Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Photos and paintings

Well, here's a first. John Andrews liked a photo I took about six weeks ago of a raven. He liked it so much, in fact, that he used it for "inspiration" (so much better than saying you stole it, John) to try and create a piece of art. I can honestly say I think this is the first time someone has taken one of my photos and try to change it into art. I know John is not completely happy with the final result, but I find it kind of flattering, really.

Besides, ravens are just a bitch to do anything with. They're hard to photograph. It's all that black with hardly any defining features. I swear, that black is deep enough that it distorts the air around the bird, so it feels like when you take the picture, you're only getting a hazy version of the bird. That the real raven is still managing to remain hidden.

So I think John did just fine, even if he called the bird a crow instead of a raven (but in Newfoundland it works better if the bird is a crow instead of a raven). But in case you're curious, here's my picture...



The lights were a little thing I was playing around with. They're the Christmas lights we had in the window, but they're blurred a bit. I like it, but I can understand why John ignored the effect.

And here's John's painting, which I've shamelessly pilfered from his site, but I know he won't mind...;)



Anyway, I like it and think it's a nice job. Good work, John.

Last Five
1. The kissing dance - Kelly Russell and the Planks*
2. Let's spend the night together - The Rolling Stones
3. Trying to pull myself away - Glen Hansard
4. King for a day - Thompson Twins
5. Programmable soda - Tori Amos

6 comments:

KOTN said...

Have you been following teh emss about the iconic blue and red Obama photo and the Associated Press?

It was one of their photos, and now they want money. Get yourself a lawyer, Stephen Colbert's brother says so. ;)

towniebastard said...

If John's raven picture becomes the symbol of hope and change for a presidential election campaign and starts to make millions of dollars, then I reserve the right to change my mind.

Oh, and for the record, the AP are pricks for doing this, especially as the artist has made virutally nothing off that picture.

John Andrews said...

thanks for post craig... if any million dollar offers come in i'll split it with you

Adam Snider said...

It works better if it's a crow in Newfoundland? I don't follow.

towniebastard said...

Yeah, not sure I explained that well.

Odds are most people looking at John's print are going to be in Newfoundland and they're going to assume it's a crow on a phone pole somewhere in St. John's. I'm not saying there are no ravens in Newfoundland, but crows are a lot more common. For John to call it a raven might be confusing to some people.

It's only if you know the origin of where he got the idea for the painting that calling it a raven makes sense. But most people who will see it will never know the origin.

Adam Snider said...

OK, makes sense. I guess I just tend to think that, for most people, the terms "raven" and "crow" are interchangeable (even though they aren't), so I didn't realize that there would be confusion. Of course, that's because I tend to forget just how huge and diverse this country really is.