Ben Weissenborn

JRN420: Additional image

2010-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

I decided to do another photo illustration, considering how much fun I had doing the first one. I had a lot of leftover ideas and decided to go with one I had that had to do with branding and its effect on lifestyle.

An anomaly appears on an x-ray of Grand Rapids senior Ben Weissenborn's chest. Many brands, most notably Apple, have a lifestyle attached to them that many consumers accept and adopt at will.

For this image, I first took the photo of my torso in the studio with the lighting setup below. I then found an image of a chest X-ray on Google Images that was not copyright protected. I brought that into Photoshop and selected the portion I wanted to use using the elliptical marquee tool. I then found an image of the Apple logo and brought that into Photoshop. I desaturated it and brightened it up so that it would show up better in the "x-ray." I superimposed the x-ray image on top of the photo of myself, then put the Apple logo on top of that. I turned the opacity of the Apple logo down to zero and erased the portions that appeared over top of the ribs, so that it would look like the logo was behind the ribs. I brought the opacity back up a little bit so that it was still slightly opaque, but more visible. I then flattened the whole image and blurred the logo and around the x-ray so that they would blend better.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Photo illustrash.

2010-11-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! For my photo illustration, I knew I wanted to do something dream related. I initially wanted to do something inspired by the film Inception, but as I began to think about it more, it seemed like it might be a little bit too difficult and hard to read, so I went with something more simple.

Grand Rapids senior, Ben Weissenborn, thinks about his bed while nodding off in class. Many students, especially around finals, don't get much sleep, resulting in fatigue, difficulty concentrating and lowered mood.

To make my illustration, I shot the main, larger photo in the studio. I came home after the studio and shot the "sleeping" photo in my bed. I toned both photos in Photoshop a little bit, then used the circle tool to draw the first 3 bubbles. For the 4th, I used the marquee tool to select part of the sleeping image. I then copy and pasted on top of the other photo. I then went back and used the circle tool to draw a circle that was similar in shape to the part of the sleeping photo that I had selected, then used the free transform tool to give the exact dimensions. I then made it just a little bit bigger so that it would act as a kind of border for the sleeping photo. I blurred the edges of the bubbles, as well as the outside of the sleeping photo and voila!

Here's my lighting setup:

If you want to see some of the other "drafts" I went through, check out my post before this one! Big thanks to Tze Lin, Tanya and Paige for their input.

HELP!

2010-11-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hey guys. I need some help with my photo illustration. Tell me which one of these you like the most. I think I want to make the photo of me sleeping look more "dreamy" by using some filters in Photoshop, but I don't know which one(s) to use. Suggestions?

Any advice/input you could give me would be awesome!

Still life.

2010-11-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

For my still life, I knew I wanted to do something music related. Initially, I just had kind of a mental image of a well lit turntable. As I started to think about it more, I thought about trying to show visually the differences between analog (turntable w/ record) and digital (iPod) forms of music, mostly just by how I would light each.

ISO: 200
Aperture: f/14.0
Shutter speed: 2.5"
Focal length: 300mm

To light the turntable, I put a soft box on one of the strobes and left the modeling light on and used a slow shutter speed.

ISO: 200
Aperture: f/14.0
Shutter speed: 1"
Focal length: 70mm

To light the iPod and headphones, I flashed one of the strobes with a soft box on it placed quite close to the table. I always find that the strobes give kind of a cold, harsh light that I'm not a huge fan of and I decided to use that to my advantage.

Outtakes:

Poverty story.

2010-11-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

Painting with light.

2010-10-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Members of Petals Rang The Bell, the Grand Rapids based indie rock band, stand on the shore of Little Pine Island Lake in Comstock Park. From left to right: Andy Howse (bass), Ben Weissenborn (drums), Brandon Grubaugh (guitar) and Shane Tripp (guitar/vocals).

Self portait of Ben Weissenborn, 22, of Grand Rapids. Weissenborn is a photographer, videographer, music critic, drummer, DJ and film buff.

Outtakes:

JRN420: On-location Lighting

2010-09-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

JRN420: Studio Portrait

2010-09-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

For my studio portrait, I asked my roommate and good friend, Jay, to be my subject. He is an electronic musician who writes and records music under the moniker Crash Sunday.

Jay, 26 of Mount Pleasant, writes, records and performs original electronic music under the moniker Crash Sunday.

My portfolio

2010-02-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here's my portfolio! Hope you enjoy it.

http://gc.kentmiller.com/benweissenborn

Entertaining the Elderly

2010-02-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Videos for Grand Central Magazine

2009-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

10.8.09: Artist Profile - Crash Sunday

11.5.09: Soundspots: Rubbles

CD Reviews/Music stories for Central Michigan Life

2009-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

8.29. 09: Taken By Trees’ “East of Eden” filled with charm
"On the follow-up to her beautiful, breezy debut, Swedish songstress and The Concretes ex-member Victoria Bergsman, a.k.a. Taken By Trees, crafts a unique and foreign atmosphere, all the while maintaining the sense of charm and simplicity that made her debut such a treat."

9.08.09: “Popular Songs” solid album for Jewish Indie-rock band, Yo La Tengo
"On its 12th full-length album since forming in 1984, everyone’s favorite Jewish indie-rock band, Yo La Tengo, does not venture too far from the stylings of its past releases."

9.15.09: Mixed feelings for Canadian rapper

"“So Far Gone EP,” the first official release from Canadian actor-gone-rapper, Drake, is a mixed affair. Featuring guest appearances from Lil’ Wayne, Trey Songs and Bun B, “So Far Gone EP” varies greatly in quality over its seven tracks."

9.29.09: Girls has good end of summer feel

"One of the most hyped and blogged about bands of 2008, not only lives up to the hype, but is one of the strongest releases 2009 has seen."

10.7.09: The xx debut genuine, exciting

"Consisting of four 20-year old musicians from London, The xx is the next group to join the Joy Division-inspired post-punk revival popularized by The Strokes and Interpol."

10.20.09: The Flaming Lips ‘Embryonic’ a bombastic album

"With their 12th album in their 26 year career, Oklahoma City’s favorite freak-rock band, The Flaming Lips, return with a bombastic, overblown freak-out of an album that stands out as one of the most interesting things you’ll hear all year."

11.3.09: ‘Real Estate’ album is hazy, warm

""Real Estate,” the debut self-titled full-length release from New Jersey’s Real Estate is a hazy, beautiful, free-flowing ode to memories of summers past."

12.02.09: Internet changed the face of music

"Music, like many other facets of pop culture, has seen a whirlwind of trends and stylistic changes over the past ten years.

Early in the 2000s, airwaves were dominated by pop-punk bands such as Blink 182 and Sum 41, rap-rock hybrids such as Limb Bizkit and Korn and boy bands and teen popsters such as The Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears."