EMPS: Black and White Magic

It's time again for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, specifically EMPS #28: BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY. Carly mentions in the entry that a black and white photo can be mysterious, which got me thinking about trying to convey the concept of magic. But first....

From EMPS

This is technically not a black and white photo, but it might as well be, because no color is in evidence as the backlit jet crosses an overcast sky. This past weekend was the annual air show at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near our house. I'm pretty sure there was an air show the first week we came to town, back in March 1986, and now here it is again. Every year I try to photograph some of the planes that scream overhead, but except for my 2007 shots, where I both worked hard at it and got lucky a few times, I've had little success.

This year I didn't even see the Blue Angels, just the smaller stuff, going by very fast, very high up, and rather distant. At one point the sky cleared up enough to get this shot of cirrus clouds, which become really interesting when converted to black and white. There was supped to be a jet in this photo, but I may have edited it out with the lens flares.

Let's move on to the real black and white shots, which I was able to photograph under more controlled conditions. These were set up for black and white in camera. I collected things that could serve as props in a fantasy novel - an earthenware mug, a teapot, a small bottle that could hold potion, something like an amulet, a quartz crystal ball, three interesting-looking books, and George Junior, one of my gargoyles.

Cropped to feature the ball.

"Old photo" FX applied.

That's it from me for tonight - but as usual, I encourage you to check with Carly's blog Ellipsis to see other entries.

Update: Oops! Carly asked a question, and I missed it!


This Week's Question: If you could photograph any celebrity, who would it be?

I have photographed Scott Bakula, various Doctor Who people and a few other actors. At this point, the celebrity I'd love to be photographing is David Tennant, who plays the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who. He is currently filming the last few tv specials that wrap up his tenure on the show, and lucky and dedicated fans are out there late at night whenever the filming takes place outside, taking rather amazing photos given that they stay back to avoid interfering with the cast and crew. I wish I could be out there with them, digital SLR and zoom lens in hand, capturing the end of an era. But I'm not likely to get to Wales before Tennant is done with the role. And that's where the show is shot!

Karen

Finding the Words

Shakespeare flirts with Martha as the
Doctor makes an interesting discovery

The second episode of the new series of Doctor Who aired today in the U.K. I've now watched "The Shakespeare Code" several times - never mind how - and it definitely has its moments as well as its shortcomings. The production is gorgeous with its use of the rebuilt Globe Theatre, other locations and period costume, and the Shakespeare character is a wonderful, charismatic figure who holds his own with the Doctor and his new companion, Martha Jones. Skip the next paragraph if you don't want to read plot details, and then we'll get on with a quick discussion of the power of words - and the problems in coming up with them.

William Shakespeare saves the world with words.

The episode concerns Shakespeare's run-in with the Three Witches. They are actually Carrionites, expelled from the universe near the dawn of time. The premise is that the witches' "magic" is actually a form of science based on the power of words. They try to use Shakespeare, the ultimate wordsmith, to invade our universe and destroy the world. Shakespeare, in turn, must improvise the right words to kick them out again.

They are all delighted when Queen Elizabeth I arrives -
but the Queen has a completely different reaction.

The episode uses an idea commonly found in fictional systems of magic, based on the old belief that words, and especially names, have power. In A Wizard of Earthsea, for example, a wizard's true name is hidden from others, so that an enemy cannot gain power over him by using the name against him. In the Harry Potter books, people are afraid to use Voldemort's name, although Harry and Dumbledore consider this taboo a foolish one. But even in that universe, words are important. They are a huge part of the spells that the characters cast. J.K. Rowling coins a bunch of magical words from Latin roots for her characters to use in this way. And I've done the same, sort of: the Mages of Mâvarin and Mâton use an arcane language, Lopartin, for their spells. Mâvarin is in a different world, where the English language and Latin do not exist as such; but I've had a lot of fun over the years warping words from our languages into theirs.

The Doctor advises Will to let a lost play stay lost.

Writers love the idea of the power of words; after all, it is their stock in trade. I can't use words to ride a broom, banish a monster or save the world, but I can use them to bring a fictional character to life, or help someone to see the whole world differently. Other words can destroy a marriage or start a war. Yes, even in the real world, words have power.

But first you have to find the right ones. I was stuck on a particular paragraph in The Mâvarin Revolutions for a month, because I couldn't get King Jor to come up with a sentence to bridge two related ideas. And in Chapter One of Mages, I've struggled for years with a sentence about Darma not wanting her father to know how many magical specialties she's mastered, because she's worried that he'll cut her off from further studies. She wants to learn it all, everything there is to know. But I only have half a sentence to convey all that, in the middle of a scene in which Sunestri does indeed cut off Darma's education. As of tonight, it says,

Portal magic was her eleventh specialty, but Darma never admitted such things to Sunestri.

Best I can do for now, and even that is an improvement over what I had before. The reader just has to guess from the context why Darma downplays her proficiency to her father. But this is an example of an ongoing struggle to find the right words to do the right things. Sometimes I feel ham-fisted around language, unable to make the words fit my intent.

Ah, but when it works, it's magic.

Magic Men

It's Tuesday night, well past midnight into Wednesday. Time for another Round Robin Photo Challenge! This time the topic, chosen by Steve of PAPARRAZI BY PROXY, is "Magic."

Well, you probably know where that word leads me: right into Mâvarin, that ubiquitous "country in my mind." But hmm... how can I show the magic of my wonderful, fictional Mâvarin photographically?

Like this:

Here's Rani Fost, the main protagonist of the Mages of Mâvarin trilogy, and an important supporting character in Heirs of Mâvarin. Rani eventually becomes an apprentice mage, and discovers talents for divination, animation (bringing things to a semblance of life), telepathy, mind-healing, and necromancy. He's also a tengrem, which is to say, he turns into a four-legged, two-armed, one-horned, fire-breathing monster unless he's got that necklace about his throat. This is an unusual picture of Rani indeed: we caught him smiling for once. (Looking at him here at work, I noticed that I needed to lighten the photo a bit. I've now done so.)


The original drawing of Rani is by my friend Sherlock, of course, from 2004. I colorized him a while back, but I've never before tried to render him photographically. Somehow I've never managed to sneak a camera into Mâvarin, which doesn't have such devices.

This was my first pass at merging the drawing with a couple of photographs. I think I like it a bit better than the top version, which has the one photo superimposed a second time. I'm not going to tell you who the main model is, because I didn't ask permission to use my photo of her in this way. Yes, her. Now you know why the first shot is a bit too feminine to really capture Rani's character. (The other problem is that my model was facing a slightly different direction, which threw off the nose and mouth a bit.) As for the hair, well, a smidge of it is mine, from a 30-year-old photo.


And here is Fayubi the Seer, my "tricky old man" character whose talents are divination and illusion. In the Mages trilogy he's the Royal Mage of Mâvarin. He's also disappeared - kidnapped from his home and dumped in a cave hundreds of miles away with a severely damaged memory.

Here's the Sherlock original. Again, I didn't ask the guy at church for permission to superimpose his face over this black and white rendering. As for the eyes, well, those are mine. The sad part is that I look older than Fayubi in that photo. I really need more sleep!

One of the reasons that I'm fixated on my Mâvarin characters right now is that I just heard on Tuesday morning that the editor at Tor remembers my manuscript. No, I haven't heard back yet, and no, I have no idea whether he'll respond soon, or whether the response will say "Send us more" or "No, thanks." But it means that he's seen it, or at least a first reader's report on it, and hasn't said no yet. If it were obvious, irredeemable garbage, I'd probably have it back by now. I'm thinking it's passed a few hurdles and now awaits further attention to determine whether it's a high-end rejection or something worth further consideration. I hope I hope I hope! I thought about informing PNH that the deadline has passed for rejection, and he now has to look at the full manuscript, but he might find that quip more presumptuous and critical than amusing. Believe me, I have no intention of criticizing Tor, even if the final answer turns out to be no. A yes would be ever so much better, though!

Now go see what everyone else is coming up with for this Challenge. And yes, as always, you're invited to join in yourself! Check the Round Robin blog for the details.

Karen

Linking List

Steve - POSTED!
PAPARRAZI BY PROXY
http://journals.aol.com/navakukus/PAPARRAZIBYPROXY

Steven - POSTED!
(sometimes)photoblog
http://sepintx.blogspot.com/

Carly - POSTED!
Ellipsis... Suddenly Carly
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com/

Linda - POSTED!
Blah Blah Blah
http://blahblahblog.wordpress.com/

Karen - POSTED!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com/

Teena - POSTED!
It's all about me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com/

Gattina - POSTED!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Dorn - POSTED!
Through The Eyes Of The Beholder
http://journals.aol.com/dornbrau/ThroughtheEyesoftheBeholder/

Brad - POSTED!
we-is
http://we-is.blogspot.com/2007/01/round-robin-photo-challenge-magic_10.html

Technorati Tags: Photos, memes, Magic, Mâvarin, Round Robin Photo

35 and Counting

No, that's not a joking reference to my age. I'll be 50 in March, and I'm fine with that. No, that's the current count of unread emails on this screen name. At one point last week it was 165. When this entry posts it will be 36.

Mostly over the last few days I've caught up the AOL Alerts, deleted all the "Today in the Tucson Citizen" alerts (and unsubscribed from same), mucked about with my LiveJournal Friends list, and gone through one, count 'em, one, FeedBlitz alert. That last isn't as hopeless as it sounds. I used it as a means to unsubscribe from two feeds - one from someone I doubt has ever visited Outpost, and one BlogSpot mirror of an AOL Journal I read on the AOL side. (Hi, Pat!) I also went through every Making Light entry in the past 25 days or so, continuing a few conversations long after everyone else had left the party. The one whose threaded comments had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe was basically a collection of silly or out-of-context disclaimers. I added a few of my own at the end, including this one from a bowl I've been using in the microwave oven for years: "May become hot in microwave." Almost as much fun, for those of us who aren't overly fond of GWB's Presidency, is this collection of bumper sticker slogans. I particularly liked the subtle reference to a Doctor Who Christmas special, although it's a slight misquote.

You want me to do what? Forget it! Hands off!

Unfortunately, just doing that much (and deleting a few miscellaneous emails unread) took all evening, and I haven't even gotten to the Round Robin blog yet to RSVP - first time in a year and a half I haven't done so right away. Let's rectify that right now. Ooh...good one! The next Round Robin topic is "Magic"! You know that's right up my alley. Not so much rabbits and hats and three card monte and swords through beautiful assistants - not that there's anything wrong with that! - but The Magic of Mâvarin, and perhaps also the magic of photographic trickery. Yeah, this is going to be a fun one, I think! Be sure to RSVP if you'd like to play along.

"But that trick never works!"

Time to go. Catch you tomorrow!

Karen

Technorati Tags: Photos, memes, Magic, Round Robin Photo Feeds, email, Simlify