Tuesday, October 5, 2010

edited/altered images

It is no surprise that near every image you see in modern media has been altered or "touched up" in some way, shape, or form.  Today I altered and edited pictures from my own personal collection.  I specifically chose pictures that I actually love, just the way they are, but wanted to show how these pictures can be altered, emphasized, and de-emphasized in different ways.

The first set of pictures is of one of my heros- my father.  The original picture was taken by me when both my father and I went to Florida in December of 2008.  My father and I decided to go to the beach.  I am not the biggest fan of fishing, but I do love sitting and relaxing on the beach.  So, at this moment, we were both happy and relaxed.


Photobucket
Unedited


Photobucket
Edited
 The first picture is a picture I took of my father on the beach just as he threw his last catch back into the water and we were going to get ready to head back to the hotel.  I was sitting on a lawn chair and could barely see my father's face because of the strong light from the sun behind him.  He turned to look at me while resting his fishing rod on the ground and asked me if I was ready to go home.  I told him not to move as I scrambled for my camera and took this picture.

In the edited photo, I simply brightened the light from the sun in the background.  It just lights up the entire photo.  Also, in the first picture, you'll notice that my knee is showing in the bottom left corner of the picture, so I cropped my knee out so as not to take away from the majestic look of this picture. To me, this picture looks so regal.  My father looks like some sort of King in the sunset, and the fishing rod is his staff.  I just love it.



The next picture is a bit bizarre.  It was taken 3 winters ago in the evening.  A little known fact about me is that I have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.  It is an autoimmune disease.  It affects my kidneys.  In 2004, I went into complete renal failure and have been on dialysis ever since.  In 2008, I learned how to operate a dialysis machine and therefore do dialysis myself at home.  Before that, I had to venture out at 6:30am every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning to go to the hospital and receive dialysis.



It can get cold in the dialysis unit, so I always carry a duffle bag with a heavy blanket in it.  Early one morning, I put on my scarf and winter jacket and was ready to head off to dialysis.  I bent down and picked up my duffle bag so I could zip it up. It was sitting on the floor near the dining table.  Little did I know-when I zipped up my duffle bag, my scarf had gotten caught in the zipper of the bag.  When I dropped the duffle bag on the ground, my neck was jerked forward by the force of the bag due to my scarf being caught in the duffle bag.  Unlucky for me- the force of my face flying forward was halted by the corner of one of the dining room chairs.  I had smacked the corner of my eye on the corner of the chair.  The result was a black eye.

Photobucket
Unaltered


Photobucket
Altered
I took a picture of my eye after I had returned home from dialysis. How odd is it to describe such a story to others?  I wore a lot of concealer until the black eye faded.  In the altered photo, I used Picasa 3 to add "warmth" to the picture.  I also added tuning, adjusted the contrast, and added a bit of shadowing to the picture to try and camoflague the black eye slightly.  In looking at the altered photo, the result was almost a more pronounced black eye.

I kind of enjoy the original picture because I've never had a black eye, and because the way I got the black eye is so odd.

The last photo might be my favourite set of photos of all.  As I mentioned previously, I am on dialysis.  In order to facilitate the dialysis, I had to have a fistula put into my left arm.  A fistula is essentially when a vein in my arm and an artery are attached surgically, causing blood to flow through more rapidly.  It also causes the vein to get bigger, therefore making it easier to insert the relatively large needles into the vein without blowing it up.  I've always been self conscious about the appearance of my fistula.  It's big, it's weird, and it's ugly.  I usually avoid wearing short sleeved shirts, even on the hottest of days.  I usually wear cardigans or long sleeved shirts.

My friend Carmela is a photographer.  While we were in the park, she encouraged me to allow her to take a picture of me-fistula and all.  Again, I was aprehensive, but then thought that the final result might just come out beautifully.  So, I agreed.


Photobucket
Unaltered


Photobucket
Altered
I ended up loving the picture Carmela took.  After having this picture taken, I didn't feel like I always needed to hide my fistula.  I knew that people might stare, or ask questions, but aside from that, what's the worst that could happen?

In my edited photo, I decided to make the fistula the focal point of the picture.  I made the entire photo black and white, except for the fistula.  The reason I did this was to show that I am no longer afraid to show my fistula or to have people see it.  It is a part of me, and it is my lifeline.  Why should I be ashamed of it?


-all photos were edited using Picasa 3.
``

No comments:

Post a Comment