This is a studio shot image of the model Daveyboy Granules. Davey is a punk rocker, and as such collects a lot of cool clothes and props - such as Gas Masks and WW2 regalia. The lighting was comprised of two studio lights, and an Urbex orientated backdrop. Canvas layering was added to the photograph during Post Processing in Adobe Photoshop CC, in order to give the image an authentic timeless, Film Noir type grain and feel.
The image symbolises a variety of different things for the discerning viewer, and can be interpreted in a variety of different ways. The issue of War as folly , the sheer hopeless nature of conflict is prevalent within the image. Davey's surroundings are completely desolate, as if he has been sitting there in a rotting hulk of a building for years. The decay of the building is certainly evocative of how war can devastate its participants and families alike. The hopeless nature of war itself is juxtaposed with Davey sitting alone, all kitted out for a conflict that has been and past, the World healing itself and moving onward as a democratic society, whilst Davey is left alone and hopeless in his uniform of conflict and suffering, and in a building that is literally rotting away from the outside in. Which in essence - is exactly what war does to the soul of mankind and it's unwitting participants. The gas-mask also is complimentary with the studio background of the abandoned building. Urbex photography was a passion of mine during my formative years of my career as a photographer.
Some spectacular images could be captured in these places, but the trips themselves were not without risk. Falling ceilings and unstable floors and poisonous chemicals were present, and so we used to wear gasmasks to protect ourselves from any unwanted elements during the photography trips. The art of re-creating a naturalistic scene when shooting in the photography studio is also displayed here by this image. Two studio lights cover the model, whilst a third lights the backdrop of the abandoned building.The tyres Davey is sitting on were literally grabbed from our studio garden. The final result is an image in which all of these elements are blended together as one to look naturalistic, and staged to perfection. During the process of Post Processing I decided to edit in monochromatic/sepia tones to compliment the time period of WW2, depicted in the photograph. I then transposed canvas layers into the image via Adobe Photoshop's blending modes - giving the final image an authentic, aged, painterly look.
Jack Savage
Jack Savage was born 1980 in Northampton. His interest in photography and cinematography began with his fascination with cinema from an early age.
Before he actually started in photography, he was an amateur filmmaker experimenting with Super 8 cameras, projectors and film whilst during his college years. After completing his MA in American Studies and Film in 2007 his passion for photography became revised, with a new acknowledgement of the digital photographic era. He is now a fine art, studio, portrait and landscape photo manipulation artist.
He has won over 50 international professional photography awards in categories including Conceptual, Portrait, Photo manipulation, Special Effects, Abstract and Digital Enhanced. Today he is telling the story about his artwork "The Folly of War".
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