As you've probably noticed I've been doing a lot of work on remixing various posters from the past. This is no exception as it was originally a silk screen print created by students in Paris in May 1968 and entitled Retour A La Normale (Back to normal). However, since I have no real drawing skills nor access to any kind of printing device I decided just to produce my own digitally updated version using GIMP (which is an open source version of Photoshop) and my netbook just to see if I could come up with a credible result.
Well, that and the fact that I'm bored stuck in the city in the middle of a heat wave and sitting in an air conditioned cafe doing anything has to be preferable to sitting at home sweating myself into a feverish frenzy.
Sometimes I go through phases when I do not feel like taking photographs or there are no subjects that really grab my attention. This is one of those times and rather than do nothing I usually focus on some other interest such as writing or designing. The good news is that by doing something different for a change I usually manage to pick up some news skills which often prove useful later on in ways I never expected. For example by working on images such as the one above I have to overcome a number of techincal problems which can be frustrating at times yet when I have overcome them they open up new avenues with my photography.
Usually, I get inspiration from something I've read or heard about in the news, often something that has enraged or upset me and then the germ of an idea is born which may take days or weeks to develop into something I can actually visualise. Other times it just appears in amtter of minutes, there is no way of telling.
