Cityeye making process

Spherical Panorama function in Photoshop

 ​If you're someone who likes taking photographs, I'm sure you're thinking the same thing as me. It is the feeling of applying to use your own photos when making and planning an image with Photoshop. Many triggers in own photos will evoke images in your mind, such as emotions, sensations, weather, air temperature, etc., that you felt when you took the picture. Sometimes you will feel that way. Oh, I was excited when I took those pictures. Then, some time goes by, even looking at the photo, strangely enough, the same emotions that I felt at that time are recalled. Photography stimulates memories in this way, and those memories evoke emotions in the heart. So, if what you forget the moment , you can also save and record your feelings through the image.

I also vividly remember passing in front of the Statue of Liberty when I first went to New York. The weather was surprisingly nice that day. It was Wonderful Weather. The clouds flew over the buildings, waving like Van Gogh's paintings, and the wind smelled like mint. The bright rays of the sun, sprinkling in moderation, made the Hudson River twinkle. The clear weather made the color of the river shimmer with a bluer and darker cobalt color. I took a picture of the scene, being careful not to miss out on its beauty.

New York, 2018, Myungja Anna Koh

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​I used this photo to complete a digital artwork called City Eye. If the photo does not convey this overwhelming beauty, the result may somewhat reduce the quality of the image displayed from Photoshop. I imported this photo into Photoshop.

 The concept of Citi Eye's work was introduced in the previous post below. Here is a brief excerpt: (Go to related article!) 

Have you ever looked up at a magnificent building from top to bottom when visiting a metropolitan area like New York or Seoul? Our point of view always weakens the existence of nature, like a painting drawn by our nephew. Because, as we know, we are part of that nature. Sometimes it seems that we are controlled by an artificial environment. When I walk the streets of New York, I often feel overwhelmed by its grandeur and splendor. Then whenever I see the beautiful red geraniums planted around the restaurant, I feel a little relieved. There is a force that such a colossal building gives. So I changed the viewpoint this time. That is a top-down view. Perhaps a flying bird, insect, or even extraterrestrial life from a distant universe might see our city this way. In the middle, you can see a blue river like a human eye. The center of the river opens like an iris, and light leaks out. The light swirls the river and converges the building in the middle. I got the idea that the energy that makes these cities, that is, people, who are the subjects of power, are also part of nature. Finally, I paid attention to the power of the invisible spirit that creates a large visible city. How we use and control this energy depends on what direction and angle the human eye sees, so the city's future seems to be determined. It would be nice if nature and the city coexist. I hope that an environment where we can embrace each other and coexist is universal.

It is very simple to use Photoshop's features to change an image and transform it into a beautiful picture. Just click to change. However, in order for this to come out as an artwork, why was such a function used, and the use of a very small function must be sufficiently digested according to the philosophy.  As explained above, I wanted an image of a city as far away from the Hudson River as the river swirls and converges the city. Just like the human eye. 

For this function, I moved the 3D menu like above, and click the Spherical panorama---> New panorama Layer From Selected Layer. After a few seconds, there will be an adjustment icon that adjusts the angle to 3 D as shown in the screen below. Rotate the angle of this icon to get the desired three-dimensional image. 

 ​It can be a bit dizzy as it has to be rotated round and round. But after a while, you can get a nice screen like this.

 The important point is that if you use this photo as is, something artistic is missing. If you artificially deform a photo, you will see an unnatural image because of that part. 

Personally, as a child, I really liked the animations directed by Hayao Miyazaki. In particular, one of my favorite scenes is the sky with puffy clouds, where the master's artistic sense flows as it is. Hayao Miyazaki, who loved airplanes and sky under the influence of his father who worked in the aviation industry from an early age, in many of his works, through the sky with beautiful clouds like an artwork, the individual victimized by the groupism of the majority spreads the wings of freedom. I drew a space where I could spread out and fly. Perhaps that's why I feel this infinite freedom when I watch his animations. Additionally , the scene where an individual, exhausted from the development between industrialization and civilization, becomes a part of nature and soars through the sky has so many implications that I feel infinitely moved when I watch it.  Anyway, I remembered his paintings and used the features below to create an image as close as possible.

Witch's Delivery Service Kiki, source: naver

 ​Imagine his sky and go to the filter gallery. 

Click the Distort folder and select the Diffuse Glow and you can adjust the value. 

 ​The artificial sky like below changes like a fairy tale.

 The next task is to create a scene where the light comes from the Hudson River. For this expression, go to Filter menu and click the Render--> Lens Flare. And then adjust the value. 

​Below is the completed Citi Eye image. I've been working with Photoshop in a relatively simple way. I hope that you will also create a lot of cool images that fit your own concept.