Tikis in flames - Original photography set

Aloha, I know I've been focusing a lot on marketing my Tiki collection, that I don't know much about to all of you, and realized that's not getting me anywhere. Tiki central is a great resource, and will help me greatly on my endeavors.

My main gig is photography, so let me share with you my original photography set "Tikis in flame" with the community. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, mahalo.

You can view the full album at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.421533314555719.91351.416255081750209&type=3

Wow…my first impression is sadness and I wish I could unsee them. They have a weird kind of photoshop thing going on for me. If you could give them some kind of cool glow or scintillating aura of power I may appreciate them a bit more…but yea I’m kind of sad now.

On 2012-09-24 17:00, OnlyATikiLad wrote:
Wow…my first impression is sadness and I wish I could unsee them. They have a weird kind of photoshop thing going on for me. If you could give them some kind of cool glow or scintillating aura of power I may appreciate them a bit more…but yea I’m kind of sad now.

These images are not photoshopped at all, and that's how I plan to keep it.

very cool,
I like them.

Jeff(btd)

On 2012-09-24 17:04, Hemp Paper wrote:

On 2012-09-24 17:00, OnlyATikiLad wrote:
Wow…my first impression is sadness and I wish I could unsee them. They have a weird kind of photoshop thing going on for me. If you could give them some kind of cool glow or scintillating aura of power I may appreciate them a bit more…but yea I’m kind of sad now.

These images are not photoshopped at all, and that's how I plan to keep it.

Well in that case…..I very definitely do not care for them.

Stop, drop and roll tiki!

I like the pictures. I hope no tikis were harmed in the making.

On 2012-09-24 17:17, lunavideogames wrote:
Stop, drop and roll tiki!

I like the pictures. I hope no tikis were harmed in the making.

Nope, we only have them on fire for a few seconds, and all that does is burn the oil slightly, which can be rubbed off with a wet cloth. On one occasion (when we I was first experimenting with the photography, I burned one severely, and learned my lesson)

So now you burn our Idols!
It is time to issue a "fatwâ" on your dark soulless husk. :P :P :P

Pretty cool pix

Makes one shutter to think about, given the history of the "Burning of the Idols"

DC

On 2012-09-24 17:45, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
So now you burn our Idols!
It is time to issue a "fatwâ" on your dark soulless husk. :P :P :P

Technically I didn't burn them, I just took the picture, my uncle was the one that lit the Tikis. And none of them were harmed (except one...) because we took precautions against that. These are mere image representations of Tikis on fire, or a spiritual representation of the power of Ku through photography, however you want to look at it is up to you.

Very unique idea (at least I haven't seen anything like it) Not any more "sacrilegious" than the Tiki Burn on the beach. I like 'em. Did you use the Tiki brand colored flame fuel?

On 2012-09-24 18:06, MadDogMike wrote:
Very unique idea (at least I haven't seen anything like it) Not any more "sacrilegious" than the Tiki Burn on the beach. I like 'em. Did you use the Tiki brand colored flame fuel?

No we used a combination of gasses and oils to create a steady blue flame that didn't damage the Tiki. I saw that flame colored stuff, and wish we had it, it would make things a lot easier for us.

I think they're amazing. Especially the first one. The historical facts about the burning of Tikis makes it that much more moving a photograph.

Ku looks like he's screaming through the fire but not burning. I love it.

As for feedback, my only problem at all, and it really might just be me, is I don't like the saw cut in the stump, it distracts my eye a little.

Very cool images.

[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2012-09-24 19:20 ]

At 1st I thought u put to much 151 in there

On 2012-09-24 19:17, The Granite Tiki wrote:
I think they're amazing. Especially the first one. The historical facts about the burning of Tikis makes it that much more moving a photograph.

Ku looks like he's screaming through the fire but not burning. I love it.

As for feedback, my only problem at all, and it really might just be me, is I don't like the saw cut in the stump, it distracts my eye a little.

Very cool images.

[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2012-09-24 19:20 ]

Thank you for your feedback, would you mind if I quoted it for a comment on our website? When I first started doing the series I didn't know about the history behind this, and the forum has opened my eyes to it, which was great!

The cut in the stump is horrid, these images were taken when I was first starting my photography career, I'll add some better quality ones in the near future.

Quote away!

Here are some more pictures that I just found on my computer.

Beautiful. Those are really special. Thank you, Wendy

So Hemp, are you burning these to get a cool photo, or is it part of getting a certain finish on the tikis? You mentioned burning the oil off, for just a few seconds...

Wow! These are all fantastic! The first one in this new set looks like it could be album art for a vintage exotica LP, like Arthur Lyman's Legend of Pele... the last one is simply stunning... the blue of the background flames surrounding the bright yellow flames on the tiki makes it almost look like a negative (you know, from an actual physical roll of film)... very cool!

Nice photos....
Love the way the wind swirls and whirls the flames!
a Pele sculpture like this would be pretty awesome!
Fire is the blood of the volcano
and you captured it well..

On 2012-09-25 00:50, little lost tiki wrote:
Nice photos....
Love the way the wind swirls and whirls the flames!
a Pele sculpture like this would be pretty awesome!
Fire is the blood of the volcano
and you captured it well..

We have a pele Tiki, I'll consider doing a shoot with it.

Pictures are beautiful and interesting... and carried out perfectly... but... There's a question about backstory... It is not good to see Ku burning... Who else will take care of wars when he is burned down? So... What you should do? Create a totally new style Tiki (with same facial expression!) and name him... Mutafuka for example... and tell us he is bad (and why? It would be interesting to read about)... and burn him and make photos in same way...

Oh... And as it is already mentioned... Pele idea would work well also... But... Who-the-f*ck knows how Pele looks like? It's not very nice to just burn women and say she's Pele, let her burn! It reminds me Dark-Middle-Ages where so-called witches found their end in flames...

[ Edited by: Jürka 2012-09-28 17:39 ]

I love these shots - so dramatic! Is there a reason for the choice of square format? I feel like they'd carry more power either occupying the frame in portrait format or staring off into negative space in landscape format.

These are pretty damned cool looking (so long as they are not getting destroyed). Might I suggest experimenting with different flame "textures" for instance having a tiki resting on hot coals, and finding what chemicals create different colors I think copper makes a green flame if I recall. It would be neat to see a Pele one, maybe a woman statue with minor flamage except where the hair would be (loading that area with more flammable material so it burns higher) or some kind of gooey looking liquid on fire that she is resting on top of to simulate lava. Lots of ways to explore this, I think its pretty awesome that you are making such a unique art form. :)

Denatured alcohol + Roach Killer (Boric Acid) = Green Flame

If you search the internet for flaming poi, or fire spinning, you'll find tons of formulas for colored flame.