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In Between Awake And Asleep



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A self portrait from my Enchanted Sleep series on living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-myalgic encephalomyelitis.

A self portrait from my Enchanted Sleep series on living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-myalgic encephalomyelitis.
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Awards

Contest Finalist in Get Inside Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Indoors Photo Contest
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52 Comments | Report
reiswigPHOTO
 
reiswigPHOTO September 02, 2012
i like this concept, nicely done
peman123
 
peman123 September 02, 2012
its a real pic? how u take this pic kindly explain
xavierw Platinum
 
xavierw September 08, 2012
Very nice. Voted
desertpagan
 
desertpagan October 12, 2012
A fantastic shot!
bernieyoung
 
bernieyoung October 12, 2012
Amazing!
Issy-Lees-Photography
 
Issy-Lees-Photography October 12, 2012
great execution
frankjrosetti
 
frankjrosetti November 26, 2012
unique!
gyps76
 
gyps76 November 27, 2012
awesome
christadickson
 
christadickson December 19, 2012
Gorgeous, this is fantastic! How did you actually make her appear to be floating above the bed?
EmilyJohnstonDesigns
 
EmilyJohnstonDesigns January 08, 2013
Beautiful idea and execution.
jleiweke
 
jleiweke February 27, 2013
Congrats!
geeuy
 
geeuy February 27, 2013
congrats!
Redjule Platinum
 
Redjule February 27, 2013
Nice, congrats on feature.
JDJohnson
 
JDJohnson February 27, 2013
very nice, done well....congrats
javluc
 
javluc February 27, 2013
beautiful work
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta February 27, 2013
Fabulous artistic image. Congratulations on being featured.
melissa3339
 
melissa3339 February 27, 2013
Very nice! Congrats!
catini
 
catini February 27, 2013
Very creative, congrats on your feature!
Rosemaryswan
 
Rosemaryswan February 27, 2013
Beautiful. Congrats on the feature.
believeit2receiveit
 
believeit2receiveit February 27, 2013
Congrats on Feature! Nicely done!
Amiqdadi
 
Amiqdadi February 27, 2013
congrats...very nice shot
tetvet PRO+
 
tetvet February 27, 2013
nice shot, congrats
iceman2
 
iceman2 February 27, 2013
Congrats!
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 February 27, 2013
Well done! Congrats!
Carli
 
Carli February 27, 2013
lovely portrait! congrats :D
trista7510 Ultimate
 
trista7510 February 27, 2013
Beautiful photo, very creative. congratulations.
lisawiza
 
lisawiza February 27, 2013
New follower...totally relate to this image well done..
Coomanator
 
Coomanator February 27, 2013
Congratulations on the "Feature". Your work is amazing.
Jewel
 
Jewel February 27, 2013
Cool photo! Congratulations on your feature!
sunsetnurveins
 
sunsetnurveins February 27, 2013
wow stuble and strong at the same time excellant job
GJUNIORPHOTOGRAPHY
 
GJUNIORPHOTOGRAPHY February 27, 2013
congrats
GJUNIORPHOTOGRAPHY
 
GJUNIORPHOTOGRAPHY February 27, 2013
congrats.
bbk
 
bbk February 27, 2013
Terrific idea and choice of pose.Great job of editing.Well done!!!!!!!
cline_photography
 
cline_photography February 27, 2013
i love it!
Reza
 
Reza February 27, 2013
Wonderful!
mailsmc
 
mailsmc February 27, 2013
Great shot, congrats on your feature!
safirahishami
 
safirahishami February 27, 2013
awessome! congrats :))
snowdon PRO
 
snowdon February 28, 2013
Great image. Congratulations on your featured win
redwriter Platinum
 
redwriter February 28, 2013
Beautiful work. Congrats on your feature. - Jake
tsambaproductions
 
tsambaproductions March 01, 2013
congrats
snowdon PRO
 
snowdon March 02, 2013
Great work, well done.
jesusfreak3520
 
jesusfreak3520 March 05, 2013
Great moody shot! Congrats on the feature!
RihoR
 
RihoR March 09, 2013
One of my favourite photos I've seen on this site.
ronzaccardi
 
ronzaccardi March 31, 2013
great concept
Krishna_Kumar
 
Krishna_Kumar May 14, 2013
great shot.. i was gonna ask you how you did it, but saw you already explained it below :) .. congrats!
Timbo
 
Timbo June 21, 2013
Nice effect
Jonocon
 
Jonocon July 21, 2013
Nice
IsabellaD Premium
 
IsabellaD January 30, 2015
Awesome work, hope it wins, voted!!
harveyjewett
 
harveyjewett May 18, 2015
Stunning!
snowdon PRO
 
snowdon November 04, 2015
Congratulations on your Finalist Win in the Get Inside contest .. Great image
Infocuz
 
Infocuz May 19, 2016
I adore this pose. I feel that this image could use a bit of sharpening. But I wouldn't be suprised if this was the look you were going for. Exceptional well done either way.
StephenLittlePhotography
 
StephenLittlePhotography March 07, 2017
Wow
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this shot in the bedroom of a duplex I used to live in. A new mattress had just been delivered and I wanted to take advantage of having the "blank canvas" of a mostly unmade bed. My every-day sheets have a strong pattern to them which I felt would be distracting in this image.

Time

I believe this was late afternoon, after the mattress movers left but before I had to star making dinner!

Lighting

I used a couple of hot lights that belonged to my husband in addition to turning on the overhead light of the bedroom. The overhead light had little glass shades on all its bulbs which is what is casting those angular shadows and bits of light on the walls.

Equipment

This was taken with my previous camera, a Nikon D40. Since this was a self portrait, I set the camera on a tripod and used a remote trigger release. I also used a large cardboard box to prop myself up on which I edited out in post :)

Inspiration

I had been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or fibromyalgia, not too long before I took this image. One of the symptoms of M.E. that is worst for me is the constant exhaustion; it's similar to kind of tired you feel when you have the flu. A great deal of life was (and still is) spent in bed, and I wanted to capture the feeling of being trapped between - trapped between being fully awake or asleep, as well as being in and out of bed.

Editing

I used standard levitation techniques for this. I shot an image of the blank background without me in it, then I took several frames of me balanced on a cardboard box. Blending the two images together gives the look of the subject floating effortlessly. I also played with the colors quite a bit in post, giving in the dreamy, slightly unreal tint it has. Numerous washes of colored layers helped add to the dreaminess, as well as adding a bit of a vignette.

In my camera bag

These days I usually shoot with a Nikon D5100, and I still use my old 35-70mm kit lens when I need it. I more often use my 50mm 1.8 lens, but especially in cramped settings, like inside a house, I break out the 35-70mm lens. I always keep several inexpensive remote releases, since they get lost easily. A lightweight, collapsible tripod is also a must for self portraits!

Feedback

I find that when I channel my personal difficulties and frustrations into photos, not only does it make the resulting image more powerful, it helps me work through whatever emotions I'm feeling. Art therapy is extremely effective! Next time you find yourself angry, sad or frustrated, see if you can find a way to portray what you're feeling visually and vent all your emotions into your photo! Your feeling doesn't have to be shown literally, or be immediately obvious to a viewer, but adding in that extra sprinkling of personal importance will strengthen your image!

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