The one or two weeks a year that tulips bloom in my corner of the world have come! I always loved looking into their centers and seeing all the various parts of the flower, but I’ve come to accept that the side view illuminated by a low sun has a surreal kind of beauty.
Next Week: Abstract or Phone
I hope I’m not barking up the wrong tree with this post. May is high time for some nature photography, but the only flowers out right now are small and the weather isn’t conducive to macro photography. So, I photographed bark. Don’t quit on me yet, I found some unusual examples. Promise.
This rough yet somewhat orderly old tree trunk is shrouded in a kind of green lichen. I love the color. It really gives the whole tree a surreal quality.
Near the base of the same tree, there is this cute Shamrock shape.
It looks like there’s been some controlled burning in the woods. Most of the bark fell off of this tree, leaving some charred remnants and unusual marbled patterns. What shapes do you see?
Closer to home, I found this small tree trunk with a coral-looking lump of lichen growing on it. Since it was pretty still, I did a little macro lens practice.
And just incase you wanted to see for sure, this is about where most of our flowers are.
Next Time: Flowers or That Awesome Old Phone
In a previous post, I mentioned I’d become obsessed with keys and was thinking of purchasing some old furniture or skeleton keys off eBay. It turns out I didn’t have to buy any. My mother and sister were going through some old things when they found these old furniture keys a relative had given my sister and I when we were young. Apparently, my mother decided we were too young for them and packed them away. Not anymore. Finding them made my day.
This is the smallest and most ornate of the keys. I think all the curves at the top look romantic, so I went with a love theme for this one. (As a side note, the keys is small enough and pretty enough that I’d like to buy some similar colored chain and make a necklace out of it.)
The modern squared off look on this key is in stark contrast to its well-worn and scratched finish. I went for a simple approach, but I did black and white with an old book as the background to accent the key’s age.
This is the most elegant of the three keys.
I wanted to make it look like it actually went with something, like jewelry box.
Next Time: Nature or Old Phone
Spring is slow in coming this year, but there are always some prospects out in the big wide world. If I don’t go out and find them, I promise you the phone is cool. It’s old as in has a dial, and a fancy shaped receiver.
The end is finally here! My pour shot is done, and it went a little better than I thought it would. Equipment was one of my biggest concerns going into this one, but shooting my flash through the scrim seemed to work pretty well. My furry four-legged assistant was watching me, but she can’t pour liquids, so thankfully, my mother agreed to help with this one. It took us a few tries to get the timing down, but the result was well worth any inconvenience or spilled red pop. Here are a couple different shots:
Next Time: Nature or Vintage Objects
I confess. I’ve committed a huge violation of one of the cardinal rules of home organization and decluttering: I’ve kept a sweater I’ve had for ten years and worn fewer than five times. But I’m sure you’ll agree it’s an exception to the rule. It’s too pretty to get rid of.
The biggest challenge photographing this sweater was trying to get it arranged nicely. The next biggest issue was perspective. I extended my tripod as far as it would go, positioned it close to the table the sweater was on, and climbed on a chair. As I’m writing this, I’m thinking I could have moved my set-up to a lower surface, such as the floor. The best ideas always come later. Anyway, I tweaked it a bit in Photoshop, then moved on to my next shot.
Since these lovely flowers give the sweater its charm, a close up shot was a must.
I decided to get a close-up of the button as well.
Next Time: Pour Shot or Vintage Items for Stock Photography
Depending on family plans for the holiday and other events in my life, I will either finish off The Big Project with a pour shot or go for some simple shots I can submit to stock sites. The pour shot is a photograph of liquid being poured into a glass or another liquid. Ideally, the liquid should be frozen by a quick exposure and flash. It’s messy, and good timing makes for more impressive shots.
Passing the bump in the road of my Big Project, I completed my reflective shoot last week. The basic technique for these shots is to surround the reflective object with as much white reflector board (like poster board, but not the shiny stuff) as possible in an attempt to block out reflections of any other object. Of course, the camera lens needs to poke in there somewhere and you must have an opening for light.
Since my mother has some very well-kept, hardly used stainless steel utensils, a place setting of that was a natural choice. I opted for the straight, on white catalog type shot. A little internet research helped with the arrangement.
Next, I decided to do a piece of jewelry. This watch was an excellent candidate. I wanted a reflection under the watch, so I shot it on polished wood. Problem: wood has texture. I’m still grappling with the respective merits of getting the watch all clean with no wood reflection or letting the reflected texture show because the wood is in the shot and it looks more realistic. For now, I just tried to downplay the reflection a bit hoping that will look realistic but not draw too much attention to the reflection.
Next Time: Textile
Back to the Big Project. Last week, I tackled the transparent shots. Experience told me I needed a scrim for this shoot. A photographic type scrim, not a cinema scrim (made of wire and goes on a light) or a stage scrim (a sort of transparent projector sheet). One highly recommended material for making a photographic scrim is Translum, which only comes in large rolls. If you don’t want to buy a huge roll, some other kind of sturdy diffusion material will do. Because I was in a hurry, I bought a 20″ X 24″ sheet of diffusion and stapled it to a 16″ X 20″ used but sturdy picture frame (I removed the glass, ect.). It’s better to make a wooden frame that stands on its own. Anyway, I have my scrim. Now I can shoot light through it instead of bouncing light off boards or tilting my lamps so the less direct edge light falls on the subject. Quite marvelous.
For my first shot, I used this small glass container in the shape of a heart. Since I was a bit tired of shooting on plain backgrounds, I chose wood furniture to suggest a place the item could be displayed, such as a dresser or table top.
Next, I wanted to photograph a vase with a design. The black background shows off the frosted roses nicely. This was a bear to retouch. It was dusty and had a few scratches and imperfections. I did clean it, but the cloth left some lint and didn’t get quite all the dust. Lots of fine Photoshop work to clean it up in post.
Next Time: Reflective Objects
Last year, winter was mild in my area. This year, it is back to normal. So in honor of an actual winter, I’m taking some time off The Big Project to bring you snow photos.
First, I went to the local forest preserve, a well-known area I can safely navigate in the snow.
Water had oozed out of the limestone bluffs and formed murky icicles.
The creek was mostly frozen, with small areas of running water breaking up the ice.
Back home, I went to check out the spruce. It always has interesting ice and snow deposits.
Winter. It can be annoying, but it can also be beautiful. Live with the bad, love the good.
Next Time: The Big Project Continues - Transparent
I continued The Big Project with my black on black photo shoot. To be honest, I thought this one would be easier than it was. In school, it was easier than white on white, and I was pleased with my project from that time. Shortly after Christmas, I’d purchased three yards of all cotton black velvet to use as a background in anticipation of this project. The problem: my lights are hard to control. They have rather large bowl-shaped dishes on them, with no provision for attaching modifiers. Getting light either on the edges of the subjects or on mirrors or other reflectors without lighting up the entire background was a chore. It improved as I fussed with it, but in the end there was only so much I could do . . . outside Photoshop. The good news is that I am keeping up my Photoshop skills. Other than that, I’m thinking I may have to limit my on black shooting or buy some blackwrap. Maybe I’ll try this one again in a few months.
This is my little black puppy. Like the black velvet, her paws absorbed light. The shine on her curly fur reflected it.
The black leather wallet had some reflective shine on it, which made things a little easier.
Next time: Transparent or Snow
My last semester of college, I took a class in commercial photography. Our projects for the class included white on white, black on black, transparent, reflective, textiles, and a pour shot. The teacher suggested we do the projects again on our own at a later date. I thought “Yes, that would be good for me, but I don’t have the equipment.” He’d made some suggestions of less expensive lighting substitutes and so forth, but I was unemployed for some time and could not afford to buy anything. Now, I can buy some things, but I’ve continued to make excuses. I don’t have enough room, I don’t have enough time, I don’t have the right equipment . . . Well, if I keep up like that, I’ll never do it. So this winter, I’m re-shooting all those projects and posting them on this blog.
White on White
I started with this dove figure that belongs to my mother. It’s not shiny, and it has lots of texture. The challenge was keeping it white while keeping the texture.
Next, I moved on to these cute little angels. (Also my mom’s. Apparently, white ceramic figurines were popular in the 1970′s when she set up housekeeping.) They weren’t exactly shiny either, but they didn’t have as much texture. The details and shapes are lovely though. I ended up putting a white reflector board with a hole in it around my lens just to give them some good light on the front. This helped keep them brighter.
Next Time: Black on Black or Snow Shots
