Sporadichiskiy…

I was reluctant to make this blog post. Honestly, I didn't feel like it. But here I am, trying hard to force myself. For nothing but to think of myself as being occupied.
You might be wondering about the title, well, I was going to put it as Sporadic but then I thought it would be so boring, so then I checked the translation in Russian and it was Спорадичиский, which is exactly what the title says but I didn't wish to put it in Cyrillic; Maybe in some other time, just for fun really.
The reason for this title for this post is that I'm going to talk a bit about various shots taken on different dates and not necessarily in chronological order but it's like a collection of quick-minded ideas that were done in a hurry without much preparations. 

Before I head on with the body of this post, I'd like to announce that I've uploaded some loads of images already (from 2021 and 2022 so far) and they are available on Canstockphoto, Dreamstime, and 123RF; However, one image might be in one place and not in the other because of the different criteria that each stock website uses to judge the images. Just in case one wishes to visit the profiles, they can click on the links above.

Pinhole

In my past post I've talked about creating some abstract art by intentional camera movement while having an infrared filter on the lens and shooting indoors. This activity somehow triggered me to think more of long exposures which I didn't do for a while. Naturally, using the pinhole was one of my first ideas. In the beginning, I wanted to keep it simple.

夜間孤獨
(nocturnal solitude)

To keep things simple, I headed out in the yard and decided to shoot the little palm tree we had (I've posted some shots from the same palm tree before on this blog) and my plan was to shoot a long exposure and convert the image into B&W. I've done this at night specifically to have a significant long exposure with the pinhole without the need to use any ND filters on a regular lens. However, I think I'll be defining the idea of bad luck, as my hopes for some motion in the image were just shuttered by the fact that (suddenly) not much breeze did accumulate or shake significant part of the palm leaves during the 13-minute exposure! However, I have to give due credits, as I didn't expect some colorful flare to appear (caused by the lights on the wall above the palm tree). For this reason, I've kept it in color and made another version in B&W (and posted both on YouPic).

Nocturnal Solitude (BW)

The B&W version is still interesting though, despite the fact that the flare doesn't appear colorful. The hardest part though was to gauge and control the tones in B&W (and because of the tiny details in the leaves, I disliked the idea of using layer masks). The final result, Nocturnal Solitude (BW), looked like some infrared shot done in daytime! Other work was needed though to keep the bottom of the image from being too dark and add a bit of details; Of course all of that was done in Photoshop (I don't convert to B&W in ACR often as I need more control). One particular thing that I've noticed or maybe I think I've noticed and my eyes are just playing tricks on me: The image, despite being taken with a pinhole, looks sharper than other pinhole images taken before (which were mostly in daytime). It's still blurry a bit (not because of the motion though) but I do notice that it is sharper in general, just a tiny bit. I did for sure apply some sharpening but this is now what I meant here of course. I meant the original shot. Not sure what to make out of it but maybe because the surrounding lighting was closer to the blue color? Or is it because a really long exposure? But the most strange thing of all… why did the breeze stop when I needed it to be there already?!!!

وَحيدْ
(lonely)

Another pinhole experiment (with a hope of some motion) was done 2 or 3 days later but this time it was indoors (after midnight) and including me personally. The idea of Lonely is not just having a selfie (away with the dramatic title already) but I was hoping to capture those tiny reflexes and breathing movement in a form of a "ghostly appearance" somewhat. The exposure took around 7 minutes and I remember doing it twice, and picking the best of the two. Probably the difference was in the pose itself. Anyway, the intention, again, was to convert it to B&W already and this also helped in covering up for the colorful and checkered blanket! Added some tone and vignette for some "vintage" feel to it. It was a nice shoot though; Somewhat a chance to relax and meditate while asleep! However, I'm not done with long exposures yet…

الأَغْبَرْ
(the dusty one)

I was still interesting in doing long exposure combining myself (because I have no model of course) to record the body movement. I've done one experiment in the yard using my 10-stop ND filter (which I used only once in Malta back in 2015!). The experiment in the yard somewhat failed and didn't like the overall looks. So, I moved indoors. This time I've set a challenge to myself, to stare into the camera for more than 8 minutes. I know this is not possible already (specially for a coffee-addict like me) but this is the goal of the whole thing after all.
In the processing phase, I tried to add some drama to the ghostly-shaped face somehow and made use of some dodge and burn. Well, wouldn't say I like it much but nevertheless I consider it as an achievement to stare into the camera for full 8 minutes! However, on the other hand, the linear version of this image came out really interesting!

Plastered Man

Now, I don't know how it occurred in that way but the whole thing seems to be formed by layers of skin on top of each other with holes for the eyes sockets! I really like the "linear" version more than the original. It looks like a surreal painting in some way (not sure what genre it would roll under though). Scary a bit though, isn't it?

So, at this point, I think the first part of the sporadic shooting ends (even though it's not all about pinhole). But still another part remains which I think I should include here as well. 

Frowning

I think I've mentioned somewhere in my previous post that I've done some experiments with high-speed shooting involving water and shells (walnut shells to be specific). The fact, actually, is that I've been collecting a lot of walnut shells. I've been buying those lately as Mom likes them and me too (and some times I put some of it in my coffee!). For some reason that I can't really explain or understand myself, I've got fascinated by the shells and started collecting them in hope that I would do some photography projects later on with them (which I did to some extent). My collection of them is getting quite large though and I need to find proper storage!
Anyway, I will keep the talk about that high-speed experiment for another post, but now I'm going to talk about a simple (and might be strange) quick selfie experiment which I've done with these shells. I've called the series: The Frowning.

عَبوسْ
(frowning)

The aim here wasn't really just to do something with the shells (which I'm fascinated with by the way!) but also to work and go crazy a bit with HDR tone-mapping; It has been a really long time since I worked with HDR images. I'm talking here about a span of years. But as it will be shown, normal processing wasn't bad as well (and somewhat preferable too). In fact, from the series of shots I've done with these shells, I ended up with only one or two shots that were the base of all the versions that I'm about to show now. The only difference here is the processing.

عَبوسْ 2
(frowning 2)

The shooting was done using my lovely 50mm, and at f/1.8. Even though I could've gone lower to f/1.4 but I wanted to add a slight depth to the front. I've headed out under the sun to shoot it just to ensure a quick shutter speed, as I didn't want to complicate things with such a "crazy" quick shoot and use speedlites. From the series that had been shot, as mentioned above, only 1 or 2 that were somewhat proper (with some cropping) as they had a good depth as I want it. Shooting selfies with such a shallow depth of field on your own is surely a mission for superman! 

عَبوسْ 3
(frowning 3)

All through the Frowning versions, I think each one of them has a specific visual impact and personally I couldn't really say which one is better than the other. Frowning for example, which was tone-mapped from HDR, has this look as if some nuclear explosion just happened in front of me! Moreover, I like it for the grungy look and the details in the hair (upper right) which don't appear quite much in other versions. Nevertheless, Frowning 2, which was processed from RAW (with additions from Photoshop itself of course), does have this dramatic (dark) look that probably adds more emotions to the overall look. Meanwhile, Frowning 3 (which is based off Frowning 2) has even a darker mood I guess. Worth noting that when converted to B&W, I've added a slight "titanium" tone (Hex: #B6AFA9); Honestly, I think I like this tone pretty much and will be using a lot when converting to B&W (or monochrome that is).

The Frownies

Frowning (linear)

Afterward, and just for fun and comparison, I've worked on manually blending the three versions of this shot and put them all in one image; The Frownies. Probably I can say it serves as an optical illusion, just a bit! I think it needs a bit more brushing though. Moreover, probably you could tell by now that this "linear" technique is becoming a trend for me already and I've been trying it on many images, old and new, and Frowning was no exception.
The base for working out the "linear" version is the RAW version of the shot. I still call it "linear" technique because of the basic look but maybe I should change the name at some point because for images like Frowning it doesn't quite look like linear because of the heavy texture of the skin and other things here. The technique is based on merging various layers blended with Difference blending mode, so I might as well call it the "difference technique". I think I've talked about it in this blog before, as well as in my Arabic blog. All in all, I do like the "linear" version as well for its strange dramatic look; Actually, I can imagine it being printed on a t-shirt or something like that (my mind is working on some ideas now).

Finale

So, this is some of the sporadic stuff that I've been doing in the past 2 or 3 months, and actually I'm still going on with it. There are many other stuff actually but I wouldn't put them here since they are re-makes or so of old photos, specially with that "linear" technique I've talked about already.
I do have some plans at the back of my head and I'm not sure if I can even try those or not. Meanwhile, I've just remembered some old projects that I've simply forgotten about, and I might as well try to revive those or something. All I have here is to wish myself good luck.

Recently, I've gone back to my obsession with Solitaire (the classical card game) on my phone. I didn't play it for a long time but now I'm just back at it and I could wipe half of the phone charge just playing it. It feels soothing for some reason, but I'm not sure what exactly. Is it a sign of hidden desires to gamble (I don't)? Or is it the order and structure in the game (which I lack in real life)? Whatever the reason is, I just feel it leaks away my stress. I play it the Vegas style (only one round of the deck is allowed). On the same line, I've realized that I didn't play any PC games in such a long time (even before my official retirement in October 2021). Maybe if I can find time back for this activity my stress (and depression) would be lowered down? 

They say no Man is an island, but apparently I became an island myself with my social circle. I had bursts of urge to chat, to talk, to say something, to anyone, but there is no one to talk to. Not even on the so-called "social media", which made me think why do they call this stupid thing "social" in the first place; All there is to see is trolls, ads, and people who made it their job just to correct you. Even those in fact, there was none for me in the past few days to just say anything with. I've been sleeping a lot, skipping meals a lot, and I'm just not sure where I'm heading with this, nor what's the meaning of it. All that I know is that my body is alive, but my mind is…

Infrasible…

Well, it was hard to think of something for this blog post this week, so I chose to continue with some of my activities post the "strolling" period which I've made many posts about (I think I did 7 posts?).
The weather, of course, has gotten hotter, and for sure no strolling out at this time. It would be somewhat (just "somewhat") nice if I can go strolling at 5 a.m. where the sun is still about to rise and shine and there is a little (hot) breeze tickling my face, but for sure that won't be the case if I decide to walk around for some long distances and taking pictures. Not to say, it is not Ramadhan now and people would be active or starting to be active in early morning getting ready to go to work and such and probably I would be easily spotted and, honestly, the last thing I need in my life right now is such stupid problems (from such people).
So anyway, I've had some ideas to do and try, and for this reason this post might come out as short as it is something I'm still trying to experience and experiment with as much as possible, providing that I get the proper subject and the power to do so!

Infrasible

As the title suggests here, the little project here has something to do with infrared photography and it is something I really wanted to do for a long time. Though not as exciting as doing it to ultraviolet images but still something artistic to work with nevertheless.
My aim was simply to merge infrared images with images made with visible light. Typically, people or photographer would take more about merging ultraviolet images with images shot with visible spectrum to mimic the vision of some creatures (or bee vision). However, I don't hear or read much about people saying anything about merging infrared images with visible-spectrum images.

سَعَفْ
(palm leaves)

So, my first target was a palm tree outside in the yard. The process here involves shooting 2 images of course, and this is a challenge on its own and of course it calls for a tripod. The process here involves changing the filters on the lens without as minimum of a movement as possible, and being outside already there is always the challenge of the breeze (which ruined some of the shots already here). For shooting Palm Leavesi I've used the wide 20mm to add more depth to the abstract and make it look like a jungle (this palm tree was a target for a pinhole shot later on). First shot was taken using the IR-Cut filter (Kenko's) and then IR shot was taken using Neewer's IR950 (i.e. threshold 950nm) and IR730 filters. Unfortunately, things were quiet in the beginning but the breeze started shaking the palm leaves when I started using the IR730. For this reason, shots taken with that filter didn't quite overlap perfectly with the "normal" or visible-spectrum image which had been taken with the IR-Cut filter. Anyway, such series can be useful for other purposes later on.
I won't be talking about the details of the editing here, with all the crops and alignment (which wasn't quite perfect because of the slight movement even in Palm Leaves) but to explain the process in simple terms here:

What we are doing here is that we are stacking the 2 images, the infrared one (not color -corrected) and the normal one, and align them, with the infrared one being on top preferably. Using the Blending Options of the infrared layer we turn off the Green and Blue channels and keep the Red one on; This way, the red channel from the infrared layer will take over the red channel from the lower (normal image) layer. It is important though that the two images, in the RAW phase, must be edited (if needed) in the same manner when it comes to contrast and exposure but without correcting the white balance of the infrared image. As for the normal image, correcting the white balance seems be a must even though I was using the IR-Cut filter. Also, when shooting the two images, the metering was done from about the same spot of the image but because we are dealing with different spectra here, it seems editing such issues in RAW is a must.

Still Fire

Generally speaking, using different IR filters of different threshold values wouldn't change the outcome significantly as it seems and probably only some changes in the level/saturation of the red tones in the final composite image. Anyway, seeing the troubles of working outside, I thought of checking if I can do something inside and I had in my mind that specific corner at the balcony door where the sun rays shine through around mid-morning.
Here again, for Still Fire, I've used my 20mm but I'm forced to because of the space available. In fact, I've crammed myself! If I had more space, I would be shooting this with 50mm and put the aperture at f/1.4 to blur the background. The lowest f-number for my Voigtländer 20mm is f/3.5. It added a slight blur to the background that might be seen on close-up view but not much from a distance.
Of course merging the infrared and the normal shots is not the end of the story, there would be still much to do to enhance the overall looks and add a mood (if any) to the image. One of the things that perplexed me in Still Fire is whether I should remove the cyan tint completely (in the background mainly) or not. However, I've decided to keep it but reduce its saturation a bit. 

雙火
(double fire)

Right after shooting Still Fire, I've moved outside as there is a plant growing in the yard and I was eyeing this plant for any type of shots for days. Of course, I was originally escaping the conditions outside that would cause the plants to shake while shooting 2 shots and changing filters and all of that but the case here was a bit different even though the location was a bit problematic like in Still Fire because I had to get low and cramp myself in a small corner somewhat (and get blinded by the sun a bit). Here though, for Double Fire, I've used 50mm and f/11 to discard the surroundings as much as possible. The location of this pot was in the corner and the planet was a bit stiff or something that made it almost unshakable by the breeze. Here though, I've decided to remove the cyan tint completely as I thought it didn't fit the scheme as in Still Fire. Anyway, seeing how the shot was a bit boring and had so much crop to remove parts of a pipe and another pot beside it (even though I was using 50mm which has a narrow field of view), I've decided then to do some art and mirror the image. In the process, I've tried to put more emphasis on the red tones and make it pop out against the dark background. One thing though that I've should have done before finalizing the image is to push the 2 mirrored images closer to each other to reduce the bulge at the center a bit. Anyway, it's not something I would be uploading to the stocks… or… may I!?

These images were also subjected to swap in channels (Red/Blue) and I think the results were fair and worth checking them out. Makes me think of uploading both versions to the stocks though I'm not sure of the acceptance as I don't see a specific focus or point in such images (they were tests after all!).
The next step now is to find other targets if possible and/or work on doing ultraviolet composite images as I didn't try to do much of these as well. Unlike the case with the infrared images, the ultraviolet images are supposed to be merged in the blue channel (I suppose). On the other hand I'm thinking of typing a blog post for my Arabic blog specifically about this process and try to post it there before the end of June, in order to keep my word and promise for posting at least once a month!

Well, as I've mentioned just now, I will be probably typing a blog post for my Arabic blog, thus I might be absent for more than one week from posting here. This might as well give me some time to work on some new images or projects if possible (and if I get the power to do so). I do have few images here and there I might as well be posting and talking about (in connection to the infrared shots here) but I'd rather keep it for later.
One of the challenges I'm also trying to calculate for is using my "super" ND filter (10 stops) in some way, preferably indoors. I had this idea in mind for a while but now the weather is hotter and I doubt I can do much about it so the challenge is intensified now as I try to think of some creative way to use this filter in the "comfort" zone of my own home! We'll see…

Finale

So, this is my "short" post about merging infrared and "normal" images and I'm still looking for some more opportunities to apply this technique. So for now, I might be absent from this blog for more than one week in hope that I would be over with my Arabic blog post by then, and again with the hope that I might take some more images. Also, I might also check my latest images to see if there is anything worth uploading to the stocks as I didn't upload in ages. I miss shooting panoramas as well but my choices are pretty limited in recent times. I hope I won't get to the day when I would forget how to use such gear.
On a side note, I've downloaded all my images on Photobucket and contacted the admins to delete my account there completely. I used Photobucket a lot in the past when the very beginning of this blog to link images from there (I'm not sure why really). Anyway, those old posts surely will have broken links anyway. I'm surprised though that some images that I've never uploaded there appeared there as if it was linked to my Facebook or something? It's creepy I have to say. I came across some memories as I've done that and I have to admit, some of them added some water in my eyes a bit (yes, felt like crying).
Lately, I've been extremely exhausted, spending about 80% of the day in my bed (specially around weekend times). I'm really losing the appetite for socializing at all (as well as for food). Been listening to motivational stuff here and there and yet I feel stuffed and stuck. Nothing makes much sense anymore right now. I want to get up, to do things, to go out, but seems wherever I head, there is some block on the way and I don't mean just any obstacle, but simply, block. Heck, I don't even have people to talk to like before, but few small chattering here and there and mostly online. I might be an introvert, but guess what, even introverts got their own social needs at some point. All that goes amid strong flashbacks of past failures on many fronts of life. Suddenly, I'm here. done nothing in the expansion of 20 years of my life.
It feels like suffocating slowly, and I might as well sleep in one of these days, and never wake up again… I wonder if there would be anyone who would be missing me anyway. Such a useless life.

Palmitaria 2