I taught a drawing class last semester at American River College and rediscovered my love for drawing. Picking up a pencil was the first thing I did when I was very young, even before picking up a camera. I found this photograph from a photography magazine from the 80’s I had cut from a page. It was one that I really loved so I thought why not draw it. It was done with a graphite pencil and graphite wash (which is powdered graphite thinned with paint thinner and painted with a brush).
My newest sculpture was created faster because of experience gained over the past few years. John Deer took about 6 months to complete. Carved from bass wood with some polymer and acrylic paint. Realistic human skulls tend to present a menacing presence so I thought I would add a humorous tone to this one. Even the cryptic message I wrote on the back of the skull in Latin was tongue-in-cheek. I hope that this doesn’t mean that my work will be taken lightly because I am very serious about what I create. Soon I will be retiring from teaching college and working full-time on my sculpture.
Took my photography class to Ansel Hoffman Park Sunday and had a great photography session with Linda Alvarez and her horse Shilo. We tried out our new ProFoto lights and they worked great.
Ansel Hoffman Park is beautiful this time of year and the American River is running very high.
Photo illustration begins with a promising photograph and ends with an intensely edited image. I began this image with a model and two candles for lighting and ended hours later with what I feel is a finished piece. I call this image ‘Gypsy Queen’. Photoshop is the program used for compositing and editing. At what point does a photograph become an illustration? I think when you usually edit a photograph it takes a few minutes up to an hour depending on the project and when you spend hours or even days (like this project) then the photograph becomes something more.
Another in my series of photographs of things I’ve collected and put in my study at home. Small candle placed behind the central subject and another slightly bigger candle in the front camera left. ISO 125, F18, 25 seconds.
I thought I would have a little fun again. Here the gods and goddesses are critiquing the ‘Woman of Willendorf” sculpture.
By now you know my general camera settings for my series so I’ll talk a little about the thought behind the image. Black and white photography tends to be overwhelmingly serious so I thought I would inject a little humor. Here we have Underdog explaining the nature of man to Mr. Natural and Yoda. I also snuck in an old self portrait underneath the picture of Einstein.
Candle light ISO 125, 1/20th of a second at f8. Black and white conversion in Photoshop with natural colors added back in.
Another photo in my series taken with candle light. One candle camera left positioned low as a key light. Second candle camera right positioned higher to cast shadow against the wall. The candle light really messed with the white point setting so I manually moved it to 2200k which took it from a red cast to a normal cast, ISO 125, aperture f18, and shutter speed 95 seconds. Oddly enough the slight flickering of the candles had little effect on the lighting.
It’s been a long time since my last post and I am excited and feeling energized about my new direction. Here is the first in a small series of still life photographs taken by candle light. The series is taken in my study where I have some odd things I’ve collected over the years. My wife says it’s like stepping into the Twilight Zone. I submit this for your approval.
My latest creation is a combination of a monkey and a rabbit. It’s carved from pear and bass wood, painted with acrylics, and finished with gold leaf. I’ve been collecting dozens and dozens of masks in Pinterest and this mask is definitely been influenced by them.
Craig Schindler 