- Inspiration Past and Present: Heading Towards Image
- Work in Progress
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Work in Progress
- Moth dancer
- Man with too much time
- Surrounded
- Girl with a bee dress
Moth dancer
MOTH DANCER BEGINS with a tintype Taylor bought on eBay. First, she removes dust spots and irregularities from the image and changes to a square format. Next, a makeover: the child gets longer hair and a simpler costume. Taylor experiments with different compositions before settling on the final concept, in which a standing girl is surrounded by a skirt made of ribbons and Luna moths. A photograph Taylor took in Spain becomes a part of the backdrop. Unsatisfied with the color scheme of Figure II, Taylor gives the image a grayscale adjustment layer to help her settle on a new scheme.
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Man with too much time
MAN WITH TOO MUCH TIME BEGINS with an undated tintype. First, the tintype is trimmed into a square format and cleaned of dust spots and tears; then Taylor adds color. Taylor photographs paper airplanes made by Uelsmann and adds them along with a wastebasket created with painting tools in Photoshop. A background layer of clouds, photographed by Taylor in Gainesville, enhances the new backdrop in the final image.
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Surrounded
SURROUNDED BEGINS WITH a photograph, probably dating to the early twentieth century. The photograph is scanned and retouched, then Taylor adjusts the global tonal levels using Photoshop curves. Taylor gives color to skin and clothing, adds mice and shadows, and experiments with a spotlight effect created on an adjustment layer with a mask. In Figure 6, Taylor auditions (and later abandons) a bold backdrop and baseboard. In the final image, the figure is placed in a landscape made from photos Taylor took of grass in her backyard and trees on the horizon.
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Girl with a bee dress
GIRL WITH A BEE DRESS BEGINS with a photograph Taylor took of herself, to which she added a mottled texture for an aged quality. Next, she adds the head of a girl, taken from a nineteenth century photograph. Taylor scans six of the carpenter bees that collect in the windowsills of her studio into her computer. She copies and transforms them, creating the illusion of a dress-shaped swarm. A background photograph taken in an Irish bog is added. Final steps involve considering a necklace, replacing the flower, and adjusting the colors.
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