Earlier this week I got the curious question whether or not I had created this image and the red fabric by using Photoshop. A very reasonable question in a time where any idea can be digitally visualised but no, Mogwai really posed with this red fabric.
With the help of a friends tip, I found a cheap fabric store in Antwerp where I could buy a few meters of red inspiration. Once at home I showed this shiny piece of fabric to Joeri and got a very doubtful look in return. It must have been the kind of fabric,… or the understanding that the execution of my plan would take some trial and error.
On this dark, heavy cloudy day with a lot of rain on its way, we found ourselves on a field where on one side yelling kids were riding mountain-bikes and on the other side there was a brave attempt to learning to drive a car going on. Since this was just a test shoot, I only brought a reflector to get some detail in the eyes. Without the screen it would be all dark. So there we were, hoping for the best. I was laying in the grass while Joeri had about 5 million chances to optimize his fabric-throwing-skills. (hell yeah for valuable skills!). The image is already a few years old, but if I find the behind-the-scenes-images, I’ll show you.
What I did edit in this image:
– overall brightness
– a bit of contrast
– and a pinch of vibrance.
Recently I found this red fabric again (the good things about moving) and used it – a bit more frayed this time- in the series “Red“:
The big difference in colour is due to the kind and amount of light in both shots. During the first shoot all the light was blocked by a heavy grey sky while during the second an early morning sun already lightened the surroundings. I only used a reflector to even out the light a bit. And of course I got some help from the bright surface of the snow.
If you’re curious about other uses of this fabric, head over to my Fenne-site (about nature photography, illustration, travel and non-dog-related blog posts) The images in this link are also created at the scene with only a little editing in post production.
