experiments..

 

 

From the feedback I got a few weeks ago, where it was suggested that I just went off and did some more experimenting with making people like cameras, I have produced the above experiments. It was suggested that not only should I look at putting camera parts onto people, but also going about it the other way around and placing body parts onto a camera. I experimented with that idea on the first experiment; I thought the outcome was quite interesting and different yet it didn't really work with what I want to show within my work. So I went back to experimenting with different parts of the camera body on people's bodies - shown in five of the experiments above. I feel that the bottom two experiments are the most successful out of the five as I started to get a better direction and found it a bit easier to place the pieces together. However I still feel that there is something missing from them, so it is something that I need to experiment with a lot more.

a bit about my idea...

Like I have mentioned previously I am looking at the way in which cameras have become a big part of out lives, they are used every single day of our lives in one way or another, with things varying from CCTV to studio work, cameras have become a necessity to us, they are like an extension to our own bodies.

"Now, according to Samsung, 2.5 billion people around the globe have a digital camera" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/magazine-16483509

 (images taken from Google)

I want to focus on how we - as humans, have taken a strong liking to cameras and how they are now such a big part of us, we use cameras for many different reasons, personal photographs of things such as families, parties, and special occasions. For work purposes like studio work, events and landscape photographs are amongst a few. Camera are like our second nature and we rely on them to a certain extent, we use them to capture our memories, to keep them fresh in out minds.

Therefore for this project I am going to look at how cameras have become part of us, using both photographs of people and of cameras, by cut and pasting, blending and merging I intend to produce numerous experiments exploring this theme.

feedback..

A few days ago we had a feedback session in which I explained the ideas that I have so far and the direction in which I want to go in, as well as showing the initial experiments that I have produced exploring these ideas (shown in the post below).

Thankfully people understood the ideas that I had, however I still have a lot of work to do to get to a point where my experiments are successfully enough to portray my idea of how cameras have taken over our bodies and are now like our second set of eyes.

...

Experiments...

So going from the ideas that I have in my head from the bits of research that I have done over the past week I produced two different pieces, one using the cut and paste technique and the other on photoshop so I could start to blend the objects together a bit more making them look like one piece.

Cut and Paste

Photoshop edit

I got some good feedback for these pieces - saying that the direction in which I am going in is good and the initial experiments are effective in showing what I want to show, yet they are still missing something. 

I want to try experimenting with a few different things;

firstly I need to produce a wider variety of experiments exploring the theme. I want to maybe focus more on one are of the body, maybe the face focusing on including some areas of the camera into the face and making the connection that way. Also maybe including human body parts onto a camera and exploring the things I can produce that way. Also taking bigger body parts such as an arm and replacing it with something such as a tripod to see the different variety of experiments that I can produce whilst exploring the idea of how cameras have become such a big part of our lives and how we maybe take them for granted most of the time.

Photoshop tutorial - creating fog

Last week we had to do a little presentation/ demonstration showing others in the class how to do something on Photoshop, the area that I chose to demonstrate was how to add fog to an image making it look misty, below are the stages that I showed people to enable them to understand how to add for to their images;

open the image in Photoshop:

add a new layer and call it 'fog':

go to the filter menu at the top, go down to Render and across to Clouds, selecting the clouds which will add a layer on top of the image:

add a mask layer to the layer named 'Fog':

select the layer type which is set to normal, select the drop down menu and change it to 'screen':

this will remove all of the black areas on the layer labelled 'fog' meaning you can now see the image below.

Make sure that the Mask layer is selected, select the paint brush and make sure that the colour selected is black:

and using the paint brush tool go over the areas of the layer you want to get rid of:

(by changing the colour selection to white you can draw back over areas you remove if you decide you want them back, that is only if you have the mask layer selected)

At the moment the fog looks too fake and just looks stuck on top of the image so to make it look a bit more realistic and natural there are two different things to do.

Make sure the mask layer on the 'fog' layer is still selected, then go to filter, blur, Gaussian blur:

and adjust the dial at the bottom to a point where you want it to be:

then select the filter layer on the layer named 'fog':

then go to filter, blur, motion blur which will add movement to the layer making it blend a little:

and again adjust the dial to a point where you want it to create motion within the layer:

now adding a layer of fog to your image is complete:

Black Mirror series

So over the past few days I have watched the 3 episodes in the Black Mirror series, to be honest I found the whole concept quite strange. Showing us the way in which technology has and probably will advance further within each episode. The amazing things that we would forever think unthinkable, such things that would probably never cross our mind.

Each episode has a totally different meaning behind it, yet still explores the same theme of technological advancement and pushes the boundaries.

The 3rd episode stood out the most to me, mainly because it has a small connection to the thoughts that are going through my head about how cameras have become our 'second' set of eyes. The characters within this episode have chips implanted in their heads and camera's in their eyes, meaning that everything they see is recorded and stored on the chip in their head, they are able to go back and watch what has happened and they have seen thought their eyes, whether it be the day before or a year before - something quite amazing, yet quite weird at the same time. The thought of that one day being actually reality is quite amazing, even though we already have something quite similar with video cameras, the fact that its implanted into your head and is there instantly is a bit strange.

Film to digital

"The Changes to Camera Technology over the last 70 years"

"The technology that the modern camera is based on was created several hundred years ago. Although the ancient ideas were far away from the types of cameras that we know, they were well ahead of their time in relation to the technology and materials that they had at their disposal. It wasn’t until 1885 when George Eastman created the modern photograph film technology that made cameras a convenient product for consumers. Eastman also created the very first Kodak camera which served to further advance the camera industry and its popularity among consumers.

The first Kodak camera was sold with the film already loaded inside and consumers needed to send the entire unit to the company to get their film developed. The company would then reload the camera with new film and send it back to the consumer so they could take more pictures with it. But this system did not last very long before more advancements were made.

In the first year of the 20th century, 1901 George Eastman capitalized on his own technology and created the Brownie. This new camera was the first one that had the capability of taking snapshots and it was small enough to be convenient for camera owners to carry around with them. As a result of its popularity, affordability and small size, the Brownie was the preferred camera that families could take with them on vacations and special occasions to create memories that would last a lifetime. The Brownie was so popular that it continued to be produced and marketed well into the 1960s.

In 1914, Oskar Barnack experimented with 35mm film that was used to create movies and films. His goal was to create a 35mm film that could be used in cameras to create still pictures rather than motion pictures. Though he began this technology in 1914, the troubles that occurred with the onset of World War I made further advancements impossible for the next several years. Twenty years later, the Kodak Company began working on this technology and made several advancements that made it more convenient for average consumers to use. The Retina I by the Kodak Company was cheaper than other models with similar technology, but it was still more expensive than other mass produced cameras of the era.

While many companies were trying to create better technology for their cameras, a new type of camera jetted onto the scene in 1948. The Polaroid was an instant camera that attracted many consumers because of its instant gratification capabilities. People could take a picture with the Polaroid camera and have their photo in a matter of minutes. Even though it was more expensive than the other cameras of the time, it was still one of the biggest selling models because people enjoyed having their pictures just moments after taking them. It was a novelty at first, but it soon became a luxury that many people had to have. Even today, the Polaroid camera is one of the best selling models in the camera industry because of its affordable price and instant capabilities.


In recent years, the digital technology even spilled over into the camera industry. Even though the predecessors of today’s digital cameras began in 1972 with a Texas Instruments prototype, the true digital camera as we know them today was not produced until 1988 in Japan and later in 1991 in the United States. Even after years of technological advances, though, digital cameras still cost thousands of dollars well into the following decade. As a result, only professional photographers and others with high-paying careers had access to quality digital cameras. The pixel technology and other aspects of the digital camera eventually became less expensive and mass produced soon after and they were also more affordable as a result. Today, you can get a decent digital camera for less than $500 with many different features and options.

Cameras have helped to reshape our history because we can actually see photographs of things that have happened. We can get a better idea of events through still pictures and videos, too. The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is not very far off from the way that cameras have helped to revolutionize the way we see our world and our surroundings".  http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/cameras.html



Like the article above says, over 100 years ago cameras were pretty much none existant. However when they were invented, they were extremely basic not only did they cost a lot of money to purchase, it was quite complex to get the film's with the photographs developed as they had to send the camera off to have the film removed and developed, then back to the company which the camera had been purchased from so they could re-load it with a new film ready for more photographs to be captures. This must of been quite pricey for people as well, meaning it probably wasn't very comman for loads of people to have cameras, as it was expensive not only for the camera's but for the developing and such.

As technology advanced further, so did cameras. New and different types and models of cameras we're produced, one of the most comman and popular camera's was and still in the Polaroid camera. It's are very neat little piece of equipment, the fact that you can snap a picture and it instantly prints and you have the printed image within minutes of snapping is obviously quite appealing to people, however all of that comes at a price.

We have gone from having film cameras that had to be sent off so that the film could be developed, to other film cameras such as medium and large format cameras, as well as cameras being produced by companies such as Pentax, Canon and Nikon - from black and white film to the transition into colour film, to the technological advancenet allowing us to have digital SLR cameras by numerous companies such as Nikon, Canon, Sony, Lumix, Sigma, Pentax, Olympus and Samsung.

Nowerdays digital slr cameras are affordable, they are a very comman purchase and everyday they advance further. It's because of the high demand of the digitial slr that the prices are affordable, the fact that they are wanted by so many people helps to keep the price reasionable. Although slr's that are far better and far superior to some cameras are a lot dearer due to things such as the megapixels, the settings it has and the model of the camera only to name a few. Basically if you want a camera that is at the top end of the market it will cost you a lot of money.

Many years ago people only wanted cameras for family use, captureing events like birthdays, anniversaries and family holidays. However people want cameras for these reasons plus many more such as work - proffessional photographers whether it be portraiture, lanscape or architecture, weddings, parties as well as other events. People just want cameras to capture photos as a hobbie. The use of cameras has grown throughout the years, therefore technology has grown with that need.

Rob Spence - eyeborg

EYEBORG-- The Two Week Trial from eyeborg on Vimeo.

Rob Spence - also knows as the 'Eyeborg' is a 36 year old Canadian film maker, he injured his eye when he was a boy in a shot gun accident, meaning he lost the use of his left eye. 20 years after the accident occurred, he has decided that he wants to push the boundaries with the prosthetic eye that he had. He decided to create a prosthetic eye that had a camera implanted within it - with the help from other people, so that he could have a camera as his second eye, recording everything that he sees rather than having a prosthetic eye that doesn't do anything, he wanted to make use of the disfigurement that he had, creating something new, creating what he calls the 'Eyeborg'.

To be honest I think it is amazing the things that technology allows us to produce today, the things that would of been unthinkable a few years ago, every year technology advances allowing new and amazing things to be produced.

The eyeborg has allowed him to 'see' again about of both his eyes, even though he can't actually see out of his prosthetic eye, its allowing him to record what he should be seeing, which is quite amazing.

feedback..

On Monday I got some feedback on the ideas that I have so far, I still hadn't really got a solid idea of what exactly it was that I wanted to focus on, but from listening and looking at a few peoples ideas, I got more of a direction, honestly I was a bit confused with the whole cyborg thing, it's something that's never interested me before therefore I wasn't really able to come up with and ideas as my mind was totally blank and I couldn't get myself into the right mindset to think about what pieces/ direction I could go in with the cyborg theme.

As Ive mentioned in a previous post I had an idea of using camera's as technology in some way, I think I'm going to stick with this idea and try to move forward with it. I need to do a lot more research looking at numerous things to do with cameras and technology, such as;

1. How technology has advanced
2. what cameras are used for now compared to say 50 years ago
3. how images can be misinterpreted
4. how items have become necessities .

those are just a few of the areas I want to look at.

I also want to research the 'eyeborg' in more depth, so that I can understand more about it - linking my theme of cameras, the use of technology and humans making them a cyborg.


As well as these things I am going to watch the Black Mirror series as I understand it's all about technology so I feel that could be quite interesting and useful to me. Also I intend to watch the film Into The Wild as research as I understand that the man character in the film leaves behind everything he has and goes back to basics in the wild - living without any of the technology that we take for granted.

edits...

I have done a couple more edits experimenting with eyes and lenses, on each of these experiments I have replaced the eyes or pupils with a lens from a camera, I have done this because I persionally love photography and the camera is like a second set of eyes, images of what is reality are captured through the camera and its lens, so I really liked the idea of replacing the eyes with the camera lens, like taking away your first set of eyes and you are seeing everything through the camera, here are the two experiments that I have produced;

In the experiment abouve I have taken the image of the lens from the camera and I have selected it using photoshop, I then layered the selection on top of the portrait image - duplicating the lens layer to create two (lens) to cover the eyes - going with the theme of what I mentioned above. Then using the blur tool i made the edges of the lens' that I had placed onto the portrait image to make it work a bit better and look like its one image, I have do it to a point where I feel it works quite well, the edges are blurred to a point where it looks like the lens is popping out of the head and not just sat on top which I am quite happy with.

Above I have replaced the pupils of the eyes with the camera lens, to do this I again took the selection of the lens and created two layers on the image - for each eye. Then using mask layers and the eraser and the occasional selection tool to make the areas that I wanted to remove a bit more accurate, I removed small areas of the pasted lens layers so that they would fit into where the pupil's are, making it look like her eyes are no longer as they should be, they are now the lens of a camera - again linking to the theme which I have mentioned above.

Although I do really like these edits, I don't think they are that successful. There is still something missing from them, they aren't very interesting and I feel that maybe I need to add something else onto the face, something else mechanical to make the piece work better together, making it more visually interesting to the viewer, giving them a few different things to look at and drawing them in and making them understand exactly what I am trying to say by replacing the eyes with the lens.


All images are taken from Google.

Neil Harbisson

Harbisson was born in 1982 he is a cyborg artist, musician and performer whom is best know for his ability to hear colours as he was unable to see anything in colour. In 2004 he was the first person to ever be fitted with what is called an 'eyeborg' when he was officially recognised as a cyborg by the government. The eyeborg allows Harbisson to hear the colours as the camera that is mounted on his head picks up the colours that are directly in its view, it then converts the colours into real-time sound waves, allowing him to hear what colours are around him.

He first heard about the eyeborg when he was in his second year at Dartington College of Arts, where he attended a lecture on cybernetics and sensory extensions which was give by Adam Montandon. He took a strong interest in this, partly due to his own condition - this is probably where the idea of him getting the eyeborg first started.

This camera has become such a big part of him and his identity so much to the point that he has been allowed to wear it in his passport photograph.

Neil Harbisson has a strong interest in art, before he had the eyeborg fitted allowing him to hear colours, he initially worked in black, white and charcoal. Having the eyeborg has allowed him to widen the variety of colours that he uses, allowing him to venture out of only using black and white he was now able to paint in colour - so really having the eyeborg fitted was a blessing, it has allowed him to visualise things differently to everyone else.

The Metamorphosis.

 
Over the weekend I read 'The Metamorphosis', in all honesty i found it very strange and a bit surreal. The story is something of which you would never imagine possible, something that you don't ever think will actually happen. Being that one morning Gregor woke up no longer human and he was a giant insect, he was unable to do anything that he was previously able to do, he couldnt leave his house, basically he no longer had anything to live for, he was stuck in a room all day everyday.

I quite liked this story purely because there is a lot of meaning behind it, its quite similar to that of a human cyborg. If Gregor were to go outside into the real world, he quite obviously get strange looks of people, people would wonder 'what' he was, nobody would ever look at him like a normal person, he was far from it and he proboably would never of been accepted for what he had become. Although this isnt like what would happen with human cyborg's it is similar in the respect that people who have 'cyborg' mechanical body parts such as prosthetic legs, arms, feet, hands or any other body part as well as things like cameras implanted within them would most probably get funny looks off people, people are going to stop and look at them as they are different from everybody else, they have a part of them that is mechanical, its a forign object - one that they weren't born with.

Experiments...

 

 

Above I have put into practise the ideas that I have mentioned in the post below, I feel these pieces are good as starting points, just to give me a few ideas and some more inspiration to go on and create more pieces that are more successful and with a wider variety of pieces to them. 

Images I have used:

Experiment 1 -

Experiment 2 - 

Experiment 3 -

All of the above images are taken from Google.