Mini Challenge #141 -- Trick Photography

chrisdg · April 25, 2012

Welcome to Round #141 of the Dgrin Mini-Challenges!

Your challenge topic: TRICK/CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY (looking through the past mini-challenges, i don't believe this has been done before, so I hope you enjoy it!)

This challenge will run through Tuesday, May 8 at 7pm PDT (2 weeks). Be sure to check the guidelines following my sample shots below.

Your Judge: chrisdg (Chris Del Grande)

Greg, thank you very much for hosting the previous challenge. I am honored to win on my first ever challenge contribution!

TRICK/CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY will be defined here as any photograph that achieves some sort of unique, un-natural or surreal result using only single-shot creative lighting and/or in-camera techniques. This means zero post-processing that affects the actual content of the image. Acceptable post-processing functions are simple things like cropping, brightness, contrast, and other minor adjustments. No layers/composites, Photoshop filters, brushes, etc.

This can be a simple trick involving camera or subject movement, painting with light, creative flash use, or a complex trick - whatever it takes to make a compelling image. If possible, please explain a bit about your technique as well.

I'll provide a few samples below that I've taken, but I'm sure many you have other tricks up your sleeves. Let's see your in-camera creativity!

#1 "I'm So Transparent" - translucent self portrait achieved by standing still for a few seconds, then literally running out of the frame halfway through a long exposure.

#2 "Double Joey" - a similar technique. I had my son Joey sit very still for a few seconds, then jump from one position to the next halfway through the exposure, sitting very still for the second figure.

#3 "Motion Sickness" - Spinning the camera while the subject is motionless.

#4 "Trailer Sweet Trailer" - another self-portrait using a more subtle creative lighting technique. This is gelled off-camera flash inside the trailer to simulate the comforts of warm interior lighting inside "my home".

#5 "Paint by Auto" - Camera on tripod, my car idling off-camera-left, trigger my 10-second timer, run to the car, hop in, start driving in consecutively smaller and smaller circles over the course of a 30-second exposure, then killing the headlights and darting out of the frame. Lots of fun, but wishing I had someone to help me.

Guidelines:

1. Enter 1-3 photos and put them in a single post. (With mini challenges, any photo you have taken is eligible, regardless of the date created.)
2. Either embed your image in the thread or, if you must, supply a link to it. Keep in mind, however, most people don't want to click to open photos hosted elsewhere (i.e. on your website).
3. Also try and resize your photos prior to posting so they're sized appropriately for viewing without having to scroll (~800 pixels on the longest side works best.)
4. Give each image you enter a title.
5. Enjoy discussion with members about their images, don't let this just be an entry thread!
6. When quoting a post change the IMG urls to a 200x200 size picture so it is clear your post is feedback and not another entry. (see here for help)
7. Don't be hesitant, share'em and enter!
Mini-Challenge pointers:
1. Upon winning a mini-challenge round your first step is coming up with a new theme, and start a new thread using the same format as others have used.
2. Make sure to notify the admin of this thread to update the main thread links with your entry thread.
3. Feel free to watch the thread as it grows or wait to the end time and look at all the entries all at once.
4. After the time/date has passed, then officially close the thread with a single post notifying everyone of the fact.
5. After you're finished judging start a new thread (again use the prior formats) and post your Winner and runners-up, it is important to have runners up incase the winner does not show within the 72hr window.
6. PM the winner with this info above and let them know they have 72hrs.
7. After the 72hrs and the winner does not show up, notify the next runner-up and post a message on the Winner thread of the fact.
8. Remember, if you're the Winner, you run the show.

Good luck!

rainbow · April 26, 2012

Wow - fascinating challenge. Have to dig deep for entries (and see if time/opportunity presents itself to shoot a new one).

Night painting (30 sec exposure, near pitch black with flashlight as brush)

School spirit

Past, Present, Future

This last one shot specifically for the challenge...

Cambyses · April 26, 2012

Interesting challenge indeed...

1. Light at the end (I)
<a href="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/17445852_MZtLCR#!i=1333021306&k=QW23BLs&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img src="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/i-QW23BLs/0/L/DSC2608Edited1-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

2. Light at the end (II)
<a href="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/17445852_MZtLCR#!i=1330535043&k=7hcCNqz&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img src="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/i-7hcCNqz/0/L/DSC2750Edited-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

3. Light at the end (III)
<a href="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/17445852_MZtLCR#!i=1330534982&k=VDw3SWj&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img src="http://cambyses.smugmug.com/ChallengesandAssignments/Kambiz/Light-at-the-End/i-VDw3SWj/0/L/DSC2762Edited-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

grandmaR · April 26, 2012

Do these have to be taken between now and May8th or can we use previous photos?

chrisdg · April 26, 2012

grandmaR wrote: »

Do these have to be taken between now and May8th or can we use previous photos?

With the mini challenges, any photo you have taken is eligible, regardless of the date.

Alans Grin · April 27, 2012

Here are a couple of my efforts ...

"Personal Illumination"

An old 10D with a flash is on a tripod high behind my back is being triggered with a cable release in my pocket. The flash is simply firing upwards into a photography brolly. My 5D MKII is on another tripod which I set for 2 or 3 second exposure on a 10 second timer and a quick run into position. I was not able to totally obscure the tripod at my feet so a very small amount of "shopping" was used to remove it - this shot can probably be disqualified on those grounds but thought I'd show it anyway.

"Rejecting It"

This is a deliberately moody straight forward 4 sec long exposure shot - but harder than you might think. Especially keeping very still, not blinking and trying to spot potentially interesting crowd backdrops. Although against composition rules ... looking out frame is deliberate, fits with the title and generally meant to create the impression of wanting to "escape". Not sure if it woorks though!

"Strobe Portrait"

Taken whilst outside a pub with a friend. One too many beers perhaps!
Not great, but I find it a quite interesting image given the way the timing of his head rotation matched the 10Hz strobe I had set on my 580 flash gun to cause his eyes to almost line up on each flash. ie 5 Noses, but only 6 eyes! It was shot with a Canon 5D MkII, 100mm macro lens, F3.5 ISO 100 and 0.5 second exposure – hence 5 overlaid images on a 10Hz strobe @ 1/128th power.

Good luck everyone.
Alan.

billseye · April 28, 2012

Ghost Rider (Painting with Light)

Philodendron (Camera Motion)

Voces de Bethania (Camera Motion)

DsrtVW · April 29, 2012

Art

Camera Blur Clematis

Long Exposure with Glow Sticks

grandmaR · April 29, 2012

Roses

Hell

empty:

I've got a new camera and don't know how to do any tricks with it, and that's not something I spend time doing as a rule. This is an idea I came up with at dinner last night.

richtersl · April 29, 2012

Painting with my camera:

#1

#2

Turned my dSLR into a pinhole camera:

#3

davev · April 30, 2012

I was lucky enough to go out with some creative types tonight.
Here are a couple of shots.

ChrisJ · April 30, 2012

Wow, Dave! I think I like the coloring in #1, but the pose in #2. But still incredibly cool!

chrisdg · April 30, 2012

you folks are making this harder to judge by the day...

davev · May 1, 2012

ChrisJ wrote: »

Wow, Dave! I think I like the coloring in #1, but the pose in #2. But still incredibly cool!

Thanks Chris.

All the work was done in front of the camera.
One guy was spinning the flaming steel wool, and setting off a gel'd strobe, then our model was
able to stand still for a 15 second shot.

All I did was press a button.

chrisdg · May 4, 2012

Great entries so far... although I'm surprised we don't have more folks "playing with light", "playing with shutter"
etc. Anything out of the ordinary exposure is welcome.

lkbart · May 4, 2012

I'll play ~

Fred running so fast his leg disappeared! (This one's pretty fresh - taken a couple hours before you posted this challenge!)

This one is an unexplained trick - there's an extra ballet slipper (circled in the close-up below) that doesn't seem to belong to anyone! The shoe is at the wrong angle & going the wrong direction for the girl in the center of the close-up, her left leg is bent with her foot behind her & her right foot is on the floor judging by her straight leg & the other nearest kids are wearing black slippers. It's too far away from the girl in the purple dress & the lady in the swirling reddish dress is wearing black character shoes & is out of the shot to the left; we also didn't have any costume issues that could explain it. Guess I should call it "Stage Ghost"!

Closeup:

richtersl · May 5, 2012

What's interesting is that it's also casting a shadow. I bet it's actually the lining of her skirt and it looks bright because the light is hitting it at the right angle. At first glance it is pretty spooky.

richtersl · May 5, 2012

chrisdg wrote: »

Great entries so far... although I'm surprised we don't have more folks "playing with light", "playing with shutter"
etc. Anything out of the ordinary exposure is welcome.

I think Dave's awesome photos scared everyone off.

chrisdg · May 7, 2012

Last call for trick shots! 24 hours remaining.

TripleV · May 8, 2012

Saw this post and took some pics specifically for this. I'm new to this but plan on being a regular here.

Downtown Is Alive - A little zooming whiling taking the picture. The "V" on the building was just a plus as it's the initials in my name, think it was made by a couple of lights on the street. Taken with Canon 7D, 10-24mm Tamrons lens, 20 second exposure at F/5.6, ISO 100.

Train In Motion - Taken with Canon 7D, 18-55mm Canon lens, two ND4 filters, 0.6 second exposure at F/22, ISO 100.

chrisdg · May 8, 2012

Challenge closed
OK folks - this challenge is now CLOSED.

I'll be back soon with the results!

chrisdg · May 8, 2012

The RESULTS thread can be found here!
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=1774983#post1774983

Mini Challenge #141 -- Trick Photography

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