Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Photo Studio Day 4

Like life, the experiment with wax and water did not go as I expected it. But, thats not exactly a bad thing. I was able to create some interesting, abstract images. I am still trying to find myself when it comes to abstract photography, but a really neat technique is to play with symmetry. Take a photo, duplicate it, reverse it and put it next to one another. The Rorschach images you get really start playing with your head as your mind starts to matrix meaning from the chaos.













The final phase of the floor has begun. Now I am waiting for the gloss to try. Tomorrow I hope to build a rotating pulley system for the black curtains. I would also like to put up some photos from the 51-Word Challenge of Doom.

Did you remember to smile today?

Serg

33 comments:

Aquaryan said...

Hey, Serg! The video blogs are interesting to watch. I think the aquarium needs more fish, not wax. hehehe.

Yeah, my immediate thought was a pirate ship. hehehe.

Anonymous said...

Hey Serg, do we count that as an anti climax to what we were all expecting? LOL

I thought it looked more like a viking ship or maybe a dragon that fell off a fourty story building.
WEEEEEEEEEEEE SPLAT!

Yeah, I don't know how a winged creature can do that, but they can now. LOL

Ash.

Anonymous said...

lin sez.....
The only reason I have to smile on this very very early COLD day is your video blog...what a cool experiment! Didn't think it would go boom boom as Debs has, in the past at a party, poured wax from a candle and made some cool shapes...though, uh, I cannot remember (ummmmm) if she used cold water...
ANYWAYS, the shape photography was very cool. Don't work too hard today, although we know you want to get it all done.
Eat chocolate not candle wax...

Anonymous said...

It was at least easy to start this brutally cold day with a smile,b/c your failed experiement made me smile...and chuckle a bit. Didn't you hear me coaching you? LOL! Colder water, more wax--alot more wax--and it has to be even hotter. Who...me....trying to make things explode??

The photos you got are very interesting, I love the texture!!

Debs

mattS said...

hey there Serg!

hahaha thats sweet! I just may have to bring that old fish tank down from the attic. Those pics are too cool. They remind me of those images where you have to use your imagination and share what you see in them. Those are fun! In the last one I see a little man, up at the top of the image,sitting and praying or meditating with these two giant halos around him. interesting. Thats a very cool experiment, thanks for sharing. Have a good day!

Matt

Laura Pirro said...

Wow. That was...funny very funny! Who do you get these ideas from? I do like the pictures, they remind me of the inside of a cave.

Have fun on the floor. Wait..

Anonymous said...

Haha! You looked so disappointed.. that was awesome. Those photos turned out awesome though! :)

Anonymous said...

Those photo's are amazing!!Im so into the whole abstract art thing anyways. oh and thanks for the tips on the subject.
I have no doubt that you are gonna make it big in the photography feild.
Im really enjoying your work so far. Not only your photo's ,but your blog also..
anyways hope to read ya later.
Emmy

Anonymous said...

Ohhh man Serg. lol
BOOM.
Rofl. That was great. Sooo great. Nice try at making your own explosion, it definitely woke me up. That and the, Need more wax. I'm still laughing.
As usual the photos are amazing, and so unique. I love them. Have fun playing with more wax, and don't break the fish tank or that'll be one hell of a mess to clean up. lol

InaMarie said...

ok so i got an ingenious (cant spell) idea for that do the same thing but instead of a fish tank you a bowl clear glass bowl and have 3 medium sized candles and 2 cups of hot wax (keep the wax hot while u are preparing) poor the 2 cups of wax in the bowl of water and let it harden. make some kind of stand where the bottom is opened and put the three candles under the bowl and light them then some crazy images should appear and great photo op.....

anyway good try love the pics the last one is a little on the creepy side i seee somekind of being arms and a face CREEPY!!!!!!!!!!

have you smiled today?.... as sson as i saw that i burst out laughing for some reason

any way have a great day and please get back to me about penn state and foriegn affairs program

ncchapman said...

I think that these are my favorite photographs of yours! I'm really into abstraction. The 4th one is Georgia O'Keefe-ish, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, that was a cool experiment. I think I'm going to try it. Where were your glasses? You should always wear those when your being sciency.

Anyways, keep up the awesome work. You're amazing.

Anonymous said...

it looked like a pirate ship to me, serg!...hahaha.. too funny... your 'boom' had me almost fall out of my chair.. where do you come up with this stuff?...too damn funny.. keep them coming no matter what.. hopefully the studio comes along the way you want it, too..

Misswright said...

Sergey,

I was really hoping for a huge explosion, but I enjoyed watching the "experiment"... I must say I like the Red-ish oven-mit you had there! As always, I pictures are amazing!

Did I smile today? Hum... Well considering I was driving with a flat tire and needed a tow.... Today hasn't been all that bad -just long, so I will be sure to smile! :)

Erin said...

I really liked the pictures. They look so cool!

Your video was so funny. I thought that the wax sorta looked like a polar bear...only upside down. It made my day. I made me smile today.

Randi said...

I never heard pouring hot wax into water would explode but I also haven't heard a lot of things...maybe instead of just melting the wax down to a hot liquid, try bringing it close to a boil. Still be careful so you don't get burned but maybe with the wax a little looser you could get some different shapes. Just a thought!

Anonymous said...

Nice oven mitts Sergey. Safety first! :D

You know, I have a chunk of ice on my car thats the same shape as that if you want to pics of that instead. bahaha.

Jessica said...

Serg you crack me up!! You are always such a positive person it's addictive!

Anonymous said...

The photos you posted are amazing--my favorite is the third one. I have this weird thing about symmetry.

So what happens when you're studio is done? Do the video blogs stop coming everyday? Hope not.

Have a BEAUTIFUL day, and make sure to smile yourself :)

Stephanie

Esther said...

HA! The first dollop of wax was cute, made me smirk. But the second dump of wax slapped a stupid grin on my face! It was just a great big ol' ka-thunk. Hehe. You need more wax. I thought it looked like big "W"... I'm such a sesame street child.

And Sergy, your abstract photo's are wonderful! Hope you find your own groove soon, cause I like the direction you're going! How about some non-manipulated/untouched photo's? I'd love to see them!
Hmm-- There is meaning in chaos. That's why I like abstract art so much.. there's beauty in the broken.

pagan.goddess said...

Hi:)
um this might sound dumb but why did it seem like you were waiting for it to explode or something? I think I missed something lol... I personally love to play with candle wax like this! Its fun because you never end up with the same thing twice;)
and yes I did remember to smile today:) Did you??
Cheers
Chantelle-Marie oxox

Unknown said...

This is what happens when you mix boredom and a video camera. Very funny results.

Anonymous said...

hahaha that reaction was priceless. you actually have to ignite the wax before you dump it in to create an explosion. I don't think it'll work if it's just melted. When the fire/wax hits the water, the water it's hitting on the surface turns to vapor and kinda splashes outward and the oxygen ignites in a little mini explosion. At least, I think it's mini. I'd be careful though, lol....

Anonymous said...

Oh, you are too cute Serge! Not only did you make me smile= I was cracking UP for a while, watching you play with that wax! LOL! HA HA! You're TOO funny! Made my day= Thanks!

PS: try a deeper (with more water, so it doesn't crack up/off the bottom) & wider water container next time, give it more room to spread out + easier to pull/take out. Also try pouring it out slower=gives you little more control over the design.
;-}

silentxcollapse said...

I really love the texture of these pictures.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great laught. That was such a great idea with the wax. Yes it really does mess with your mind. Also, the photos were amazing. You have a great eye for taking photos. P.S. Nice to see someone can keep it real. :)

Dev said...

I remembered to smile and laugh after watching your video blogs. Thank you because I needed that :) Plus, it was good to see that Xander still has both ears, and if no one else said it on the other blog, may I say now that Xander is a hell of a dancer. BTW, I love your photography. I've been a silent blog stalker and checking them out, so I thought it was time to tell you that you do good work and I always look forward to seeing the new stuff you do

Anonymous said...

That is a really neat idea. I like the third and fourth photos best. They make me think of stalactites. I do have to say, though, that the look on your face when you made that first drop of wax made me laugh a little.

What kind of camera do you use, if you don't mine me asking.

Anonymous said...

I must say if my father were still here he'd be really excited and proud of your interesting use of experimenting for photography. He taught me everything I needed to learn about photography (before I majored in it). But he was also a science geek and well there were many experiments like yours done in our backyard when I was a kid and the first thing out of his mouth would be "don't tell your mother"...LOL! And she would come home and there would be burn marks in the grass or a home made rocket sticking out of a hole in the side of the barn it made when it decided not to go straight up into the air. :)

But being serious....I love photos 1 and 2. There's just something about them...

Anonymous said...

Wicked photos. Wow I leave for two days and Ive missed so much on your blog. lol.

What brought the idea to put wax into water? lol.

Anonymous said...

Nice work!

But...if you really DO want an 'explosion' from a candle, accidentally knock a glass of water towards an open candle flame with lots of melted wax. Unintended, I have first hand knowledge of this.

And...be careful with that Sawz-All. It's right in the name...
As a carpenter, I really like mine. Comes in handy all the time!

Anonymous said...

Those are some phenomenal abstract photographs Serg!
really cool.

Anonymous said...

I like the abstracts you created with the wax and the water.

One thing I'd try is adding some food coloring to the wax to get some interesting colors. Over saturate them in post-processing.

You could also do a high noise reduction on the image to give it more of a smooth plastic like texture.

Just a thought.

-Jesse

Anonymous said...

Hey, I know this is an older blog post, but I just read it, and just in case you were interested in trying to redo this experiment with a slower hardening time, try warmish/hot water.
But I really loved the explosion! Very climactic!!