Jeff Biscuits
Senior Member
- Messages
- 3,747
- Solutions
- 7
- Reaction score
- 5,351
I’ve been trying a few more things with multiple exposure mode. This thread is just me thinking out loud; make of it what you will.
My general intent with a lot of my images is to convey chaos, or at least complexity. In the case of multiple exposures, that generally means a lot of exposures: two or three doesn’t cut it, I’m usually looking at six to nine.
I like what it gives me in woodland. Often I find it hard to pluck a compelling single exposure out of the haphazard foliage, but I think multiple exposures really help convey the feeling of the place.
From there, I started thinking in terms of cubism: take one object—a tree, a bush, whatever—and approach it from multiple angle simultaneously. I only tried a couple of images and neither were terribly successful, but I like the concept, so I’ll pursue it until I can produce something I’m happy with.
Today was the first time in a long while that I’ve tried multiple exposures in an urban setting. Normally I do this differently, by shooting images that use glass to overlay the scenes on both sides.
The first I tried was the eastern side of London’s Royal Festival Hall. Ideally I think I should be trying this theme from halfway up a tall building surrounded by offices, but I’ll have to figure out a location for that.
Next was a slightly random bit of chaos near the entrance to the Hayward Gallery just round the corner. Not sure it really works; it gets a bit lost in the lower half.
Additive exposures (which are the ones I can best visualise, since they work like film) of wider views seem a little tricky in the city in daylight. It’s hard to balance the brightness of various regions and avoid blowing highlights—as in this unsatisfactory example.
As a side note, I found that the urban B&W images needed a little processing to lift the shadows and the general brightness, push the blacks back down, and add a little clarity, all of which I’d prefer to avoid. The rural B&Ws and all the colour images are SOOC and they seem to work fine like that.
Indoors works quite well. This is the Tate Modern. At this point I was starting to think in terms of cubism here, layering parts of the scene from multiple angles—albeit combining that with additional subjects to give a feel for the varied content.
Of course, after work, night had fallen and it became easier to be a little selective about where to place light.
I tried some less chaotic images, and I’m not sure they’re something I’m so enthused about, but I think there’s potential. There’s a hint of Hopper’s Nighthawks to be exploited, I think, even if it is a bit cliched.
I went back to the Festival Hall and tried a couple more images. Again, potential, but I think slightly the wrong subject: I need a vantage point with a wider variety of window scenes.
I always stop for a while at the National Theatre because their vertical lights make for great images, so inevitably I used those. I could probably tweak the white balance here, I suspect it will differentiate the elements more.
The last image of the day was one of the more successful. Again, leaning to cubism, overlaying multiple views from the same spot. I think I can work with this theme, there’s definitely potential in the concept.
Overall I think I’m quite enthusiastic about the process even if I didn’t get any great images first time out. It suits what I’m trying to convey. Lots to play with.
My general intent with a lot of my images is to convey chaos, or at least complexity. In the case of multiple exposures, that generally means a lot of exposures: two or three doesn’t cut it, I’m usually looking at six to nine.
I like what it gives me in woodland. Often I find it hard to pluck a compelling single exposure out of the haphazard foliage, but I think multiple exposures really help convey the feeling of the place.
From there, I started thinking in terms of cubism: take one object—a tree, a bush, whatever—and approach it from multiple angle simultaneously. I only tried a couple of images and neither were terribly successful, but I like the concept, so I’ll pursue it until I can produce something I’m happy with.
Today was the first time in a long while that I’ve tried multiple exposures in an urban setting. Normally I do this differently, by shooting images that use glass to overlay the scenes on both sides.
The first I tried was the eastern side of London’s Royal Festival Hall. Ideally I think I should be trying this theme from halfway up a tall building surrounded by offices, but I’ll have to figure out a location for that.
Next was a slightly random bit of chaos near the entrance to the Hayward Gallery just round the corner. Not sure it really works; it gets a bit lost in the lower half.
Additive exposures (which are the ones I can best visualise, since they work like film) of wider views seem a little tricky in the city in daylight. It’s hard to balance the brightness of various regions and avoid blowing highlights—as in this unsatisfactory example.
As a side note, I found that the urban B&W images needed a little processing to lift the shadows and the general brightness, push the blacks back down, and add a little clarity, all of which I’d prefer to avoid. The rural B&Ws and all the colour images are SOOC and they seem to work fine like that.
Indoors works quite well. This is the Tate Modern. At this point I was starting to think in terms of cubism here, layering parts of the scene from multiple angles—albeit combining that with additional subjects to give a feel for the varied content.
Of course, after work, night had fallen and it became easier to be a little selective about where to place light.
I tried some less chaotic images, and I’m not sure they’re something I’m so enthused about, but I think there’s potential. There’s a hint of Hopper’s Nighthawks to be exploited, I think, even if it is a bit cliched.
I went back to the Festival Hall and tried a couple more images. Again, potential, but I think slightly the wrong subject: I need a vantage point with a wider variety of window scenes.
I always stop for a while at the National Theatre because their vertical lights make for great images, so inevitably I used those. I could probably tweak the white balance here, I suspect it will differentiate the elements more.
The last image of the day was one of the more successful. Again, leaning to cubism, overlaying multiple views from the same spot. I think I can work with this theme, there’s definitely potential in the concept.
Overall I think I’m quite enthusiastic about the process even if I didn’t get any great images first time out. It suits what I’m trying to convey. Lots to play with.
. I've experimented a bit with ME, though would like to try more, and combine it with ICM, a technique which I do enjoy shooting quite often.
