faux film project

One of the many reasons I love having a blog is because it feels like I'm the editor of a magazine. There are only a few minor details... like the fact that there is no regular print version of my content, nor do I have an office full of devoted staff... (one day...)

Each "issue" or "post" has some sort of underlying theme, which keeps things interesting, but also relevant to the overall aesthetic and theme of Avenue Maria. I've been feeling a bit more experimental  lately; particularly focusing on the major difference filters (tasteful ones, mind you) can have on an ordinary photograph. For these photos, I wanted to achieve a pretty dramatic 60's/70's vinyl album cover look. I've been listening to a lot of Ray Coniff's records lately and I've been feeling really inspired by the dreamy photography and grainy effect from the film cameras. SO! I decided (with the persuasion of my little sister) to take photos that were inspired by these images. 'Faux film', if you will. 

Here are a few examples of Ray's previous album covers that are part of my vinyl collection:

And here's my edit!  It was actually really simple creating the filter for these particular photographs. I used VSCO on my phone, focusing primarily on adding colour in the "highlights" and "shadows" category. Editing photos without going overboard is actually something that has taken me a really long time to master. I love doing it, but it's time consuming and sometimes frustrating getting the colour balanced. I think these photos turned out beautifully, but who knows, perhaps in a few years time I will look back on the editing job in horror at how "over done" they are! 

Anyway, that has been my most recent little project! How are you all? Enjoying life hopefully, wherever you may be in the world. I am good! Uni is still going well, I am attending all my classes (surprisingly), hanging out with friends, working, the usual. My appointments at Headspace are still happening fortnightly, and that's going really well. I've been listening to lots of great new artists, reading (mostly uni journal articles.. ha), and also STRANGER THINGS! Everyone was tweeting, and talking and posting about it and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about... guys, it was amazing. I just finished the last episode this evening and the whole series was incredibly well done. Everything from the cinematography, soundtrack, cast and plot. I'm not going to give anything away, it's the type of show you should start watching without any prior knowledge.

And on that note, it's time for tea with the fam! Hopefully I'll be back soon, will say hi again in September, aka. Spring, which means more flowers and more beautiful sunlight to experiment with through the camera lens.