McIntosh the Great/ Imagine (Photo Manipulation- Assignment #3)

The image I decided to use for this assignment is one that I took myself with my Apple iPhone around eight to ten months ago. At that time, I was working in a small, yet very high end store that specialized in home audio and video products. For my entire life I have had some-what of a passion for home audio and home theatre equipment. Prior to working in this company, I was mostly familiar with the video and home theatre side of the consumer electronics industry, and did not have much appreciation or knowledge for the higher priced, stereo listening products (i.e. two channel speakers, pre and power amps, turntables, etc.). Once I entered this store, I fell in love.

The speakers and electronic products available where I was working were of the type I had never had the chance to personally experience. Some of the greatest, most respected brands in this sector of the industry were present here. B&W, Revel, YBA, Rotel, Wilson Audio, Magneplanar, and Martin Logan are just to name a few. For any audiophile or stereo enthusiast out there, just the mentioning of some of these names are enough to get the hairs standing on the backs of necks.

The names mentioned above are all fantastic, but the one most prevalent name not mentioned is really the one that gets me excited. McIntosh.

No, I’m not talking about the Apple computers. This is a different company, one that originated over 60 years ago and completely revolutionized home and professional audio standards.

For those who are unaware, McIntosh is a manufacturer of high-end, high-quality, and high-priced audio (and occasionally video) gear, most well known for their incredible pre and power amplifiers. They are an American company, with all facets of their business located at their headquarters and manufacturing plant in Binghamton, New York.

For lack of better words, McIntosh is art. From sight to sound, there are very few manufacturers still surviving today that can do what McIntosh can so well.

Portrayed in the original photograph is a set up of primarily McIntosh equipment (pre-amplifiers, power amplifiers, turntable and CD player), as well as Wilson Audio speakers (another very high-end American audio company).

I manipulated this image using software directly on my Apple iPhone that is called “ToonPAINT” which allows for the transformation of a regular image into a cartooned, painted version of itself. It will convert an image to black and white, and gives you the option of filling in certain details with colour.

I manipulated this image in a way that really accentuates the image of McIntosh in the minds of its loyal followers.

When I think of McIntosh, the first thing I think of outside great build and sound quality that really represents the brand, are the colors. McIntosh uses two very unique colors that are illuminated on their products that really make them stand out above the competition. These two colors are bright fluorescent green, and bright aquatic blue.

I did my best to accent these colors in the manipulated photo, so that any McIntosh enthusiast looking at the image would instantly know what this image is portraying.

It is essentially an homage to what makes McIntosh stand out as a classic, and essentially represents what it means in the minds and the hearts of its loyal users and any lover of great music.

Another photo I decided to manipulate is a photo previously posted in an earlier topic on this blog. It is the photo I took in New York of the John Lennon "Image" monument in Central Park. It is a very powerful image on its own, as it is a very inspiring message, and the fact that it is still appreciated by so many people shows the impact of one human being on the history of music and creative arts in general.

I manipulated the photo by adding a sketch filter to give it a more artistic, "drawn" feel to, and highlighting "Imagine" in brilliant red and yellow to give that image that much more of an impact.