Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => The Coffee Corner => Topic started by: Isaac on February 24, 2015, 05:00:04 pm

Title: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Isaac on February 24, 2015, 05:00:04 pm

"I wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes – without a green screen or cheap special effects.

The simplest way to make that happen was to place them on the edge of certain death (http://www.vonwong.com/blog/reallifesuperheroes/)."

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Pete_G on February 25, 2015, 07:00:38 am

Hmm....both the people and the buildings look as if they were created in Maya.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: RSL on February 25, 2015, 09:10:55 am

An example of passing ridiculous in a reach for sublimity.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: digitaldog on February 25, 2015, 10:27:26 am

Quote from: Pete_G on February 25, 2015, 07:00:38 am

Hmm....both the people and the buildings look as if they were created in Maya.

I have to agree. Don't get me wrong OP, the images are really spectacular and I wouldn’t have the balls to even go up there with you to watch the production.  But had I not seen the production stills, I would have wrongly assumed this was all Photoshop work. That doesn't negate the image quality IMHO.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Arlen on February 25, 2015, 11:02:07 am

Well, it's one answer to the old complaint that there's nothing to shoot that hasn't already been done. You have to give him that.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: RSL on February 25, 2015, 11:38:12 am

Hi, Arlen. Actually, it's been done more than once. Joe McNally, for one, has done it several times.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Isaac on February 25, 2015, 12:01:10 pm

Quote from: digitaldog on February 25, 2015, 10:27:26 am

… I would have wrongly assumed this was all Photoshop work.

If we've definitely reached the point where photographers don't believe photographs, have we reached the point where phone only photographers don't believe photographs?

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Pete_G on February 25, 2015, 12:23:37 pm

Quote from: Isaac on February 25, 2015, 12:01:10 pm

If we've definitely reached the point where photographers don't believe photographs, have we reached the point where phone only photographers don't believe photographs?

I don't understand your point Isaac. The fact of the matter is that these shots have been post-produced to such an extent that they look like Marvel Comics illustrations, presumably the intention. I see nothing in the faces of the models that leads me to believe they were in such a terrifying place, they could easily have been in a green screen studio. The whole exercise seems self defeating and pointless. These kind of images work best as movies anyway.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: amolitor on February 25, 2015, 01:57:38 pm

These pictures certainly represent a triumph of process over results.

While perfectly nice, the only reason they're interesting at all is that they were (allegedly) shot in situ.

Title: Re: "How I Photographed Superheroes On The Edge Of A Skyscraper"
Post by: Isaac on February 25, 2015, 02:07:41 pm

Quote from: Pete_G on February 25, 2015, 12:23:37 pm

… post-produced to such an extent that they look like Marvel Comics illustrations …

Apologies, I probably misunderstood your point.