Patrick Rochon

PATRICK RONCHON ANALYSIS

http://www.patrickrochon.com/archives/620

Patrick Ronchon began his light paintings in 1992 and decided in 1997 that he would devote all his time to the art and leave traditional photography behind. He works with light painting based upon high-end products (e.g cars), nude and portrait shots and often moves to video, incorporating dancers, costumes and props.

He showed the world that light paintings were easy to create; "At night or in the dark, put a camera on a tripod or on a stable flat surface. open the shutter on the camera for an extended period of time, then with a light or multiple lights move around in front of the camera. Close the shutter on the camera when the painting is finished. There are two ways you can create light paintings, you can either light paint onto a subject so that certain areas are lit up or you can turn the light towards the lens to draw what you want. The exposures can be as long as you want or as long as you camera allows."

http://cameraobscura.busdraghi.net/2010/patrick-rochon/


This piece was based on his trip to japan which led him to move to the country for 10 years. The pictures were based on dancers that performed a contemporary dance introduce in the sixties.
The image to the right presents a peaceful atmosphere. By using the blue colour and by painting vertically in unison, the drawing creates a innocent, calming effect to the image. The  portrait shot is elegant and slightly simple by using only shades of blue and by using a darker background Rochon makes the sole focus of the image to be on the portrait of the model. The face expression and gentle positioning of the hand creates a soft natural picture which is also shown by the nudity. By having the model nude and with little make-up the image presents a pure, delicate feel to the photograph.
Although the light drawing itself is often used as the centre focus as it is unusual and often uses bright and vibrant colours to distract the audience's attention, this picture uses the light drawings to accompany the delicate tone of the piece. 

http://cameraobscura.busdraghi.net/2010/patrick-rochon/

I like this image as it presents an unusual contrast between two similar shots. The same model is used on both sides of the image, both nude and in similar natural poses, however with the use of light painting and colour, the images look completely different. 
The image on the left shows a softer, more natural picture, using earthy tones and delicate drawing stokes. Even with the light painting, the audience's attention is on the model herself. As it is a nude shot the earthy, almost skin tone colours used, compliment the shot and bring and interesting approach to nude photography. With both the natural colour and lighting, and the effortless positioning on the model, the image creates a serene tone. The positioning of the model, with her hands placed infront of her and legs crossed also brings her to the audience's attention and we then focus on her as the model instead of the light painting that accompanies her.


However, in contrast, the image on the right of the picture uses bright, vibrant colours and erratic brush strokes. The bright burst of multi-colour drawing on the model, contrasts the black background making it stand out to the audience. The model, like the image on the left, is in a natural pose, but this time has her hands behind her back and legs out of the frame, by doing this, it takes no attention away from the light painting in the shot and brings all focus on the vivid colouring. The range of colours used contrasts the image on the left, as instead of using subtle earthy tones, it uses a mixture of intense colour to shock audiences. In this shot, the focus is not on the model, and is on the art of the light painting as it over shadows most of the her nude body.

    

Photoshop Light Drawings

 Using Photoshop I experimented and created a number of light drawings.

I added a separate light drawing image as another layer on an existing photograph. I then repositioned and resized the image, then selected "lighten" blending mode option. On some of the images I changed the saturation, colouring and lighting and merged it with the light drawing added layer. 

Photoshop Experimentation

I have used Photoshop on the following images to experiment with colour, vibrance and contrast.

Above is the original, un-edited image taken with a DSLR. It has a shallow depth of field to make the object in the foreground stand out.

This image has a high contrast and brightness, it had also favoured a green colour which ties in with the nature theme of the image and looks natural.

This image has a vastly increased contrast and a slight increase in brightness, it still keeps the natural colours of the shot but emphasizes them.

 This image has been changed to black and white and has an increased contrast level to make the colours pop.

This image has a high contrast brightness level. It is one of my favourite adjustments as it makes it stand out and its a bright, vivid image.

 This image has used a red coulor mask which has a low opacity so it blends with the background colour of the photograph.

 This image has been colourised with a red base, the saturation is low and brightness is slightly high. 

Natural Light

 Images taken with natural light from snow. A range of black and white and colour images.

 The two above images have been changed from black and white to colour. I like both images, however they could have used a higher level of contrast to make the colours stand out and more vivid.

This image could have been edited to make it more vibrant, a higher contrast could have been used to make the picture less dull, and the brightness could have also been increased

The two images above have used a shallow depth of field to blur the background and make the flower stand out in the foreground.

Synthetic Lighting

This is a collection of portraits using synthetic lighting and colour editing. The purpose of the images is to showcase the clothing.

The two above image show a change in contrast levels. The left image has a high contrast level which makes the colours stand out and a vibrant picture, the right image however had a lower contrast level and is slightly darker and dull.

The three pictures above have a lower contrast and are softer images, the vibrance level has been lowered and the contrast and brightness increased on photoshop.

I like the colouring in the above image. It is has a increased contrast level which makes it vibrant and stands out, however it could have been a lighter image.

Natural Lighting

Whilst on holiday I experimented with natural lighting shots and took a range of pictures including lanscapes and portraits.

I like the contrast of colours in the pictures. The brightness and contrast compliment each other and contrast the white background to create a vivid image,

I experimented with the pictures above, changing them from colour images to black and white. I like the sunset image in black and white because you can see the detail of the beach through the contrast of colours. I like the football image better as a colour image as the range of colours and contrasts make the image more interesting and alive.

I experimented with the colours with the above image. Using photoshop I lowered the vibrance of the image and raised the contrast, this gave a softer image and took the colour out of the background, making the focus the person in the image.

I prefer the above picture as a colour image as the beautiful colours of the sunset make the picture peaceful and eye catching. With the colours you can see the detail of the sun's reflection on the sand.

I used a shallow depth of field on the above picture to create a blurred background effect, so the focus is on the glasses int he foreground.