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Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

vonwong.com

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Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#21

Post by snowwrestler »

vonwong wrote: post #13
stevecalifornia wrote: post #6

The final pictures are so heavily over-produced that they look incredibly fake-- which is a shame and leaves me totally baffled. It looks like someone literally painted the figure on the picture. The only time anxiety kicked in was the picture of the whole team posing for a shot at the corner.

Sorry you feel that way :( We had home-made budget costumes that were hand painted so this was the best solution. On the flip side though, I think you'll enjoy these behind the scenes without photoshop : https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jp... (theres more on the dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl... )

If I were you, I'd take another crack at a few with the opposite approach--hide the safety gear but otherwise show the amateur costumes honestly, bad lighting, flaws and all. It would deliver a much deeper version of the empowerment message you're going for in the text of your post.

Seeing a super-hero in a dangerous position is not really impactful--that's what superheros do.

Seeing a regular person who is trying to look like a superhero (but subtly failing) in a dangerous situation tells all sorts of stories about the roles we each imagine and hope for ourselves--and the fronts we put up for other people.

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#22

Post by [deleted] »

mootothemax wrote: post #3

What it is about our minds that make it so easy to imagine being up there, on the ledge, looking down, maybe with one foot over... and my palms are sweating heavily already. It's a bit like having a child; I now spend nights worrying about the most ridiculous events that could happen to my daughter. Why do our brains like to torture us like this?

[deleted]

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#23

Post by wavefunction »

vonwong wrote: post #13
stevecalifornia wrote: post #6

The final pictures are so heavily over-produced that they look incredibly fake-- which is a shame and leaves me totally baffled. It looks like someone literally painted the figure on the picture. The only time anxiety kicked in was the picture of the whole team posing for a shot at the corner.

Sorry you feel that way :( We had home-made budget costumes that were hand painted so this was the best solution. On the flip side though, I think you'll enjoy these behind the scenes without photoshop : https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jp... (theres more on the dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl... )

I think they look great. I'm not a very good amateur photographer but I like the post-production.

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#24

Post by redindian75 »

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

But they were all tethered with safety harness and then evidence was removed in photoshop. How is that "magical, one mis-step would mean end"?

Sorry, but I thought the premise of this was daredevil stunts from ordinary people, but this is no different than greenscreen or cheap special effect which u seem to deride.

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#25

Post by Zelphyr »

mootothemax wrote: post #3

What it is about our minds that make it so easy to imagine being up there, on the ledge, looking down, maybe with one foot over... and my palms are sweating heavily already. It's a bit like having a child; I now spend nights worrying about the most ridiculous events that could happen to my daughter. Why do our brains like to torture us like this?

> Why do our brains like to torture us like this?

It sucks but its the same aspect of our mind that thinks up the amazing things like skyscrapers and cameras that we're then able to build. Imagination. :)

For contrast look up stories of the woman with a damaged amygdala who literally has no fear whatsoever. She has to have people around her to keep her from doing dumb things like pick up poisonous snakes.

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#27

Post by smacktoward »

redindian75 wrote: post #24

Quote: "I wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes – without a green screen or cheap special effects." But they were all tethered with safety harness and then evidence was removed in photoshop. How is that "magical, one mis-step would mean end"? Sorry, but I thought the premise of this was daredevil stunts from ordinary people, but this is no different than greenscreen or cheap special effect which u seem to…

It's like riding a roller coaster or doing a bungee jump -- you know intellectually that you're strapped in tight and therefore safe; but your lizard brain, the part that operates at a deep subconscious level, doesn't get that message, so it's still scary and/or thrilling.

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#28

Post by smacktoward »

anigbrowl wrote: post #18
mootothemax wrote: post #3

What it is about our minds that make it so easy to imagine being up there, on the ledge, looking down, maybe with one foot over... and my palms are sweating heavily already. It's a bit like having a child; I now spend nights worrying about the most ridiculous events that could happen to my daughter. Why do our brains like to torture us like this?

Because 99.9% of the time those inbuilt reflexes are what keep you and others alive; people who don't have them get Darwin awards. I was glad to see they used safety equipment, especially since they were working with non-professionals, but I was annoyed that they didn't mention it in the article and played it down in preference of the breathless self-affirming schtick. Safety protocols matter, because they're what ma…

> If you want an entourage to witness how badass you are (as opposed to leveraging that through your creative work) then you're a walking liability.

Yeah. It's like the old joke: what are every true redneck's last words?

"Hey y'all, watch this!"

Re: Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco

#29

Post by vonwong »

snowwrestler wrote: post #21
vonwong wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry you feel that way :( We had home-made budget costumes that were hand painted so this was the best solution. On the flip side though, I think you'll enjoy these behind the scenes without photoshop : https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jp... (theres more on the dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl... )

If I were you, I'd take another crack at a few with the opposite approach--hide the safety gear but otherwise show the amateur costumes honestly, bad lighting, flaws and all. It would deliver a much deeper version of the empowerment message you're going for in the text of your post. Seeing a super-hero in a dangerous position is not really impactful--that's what superheros do. Seeing a regular person who is trying to…

I'd actually love another go to create these images all over again. If I can find another rooftop, I would definitely give it a second shot. Thanks for the feedback!
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