Greymanner 3rd Editorial: dansa! (Part 1)

Our 3rd Editorial is called 'dansa!', Indonesian for the word 'dance,' done during my recent trip to Bali, this time featuring Monica Cindy, my sister. I actually still have another photo session to go, but due to our hectic schedule I've decided to divide the editorial into 2 parts. Like I told you before in my recent post 'Greymanner 3rd Editorial - Behind The Scenes', I had to take Jordan's role as the photographer since he is in Vancouver. I'm not a professional photographer, so long story short, I ruined the pictures. So that is the answer right there in case you're wondering why this editorial doesn't have high-res quality.

This is our first editorial this year, so it would be appropriate to welcome the new year with the theme of a celebration of life. You can see the style for our editorial this time is more like a 'surrealist watercolour painting'. Despite my taste for anything surrealist, this was not what I had in mind in the beginning, as I prefer sharp details and bold colours for every spread. But again, for technical reasons, it seems this was the best style we could settle on due to the photo resolution. 'Speed effect' and 'blur background/objects' are not just meant to reduce the picture quality, but also work well with the concept - the idea of 'stopping in time' and 'catching the moment'. This effect is also intended to draw attention to certain points and details in the picture that are supposed to be the highlights.

More about the concept: In life, time flies by, and we as people often worry too much about the future or dwell on the past, and forget the most important thing: that is to enjoy every moment and stick to the present. Therefore, I chose 'dance' as the metaphor for this subject matter - what is the best way to celebrate a moment other than dancing? (My sister was a professional dancer so I also thought it would make it easier for her to relate). In this editorial, I pictured a girl on the beach. As if the world just stopped for a moment, she treasures her brief moments...by dancing, as a form of celebration and appreciation of life, while everything around her passes by with time.

Every element in the picture contains heavy symbolism and subtle metaphor, followed by inspiring quotes. I chose a pastel color scheme and soft hues throughout the pictures to blend with the setting sun to create a 'spiritual, serene and calm' kind of feel. My goal is to make people see it as if it's a painting rather than a photograph, but not in a melodramatic way. I chose the sun as the background setting not just based on the aesthetic factor but also because the sun as the source of life has dual meaning. As the sun rises and sets every day, it represents the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

I also did the styling myself, on Alyssa's behalf. I selected dark coloured materials that would make my sister move around comfortably enough but still look elegant. In addition, to add some masculine effects, power and energy in her presence and in contrast to the soft pastel-coloured backgrounds, I added an ethnic headband and crazy patterned see-through stockings to go with her outfit. Let's just say I was trying to mix a little bit of 'Pixies', 'Amazon warrior' and '20's British Aristocrat' in one look.

Well, that is the first part of our 3rd editorial for now. Please feel free to share with us your comments and feedback.

Editorial after the jump.

Model : Monica Cindy
Photo,style & lay out : Farrell Sean
Location : Bali, Indonesia
Team : Jordan Petryk, Alyssa Kwan, Farrell Sean

greymanner editorial by greymanner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

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