DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

"The whole is equal to the sum of the parts"

 
My Process

 

My Photo Subject

I've been wanting to take some pictures of two different farms that are in my area. One is located on Rt 254 and another in Litchfield heading towards the historic area of Milton.

 

I went out one (slightly cloudy) morning around 7:30 and set up the tripod on the side of the road (for the 254 shots)  I took around 70 or so pictures.  Then I drove over to the other spot where I had to scale a stonewall and some barbed wire but managed to take another 70 or so shots.  (These images don't do this vista justice!)

 

Taking the Images

Although it was not raining, it was not the clearest of days.  With that said, I was able to pull most of the images into to photoshop and "adjust" to make them look a little better.

 

Taking images on a tripod for a panoramic image is more difficult than it seems.  I have a lot of practice to do.  After reviewing the photos online I notice that I need to pay better attention to keeping the same EXACT settings for each photo (for example the same zoom - distance / scale).   I did this well for some shots, but then not for others. Also, I did not think to pay attention to lighthing -- and the light / clouds were shifting at that hour.  So there are some slight inconsistencies with my pictures...So much to learn! Last, I found it would be helpful to work more with the tripod itself, to get a better feel for it in general - to me it was like golfing for the first time, I really didn't know how to handle it etc.

 

On the Computer

Next I downloaded the files to my computer where I created a new file in photoshop and started to "play around" making a larger photograph from individual ones (each in a layer.) It was like a game of cards, I tried to sew them together physically - all the while keeping in mind the finished 'look'.  I wanted to tell a story as well as, keep an interesting physical outline of all the pictures.  Again, easier to say than do.  

 

How I wanted to make it look

I wanted some animals on my farm, so I 'borrowed' the cows from the 254 farm and put them on my Litchfield farm. I also wanted to put some of the close up shots in the front without blocking any of the image behind it -- so with the pen tool, I was able to cut it out in photoshop for the online collage.  For the physical collage I had to use an utility knife.   (the cows, the stone wall, the stone grinding wheel)

 

Physical Collage

The final image that I created in Photoshop was made up of several layers - each layer was a selected image from the set of photos I took at the "the farms".  Each layer was given the name of the digital file, so that later when I went to print these out  and put the collage together, it would be easier for me to know which ones to use.  

 

I sent the images to CVS and had them printed out on Matte paper 4x6. (a few times... Glossy left finger prints and just too shiny) .. then thought about what to add to the physical collage...

 

I glued all the photographs to foam core "sewn" together in the fashion that resembles the online image.  To add some depth and dimension to the collage I glued a few of the images on different pieces of foam core, cut them out and layered them on top of the larger foam core piece.

 

I wanted to soften up the white background of the "big board" so I wrapped it in burlap.

 

I love the picture of the barbed wire and the grass... very close up with a shallow depth of field.  This image gave me the idea that the viewer could be standing "outside" the farm, looking in.   So I thought... I'll add some old barbed wire, some grass and wood to act as fence posts.

 

So there you have it -- My Litchfield Farm!

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.