Read how I’ve created The Tunnel – fine art miniature photography inspired by Jeff Bridges. It’s Peter McKinnon’s fault.
But first I’d like to dedicate this piece of work to Per’s brave son Henry who is fighting a brain tumor. Please read the whole story on https://www.crafting-for-hope.com and support Per’s donation fundraiser for treatments invented at St. Jude Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, via https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/DIY/DIY?px=8473521&pg=personal&fr_id=133399
For further support you might want to use #craftingforhope whenever you share the campaign.
the inspiration
While I was recovering from a surgery I was watching YouTube videos. What happens when you‘ve been watching for too long is that you start scrolling through the feed without finding any new videos of interest. So I’ve watched this Peter McKinnon video. Not that I watch his videos regularly but YT does suggest them as I‘m generally interested in photography content. Anyhow it happened to be about the Widelux camera which provides you with a really interesting perspective due to its super wide angle.
And then he showed a couple of pages of one of Jeff Bridges‘ photo books. When he flipped a specific page and once my brain processed what it saw I was immediately super excited. It was so inspiring that I stopped the video and started searching for the photo on the web.
But it seems that exactly this photo is not to be found. So I searched for the book which is out of press. And I found it. For a price I couldn‘t afford. But I wanted to make a photograph with miniatures inspired by this very photograph made by Jeff Bridges.
In the end my only reference was a screenshot from Peter‘s video. I don‘t know from which film the photograph is and I don‘t know in what kind of construction the scene takes place. Maybe inside a tunnel, a plane maybe?
the process
This screenshot, my reference for my work, was the starting point for my analysis. What story was told, why was it so intriguing to me? How did light and shadow play along? How was the camera placed? What details in this very dark photographs were visible? What was the composition? And why – again – was it so appealing to me?
materials used
What I needed was this tunnel, a set of miniatures and proper lighting. Lighting and miniatures were already at hand. Lighting because it‘s part of my setup. Miniatures because I had a set of kitbashed and painted miniatures with which I wanted to create something anyhow.
Leaving me with the tunnel which I had to craft. The original photograph by Jeff Bridges does not have any light sources within the tunnel. But for my interpretation I wanted them. That‘s why I‘ve added an LED strip to the tunnel ceiling.
The miniatures I wanted to be part of my work are 3D printed miniatures designed by Reconquer Designs and plastic miniature designed by Games Workshop. All of them I‘ve modified and kitbashed so that they fit into my Knights of Embersworn setting. To be able to place the miniatures properly I‘ve replaced their bases with needle tips so that I can easily push them into the floor made out of xps foam.
The tunnel I’ve crafted out of cardboard, xps foam and an LED strip. With cardboard I’ve created the walls and the ceiling and their details. The floor and the beams to hold the structure are made out of xps foam. The windows are just a plain white 80g/m2 printer paper. The paint job is straight forward using cheap black, brown and terracotta acrylic paint from the hardware store which I put on with a sponge.
In order to be able to place the miniatures easily the ceiling and the walls are not glued together. And yet I had to make sure that there‘s no gap letting through any light from the side.
the photo setup
The original photograph by Jeff Bridges has two light sources. On the left side there‘s light coming in through windows. From the rear of the tunnel-like construction. I‘ve made test setups with whatever I had at hand but it quickly became clear that I wanted to add the ceiling lights.
The paper window needed a strong light source from the left. Here I‘ve set up my amaran 200x from aputure. The rear light didn‘t need to be that strong. My LUMIS LED Panel 600 RGB from Rollei was sufficient. Still I had to diffuse its light with another plain white paper. I didn‘0t want the rear light to as strong as in the original.
After a couple of test photos it was clear that I wanted to emphasize the foreground a bit more for which I placed an additional spot.
As I don‘t have a Widelux camera and I doubt that it is useful for miniature photography I used my laowa 18mm probe lense.
The most challenging part was to trigger the camera shutter at the right time when the fog was distributed in the most fitting way.
post processing
In Adobe Lightroom I changed to a 16:9 ratio. The Widelux of course must have a ration 2:1 or 3:1. But I did not necessarily try to replicate the Widelux style but create an interpretation of the original with what I have.
Also I‘ve adjusted the lighting slightly with a couple of masks.
The result I‘ve processed in Nik Silver Efex for a proper Ilford hp5 plus 400 analogue film style.
In Adobe I‘ve added some subtle haze to the scene.
the result
Printed on Hahnemühle Museum Etching fine art paper. This is the best way to enjoy such pieces or art.
the story in the photo
When she entered the tunnel with her retinue she already knew that the recon team had been overwhelmed. How badly was to be found out. The fog was dampening down the food steps on the cold floor. Slowly the went inside. A moan. A slowly raised hand, reaching for help.
This work is set in a dystopian world with the Knights of Embersworn being just one of many factions. If you want to see more related works please read my other posts for Transcendent Decay.
