hello kat

LiveSurface, where were you during my senior project?

hellokat — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:40:42 +0000

LiveSurface has got to be one of the coolest design resources that I’ve been directed to in recent days. You can purchase an extremely affordable (usually under $30) hi-res Photoshop image template with a pre-masked, embedded 3-D surface. They’ve got everything from NYC style billboards, buses, to spray bottle and coffee packaging. Also, sign-up, get on their update list and you receive a free image.

I heart Moby & Moby hearts students

hellokat — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:11:36 +0000

I’ve been a Moby fan since discovering him in 1996, when I first started getting into music. Recently with the redesign of his website he included a section of film music that is free to download and use for non-commercial and non-profit films, videos and shorts. It’s quick and easy to sign up for, and there are currently 64 tracks to choose from which range from 1 – 6 minutes in length. Find the music here.

I think this is such a great find – it’s inspiring work, and would be great to use for non-profit web or film work. I talked to a film professor at Auburn, Hollie Lavenstein, about the music offerings when I bumped into her at Target – she mentioned that it would be great resource for students because it’s sometimes really hard to find good music for their film projects.

Moby also offers licensing for people wishing to use the music for profit/commercial projects with all money generated being donated to the Humane Society. On his blog, Moby mentioned that such licenses will be affordable.

The White Shoot

hellokat — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:13:17 +0000

Images from the shoot are unedited, straight from the camera unless noted. Camera used was a Nikon D50. During the 13 hour shoot we took over 3000 images. Unfortunately, most of them were wonderful (Jordan really needs to stop being such a good model), which made selecting my favorites very hard. Here are my 28 favorites + 6 grocery store shots I took for fun.

A section of photos we took outside in front of trees at sunset had a fantastic blue hue.

Minor clone stamping was done on 3 spots caused by dirt on the camera lens appearing in the photos with this styling.

These collage-esque photos will inspire my next shoot. I really want to explore this technique further.

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Grocery store | Kroger in Auburn, 1am

The lighting in grocery stores is always bizarre, for anyone interested in pursuing grocery store photography I would note that its very important to pay attention to your light meter/shutter setting and test various settings if that is possible. It’s also necessary to manually focus your shots – because of the odd lighting auto focus features are not always dependable. I’ve found its better to go late at night, there are less people around, and usually employees could care less if you take pictures or not – but I always ask permission.

I love the juxtaposition of Marie Antoinette in this setting. Of course, we had to visit the cakes.

White Shoot | Process and Shoot Setup

hellokat — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:19:31 +0000

My total budget for any shoot I do is usually pretty small – I build a lot of things myself, shop around at yard sales and thrift stores and scavenge through all the things I can’t bear to throw away because I KNOW I’ll find a use for them at some point. I spent around $50 on bought materials, and have been buying for the shoot since January.

Jordan, my photographic muse on so many occasions, endlessly amazes me with her patience (we shot for 13 hours) and ability to take direction beautifully. If you are interested in learning more about Jordan (who just graduated Auburn’s graphic design program with me, visit her website Six Even Design – she is also seeking employment, hint hint).

Jordan Before

The Marie Antoinette inspired wig was hand pieced using raw Corriedale wool and bobby pins. To achieve Marie worthy height of hair, I stuffed the wool form with polyfill stuffing.

We shot the studio work at Biggin Hall on Auburn University’s campus in a painting room. Our backdrop consisted of shower curtains with many layers of twisted and crumpled tracing paper overlaid to add texture.

Unblended makeup. I used goose feathers on Jordan’s eyelashes.

Jordan After. The costume for the shoot was a ballerina costume that I bought at a local yard sale for a quarter.

Inspiration for the White Shoot

hellokat — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:45:34 +0000

About a year ago I read a small article (I believe it was in @issue) about how changing the color of an object alters the way it’s visually interpreted. I was inspired by this article and various other images/illustration to create a photo series that was monochromatic. I enjoyed the implications of the color white and its value in different cultures.

Housewares layout from Pop Life magazine

L’oreal Ad

Collage work by Antigirl

Marie Antoinette

Design Blog

hellokat — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:45:57 +0000

Ah! My first post ever on my first blog ever.

This blog will chronicle my adventures as a designer and interesting design and non-design things that I discover, experience and want to relate to a broader audience.