Scratched it myself ;-) - 2

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Greetings. I really got a kick out of producing my previous post Scratched it myself ;-), largely because I've never really developed any drawing skills (I marvel at my daughter's drawings). So, while attributing the outcome to the technique rather than any skill on my part, I thought maybe the last one was a fluke. So, I decided to try the technique on another image, a different kind of image to see how it would come out. What you see is the result on a landscape photograph of a Andy Goldsworthy construction (Andy Goldsworthy is a great artist who constructs his art only from available natural materials - rocks, leaves, sticks, mud, even ice. I got to see some of his work on my trip to France this summer).

One cool thing (for me at least) is that I think the technique exploits some part of the photographic eye and perhaps over time might be a tool, might help the photographic eye. My original approach was to draw lines about all high contrast "lines" in the image. I found myself summarizing groups of lines in areas with a few strokes and, perhaps, adjusting the concept of contrast in other areas to balance the resulting line drawing. It's this last bit that I think might express some of the photographic eye for composition.

And an even quicker sketch might be useful in analyzing a photographic composition. I was quite surprised with this current image how the 3D perspective elements in the original photograph still were apparent, even with the sparse lines.

Anyway, just some thoughts... Oh and a big thanks to Kerry for the scratch theme...

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Cheryl Slechta]

Michael, I like this one too. I like the 3D effect and the fact that you can convey so much with so few lines. I think it is a technique that could apply to a lot of what we do as photographers..
Thanks for sharing with us:S3:

[Cindy Cone]

I really like your work on this technique, Michael, and do agree with your thoughts that it might be a good tool for photographers. Thanks for sharing and explaining your process.

[Christopher Miller]

Very interesting and unique technique, Michael. So much can be conveyed by so little. Kind of the same way an artist can do a quick sketch capturing the essentials of a subject and then create a full blown drawing or painting out of it.

[Anita Bower]

I think you are on to something with this style. I like it a lot.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Cheryl, Cindy, Christopher, Anita,

Thanks much for the comments. I tried one on a photo of my daughter dancing in ballet... while the body came out well, er, the face... as my daughter says, "Scary". ;-)...

Cheers,

-Michael-