day and so I also got the shot of the people jumping out of the helicopter. Unfortunately you couldn't see much because there were trees in the way, and also the helicopter got cut off because I was trying to take pictures of the men. So I took another full picture of the helicopter and put it together with the men jumping out to get this effect. I had to go in and draw the rope leading off the helicopter because my photo as I said was mostly covered with a tree.

I then went through and added all the lighting. My favorite light that I added was the light shining down from the helicopter. After I finished I was trying to add a few raindrops on the lens of the camera (through photoshop), instead I got the two bright lights in the lower left corner. I liked the way it looked so I kept it.
Here is the finished image:



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Anyways hope you guys are enjoying my 52 project. Until next week... or sooner.

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01.26.09 At Peace

::Foto of the Day::


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52/3 This weeks image is kind of my farewell photo to my apartment. Every weekend when I should have been sleeping I would wake up to the sound of helicopters flying over me. I hated it, but secretly I loved the sound. On my way home everyday I would stop for a few minutes at the military base and watch the helicopter manuevers. It is a great apartment.

01.23.09 Locked Out - 52/2

::Foto of the Day::


Ok for this weeks 52 I decided to do a before and after so you could kinda see the process that went into this photo.


After

This is the after shot (which I'll talk more about in a minute).



Before

The Shoot: So I had this idea in my head, and I kinda want to take it again but from a different angle. It's me just up as a cowboy in his underwear locked out of my place. I'm actually wearing long underwear in this picture and cowboy boots, but since I only have dark long underwear it makes it hard to see. I had to take this picture before it got too dark cause I wanted more natural light in it, instead of relying on my flash. So I was standing outside in my long underwear as all this construction workers were working around my apartment (which is getting renovated right now). It was very embarassing.
Post Processing: So as you can see there was alot of editing in this photo. First of all I had to put the window on the other side. Instead of just moving the window I decided to go ahead and move the whole background. This way the window would align better with the wall. I then had to remove the junk behind me, which is nothing more than the hot water heater at my apartment. After adding the door and the snake I went through and put in all the lighting myself. I wanted the colors to be warmer inside the house then on the outside. So I colored all my light sources with a more yellow tint, while making everything else the dingy blue. I then went through and put in the shadows of myself and the snake. I had to make sure that the shadow matched the lighting pretty well. I usually don't pay this much attention to detail, but this 52 Week series I'm doing is a big deal to me. So I wanted it perfect.
So yeah compare the two images, and be ready for next weeks 52.

01.21.09 Matthew's Headshots

Foto of the Day




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Here are some headshots that I did recently





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Same image with a little effect






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And another one

01.17.09 Not So Safe - 52/1

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Not So Safe - 52/1

While taking Aaron Nace's classes I've decided to go ahead and do a 52 Project. I will be posting 1 photo a week for a year.

This one was inspired by my recent immersion into zombie films.

Not sure why the copyright says 200- it should say 2009. The site where I host my pictures automatically puts on my copyrights.

See more at FANTiM.COm

01.14.08 Foto of the Days

12.21.08 Tattoo Shoot

::Foto a Day::

Thought I'd display a few photos before I leave para los americanos. Here is a tattoo shoot spanning two days these last two months.


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To see more click here

12.17.08 Tallest Building in Japan

Thodays photos were taken in Yokohama Japan.
Here you will find the tallest building in Japan, along with the Japanese version of coney island. Enjoy


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And lastly a slightly edited photo.



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12.11.08 Universe in my Pocket

::Foto::



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So I'm going to try to post a small before and after shot, so that the world knows why it took me three hours to make this image. But not right now.
This actually isnt the final product of this picture. I have a completely different idea, but I like the way this worked out, and I spent a while making it. So here it is.

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12.05.08 Japantastic

Here's a couple of my recent works. That I haven't posted, but deserve a post. They're both digital artpieces. And I decided to call this entry Japantastic because both of them have very Japanese animation themes.

 
Inspired by DragonballZ
My own destructive nature scares me.

Inspired by Akira
This one has an interesting story about it. The background you see in this picture is actually the olympic stadium in Tokyo. I decided to take this picture there, and add the digital effects to it later. If you are familiar with Akira you know this is where the final battle between Tetsuo and Kaneda occurs. Here I am playing the role of Tetsuo.

Here is a before picture. The crazy hair, and tank top are all part of the theme.

Finally an HDR shot of Tokyo from the gardens in front of the emporer's palace.

All photos can be purchased at FANTiM.COM

12.05.08 Aaron Rosie Fotography and ME!

::blOg::
So I'm REALLY REALLY excited. Next month I get to study under Aaron from AaronRosieFotography!!

Stay
Aaron and Rosie
Originally uploaded by aknacer

Aaron is a graphic designer major who has recently been published in a few magazines. He has some really cool techniques that I'm hoping will help me fine tune alot of my designs. I often find myself getting frustrated that I'm not able to accomplish exactly what I see in my head. I used to have this same frustration back when I used to only draw. Then I became a photographer and found that I could always create what I wanted cause I shot what I saw. Now however as I've taken the next step and become a graphic designer I don't always get the resutls I want. So this is going to be an amazing opportunity for me. Needless to say I'm really jazzed.

You give me wingsBy Aaron
Originally uploaded by aknacer

A little more about ARF. As far as I can tell here's how the story goes. Two people, Aaron and Rosie. Aaron being a graphic artist, and Rosie being a photographer. Aaron lives in the states, and Rosie in Europe. Well they met through flickr and from there actually started a relationship. Now they're madly in love, and their story has even been published in other magazines (not the ones where Aarons works where published).

OutcastedBy Rosie
Originally uploaded by rosiehardy

Aaron also taught Rosie some techniques and now her photographers are just as popular as Aaron's, but their art styles are completely different. They are two of the most popular flickr users, and are rising to digital stardom.

The Return Home
Originally uploaded by aknacer

So as I said before, I'm really really excited that I get to study under Aaron. And I can't wait to see what I learn, and what I make next.
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