Saudi Arabia first female film director?

Check this out this article on CNN about Haifaa Al Mansour, who is Saudi Arabia's first female film director: [The film director who's not allowed to go to the movies - via CNN.com].

Her movie Wadjda claims to be the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia with an all-Saudi cast.

There are no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia, but a member of the Royal Family runs a film production company.  Haifaa says " I hope it will inspire many girls in Saudi to become filmmakers".

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A brief history of digital video formats

Here's a handy-dandy chart about the history of video formats.  (Infographic via New Channel Media Blog)

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HDSLR filmmaker toolkit is a must for indie filmmakers

Recently, there’s been a lot of filmmaker apps for smartphones and tablets. This one by BGW Labs is worth a try. Check it out.

The DSLR Filmmaker Toolkit is a suite of utilities tailored for the modern filmmaker, contained in one iOS application. It has been designed with the DSLR filmmaker in mind, but the large feature set ensures that it’s a must-have app for any passionate filmmaker on a tight budget.

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Ellen McDermott creates surreal photo portraits that are out of this world

I stumbled onto Ellen McDermott’s blog while browsing some surreal photo portraits after writing an article about making a surreal photo portrait. Ellen is an award winning fine art photographer and high-end professional retoucher living and working in Wicklow, Ireland. Her style is so unique and inspirational, it motivated me to share her work with my readers.

For the background in the image above she used a stock photo of a room (which appears to be CG). Then she duplicated it and flipped it, creating a symmetrical background which served as a perfect compliment to the posed model. [I’m not a big fan of centered compositions, but this image is the perfect example of when a centered composition absolutely works!] Her technique is clean and balanced - perfect blend of fiction and reality. The monochromatic color scheme is complimented by the bright red flowers on the bottom, which is a nice touch!

Ellen has several surreal photo portraits on her blog, displaying consistency in style which for many photographers is something to strive for.

Her image of a girl holding a fish on a tray [posted on her fine art page] is striking. All of the elements are in perfect balance. Girl’s expression, painterly background, as well as flawless post-production are elements that make this image one of my favorites.

While I can talk about the technical aspects of the image with ease, I can’t describe the emotion that this image evokes. The words I would use to attempt to describe what I’m feeling could be: calm, solidity, worry, uneasy - another words - mixed emotions ;)

Ellen is represented by Clic Gallery, Soho, New York City, where she will be holding an exhibition of her work there in 2012.It’s definitely worth checking out!

I also recommend checking out The Irish Arts Blog for more unique and creative artists from Ireland.

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Artomatic opens its doors once again in 2012

Artomatic is once again opens its doors on 18 May 2012 in Washington, DC.  I had a chance to participate in Artomatic back in 2008, and let me tell you - it was a great experience! Such a diverse group of artists getting together is a great way to exhibit art, mingle, and network!

Artomatic features a ton of artists: photographers, painters, filmmakers, sculptors, poets...

Some of the art is for sale, which is great because you could get a unique piece at a great price!

So, get off the couch, shut down the Internet, and go check it out!

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Making a surreal photographic portrait - 5 photos composited to make the final image

In this post I will talk about making a surreal portrait photograph. As an example, I will use the photo I made a few years back titled “My Way” - a surreal portrait of Scott, in which 5 photos were composited together to make the final image.

The prep.

The photo of Scott was taken during one of the Visual Content and Form classes. I took 2 images of the sink, because of the positioning of the handles looked weird in the first one. I also took a photo of a spoon (the plate didn’t make it in the final image, obviously ;). I took NYC photo a few years prior.

Execution:

I wanted to keep elements to a minimum, thus strengthening the effect of each element on the viewer. The image designed to have a “mirror” quality, so that the viewer can “identify” with Scott by seeing through his eyes (his face reflected in the sink).

The piece is designed to look a bit like a painting; various elements were manipulated to achieve that look (by having texture, shadows, and depth). The face was blended to have an over saturated look, while allowing water texture in the sink to show through. The background (NYC) was blended to have a soft look and be barely visible, providing the texture. The sink composite was constructed from two images, where a left knob was replaced by a knob in the “open” position.

Various subtle techniques were employed at the final stage of compositing, like adding side shadow to the spoon, applying a slight vignette to the whole image, and other small adjustments to brightness/contrast/saturation. This version of the final image [which in 2008 was submitted to FotoDC / National Geographic contest and won 1st place] was also processed in Adobe Lightroom to have raised local contrast.

• Techniques: layer Blending, layer compositing, vignetting.

• Elements: sink, sink knob (left), NYC aerial, Scott, spoon.

• Tools: Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Lightroom.

So, whacha think? Leave your feedback in the comments below! You can also share your surreal portrait photo!

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1923 Leica sets world record as the most expensive camera - $2.79 million at auction

1923 Leica sets world record as the most expensive camera - $2.79 million at auction: Read full story at thedigitalvisual.com.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2012

September 6-16, 2012. Mark your calendars. More info here.

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