photography

Got me a Gimble /  by Tracey Gibbs

So the first few months post university have been interesting and a tad nerve wracking, trying to find oppourtunites with my new found skill sets. By the way I did manage a 1st which was beyond any of my expectations and I am very proud of myself for that one!

Still, I need to try to keep the newly acquired knowledge alive and well, earn money. So my new daily routine now includes searching amongst Art job websites and contacting directors, theatre companies to connect with and hopefully collaborate.

With all things projection in mind my long-time friend and client, the talented James Roberts superstar hairdresser contacted me to help them get there salon projector working properly and create some content featuring the range of work they do along with the rather fabulous Nataya Beauty who operates from the same premises. To get something to test I created a little movie with our 20 odd years of working together on hair shoots for the salon, including some award-winning images for competitions such as the prestigious L’Oreal Colour Trophy. This was a lovely look back over years of collaborations with exceptional makeup artists and stylists we have here in Manchester and some incredible models, some of whom have not been professionals. Also, a chance for me to have a little nostalgic look at past exploits in the realm of analog photography! (yes we go that far back) along with the film I did for him in my second year where I had begun to use the brilliant Sony A7II at Lipa to create content for my projection designs.

So it was back to the salon to film some more content featuring a new inovative colour product from L’oreal .

I had up to this point only filmed hand held with my go to app Filmic Pro, which produces astounding 4k from my iphone , after revisiting their website and looking through some tutorials I knew I had to get a gimble ! just the ability to operate from the unit and experiment with angles etc was too enticing but on a very tight post university budget where to find one? I love e-bay !! previously to film Phaedra as part of the Love of the Nightingale production at LIPA I had sourced a great bit of kit a Moondog anamorphic lens for a great price, now to the gimble.

https://www.filmicpro.com/

https://moondoglabs.com/

And boom result! got me my very own ZHIYUN SMOOTH 4 for a fraction of the price and in mint condition. So having spent the weekend playing and getting to grips with the controls, I headed back to the salon for a morning of filming.

Had a blast with it and learned lots more about approaching shoots with the iPhone, I am on the lookout for a cheeky second hand Sony but until the right one at the right price comes along this is a good answer to getting the footage I need. Also now waiting on some little bids back on my friend e-bay for a portrait lens addition to my iPhone camera set up.

The results are as I type been projected onto a wall here :)

http://www.jamesrobertshairandbeauty.co.uk/

and on the Instagram account here

https://www.instagram.com/jrhairandbeauty/

discovering a new technique for photo montage for projection /  by Tracey Gibbs

In my second year studying at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts we had a day working with amongst other things, artist Gavin Mitchell who’s work I found completely brilliant and so interesting. He blends the old and the new with a delicate humour and wryness which turns a multitude of found images into a new fabulous creation. OK you can see I liked it lol so much so I now am the lucky owner of one of his works a present for graduating from the Mr Gibbs.

Find his work here

https://gavinmitchell.net/

So back to the workshop and looking at projection and content creation, we had been asked to bring some imagery to play with , well with a career and study of photography going back a wee while ! I have in fact a huge plan chest filled with remnants of my early days from college through to the last commercial film shoot I did back in the 90’s! So I grabbed some that I thought looked interesting with a thought that some of my cohort may not have access to stuff as living in halls.

He also arrived with a wealth of stuff from old movie’s on film, trailers for films and a massive collection of old slides sourced from car-boots and many a bric a brac find both here in the UK and on his travels. Looking at overlaying them to create images with stories or indeed oddities .

At first I was tentative, as any photographer will tell you the thought of chopping up transparencies is well? just not done ! fact. The first three were combining some footage and stills from Gavin with some images I took for a property developer of the Manchester Tobacco Factory both before and after. Shot on a magic film called polarpan where you actually processed it yourself? I know ! the resulting images were a strong contrasting black and white . Exceptionally fragile and at times not a guaranteed outcome, we were edgy in the 90’s lol

still available to buy (must dig my processor out ) from one of my favourite places full of interesting photographic and video finds

https://www.profilmdirect.co.uk/polaroid-35mm-auto-process--slide-mounter-slide-mounts-polapan-and-polachrome-1521-p.asp

The shots gave me some great graphic windows with which to play with, placing behind them almost giants of humans going about their business.

Series Windows

I was loving this with the possibilities for projection work for bands or theatre work opening up my mind and making me braver, with a gentle nudge from Gavin I did it !

Using some outtakes from one of my earliest test shoots whilst working as a full time assistant at Avalon in Manchester and clips from processing of some really interesting branches in oil from a collaboration with a young artist who’s name along with the model has long been forgotten (research underway) I began to snip the larger medium format images and recreate as 35mm slides!

Girl in the Wood series

So new from old,I am now in the process of multiple layering of images to create new content for projection . Then scanning them in on my Flextight Precision II another part of my transition from analogue to digital as a photographer , yes you could do it in photoshop but how much more fun is it to be hands on and make something.

Geek Chic with James Roberts Hair & Beauty /  by Tracey Gibbs

So here is a little bit of info on me, I am a Leo Virgo cusp go figure!

What relevance does this have on this blog you ask?

Well I am more a Leo, that for some holds the trait of being very up there when it comes to their hair. Yes guilty as charged, maintaining my mane is a big one. Added to the desire to feel good and have a personal style I am and have been a dedicated glasses wearer for a good 20 years. Over that time I have seen the glass design and fashion revolution, gone are the days of boring dull frames. New materials, great designers all come together to make glass wearing not only fashionable but also a real style statement.

So back to photography, I have worked with James for, well we did work it out eek! This year will be near 20 years!

Over this fab time we have created some competition winning images for Wella Trendvision and L’Oreal Colour Trophy and collections for his Manchester Salon.

With spring in the air we began to plan the next shoot for this years L’Oreal Colour trophy and the salon. Sitting with James and Hannah the idea to include and indeed celebrate the fashion of glasses was born.

With a combination of models and clients for the shoot the geek chic idea came to life in the salon a week later. We covered each style with and without glasses, I of course am biased and lean towards the ones with frames .

Also featured for the boys was the man bun, something a little different. I like this little feature from men’s magazine GQ about them

http://www.gq.com/story/am-i-man-enough-for-a-man-bun

We decided to keep the boys palette in the greys but I wanted to create a layered feeling in the lighting. This was done using a lightbox above camera angled acutely up, creating the zoned drop off I wanted.

They are through to the regionals that will be held in Manchester Monday 11th April so good luck guys, wonder if the model will be wearing glasses?

 

Working with the very creative and talented stylist Kerry Jones

http://www.representedby.me/

One of our finest MUA’s Ruth Manion Palmer

http://www.rmpmakeup.co.uk/

Fab models from

http://www.rmpmakeup.co.uk/

Frames from

http://www.framed-online.com/

James Roberts Hair & Beauty 

http://www.jamesrobertshairandbeauty.co.uk/

Ending with this fun society founded here in Manchester of which I am proud to be a member

https://www.facebook.com/TheSocietyOfTheSpectacles/timelin