This is an old post from my Tumblr that details a shoot involving my PSVR, as well as balancing my career.
So my friend Tim started creating these photo composites of anime characters in real places. It’s dope as hell. A little background on Tim, he was actually the other person next to my cousin Gabe that inspired me to get into photography. He was an older head when I started college, and I’ve looked up to him ever since. There’s always something about his work that just makes my jaw drop. I think it’s the ideas in how makes ordinary, extraordinary, like this amazing self-portrait he did of him in his snowboard gear, or his sets of moving photos. Come to think of it, as I’m writing this, it might be the way he expertly uses light. Enough of him, this is my blog. Love you, Tim. Thanks for inspiring me. (follow him on IG: @timages and @timprints.jpg)
Why did I bring Tim up? Because he INSPIRED me. I rarely flex my creativity muscles when it comes to photography anymore. In the past I was able to just take my camera and go. I’ve been so busy lately with my career that I just want to unwind with non-work related stuff, but photography isn’t work related. It’s not supposed to be, for me at least. It’s supposed to help me unwind, or even help exercise my creativity. So here’s to more personal fun shoots.
Last Christmas, I asked my girlfriend for a PSVR (I recommend getting some type of VR). It’s truly immersive, and I’m sure there’ll be even more immersive games as technology continues to develop. It’s an amazing feeling.
Then there’s also the “Black Mirror” stigma with technology. The more hooked we are on technology, the further apart we drift as humans. I agree and disagree with that opinion.
Technology is great, and I’m all for it. However, I do believe in balance. As with everything, too much of one thing is bad. With the right mix, you end up with an evolution of the best of both worlds. This last shot actually involves a little bit of Tim’s influence. I wanted to merge the real and unreal with photoshop. It’s a bit rough, but I was moreso excited to just put it together. It took me a while to come up with a way to mix both worlds, but most of my ideas weren’t working out. Then I came across this No Man’s Sky art on Google. I’m not sure who made it, but it leads to here.
I would like to clarify that I did not make, nor do I own the illustration.
There’s a balance you have to achieve when mixing mediums. My example here is obvious that it’s a composite, but the two images work well together. I color graded both of them to make sure there was no blaring contrast between them. Thus, creating a “seamless” blend of worlds. A balance.
I had fun with this one, and I’m hoping to do more creative, personal shoots again. Like I said, I’ve been boggled down with just being busy that I haven’t been able to focus on my own things in regards to art. I’m finally getting back to picking up personal projects in my UX/UI career, and it’s only right to continue with my photography as well. I’m starting to find balance.
