{"id":5342,"date":"2020-04-12T13:33:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T11:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speckund.me\/?p=5342"},"modified":"2021-07-04T11:38:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-04T09:38:02","slug":"visual-storytelling-in-7-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speckund.me\/w2\/visual-storytelling-in-7-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Storytelling in 7 steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ehrendingen, L\u00e4gern. Switzerland.<\/a> April 11, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever asked how to create a visual story? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Image made on one of my walks to the top of the L\u00e4gern, 2020. [click for full resolution]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Visual Storytelling in 7 steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

  1. Imagine your story and develop an idea of your image.<\/a><\/li>
  2. Make your image.<\/a> Do not take it. Make it.<\/li>
  3. Create a working copy<\/a> and mark your changes by hand.<\/li>
  4. Create and sketch your story.<\/a> Use a storybook.<\/li>
  5. Write your story<\/a> and transfer it to your preferred (blogging) platform.<\/li>
  6. Finalize your image, upload it to your blog.<\/a><\/li>
  7. Publish.<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Be warned, it\u2019s a time consuming process combining ideation, imagination, photographic work and writing; and it needs a lot of effort, time and patience! But in the end it is pure satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 1: Imagine your story and develop an idea of your image<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I usually start with a lot of ideas and my own vision, my imagination – long before making the photograph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Remember Ansel Adams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u00ab<\/em><\/em>You don\u2019t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.\u00bb<\/em><\/em> \u2015 Ansel Adams<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    A good piece of art – be it a photograph, a painting, a drawing, a sculpture or even a poem or a song – they all start with an idea and a vision (i.e. in ones heart). They will grow slowly, being further developed and built up over time – I call this \u2018the inside out process\u2019. Probably there will be some inspiration from the \u2018outside in\u2019 – but the overall creative process is \u2018inside out\u2019. Let me explain this with an example: During one of my walks the other day across the forests of the L\u00e4gern<\/a> some of the trees were in beautiful harsh backlit, but at this time I was not yet ready for the image (see the image on top). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I kept the backlit scene in my mind for several days and combined it with another idea I had a long time ago: Make an image of the dark soil in a moody wood; the deeps of the soil should be on Zone II or III (see Ansel Adams Zone System<\/a>). So why not combine those two fictitious images? Slowly the idea grew and developed further; in my imagination I could already see the final image. This is what I call \u2018inside out\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Again Ansel Adams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u00ab<\/em><\/em>You don\u2019t take a photograph, you make it.\u00bb<\/em><\/em> \u2015 Ansel Adams<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Step 2: Make your image<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Lately I hiked up to the top of the L\u00e4gern, where I discovered these beautiful trees on the ridge. This is another image I had been planning for a long time – it should be a fine art print showing the subtle fine greys of the trees and the fine light in their back – rather low contrast monochrome, nearly (if not all) black and white. Happy about this image I left the trail to have a fantastic coffee in the wild, in the middle of nowhere far from the path. After my coffee break I crossed a short untouched wood to get back to the trail again – and there it was: The dark soil of the moody wood – and some glittering bright ice on the path!<\/strong> This was the image I had been planning for a long time (see step 1<\/a><\/em>)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u00ab<\/em>What a good coffee in the wild can do!\u00bb<\/em><\/em> \u2015 Christian Speck, and many, many others.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    See the final image here<\/a>.
    See the exact coordinates of the final image in     this map<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 3: Create a working copy and make your changes by hand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In this step your ideas and vision (see step 1<\/a><\/em>) are combined with the image (see step 2<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Below you’ll find an example of a working copy as I use to create it. From the bunch of all the images I usually select two or three, and out of this shortlist finally I choose the best one, print it out – it could be a simple print on any common office printer, even a Laser Printer does the job. Starting with this working copy I write down my notes for further editing. This will look as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Ansel Adams shows a good example of a working copy too in his book The Print<\/a>, see my old German edition below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n