VIRTUAL GEOGRAPHIC

I miss your stuff, mate...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:59:09 +0000

Seeing your stuff makes me miss doing it, I’ve been telling myself that it would get in the way of my graphic design coursework, but I’m still finding the time to play the games!
I’ll be back soon, in the meantime, this one’s for you (from Sleeping Dogs).

Some more GTA IV photos, sticking with the black and white look,...

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:59:00 +0100

Some more GTA IV photos, sticking with the black and white look, although not real film this time.

I can totally imagine Nico Bellic as a street photographer, armed with a vintage Soviet camera.

I thought I’d start sharing with you the work of some of...

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 23:33:49 +0100

Gate Blockade - Joshua Taylor

Belly of the Beast - Joshua Taylor

Bazaar - Joshua Taylor

Virus - Joshua Taylor

I thought I’d start sharing with you the work of some of my favourite virtual photographers, beginning with my good friend Joshua Taylor.

Dealing with virtual environments as well as their inhabitants, his work not only captures the narrative of games but also creates it’s own, showing glimpses of stories running parallel to the central plot. He also experiments in creating abstract images from surfaces, demonstrating a keen eye for pattern and texture.

Me and Josh got talking shortly after I started this blog, and we’ve formed a friendship based on the mutual admiration and respect of each other’s work, photography and of course, videogames. He’s always producing and sharing loads of great new work on a daily basis.

JTGP Tumblr | JTGP Flickr

For me, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has some of the best art...

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 23:33:44 +0100

For me, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has some of the best art direction of any game I’ve played, it has a bold, distinct style, unified across it’s interiors, clothing, architecture, guns and more. It all paints a picture, a pretty awesome picture too.

Red Dead Redemption again, there’s a lot of potential for...

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 22:03:11 +0100

Cross Wire, Great Plains, West Elizabeth

Vista, Tall Trees, West Elizabeth

Iglesia, Escalera, Nuevo Paraíso

Comforts, Blackwater, West Elizabeth

Amen, Blackwater, West Elizabeth

Banderín, Escalera, Nuevo Paraíso

Great Lake, Blackwater, West Elizabeth

Tall Trees, Tall Trees, West Elizabeth

Mañana, Escalera, Nuevo Paraíso

Red Dead Redemption again, there’s a lot of potential for photography in Rockstar’s western. As sparse as it’s landscape is, it’s rich in atmosphere and intrigue.

As featured on Gamescenes

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:29:12 +0100

Awesome game art website, Gamescenes, just did a brilliant article on my recent project and my virtual photography work generally, with some interesting thoughts on this growing form.

Thanks, Matteo! And my surname’s Pollock by the way.

My final piece for the final art project of my current course. A...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:35:02 +0100

My final piece for the final art project of my current course. A collection of 190 of my virtual photographs, printed and cut to resemble Polaroids.

There’s a bunch of shots I haven’t blogged yet, they’ll be making an appearance over the next couple of weeks and, of course, I’m going to keep on taking and sharing photos.

More Mirror’s Edge, feeling kind of blue. I believe every...

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:01:23 +0100

More Mirror’s Edge, feeling kind of blue.

I believe every game that has a strong visual style or otherwise lends itself well to photographic exploration should encourage this with a built-in photo mode. Sure, it would lead to a flood of photographs of varying quality but photography should be available for everyone.

That’s something that I’m trying to promote with this blog, that anyone can do this, it’s not easy to take good photos (I’m sure I’ve posted some questionable ones), but it’s fun to try.

As far as Orwellian dystopias go, Mirror’s Edge’s is...

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:10:56 +0100

As far as Orwellian dystopias go, Mirror’s Edge’s is pretty cool.

Perhaps we’ll see a sequel reveal at E3 next month. A man can dream.

Some Instagram shots from Mirror’s Edge’s city (it...

Tue, 22 May 2012 01:37:26 +0100

Some Instagram shots from Mirror’s Edge’s city (it doesn’t actually have a name), I made sure Instagram’s filters didn’t interfere with the beautiful colour scheme too much.

I’ve already started making prints from these, I’m considering taking slide film photos too.

I would love to see a Mirror’s Edge 2, I really feel there’s a lot of potential to the story, style and gameplay of this world.

spasticalactica replied to your photoset: These are the results of an experiment into...

Tue, 22 May 2012 01:36:30 +0100

spasticalactica replied to your photoset: These are the results of an experiment into taking…

Great concept - where would you like to head with this, what game-scapes? And would you be interested in building your own digital environments?

Thanks!

Taking photographs is my way of exploring and testing the bounds of digital environments, and it’s the taking that’s an important part of the experience, it crystallises part of the realism of these spaces for me, as does developing film and printing photos. It all adds tangibility, and it’s a great way to play games too!

At the moment I’m interested in getting at some of the photographic styles and techniques that haven’t yet seen action in virtual photography, as well as what styles and techniques can be created through the manipulation of these virtual spaces.

I could try that kind of constructed reality photography, where I made the scenes I wanted to photograph, but if I made my own digital environments it would only be to take them apart and I’d probably want to use them for something other than photography.

These are the results of an experiment into taking black and...

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:51:54 +0100

Silo-ette, Alderney

Garage, Bohan

Bunker Hill Avenue, Broker

Broker Bridge and Algonquin, Bohan

Jade Street Payphone, Algonquin

Parking, Algonquin

These are the results of an experiment into taking black and white film photographs of GTA IV’s Liberty City, the photos ended up really underexposed and I had to ratchet up the contrast to be able to see anything.

But I like them, analog photos of a digital city, I wonder anyone would notice if these were framed and placed on the wall of a New York café…

I turned some of my JSRF photos into Polaroid-style prints for...

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:48:07 +0100

I turned some of my JSRF photos into Polaroid-style prints for an art project I’m currently working on, something interesting to me about spaces that aren’t really spaces, photographed with a retro camera that isn’t really a retro camera, appearing on Polaroids that aren’t really Polaroids.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of activity of late, many more photos are on the way and I’ll be posting more of my project too.

More... :(

Sun, 13 May 2012 21:56:52 +0100

Some new stuff will be coming very soon, I just need to pick the best ones.

People seemed to really like the Jet Set Radio Future photos I...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:13:00 +0100

Exchanging Names, Hikage Street

Car, Garage

Rooftop Party, Chuo Street

Ninety-Nine Neon Signs, 99th Street

Screen Burn 2, Kibogaoka Hill

Blocks, Highway Zero

Choices, Rokkaku-Dai Heights

Boxed In, Rokkaku-Dai Heights

Dam, Kibogaoka Hill

People seemed to really like the Jet Set Radio Future photos I posted a while back, so when I was looking over all the shots I’d taken and came across these ones that I hadn’t shared, well…

I think I’ve posted more JSRF than anything else so far, just goes to show what a 10-year-old game can produce.

An offshoot of my Mineton City visit, some abstract shots I...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:24:59 +0100

An offshoot of my Mineton City visit, some abstract shots I thought I’d share with you.

I started seeing some strange effects when I was toying with the graphics settings and fog depth in Minecraft, rather than set it back to something ‘usable’, I pushed it right to the low end instead.

The shots remind me of the bits in Assassin’s Creed where you ‘desynchronise’, causing the memory of a beautiful classical city to collapse, exposing the digital system supporting it.

They also remind me of the work of Robert Overweg, one of my favourite virtual photographers, I think there’s a lot of potential for producing glitch art and the like in these kind of environments.

More shots from Minecraft, this time I decided to play tourist...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:18:52 +0100

Seaside Market At Dawn

Windmill

Grand Hotel

The Stitcher Building

Fields

Mineton

More shots from Minecraft, this time I decided to play tourist on a user-created map, ‘Mineton’ by Frossa, a beautiful, early 20th-century-themed place, walking around there felt like visiting a quiet Scandinavian town by the sea.

Once again, I used ‘Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders’ to get those amazing dynamic shadows that really make Minecraft come alive.

I recently started an art project where I’m looking at reality and virtual reality, these two spaces where I spend most of my time, bringing them together in interesting ways. With that in mind, I added in some light leak effects to try give the images a sense of realism and tangibility (I even printed a couple of the shots onto glossy paper so I could feel them), they also fit with the vintage style of the map.

I’m not sure if I made the effect as good as it could be, certainly not as good as the real thing, hmm, capturing digital spaces with an analogue camera, a role reversal I may have to try…

A few shots I took in Minecraft, using the brilliant Jolicraft...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:37:19 +0100

Morning Fog

Curious Pig

Sea Breeze

Swamp

A few shots I took in Minecraft, using the brilliant Jolicraft texture pack and the ‘Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders’ mod.

I’m toying with the idea of taking more shots, what do you folks think? Has Minecraft been done to death? Any Minecraft maps that you think would make for great photographs?

Had a couple of folks request some more Jet Set Radio Future...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:43:20 +0000

Gateway, Pharaoh Park

Scramble, Shibuya Terminal

Warm Reception, Skyscraper District

Mart, 99th Street

Highway Zero, Highway Zero

Double Parked, Highway Zero

People Watching I, 99th Street

Clamour, 99th Street

People Watching II, 99th Street

Had a couple of folks request some more Jet Set Radio Future photos, specifically the night-time areas, I was more than happy to oblige.

From futuristic Japan to the Old West, and Red Dead...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:46:08 +0000

Derrick, Plainview, New Austin

Ojo del Diablo, Chuparosa, Nuevo Paraíso

Sepultura, Sepulcro, Nuevo Paraíso

Puerta, Sepulcro, Nuevo Paraíso

Ocaso, El Matadero, Nuevo Paraíso

House, Blackwater, West Elizabeth

From futuristic Japan to the Old West, and Red Dead Redemption’s beautiful scenery, largely untapped by virtual photographers due to it’s unchangeable third-person perspective and unavailability on PC.

Of course, it all proved too tempting for me, the shots were tricky to take but I think I got some good results.

Unfortunately, my life’s getting pretty busy at the moment so posts are going to be a tad sparse until things get less critical.