DAY 345

PORTRAITS

Optical Illusion

BARRY FISHMAN, TAI CHI CHUAN MASTER

After being commissioned to photograph Barry in a variety of Tai Chi Chuan positions for his teaching needs and publicity purposes, I asked if we might try some portraits, too, as he was so striking looking. He has often been compared visually to Einstein, but he has a unique presence all his own.

This image was the result of a two-hour session, where we decided to have him hold his own head and effect a floating feeling, as if he might be trying to stop his own head from flying away out of the frame. The illusion created here is achieved by darkening the black sleeves and shirt he was wearing to then disappear into the same tone as the background. This was initially achieved by printing the cross-processed transparency negative and burning in the clothing, with additional exposure to the print in the color darkroom.

The use of the daylight darkroom known as Photoshop and other software by Adobe has revolutionized the way we use our imagination by allowing many effects to be produced and edited easily in digital layers. What previously took days and multiple processes, including often-hazardous chemicals and solutions, now takes minutes on a computer. —SA