This document discusses an artist's style of macro photography involving oil on water and how it has inspired the author to try a similar technique. The artist, Jim Zuckerman, is known for stirring oil and water to create colorful bubble images. The author plans to experiment with different variables like oil type and colored objects underneath the bowl to achieve varied results. Examples from other artists, like using household items or backlighting, provide more ideas to develop the author's own photos in creative ways. The goal is to produce intriguing surrealist-style images to challenge themselves artistically and improve Photoshop skills for an exam.

1. Exam Prep Idea 2
Tudor Toma

2. Mood Board

3. Artist Analysis 1 – Jim Zuckerman
‘My favourite style of images are oil in water images also I am rather partial to oil
images with lots of smaller bubbles and blobs so like to stir everything up and then
wait for it to stop. Alternatively, tapping the oil drops lightly (I use a drinking straw)
will usually make small bubbles within the oil drops. I also use the straw to move the
drops around the dish, although a gentler method of moving them is simply to blow
them across the surface.’ – Jim Zuckerman from his website, he is an award winning
artist and known as a trend setter in macro photography mainly because of this style
of putting oil over water this is because he developed this style by adding different
colours and different ways of getting new forms of bubbles. This photograph is a very
colourful image because of the image that is under the bowl that this photograph is
taken above of that is distorted and it forms as the artist states ‘a flowing rainbow of
colour’ meaning the colours are very contrasting and bold.
This style of photographs has inspired me to try this idea, this is because there is a lot
of room to expand because of the different outcomes you can achieve because there
are so many variables in this style, this is because you can sue a different bowl and
diverse amount of oil causing more or less bubbles which come down to the last and
mot important variable which is the colourful object underneath the bowl which is
why ever time you take an image you get a different outcome because how the oil
moves in the water and it is a adaptable because the angle the oil is at causes the
diffraction of the object underneath. There is also a lot of work that can be done well
in post processing by bringing out/ changing different colours.

4. Example Photograph

5. The reason why I chose this style of photographs was because they have not
been overdone and it can be developed on with techniques such as double
exposures over portraits or landscapes to make surrealist images, I also chose
this style because it pushes my own creative boundaries because I have never
done a project that doesn’t involve landscapes or people so it would be
something interesting to do also it would improve my Photoshop skills in the
exam as I plan to expand on this idea.
I like the idea as the artist states ‘I like the reaction of people trying to work
out how my work is created’ – from his website I would like to have this
reaction to my own photographs to make people wonder because the
photographs seem almost surrealist.
I believe these photographs are very good looking and intrusting because
they come out different every time. I also like the contrast in between Idea 1
and 2 this is because Idea 1 photographs were very flat colours and Idea 2
would be good to bring out bold and interesting colours that are not too
harsh.

6. Example 2

7. 4 Artists 1 – Sharon Johnstone

8. Sharon Johnstone
This photograph has inspired me to use a macro
lens while also using olive oil; this is because it
has different properties to cooking oil creating
larger bubbles and different shapes, this artist
has also inspired me to use macro lens
attachments with a larger aperture because it
negates the smaller bubbles saving time in post
processing, this artist also gives the idea of using
household items behind the water tumbler to
bring out more color around the edges and the
area around the bubbles to give more contrast.

9. 2 –Mark Gerrico

10. Mark Gerrico
This photograph inspired me to use backlighting
to my photographs this is because it causes the
bubbles to look more round and actually brings
out the smaller bubbles, which there are going
to be plenty of in my initial photographs and
utilizing them instead of getting rid of them in
post processing, keeping the smaller bubbles
will give more contrast and depth to the images.

11. 3 – Mark Gerrico

12. Mark Gerrico
This photograph has inspired me to clean up my
initial photographs so the bubbles that are
actually in focus are the only ones that are being
utilized also using patterned objects underneath
the bowl to bring out a pattern in the bubbles to
add more depth to the photographs.

13. 4 - Unknown

14. Initial Photos

24. Development Photographs