To create this surreal image i used a panorama stock photo then opened it up in Photoshop.  firstly i went to image>image size, untick the constrain proportions box and make the height the same as the width. Secondly go to image>image rotation >180°. Then go to Filter>Distort>Polar Coordinates>tick the rectangular to polar box> OK. The image now is round, however in some cases there is an obvious line where the ends of the image join, to remove it, i used the smudge took, with the strength of around 28% using a soft round brush.

Surrealism is a visual art which can express many emotions, dreams, hallucinations, madness and more. It includes all forms of art, such as sculptures, music, film and philosophy. Some surreal images are created by dressing up and designing your surroundings to the chosen theme and some are created using computer programmes like Photoshop. Dali is an example of a surrealist photographer. His images are extremely unusual, strange and sometimes scary. In the words of Salvador Dali, Surrealism is said to be the symbolic language of the subconscious; truly a universal language, it doesn’t depend on education, culture or intelligence.

After the World War I, artists and intellectuals were looking for an escape against the harshness of reality. The word ‘Surrealism’ was created by writer Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917; he used it to describe his own ballet ‘Les Mamelles de Tiresais’ and Jean Cocteau’s ballet ‘Parade’. Surrealism, according to Apollinaire, is ‘truth beyond realism’. In 1924, Andre Breton adopted the word in his work ‘The Manifesto of Surrealism’.

Andre Breton was influenced by the Dande movement. Surrealism is a real expression of mental emotions and can be extremely unusual. Andre Breton describes surrealism as the pure psychotic performance of actions without conscious thoughts or intentions. It can be the expression of basic human instinct and imaginative faculties of the unconscious mind.

In 1924, the Surrealist group was formed; its principal members being Max Ernst, Joan Miro and Andre Masson. Artists were very interested with the subconscious; with dreams, hallucinations and trances. The group, along with Andre Breton, made artwork and sketches under hypnosis. Often they produce surreal, dream-like and unconscious work.

I found the original image on Google but could not find the photographer who created it, However I still  found the photograph inspirational as it was edited well and I wanted to try it for myself. The image is very sharp in the focal point (the city image) and blurred in the background, this helps the viewer focus on the main part of the image. If i was to change anything about the original image it would be to higher the brightness and contrast, and lower the lower the amount of shadows. Lowering the amount of shadows would darken the edges almost giving the photograph a border. To create my version of the image i used Photoshop elements 9. First, i used the blur tool to blur all of the image but where the city image would be. I then opened the city image, made it smaller and placed it over the lens of the camera and used the eraser tool to simply go round the image and make it the right size. If i was to change something about my image it would be to use a more detailed and sharper image on the lens.
 

To begin with I used the selection tool on Photoshop elements 9 to selection the shape of the person, in this case Sara. I then added a new layer, made the original layer invisible and copied and pasted the selected shape in to the newly created layer. Using the brush tool with the colour black selected I coloured the image to make it all black. Then change the opacity to around 65%-72%, mine being 69%. I then went to file>open and found what would be my background layer. Also changing the opacity on this image to around 78%-80%, mine was 79%. I then changed the brightness making it lower and changed the contrast making it higher. Then I dragged the silhouette image into the background and moved it around until I thought it looked good. Then my image in the style of Jasper James was created.