Photographer Spotlight

Creative Challenge: Surrealism

July 27, 2020

This week’s challenge was based on the theme of SURREALISM.

Surrealism is defined as the release of the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.

I like to think of it as creating and expressing yourself without the boundaries of reality.

The creativity and talent in our community never ceases to amaze me!
I really enjoyed looking through the incredible works shared in response to the Surrealism concept.

Thank you to everyone who shared their work and continues to help our community thrive!
Here’s a selection of some of your favourites!

Join the groups to get involved with this week’s creative challenge!
Fairytales and Fantasy & The Color Lab Collective.

Carrie Lewis
I created this series based on love and what it does to us. I could go into detail on what each one means, but I would rather have you interpret it for yourself. 🙂 I used Regal from The Color Lab to tone all 3.

Carrie Lewis
I created this series based on love and what it does to us. I could go into detail on what each one means, but I would rather have you interpret it for yourself. 🙂 I used Regal from The Color Lab to tone all 3.

Elena Iseris
Model: Rekii – Make Up & Fotos
Photo/Retouch: Iseris – Photography

Geoffrey Oat / Samantha Akasha Beck
One for the #bellakotakchallenge for surrealism is this crazy image of me by photographer Geoffrey Oat from one our team shoots based on Giants.
I AM GIANT
Model Samantha Jayne Beck (me)
MUA Asta Goštautaitė
Costuming @ministryofmagicka
Edit by Geoffrey Oat

Isabelle Hanneuse‎
This is a project that was clear in my mind from day one, I even did a sketch that looked almost exactly like this picture months before the shooting. I wanted to create a fairytale version of a stylist ! The ribbons, the buttons, and the needle were real and on set, the rest was added. After all those years, this picture is still one of my favorites ever !

Photography: Isabelle Hanneuse Photography
Designer and model: Général Guérisse
MUA: Magali Piette Make Up Artist

Ivana Desančić‎
My photo for the new #bellakotakchallengesurrealism 😄🐝🍯
My Instagram handle is @ivanadesancic

Janelle Folk‎
“Azure Bataille”
This project was a self portrait with heavy inspiration from “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” for the end composite. Topped off with some actions from the Color Lab. This composite all in all took around 15 hours from start to finish. For those who may be interested in the editing workflow I made a time-lapse screen recording – https://vimeo.com/406732339
Wardrobe was from a traveling fantasy outfit project with two combined designers on this piece.
Scale top by SyntheticDaisy Designs
Skirt by Avalon Saez

Jay Coy
I created this image to symbolize creative/mind blocks. When you try to come up with the answer it usually leads to not finding it. Sometimes all you need to do is stop focusing on the answer and just look the other way to find your way out.

More of my work at: www.instagram.com/jaycoyphoto

Jonny Edward
So, truth be told, this challenge is quite an inspiration for me as I do not allow my imagination and process to run free often enough…
My favorite fashion photographer is Paolo Roversi. His dreamy, haunting aesthetic was a source of intrigue and inspiration long before I opted to pick up a camera.
When I shot these, I had been going through some of his photo-books the day prior and felt impelled to simply let go and experiment; nothing but imagination and my Mamiya RB67.
Interestingly, these were actually shot during the production of a short, fashion film. When there were set changes or downtime, I’d step in and snap a few shots. Most of the production team were a lot younger than me and many had never seen an old-school medium format camera in person. It was a hoot!

Josh Feske
We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.

Juliette Lichman‎
Keeping Secrets, 2014.
This is an old work but still one of my favourites!

by Kerry Lush

Kervz Roek Encarnación‎
Inspired by “Girls big cry by Sia” but in my case Big Boys Cry
I´ve been told that just because I’m a guy I shouldn’t cry but I know I am the sensitive one in my family.
I appreciate all the comments, thanks a lot everyone!
www.instagram.com/elosofotografo

Letizia Camboni
For the surrealism theme I wanted to share that recent selfportrait which comes with a short text I wrote. 😊

“The feeling of being in pieces, shattered yet working hard to keep going. I don’t want to give up, because I’m an idealistic person.
I’m my own shell,
keeping myself together,
hugging myself together.
Because I know the best is yet to come.”

I hope you like it and if you know the feeling, please remember that it always gets better 😉.

Lieke Anna Haertjens
Here’s a combination of the last two challenges.
Surrealism and selfportraiture happen to be my faves. Add to that the element of storytelling and those three s’s are the core of creating for me.

Lieke Anna Haertjens
Here’s a combination of the last two challenges.
Surrealism and selfportraiture happen to be my faves. Add to that the element of storytelling and those three s’s are the core of creating for me.

by Lucia Giri
The Prayer
I planned completely different shoot but sometimes plans do go as we expect

Marije Dijkema‎
Clouded mind ☁️ My entry for the surrealism #bellakotakchallenge
I made this self portrait because I had this weird feeling for weeks that something was coming or happening (business wise) but I couldn’t see what it was. Like there was a cloud in my head blocking my sight. For me; Sometimes creating is the only remedy to process things

Mary Bel‎
I am a self portrait photographer and here is my surrealism work that fits into this weeks challenge…
“Freedom”

Stacy Zacharias
“Intrinsic Knowledge.”
Three years ago I was looking up at the wasp nests hanging from the roofline. Second to wondering how to reach them to knock them down, I pondered the idea of being born an adult (more on that in yesterday’s post) and a shadow of this image began forming in my mind. Three years later and it was finally time to pull the trigger and put the pieces together. Seven+ hours of edits and nearly a 12g file later and she is born.

What if we were born knowing our purpose? Born with the intrinsic knowledge about what to do with your life, no questioning if you’re making the right or wrong decisions. What if your path was set and you wouldn’t and couldn’t object to that fact? Would love still exist? Would art and fear and joy and curiosity be non existent? Is freedom of choice worth the pain of the unknown?

Syd Indman
“Clear Head.”

Self-portrait composite, lit with an octabox directly overhead. The idea came when I woke up one day and forgot to worry about all of the cares that come with being a human, heavy to mundane, that get in the way of focusing on what’s important. Liberating feeling, even if fleeting.

Looking back at the image after completion, I think the overall darkness with most of the highly contrasting light coming from above illustrates how blasting away mental debris allows for some light to shine into the parts of the mind we want to see most, yet so often hide in the dark recesses.

Szabolcs Matefy
Here is an old work of mine.
I always start with a concept, and I like to create something that is unnatural, not everyday subject. I drew my quick sketch, then I started looking for a model. In the studio, unfortunately, the sofa I wanted to have was destroyed earlier, so I couldn’t use that one. I had a composite image in my mind. For the android parts, I used 3D graphics, and I used textures and decals to add more detail.
Lit with one single octobox from above, and used my loved d750

Thank you everyone for your submissions!

To join this week’s challenge and for a chance to get featured yourself –
join the groups, read the rules, and share away 🙂

The Color Lab Collective
Fairytales and Fantasy

Enjoy this POST? comment or share!

join the #colorlabcollective movement!

[instagram-feed]

Get Started

About Us

Follow Us

STAY IN THE KNOW!

Join our newsletter and receive a 20% off coupon
+ 2 free actions!

Copyright © 2023 – The Color Lab