06 November 2015

Contemporary art photographer creates stunning cloudscapes

 

  • Photographer Seb Janiak, from Paris, takes extremely high resolution shots of clouds before mixing them together
  • Each features the central glow of the sun with the light beaming off hundreds and hundreds of layers of clouds
  • The final composite product usually requires Mr Janiak to use between 50 and 200 separate images
A contemporary art photographer has created a series of stunning cloudscapes by painstakingly combining hundreds of images.
Art photographer Seb Janiak, from Paris, takes extremely high resolution shots of clouds before mixing them together to make works that appear almost celestial.
Each features the central glow of the sun, the light beaming off layer upon layer of clouds - sometimes requiring Mr Janiak to use between 50 and 200 separate images.
Due to the size of the images he works with - and the delicate nature of mixing so many elements - each work can take Mr Janiak, from Paris, France, around two months to complete.
Contemporary art photographer Seb Janiak, from Paris, takes extremely high resolution shots of clouds before mixing them together to make works that appear almost celestial (Pictured: The Kingdom, Loi Spectrale Du Rayonnement 2011)
Contemporary art photographer Seb Janiak, from Paris, takes extremely high resolution shots of clouds before mixing them together to make works that appear almost celestial (Pictured: The Kingdom, Loi Spectrale Du Rayonnement 2011)
Each composite features the central glow of the sun, the light beaming off layer upon layer of clouds - sometimes requiring Mr Janiak to use between 50 and 200 separate images (Pictured:  Moon Above Clouds, 2008)
Each composite features the central glow of the sun, the light beaming off layer upon layer of clouds - sometimes requiring Mr Janiak to use between 50 and 200 separate images (Pictured: Moon Above Clouds, 2008)
Due to the size of the images he works with - and the delicate nature of mixing so many elements - each work can take Mr Janiak, from Paris, France, around two months to complete (pictured: Stellar Lights, 2008)
Due to the size of the images he works with - and the delicate nature of mixing so many elements - each work can take Mr Janiak, from Paris, France, around two months to complete (pictured: Stellar Lights, 2008)

The final composite images are so large that they can measure almost 10ft wide, with giant file sizes ranging between eight and 14 gigabytes.
Before creating his work, the artist first sketches out the design on a piece of paper. He then begins picking out shots of clouds that would suit the images he has in mind, digitally cutting each one before layering the image.
He said: 'Because of the high resolution of the original files it takes time - it can take a month to choose the clouds, edit and cut each, and another month to create.'
To date, Mr Janiak has created 31 images as part of this series - named 'The Kingdom' - and though it was finalised in 2015 he may consider adding more in the future.
After creating each masterpiece, Mr Janiak keeps his work out of the public eye for a number of months or sometimes years.
His work from 2015 will be unveiled next year as part of a new exhibit.
The final composite images are so large that they can measure almost 10ft wide, with giant file sizes ranging between eight and 14 gigabytes (pictured: C.G Jung 2013)
The final composite images are so large that they can measure almost 10ft wide, with giant file sizes ranging between eight and 14 gigabytes (pictured: C.G Jung 2013)
Before creating his work, the artist first sketches out the design on a piece of paper. He then begins picking out shots of clouds that would suit the images he has in mind, digitally cutting each one before layering the image (Pictured: The Kingdom City Under 2010)
Before creating his work, the artist first sketches out the design on a piece of paper. He then begins picking out shots of clouds that would suit the images he has in mind, digitally cutting each one before layering the image (Pictured: The Kingdom City Under 2010)
Mr Janiak said: 'Because of the high resolution of the original files it takes time - it can take a month to choose the clouds, edit and cut each, and another month to create' (pictured: Veil Of Isis 2014)
Mr Janiak said: 'Because of the high resolution of the original files it takes time - it can take a month to choose the clouds, edit and cut each, and another month to create' (pictured: Veil Of Isis 2014)

In order to obtain cloud images for the series, the artist travels to tropical locations such as the Bahamas, Miami, Indian Ocean islands like Mauritius and Thailand where he photographs interesting cloud formations.
The idea for the project came to Mr Janiak in 2008, when he witnessed a storm in the Bahamas.
Frustrated he couldn't photograph the storm as he saw it, Mr Janiak decided to shoot each cloud individually, piecing them together at a later date.
A year later, in 2009, the artist also lost his fiancé in an accident, which made Mr Janiak start exploring the delicate subject of what goes on after death - something reflected in the series.
He added: 'If you don't believe in soul, God, or if you believe it all started from matter, you will see beautiful clouds and a nice art piece.
'If you are spiritual and believe the invisible world is bigger than our visible world, meaning if you believe there is something behind the matter's veils, you will interpret the photo differently.
'It will talk to you deeper, I hope.'
To date, Mr Janiak has created 31 images as part of this series - named 'The Kingdom' - and though it was finalised in 2015 he may consider adding more in the future (pictured: Above 2010)
To date, Mr Janiak has created 31 images as part of this series - named 'The Kingdom' - and though it was finalised in 2015 he may consider adding more in the future (pictured: Above 2010)
After creating each masterpiece, Mr Janiak keeps his work out of the public eye for a number of months or sometimes years. His work from 2015 will be unveiled next year as part of a new exhibit (pictured: Peace End 2015)
After creating each masterpiece, Mr Janiak keeps his work out of the public eye for a number of months or sometimes years. His work from 2015 will be unveiled next year as part of a new exhibit (pictured: Peace End 2015)
In order to obtain cloud images for the series, the artist travels to tropical locations such as the Bahamas, Miami, Indian Ocean islands like Mauritius and Thailand where he photographs interesting cloud formations (pictured: Duality, 2014)
In order to obtain cloud images for the series, the artist travels to tropical locations such as the Bahamas, Miami, Indian Ocean islands like Mauritius and Thailand where he photographs interesting cloud formations (pictured: Duality, 2014)
The idea for the project came to Mr Janiak in 2008, when he witnessed a storm in the Bahamas and cuold not capture it as he wanted to
Frustrated he couldn't photograph the storm as he saw it, Mr Janiak decided to shoot each cloud individually, piecing them together at a later date (pictured: Overture, 2009)
Frustrated he couldn't photograph the storm as he saw it, Mr Janiak decided to shoot each cloud individually, piecing them together at a later date (pictured: Overture, 2009)
The artist also lost his fiancé in an accident, which made him start exploring the delicate subject of what goes on after death (pictured: Son of Heaven 2015)
The artist also lost his fiancé in an accident, which made him start exploring the delicate subject of what goes on after death (pictured: Son of Heaven 2015)
Mr Janiak said: 'If you don't believe in soul, God, or if you believe it all started from matter, you will see beautiful clouds and a nice art piece. 'If you are spiritual and believe the invisible world is bigger than our visible world, meaning if you believe there is something behind the matter's veils, you will interpret the photo differently' (pictured: Dyauh 2009)
Mr Janiak said: 'If you don't believe in soul, God, or if you believe it all started from matter, you will see beautiful clouds and a nice art piece. 'If you are spiritual and believe the invisible world is bigger than our visible world, meaning if you believe there is something behind the matter's veils, you will interpret the photo differently' (pictured: Dyauh 2009)

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