This is my final piece selection. I have chosen to use an image from each of the dreams I researched. I have overlapped two images from each dream together to create the effect of the dreams repeating and overlapping as we sleep. Each of these photographs will be printed onto transfer paper and then presented onto white pillows, to suggest that when we sleep our dreams are left where we lay. For each of my final photographs I wanted an aspect of each photographer I researched in the beginning of my project to be throughout the images. Therefore, I used some of the elements and techniques from each photographer and incorporated them with my own ideas about what I wanted my final outcome to be and made the images my own through the development of my project.
'Lost'
The first photograph is the a representation of the 'lost' dream. For this photo shoot I was inspired by the work of Annica who I researched as part of my project. I developed from the photographs I took in response to her work and adapted her technique of incorporating wilderness and nature into photography. I did this by the choice of location; a forest, which links in with the title of the dream being 'lost'. Within Annicas work she makes the colour composition stand out and so I adapted this idea into my own photography with the way the trees and the sky meet as well as the colours from the model. I wanted the trees to still be lighter at the top after I overlapped the two images and so I chose two images that were from the same angle and overlapped them which intensified the brightness in the top portion of the image.
I also wanted the subject at the bottom to be back to back as if the dreams were going in different directions. I post edited the image making the opacity of one lower than the other to create the effect of being able to see both images in one. I chose these two images as the one on the right illustrates the theme of being lost as she has her arm out which is symbolic of someone looking around a new place or a place they don't recognise.The person on the left has her arm slightly raised, illustrating that they are somewhat afraid and unsure of their surroundings.
'Unfamiliar Environments'
The second photograph is from the dream of being put in unfamiliar environments. As I took the images with a slow shutter speed they were already slightly blurred, therefore I didn't want the person in the foreground of each image to be too distorted that you wouldn't be able to see them. I was inspired by the work of Paul Schneggenburger who I researched as part of my project. He uses a slow shutter speed and a long exposure to create blurred images as someone moves in front of the camera. He did this over a six hour period of people's sleeping cycle. To adopt this into my own photography, I chose to associate the blurred effect with a dream, in that when we dream everything often gets merged and blurred into one faded and unclear image. I chose to adapt his use of technique into my own work to develop these photographs into more dynamic and unique ways of portraying dreams. I developed the technique I used to create the first responses to Paul Schneggenburger and applied them to my final photographs.
To accomplish a clear image whilst still developing the idea of having merged the photographs I put the bigger image of the model over the top of the smaller one and then altered the opacity, this meant that you can still see both people and it offers the illusion that the person dreaming has dreamt this dream before and their dreams are layering as they sleep. In my opinion these images illustrate the dream of unfamiliar environments as they are shot in an uncommon backdrop which is usually not meant for public access. Furthermore, it's not a usual place for people to go in reality, so when presented in a dream can seem unfamiliar and unrecognisable.
'Death'
The third photograph of my final piece comes from the dream of death. I chose one image from on top of an abandoned bridge and the other was looking down on the subject from above whilst he lay on some old railway sleepers. I chose these two images to illustrate the dream of death as the location suggests the feeling of being completely alone and in an area you shouldn't be,further enhanced by the abandonment of the surroundings, almost as if he had been left to die. I also emphasised the theme of the dream by desaturating the images to appear slightly more grey; this presents the image as being lifeless and limp. The leading lines in the first layer of the image contrasts with the depth of the darkness in the second image and further implies the dream title. Furthermore, the way the head of the model is at the top of the image ,where the end of the bridge meets the sky in the image below ,suggests the idea of life leaving him, and his body being left where it was put. This image wasn't inspired by any photographer in particular, but a result of all the photographers I researched combined and also my own ideas of what I wanted my final outcome to look like. I developed this set of photographs using different aspects of each photographer that I researched within this project and thought of the idea from there.
'Flying'
The fourth photograph is a representation of the flying dream. I chose to layer these two images as they continue on from each other and show the stages of the flying dream. The eye is drawn to the lower image and because of her face looking toward the sky it draws the eye up to the top image which presents the final stage of the flying dream. I wanted the background of both images to be the same as it would then appear more realistic when layered on top of each other. Furthermore, I chose a darker background for the bottom half of the image and the top portion of the image is much brighter which enhances the idea that the model is up in the clouds and out of reach of reality, which is often how our dreams present themselves, unrealistically and in unlikely circumstances. I also desaturated this image so that it wouldn't appear as colourful and vibrant as I wanted there to be a theme throughout each separate photograph within my final piece. That of being slightly more dull to symbolise the fact that they are dreams and not reality, where nothing is desaturated and everything is in full colour. This photograph is inspired by the work of Maia Flore who is one of the photographers I researched as she does a lot of sleep illusions and elevations. I developed upon the initial responses I did from her work in order for them to be part of my final piece, as I wanted to show the different techniques used within sleep photography to illustrate the varying ways of portraying sleep.
'Distorted Familiarity'
The fifth dream is the dream of distorted familiarity. I chose these two images as they flow into each other to appear as if the subject is turning to look behind her, and exploring the environment she has been put in from the comfort and safety of her bed. I wanted the background of this image to be very contrasting and shadowed against the bright white of the mattress and the bedding. I did this to show the safe place as being more welcoming than the unfamiliar surrounding it is put in. I chose to photograph this shot with the subject looking as though they have just woken up within their dream in this unfamiliar environment, in which they didn't fall asleep.
Furthermore, the way her hands are clutching the pillow emphasises that the bed is her safe place and is the comfortable surroundings rather than the background of shadowed unfamiliarity. In my opinion, this illustrates the title of this dream as it shows that the bed in the familiar element but the positioning of it creates this distorted unfamiliarity.
This photograph is inspired by Robby Cavanbaugh who I researched as part of my project. I developed upon the responses I did to his work to create the images above. I was particularly inspired by the way he creates contrasting and striking imagery with the use of shadows and light which emphasises the focal points of the photograph,giving a dark and mysterious final image.
'Drowning'
The final photograph of my final piece is symbolic of the drowning dream. I took these photos in a bath which I dyed the water of, dark blue to represent the vastness of deep water. The drowning dream often presents itself in open water and so to replicate this in my own work I chose to shoot this photograph in dark water, which enhances the feeling of being alone and out of control. I wanted the model to appear to be asleep in this image to further implies that it is a dream, and almost as if the viewer is watching someone's dream whilst they are still asleep. The layering of this image suggest that our dreams often overlap and reoccur in different nights sleep, but with the same 'story line'.
The composition of this image creates the illusion that there is deep, water all around the subject and the positioning of the layered photos makes the right side of the image much lighter and the rest of the image contrast with the shadows of the water. This allows the layered images to flow into one another and make it seem like the image on the right is fading into the image in the centre of the composition and pushing it down into the vast water .
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