Observation #004:
Blending old and new can open a doorway to something unique.
Project Background
In Spring 2013, I was living in NYC on the Upper East Side. I was attending a course in Visual Storytelling at The New School’s Media Studies department. It was a space where we went beyond conventional storytelling, using tools like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Soundslides to blend images and sound in a cohesive narrative.
The Project: Produce a romantic Interlude between two actors from different eras, Javier Bardeen and Rita Hayworth, set to a Miles David soundtrack using found photography.
Concept
This photography capstone project took me down a nostalgic lane, combining historic photographs of Javier Bardeen and Rita Hayworth – actors out of time from one another – into a sort of romantic vignette. Imagine it: old photos, jazz, and the energy of two iconic personalities.
Visual Elements
I went through a pile of photographs to find just the right ones—images where you could almost feel the chemistry between Bardeen and Hayworth. Played around with light and shadow a bit, to sort of capture the highs and lows of love, if you know what I mean.
Audio Components
Miles Davis’ music sets the whole mood. It’s not just background noise; it’s as if his trumpet is having a conversation with the images, adding layers of, well, feelings to the whole thing.
Technical Aspects
Between Photoshop and Lightroom, I had the visuals covered. I used these tools to fine-tune each photo and create sequences that felt cinematic. Soundslides was the go-to for piecing the audio and visuals together—so it wasn’t just a slideshow but a story.
A Note on Workflow
Efficiency was key here. I learned a bunch of ways to streamline the process, from how to sort these vintage photos to syncing them with the Miles Davis track. It helped make the project not just a collage but a well-put-together narrative.
Lucky Strike (2013)
by Michael Blackledge