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more news from the small world
#1

This is not a complete series yet, but at least I managed to find a few more of these figurines in another city last weekend. Among them a couple of goats, and two punting boat fisher men.

I love how the proportions are wrong, which reminds me of the German kids' TV series
"Sendung mit der Maus", in which the mouse is much bigger than his friend the elephant.

[Image: maus2.jpg]

So here are some of mine from today, if you have any ideas for where to take this, they are very welcome.
you see I am still using the red background, I find nothing per se wrong with it but also haven't found an alternative yet.
i have briefly considered monaging these guys into landscape shots... don't know if that would work.


[Image: _MG_2008-Edit.jpg]
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[Image: _MG_2016-Edit.jpg]
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[Image: _MG_2038-Edit.jpg]
3

[Image: _MG_2088-Edit.jpg]
4


And here is one of one of the fisher men on my desk, so you get an idea how small they are!

[Image: _MG_2094-Edit.jpg]


Actually, my friend in Germany helped me to paste prints of the "Going to work" series
onto pages with subtitles and bind them with a title page. Unfortunatly I didn't get to see the
booklet, but it also went into one of my applications that my friend submitted for me in Germany.

Greetings to all !


Uli
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#2

[Image: 61__MG_2008-Edit.jpg]

Background..sort of green at top and blue at bottom and a bit of blue and white for sky.
Then a little bit of motion blur and some desaturation.
There were boats? like this in Guilin made from long bent bamboo poles.

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
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#3

nice job NT!

how did you do it?

Uli
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#4

Oblong selection over top half of pic. Then removed the figure with the magicwand tool. Air brushed selection green. and added sky with airbrush and blue and white.
Deselect.
Same sort of thing for bottom half and airbrushed blue.
Deselected added white, blue and red bits for houses Rolleyes dark blue lines for ripples.
And then a little bit of motion blur, and a bit of desaturation. Voila. Smile
About 5 minutes total. But you could select the figure, and copy the selection, and then draw, or use any B/G and paste the figure on top. Or layers of figure and background.

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
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#5

Uli, I really enjoy these photos, and am looking forward to seeing what you create with them. Creating a narrative takes a lot of creativity, but something tells me that you'll have no problem with it.

NT, I like your addition of the background, and the cartoonish look really compliments the little figures. It feels 'just right', and adds a lot of storytelling options. Great idea.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#6

How cute! I loved looking at these...
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#7

I too like nt's stylized background and think that simplicity would work best, nothing too detailed but suggestive.
I'm trying to think what sort of format/audience...
...child's story or "moral" tale..?
...or, how about a small series of "life observations", through the philosophical ideas of the boatman: and why not give him a pet goat? Sufficiently surreal to have a ring of attractive "comment" on the boatman's thoughts. I'm thinking along the lines of the goat being the one who shares in the Dramatic Irony: the boatman gives an opinion or observation on life...the goat , via a "thought bubble" gives his opinion on the boatman's. The scenario being, the goat always addresses US, and is mildly but patiently long-suffering towards his human companion. The boatman believes he himself is wise...but WE know the goat is the wise one, though the boatman is unaware of the goat's sentient awareness. It is through the goat, then, rather than through the boatman, that "we" are enlightened.
This also plays with the idea of boatman as "type": the play on Charon(the ferryman who takes souls of the dead across the River Styx)...or on the idea of the river being like wisdom and cyclical life, toying also with the ideas in Herman Hesse's Siddartha.
Actually, I wish I'd thought of this whole thing!
The format would be like a 3 or 4 box cartooon, the perceived timespan would only be seconds between start and finish...sort of like one gets in newspaper cartoons that make political comment...only in this case, it plays with "musings on life and the passing/meaning of life".
The goat is the one who "reveals" the truth, or who brings down the boatman's musings to small and earthy size...
Those are my immediate thoughts anyway....!

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
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#8

Another great series Uli....
I like very much to see how this proyect is growing up... Smile

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
Paul Cezanne
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#9

Zig you are wonderful, I like your little stream of conciousness!
I was definitely thinking not just children, I do want to try a little story, but haven't thought as deeply
as you have. I think I am more concerned transporting little details of Chinese culture into my story.

did I tell you that the first one, Shang Ban, was pasted on cardboard and ring-bound to make a small booklet?
My friend did this in Germany and unfortunately I had no chance to see it, but I think it will look realy nice and simple.

Uli
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#10

Is there any chance to get a booklet for you?
I could try, if I knew where to get it...

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
Paul Cezanne
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#11

If you have a printer, then you could make a booklet from double sided photo paper or thin card.
Get the students to sew it together. Mmmh, Silk binding. Tongue

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
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#12

I actually do hope to go printing things with someone next week. I want to print some of my pics from Wannan (the walls and stuff) on Chinese "xuan" paper, which they also use for calligraphy.

I might take some of these along and make them into a roll? (I mean a rolled up picture, not bread....)

but so far we have been postponing the printing for several times due to busy schedules. I hope it still materializes before I fly back!
Thanks Irma, I will be back so soon. I can buy nice little diary sort of books here, bought a couple already, maybe I will get some more.

Uli
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#13

My wife's father, was an art teacher at a large college. He had no time either, but he always managed about 15 weeks a year for holidays. Rolleyes Big Grin

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
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