Richard Mosse, Infra
Richard Mosse, Infra
Last year, when I saw Richard Mosse’s work in Congo, it really got me thinking about what color can do to an art piece. Since the shades of green dominate the nation, he decided to render the opposite by using the Kodak Infrared film for his project, which technically called Aerochrome, is (according to Kodak):
False-color reversal film, high dimensional stability for vegetation surveys, camouflage detection and earth resources.
KODAK AEROCHROME III Infrared Film 1443 (DISCONTINUED) is an infrared-sensitive, false-color reversal film featuring medium resolving power and fine grain.Featuring a 3.9-mil (0.10 mm) ESTAR Base with a gel backing, this film can be processed in modern, continuous-processing machines using Process AR-5. Achieving a negative is easy with Process AN-6 or C-41.
Key Applications: This film is intended for various aerial photographic applications, such as vegetation and forestry surveys, hydrology, and earth resources monitoring where infrared discriminations may yield practical results.
So basically the film will eliminate all the green color with red/pink in the picture, the film was mostly used by the military during World War II, where the military used it to target their enemies.
To me, color correction is more than getting the right exposure and white balance, though those are the most important steps to get a good looking photo. I think each photo has its own personality, which when you’re editing you should make the color fit that personality. For instance, we use blue to refer sadness and darkness; red refers to the intensity and/or violence, etc. However; it doesn’t mean that every photo has to be colorful. Desaturated, mid-tone photos like the two below can be beautiful as well, they remain the background color and contrast flat so that the subject could easily pop out. And with the desaturated color and low contrast look, the photo will be cleaner, which makes it more compelling.
Not all photos are the same, and they shouldn’t be the same, either it’s saturated or mid-tone, there should be a perfect fit for one specific photo, but all of this is the next step to getting the correct color temperature and toning.
Ponte City by Mikhael Subotzky
Alec Soth
Did you see the Richard Mosse exhibit when it was at the Portland Art Museum (or somewhere else)? In addition to the still photos there was this immersive multi-screen video and audio installation shot with that same Aerochrome film and it was MIND BLOWING.
And you are so right, color correction in post (for both video and stills) is a whole art unto itself. I have been working on it for years and only recently completed a few color grades that I was 100% happy with. That stuff is hard, but a lot of fun.
I actually wanted to discuss this a bit in Beth’s class, but we ran out of time. There was one photo where I really played with the curves in Lightroom to bring out details in the shadows that would not normally be visible. As a result, the photo had a bit of a trippy HDR look to it. I was wondering if this was going too far in terms of journalistic ethics and standards. This is the pic, what do (or anybody) think? Too much (for journalism anyway)? I guess it would depend on the journalistic organization.
I did not get a chance to see his exhibition! 🙁 did you? I saw videos of his multi-screen video though, and yea it is SO COOL.
And for the color correction and post editing, to me, it’s fine as long as everything in the picture is still there after editing (not burned or dodged too hard that they don’t look the same as before.)
I remember somebody mentioned that the line is what you can do with the traditional darkroom technique, and this link is a good example of that, as well as the darkroom scene in James Nachtwey’s war photographer documentary.
But according to the World Press Photo, doing too many curves seems against the rule 🙁 I’d like to hear what everybody else think, and here’s a quote from one of the best comments on the WPP controversy last year,
“As this controversy has progressed there have been frequent references to the evolution of photojournalism and documentary photography. The reality is that a found situation is not manipulated by direction or encouragement. A journalistic moment occurs whether a photographer captures it or not. The only evolution that is occurring is in the willingness of some photographers, editors, and contest judges to compromise their standards and our industries ethics.” –Mark Hirsch
Interesting concept! In a way, a white screen can create an ‘impossible image’ too—offering a blank canvas that challenges us to fill in the gaps or interpret it differently, much like how the mind processes abstract visuals. https://whitescreen.vip/