June 2009 - The staircase problem

The original:

The brief:

Here's a shot I took in a French chateau last year, which I've just uploaded as part of an update to thefullmontage. I photographed this during the day, of course, and it's just occurred to me that the scene would look very different at night: darkness on the ground floor, with a light coming from the top of the stairs.

Is this too difficult a task for the Friday Challenge? And what might be lurking behind that mysterious curtain?

Finished work:

Click on pics for full size.

June 2009 - Bring him to life, part 2

The original:

The brief:

We haven't done one of these for a while, and I always think it's an interesting technique to master.

One of the things I saw on my trip to Norway a few weeks ago was the Stalinist-inspired City Hall, a monstrous red brick building. The facade is decorated with statues of working men (men only, as it happens - the statues of women are in the park in front, carrying children). Here's one of the statues.

This is the first time I've seen a statue of an overweight, shirtless boatman. What must the original model have looked like? Can you bring this statue to life?

Finished work:

Click images to view full size

June 2009 - Boy meets girl

The original:

The brief:

There was an interesting discussion last week about building bridges - in particular, how to make the reflections work. It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up - so sorry for yet another aquatic theme, but this one has some points of interest. 

Can you help this boy to reach his girlfriend, on the opposite bank? The style of bridge is up to you, of course. 

Finished work:

Click to view full.

May 2009 - Mine all mine

The original:

The brief:

I'd never seen a nautical mine up close before I passed this one, on a museum ship in Oslo. It's a strange looking device, and it looks oddly lacking in danger in this mounted location. 

How would this explosive device look to a terrified sailor, adrift in the high seas? Can you make the museum exhibit look threatening again? Or alternatively, can you come up with a more peaceful use for it? 

Finished work:

 Click to view full.

May 2009 - 250th Challenge - The cabinet of curiosities

The brief:

I'd like you to build a museum exhibit showing as many objects from previous Friday Challenges as you're able to include. They can all be your own work, or chosen from other people's entries; the museum can be an old fashioned mahogany case, or a modern gallery space. However you choose to approach it, I'm looking for realism here: pay close attention to lighting, perspective and scale! 

No starting image this week. After all, you have 250 to choose from in the archives.

Finished work:

Click on picture to view full.

May 2009 - Damien's iMac

The original:
The brief:

I was commissioned to do a rather interesting job a couple of weeks ago, and thought you might like to have a go at it. It was for a magazine feature about buying contemporary art online, and the idea was to show a computer in a glass case in the style of Damien Hirst, the British artist best known for his early work that involved sawing animals in half and pickling them in formaldehyde. So the task was to cut the computer in half and place it in a case. 

This is the starting image I used (although I didn't use the speakers). It turned out to be a tricky and very interesting job. Feel like having a go? I'll post my version next Friday, for the sake of completeness. 

Finished work:

As usual, click on image to view larger.

May 2009 - Out of the depths

The original:


The brief:
Down by the docks in Oslo, I spotted this underground channel. What kind of machine or beast could live in such a place?

The real challenge here, of course, will be to match the distorted reflections in the water's surface. Not a task for the faint hearted!

Finished work:


Click on images to view full.