Minimalism

Last week I took this outfit post inside as it was raining really heavily as usual. I stupidly started taking these images at 8 o'clock at night, so by the time I had finished, like sun had pretty much set, thus the lighting is completely messed up all these images. However, I went with my usual motto of waste not, want not, and thus tried to make something out of it by editing the pictures as I liked the colour palette of the shoddy images.

Last night, as my GCSE music exam is only 2 days away (eeek!), I was revising minimalism in music and it inspired me to apply some of the characteristics of minimalistic music to my editing. I found it really interesting how you can just slightly alter a simple idea with a systematic, mathematical process to create something new with an almost hypnotic and entrancing feel to it, as it is with minimalistic music. Also, made me kid myself that I was actually doing revision when I was wasting time on this blog.

• Repeating ostinati/cell
• I have expressed this by using the same photograph over and over again.
• Layered textures
• I put layers of the same image on top of each other to create a new texture.
• Metric displacement 
• This is basically you start the same idea, but slightly after the first occurrence, so you achieve a canon effect.
• Static harmony
• Since I have used the same colour palette in all my piece, so the harmonic feel of the images are all constant.
• Retrograde
• Okay, this isn't a feature of minimalism, but I have inverted the images by turning them upside down to form mirror images.

Top - Primark, fishy looking leggings - Primark, boots- Doc Martens

I edited these images in probably with the dumbest method there is. The first image was easy enough - I simply pasted the picture into Microsoft PowerPoint, duplicated then flipped the images. However, the ones that are layered were done using a very idiotic method. When you click and drag an image, a preview of what the image is going to look like appears, but it is translucent. Thus, what I would do is click and drag the image on top of itself, and then press print screen to capture what it looked like. I think this is hinting to me that I should really download some actual photo editing software and learn how to use it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Some other minimalistic methods I would really like to try out if I actually learnt how to edit properly:

• Phase shifting
• This is basically when something starts together, but becomes increasingly out of sync, before going back into sync again. To work out when something will synchronise you use lowest common multiple - I find it quite interesting applying mathematics to physical situations.
• Metamorphosis
• This is when something gradually changes into something else, one step at a time. 
• Note addition/subtraction
•  Adding or taking away one note at a time so a melodic part fades in/out.
• Note augmentation/diminution
• Slowly getting longer/shorter in note value.

My smiley face necklace is actually a trolley token.

My violin music teacher was telling me about how I should think about what colours I am trying to produce with my violin in the pieces that I play, and I think I finally understand what she means. It's really quite interesting how different mediums of art are all pretty much linked and can be intertwined.

Wow, this has been quite an abstract post, but oh well. I hope you guys understand my logic behind what I'm saying. If you don't I hope you enjoy the images.

Rebecca x

P.S. Thank you to the lovely Maria for putting my blog on this UK blogger map, which I think is a great idea.
P.P.S. Argh, study leave has started but it means endless exams are looming - PANIC.
P.P.P.S If I had to chose a song that reflected on the overal aura I'm trying to convey with these images, I would chose Oblivion by Grimes.