Simon Pais
Simon Pais is without doubt one of the most creative photographers to be found on Flickr. Even with some odd equipment he makes the impossible possible and his subjects seem to fly. A creative mind combined with good photoshop knowledge - what a striking team.
What equipment do you use, and what are your lighting technique? Do you have some studio flashes? There is such a mysterious mood to your shots! How do you produce this effect?
I have two cameras: a Nikon Coolpix 7600 and a Sony Cybershot DSC-717. I borrow my lighting equipment from my college (UNIACC), they always assist me in helpful ways! The mood is down to a mysterious secret component of each picture, but I have to say that post processing has a lot to do in that secret factor ;)
How do you get the images of your clothes flying? Do you throw them in the air and capture them or are there some special Photoshop tricks you could tell us?
Does God exist? I've learned that human beings (in general) always want to know things for a fact. They never stop asking questions, so they come up with answers so they can live in peace and quiet. Personally, I've learned to appreciate things just the way they are. I'm not trying to find answers, maybe there are some things that just ARE. The clothes are flying, or at least, they look like they are... We can enjoy that :)
Well, I can tell you this. I often use Photoshop "apply image" application of soft light (red or green, depending on the picture itself) and/or "multiply" (red or green - blue always seems to destroy the quality of the picture a lot). What I use almost 70% of the time is saturation (especially for desaturating) to give the picture a whole new colour tone (always pale) which is something I really like. For the Air pictures, I used the dodge and burn tools a lot; they can be really helpful when you have an automatic camera that won't let you control lighting issues. Then I use those same tools for make-up when it's about portraits :)
Desaparecido.
You also photograph good looking male models in erotic poses. Do you prefer (to photograph) men?
I like what men can bring to the picture a lot, especially when they break the rigid line of their bodies, but I prefer women. They have that special thing, that special personification of themselves that adds such a strong feeling to the picture. Since I was little I drew a lot, but 90% of those drawings were female faces, nudes, elastic poses. So is easy for me to imagine things with the females, because they can do everything and still look like women. For men it's more complicated - a strange pose converts a man into a gay man, drag queen, etc... which i would love to photograph, but it's not helpful when they want to look like the universal concept of what a man is. I hope that's something we'll see dying quickly - I'm all about strange poses, faces and make up.
There is even a nude photo of you into the shower in your Flickr stream. Does it bother you that other people (such as friends you know in real life) can see it?
Yes, I care a lot what they have to say and how they react, but I won't stop doing it if they feel it's somehow wrong. My first photograph exhibition was during my first year, almost 1 month after I started at college. The name of the exhibition was "Autocórpora" (which, in English, literally means "auto body") and it contained a lot of selfnudes and selfportraits. Some people loved it, some people hated it, and some people came to me with the Nazi symbol, saying "You're an insult to the race!". That was a year ago, and today I keep doing it. It's truly my passion.
You don't have a "real" camera yet. Tell us - what's on your wishlist? Maybe there's someone out there with too much money who can donate something in return for your wonderful work!
I'd be very excited to get a Canon EOS 5D or a Nikon D2X, maybe a Sony Cybershot DSC-R1 would be helpful. Although I'm working really hard to get some money, gifts are always welcome. Really, I mean it... I mean it like A LOT...
I'm still meaning it! Come on! ;-)
What equipment do you use, and what are your lighting technique? Do you have some studio flashes? There is such a mysterious mood to your shots! How do you produce this effect?
I have two cameras: a Nikon Coolpix 7600 and a Sony Cybershot DSC-717. I borrow my lighting equipment from my college (UNIACC), they always assist me in helpful ways! The mood is down to a mysterious secret component of each picture, but I have to say that post processing has a lot to do in that secret factor ;)
How do you get the images of your clothes flying? Do you throw them in the air and capture them or are there some special Photoshop tricks you could tell us?
Does God exist? I've learned that human beings (in general) always want to know things for a fact. They never stop asking questions, so they come up with answers so they can live in peace and quiet. Personally, I've learned to appreciate things just the way they are. I'm not trying to find answers, maybe there are some things that just ARE. The clothes are flying, or at least, they look like they are... We can enjoy that :)
Well, I can tell you this. I often use Photoshop "apply image" application of soft light (red or green, depending on the picture itself) and/or "multiply" (red or green - blue always seems to destroy the quality of the picture a lot). What I use almost 70% of the time is saturation (especially for desaturating) to give the picture a whole new colour tone (always pale) which is something I really like. For the Air pictures, I used the dodge and burn tools a lot; they can be really helpful when you have an automatic camera that won't let you control lighting issues. Then I use those same tools for make-up when it's about portraits :)
Desaparecido.
You also photograph good looking male models in erotic poses. Do you prefer (to photograph) men?
I like what men can bring to the picture a lot, especially when they break the rigid line of their bodies, but I prefer women. They have that special thing, that special personification of themselves that adds such a strong feeling to the picture. Since I was little I drew a lot, but 90% of those drawings were female faces, nudes, elastic poses. So is easy for me to imagine things with the females, because they can do everything and still look like women. For men it's more complicated - a strange pose converts a man into a gay man, drag queen, etc... which i would love to photograph, but it's not helpful when they want to look like the universal concept of what a man is. I hope that's something we'll see dying quickly - I'm all about strange poses, faces and make up.
There is even a nude photo of you into the shower in your Flickr stream. Does it bother you that other people (such as friends you know in real life) can see it?
Yes, I care a lot what they have to say and how they react, but I won't stop doing it if they feel it's somehow wrong. My first photograph exhibition was during my first year, almost 1 month after I started at college. The name of the exhibition was "Autocórpora" (which, in English, literally means "auto body") and it contained a lot of selfnudes and selfportraits. Some people loved it, some people hated it, and some people came to me with the Nazi symbol, saying "You're an insult to the race!". That was a year ago, and today I keep doing it. It's truly my passion.
You don't have a "real" camera yet. Tell us - what's on your wishlist? Maybe there's someone out there with too much money who can donate something in return for your wonderful work!
I'd be very excited to get a Canon EOS 5D or a Nikon D2X, maybe a Sony Cybershot DSC-R1 would be helpful. Although I'm working really hard to get some money, gifts are always welcome. Really, I mean it... I mean it like A LOT...
I'm still meaning it! Come on! ;-)
dkg - 2006/03/14 16:55
