Thousand.Dollar.Bill
IDENTITY II
IDENTITY II
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Nov, 2014Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
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MaurizioPhilippy
January 09, 2015
Thanks for all voters and the nice comments! :) you are awesome dear friends!
MaurizioPhilippy
January 16, 2015
Thanks again for all your votes! Two days left! I'm deeply honored and stunned by this great reception!
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I like to think that this photo was taken in a place right behind my forehead. There seems to be a place I can feel this picture would feel at home in. But obviously the photo could be taken anywhere and it is not really important for its meaning where it was shot (in my private workspace that is :)).Time
I usually shoot at night. It's better for inspiration- and only when I'm alone at home (unless I need another model). The silence around helps me concentrate and brings those gloomy, dreadful visions of the age we live in to life in my works.Lighting
*laughing* I actually used the worst lighting ever: A common light bulb from Ikea! Yeah, I really only focused all the lights I had at my disposal on me as the model and hoped for the best. That's the way I work: "Hands on and hoping for the best."Equipment
I used my Sony Alpha 55 and the kit lens that came with it. Since I needed to take the same picture many time I used a tripod. But the most important equipments I needed were: 1. A huge bill 2. A cheap whiskey 3. A fictional angry cover letter.Inspiration
Well I normally like to let people get their own opinions on what the pictures mean. If they mean anything. Naturally I focus heavily on the combination of photo title and content when it comes to possible interpretations. I was always fascinated with the way some photographers name their works. So for me naming is very important. Thousand.Dollar.Bill is about - well a bill. And we all hate bills, whether we have the money to pay them or not. Bills come to us after we got what we wanted. We already experienced the thing and now its time to pay up. Oftentimes we barely remember if it was really worth it and if they add up - bills I mean- the can destroy a life (like everything connected with the loss of money). See what I mean? Trying to explain things takes away the magic of it. The mystery it is to the unknowing spectator. Therefore I can only proclaim this: What you see here is the postmodern (wo-)man. I really try to get to a point at which I can tell you what I mean by that. For me this picture just shows the postmodern man. But who he is? I can't tell. Maybe you can.Editing
Obviously I'm all about post-processing. The image has multiple layers and multiple filters. I don't like the world seen through naturalistic eyes. For me the world is made of filters, layers, illusions and delusions. My photography tries to reflect that. There is nothing real to be found in there. It is like the real thing is covert in plastic and twisted and turned till it becomes this thing - this beast - we call reality. I that sense my work is maybe more real than what we see everyday. But I don't see it that way. It's all plastic through which we see the things that are real to some of us.In my camera bag
Well since I'm a concept photographer that really depends on the picture I like to take. There is no real bag I carry with me. What I need is an idea, a concept and a way to create that concept - to transfer it from my mind to the lens. It's oftentimes the small things that can do the trick. An apple, a flower, a bill. But you don't know that beforehand. You need to think about this, to plan, to try. There is no real standard bag you take with you. You pack a new, specific one every time you sail out into the world you want to show.Feedback
Have a concept. That is the only real advice. Do not only have a concept for what you want to show, but also for how you want to create it. The first thing I need is a "theme". What should the picture be about. The second thing I need is an object. How can the theme be translated in as few objects as possible. The third thing I need is a scene. How can the object be presented in a way that is interesting, thought provoking and pleasing? The scene is the hardest thing to image. It is the plastic you need: The first two things are the "real objects", the things that exist. Now the magic has to happen. The magic is done by taking the world apart and putting it together in a new way. In a way that reflects the real thing even better. To do this, you have to know the way and then carefully plan on how to accomplish that (e.g. which photos you have to take and how you will arrange them later on). My magic is all about the concept, planning, and plastic I wrap around it.
