Not only did you produce a fantastic photo, but what a greatly entertaining story. You made me laugh. Thanks!!
Congrats on pushing yourself to a new level and congrats on the sb800. Do you love it?
I can laugh about it now, but had I giggled at the time, I'm certain the neighbors who eyed me warily as they walked by my porch would have been quick to call the local loony bin to pick me up!
I don't love my flash yet because I'm still trying to learn it. I had fits during the boxing shoot with it--moreso because I understand it on its own and the strobe on its own, but together...:bash It will be a learning curve.
Do you suspect that your neighbors may have a video on it's way to AFV?
I suspect my neigbors are staying far, far away after seeing me light fires on my porch for hours on end. :giggle Moreso for my immediate next-door neigbhbors, who also arrived home during my boxing shoot, also on my porch:
I joked once that I worry when I do my elaborate staged shots about a deliveryman coming with something I need to sign, forcing me to answer the door covered in bizarre make-up or fake blood. During the boxing shoot, I had both UPS and the mailman come by. I got some straaaaange looks that day.
I can laugh about it now, but had I giggled at the time, I'm certain the neighbors who eyed me warily as they walked by my porch would have been quick to call the local loony bin to pick me up!
I don't love my flash yet because I'm still trying to learn it. I had fits during the boxing shoot with it--moreso because I understand it on its own and the strobe on its own, but together...:bash It will be a learning curve.
I suspect my neigbors are staying far, far away after seeing me light fires on my porch for hours on end. :giggle Moreso for my immediate next-door neigbhbors, who also arrived home during my boxing shoot, also on my porch:
I joked once that I worry when I do my elaborate staged shots about a deliveryman coming with something I need to sign, forcing me to answer the door covered in bizarre make-up or fake blood. During the boxing shoot, I had both UPS and the mailman come by. I got some straaaaange looks that day.
Hey, are those charred shutters? Your neighbors are lucky to have you. When you are shooting, they don't even need TV.
So are you shooting your sb800 in ttl mode or manual?
Hey, are those charred shutters? Your neighbors are lucky to have you. When you are shooting, they don't even need TV.
So are you shooting your sb800 in ttl mode or manual?
Ha! My poor shutters. :giggle It's actually just peeling paint I'm still waiting for managment to fix. :bluduh But my fire wasn't too far from them...uh, oops?
I started out shooting in manual, but I couldn't set it to be the master flash (to wirelessly trigger the slave strobe) in manual mode. I even went to the instruction manual and could not for the life of me figure out why that option wouldn't pop up in the settings while in manual mode. So I switched to TTL. I was annoyed by the inconsistency of output from my strobe and the line-of-sight thing. I researched Pocket Wizards and RadioPoppers all weekend.
I was happy to have a sync cord, but I really didn't want to be tethered to my flash. Meh. And having HSS with the SB800 made me forget that I don't have HSS for the AB strobe. Boy, I was fuming until I figured out that glitch.
Thank goodness my friend was very patient, since I'd warned her this would be my first real go at this and would likely be futzing with the lights a heckuva lot. I got some good results, but I want to nail the consistency issue.
I had a few other ideas to show the elements, which involved the use of friends as models. Unfortunately, people have lives, so the ideas I was going to use will be on the back burner.
I pretty much waited until the last minute and was running out of ideas. I wanted my photo to literally have all four elements in it.
In my front yard, I have a tree that splits into two about three feet up from the ground. So I decided to use that. I took my Mark III and put it on a tripod then set up a Vivitar 285HV at 1/4 power set on manual, connected it to a pocket wizard, and fired it into a 60" silver umbrella. This was set up off to the right of the photo.
I took a potted plant, pulled it out of the pot and shook the soil out of the roots so they'd show up a little bit in the picture. I draped the plant over the tree and got it to prop up by it's self.
Connected to the tree (behind the plant) is a small lantern. So I took a small candel, put it in the lantern and lit it.
The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked . I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so.... It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.
Ran it through Lightroom where all I did was bump up the clarity to 50, desaturated the image over all, then brought back the green in the plant slightly.
Earth = tree and plant
Wind = from my lungs
Fire = small back lit candle
Water = blown from my mouth
Story behind the pinwheels
I had three ideas for this round and started by scouting out local piers. That concept was supposed to include an expansive body of water and thunderstorm but the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate.
My wife and kids were in a toy store in Brookline that weekend and my 9 month old tried to eat a nearby newspaper. I grabbed the soaking item from her mouth and noticed a short piece about a public art exhibit that was put up for the month of August. The concept of pinwheels as a means of showing wind seemed perfect so I made a mental note to visit there in the next few days.
After a 1 year old birthday party, I drove out to the park where the art was installed. The sky was perfect but I realized that catching one of these things turning was going to be a challenge. They were placed on a hill which was surrounded by a tree line on three sides.
A number of the homemade pinwheels were looking the worse for wear after two weeks in the elements. If you look closely, you'll see that they are composed of a metal hangar, cork and the plastic turning-thing. I studied the group to get a sense of which actually turned and tried to shoot some frames that included the S curve that the artist had designed. None of the pinwheels at the base of the hill were turning so I started moving up.
I settled on one patch that had a few turning pinwheels. Set up the tripod and a polarizing filter (don't have an ND one) and shot some frames. I would basically stand there with my finger on the shutter button ready to fire with any hint of wind. All while constantly adjusting the shutter speeds to keep up with changing light conditions.
At one point, the whole exercise seemed pointless and I lay with my head on the grass looking up at the sky. I happened to look behind me and realized that this was a far better vantage point. Took my tripod and inverted it to try to maintain a long enough shutter speed to ensure some motion. I got one miraculous gust of wind that turned the two windmills closest to the camera and squeezed off 4 frames. That was pretty much it for wind for the day and, after a bit, I headed home.
I looked at the results in Lightroom at home and was disappointed in all but those 4 frames. I had to flip them vertically but forgot to do a horizontal rotation. Did some work in LR then to PS for levels and a few other adjustments. I submitted that one pretty early on.
It was only later that I realized the scene looked 'wrong' from what I had seen that day and did the horizontal rotation. The shot seemed to lose most of its dynamic tension with that so I left well enough alone. I tried to shoot my own pinwheels later on in the week but they didn't come out as nicely as this scene. Posted a few other attempts and PP versions but was roundly shot down.
So, a lot of luck in finding this piece of public art and some dumb luck in getting the vantage point added up to this entry. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.
I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so....
I think in addition to those lists that let you check if there are any sex offenders in an area before you move into it, they should create one that warns of any photographers in the area. The things we do for a photo, neh?
The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked . I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so.... It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.
Great stories to go with great pics!
I actually started to shoot before the winner for #5 was announced. I had figured I would cover the base and I have some great "splendor" and Squalor pics. But when I won I had to change gears and figure an element. My first thought was a lightbulb...but then someone got that up really quick so I thought I better get a move on and do my second and third thought....the 'elements' in christianity is wine and bread which was broken representing Christ's body broken on the cross for our sins. So I was shooting in my small studio with black background.
At the same time I was thinking about the element of suprize...so I enlisted my lil one.....and tried a few shots...
But this just wasn't cutting it as well as I had hoped....so I got my youngest son down to try and ad a human element to the elements...
But it just didn't say wow to me!...after several hours in my dark studio (it has no windows)...I decided to take a break. I walked out the door and happened to look outside...it had been raining most of the day but there was a break in the clouds and the blue sky peeking through. So I grabed the elements, a mirror and my camera and headed out to my deck....first I did side views with my lil one holding a second mirror up behind the elements to reflect the sky....
Then I decided a different view was necessary to make the viewer stare longer at it...
I realized that even though the angle and lighting were perfect....the straight line ove the elements was bugging me. So I went out a couple days later in the early morning when the sun just came through the trees and shot the one entered...
As the time got closer to the due date...I started feeling uneasy about my entry...will the judges understand or see the connection of elements? Not everybody can. There were so many great entries...so I went back out on the deck on another semi clear day....with a storm off in the distance...and thought that the element of the storm is good...but I need a wow...thats when I pulled out my art easle and canvas...and my palette....and there standing on my deck taking pics of the two together with and without the easle...and me in my pj's still.....decided I would take a pic of me painting the scene. Which is something I would do anyway! So I reset all the easel and settings with my son standing in my place so I could set all the settings and focus. Then we switched places....and at my ok he pressed the shutter. I would have used this one as the entered image...but my final decision was to not use this one because I was afraid that someone would object to a "voice controled shutter release" as someone so elequently put it.....
As it is I found a use for this pic on the assignment board...with a little proding from Nikolai...here was the finished product...
The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked . I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so.... It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.
Alright, these stories are just too good!! I think we should require a new rule...along with posting the EXIF, we need to post the video of the shoot as well!!!
...So, a lot of luck in finding this piece of public art and some dumb luck in getting the vantage point added up to this entry. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.
Thanks and good luck to eveyone.
E
Luck always favors the prepared mind. Great illustration of persistence and keeping your eye open for a better shot! Great story, thanks for sharing! And a great photo!!
JAG
You really need to start a stock photography site if you don't have one yet. These are very useful images and I think they would have a good demand. Something to think about.
Great job! I like 'em all!! Great creative approach and technical execution.
. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.
Behind the Vampires Some of the images were previously shown in a teaser thread in People, I apologize for the duplication.
The shoot idea came out very spontaneously one Saturday, when I was shooting Tina, Lori, Meghan, Shantelle and Amanda. We were shooting portraits, chatting and generally having a good time. We started talking about various "projects" we had in our minds, an idea of a "vampire shoot" came up - and lo and behold, we decided to shoot it the very next - Sunday - night.
The concept scene was simple. A guy (Tina's son Scott) gets drunk, picks up two goth chicks (Shantelle (his GF IRL) and Amanda) in a bar, they "help" him to get home, a walk through the park - and he's in for a nasty surprise. While Amanda distracts him, Shantelle bites him, then they have a feast and finally all three (Tina comes in late as a adult Vampiress chapenroning the youth:-) drag the body out of sight.
Since the location was withing a few feet from a potential parking spot this was a fine opportunity for me to test my recently acquired Vagabond-II power brick, and, along with that, give my ABs a taste of the outdoor shooting. Thus far this has been a sole priviledge of the sunpacks, but from now on the situation is gonna change:-)
After arriving to the location I decided on the setup and set up the lights. Scott was helping.
As you can see from the image above, it was a three-lights set.
The elevated brollybox on the c-stand created a f/2.8 fill.
A barn-doored non-modified flash at f/4 behind the tree played a role of the moon (even matching the actual moon position:-), while the tree itself played a role of the flag, preventing the rim light hitting the camera and thus creating a light pollution.
Finally, the third light with a 10-degree grid (mostly dynamically operated by Tina, who was only invloved in the last act) played a f/4 spot, highlighting the faces, which otherwise would be backlit by the "moon" or not lit at all due to the shadow from the tree trunc.
Without the lights in the frame the scene was lit like this:
The rest was purely a matter of positioning the actors and then - "lights, action". I can't believe I was actualy saying those very words, but that's what it was. I was very cautious about the "juice" in the power brick (which performed beautifully, I must add), especially considering the fact that we had to use modeling lights - otherwise it's was a pitch-black and I couldn't frame and focus - so we shut it down between the looks and then Tina was turning them on at my command. The whole shoot was pretty much like shooting a movie, none of the looks was static. The kids were moving continuosly, repeating the key actions again and again.
My only other significant directorial decision was to make sure that Amanda and her gorgeous fluffy blond hair is always in the rim light, like so:
The whole ordeal took about four hours (makeup, lighting setup, shooting, wrapup). Yet it was a great fun, a new experience for everybody - and a nice entry for yours truly.
Very original, Nikolai! I wonder how serious your subject took the scene? Lots of giggling..?
Thanks!
It was their idea, so it was actually rather solid acting work. I mean, we still had a good time and there was a lot of laughs and jokes in-between, but once the lights were on they were pretty much into the scene. I even asked them to make noises to help themselves with the mood, you should hear all the hissing and gnarling...
Thanks!
It was their idea, so it was actually rather solid acting work. I mean, we still had a good time and there was a lot of laughs and jokes in-between, but once the lights were on they were pretty much into the scene. I even asked them to make noises to help themselves with the mood, you should hear all the hissing and gnarling...
You made me giggle.
Too much fun!! I'm starting to get a bug up my butt about taking a few of the kids around here out to the park and just letting them go loose and crazy to see what I can capture. I love it!
Too much fun!! I'm starting to get a bug up my butt about taking a few of the kids around here out to the park and just letting them go loose and crazy to see what I can capture. I love it!
Well, just to make sure - the whole act was rather well thought out by Tina, so it wasn't a total spur of the moment. Each scene was very clearly defined, so it's not like we arrived at the spot and started to think "how we're going to shoot a little vampire scene". Besides, these are all college student.
Your idea, on the other hand, may have a lot of spontaniety, which can be great, but you have to be ready to capture it. And I wouldn't count on retakes either:-)
But I couldn’t get the ice to light! I eventually placed a bowl of paint thinner underneath my ice heart to try to engulf the heart. This worked—a little too well. Apparently you can char ice.
What was your method to get ice to burn? What fuel?
I have had success with Purell....the hand sanitizer. It is clear and has a high alchohol content. Your neighbors probably don't want me to tell you how I found out it was extremely flammable!
...I enjoyed your image, and the stories, and you are welcome to buy the house next-door. I think you'd make an excellent replacement for my current neighbor!
What was your method to get ice to burn? What fuel?
I have had success with Purell....the hand sanitizer. It is clear and has a high alchohol content. Your neighbors probably don't want me to tell you how I found out it was extremely flammable!
...I enjoyed your image, and the stories, and you are welcome to buy the house next-door. I think you'd make an excellent replacement for my current neighbor!
I was using paint thinner on the ice, then tried using vodka, then went the bowl route because I didn't have any other liquids (I could think of) that would burn. I'll have to keep Purell in mind should I attempt this again...I do have some leftover heartsicles in the freezer.
I'm certain you'd make a better neighbor than one of mine for sure! That'd be cool.
I nearly did not enter an image for this round. During the shoot window we moved my daughter(link) off to college, I provided event coverage for an extravagant birthday party(link), and was involved in training 36 new employees at my “real job”. Aside from the time issue, I was deflated by all the renewed talk of “voting irregularities”. Childish. Even the “experiment” by one member to tamper with votes just to see if it were possible I found to be unethical, irresponsible, and repugnant. Now that my opinion on the matter is out there I must also add that I shot film for over 25 years. This, I assume, is the current method for qualifying and adding weight to our opinions.
In the end, I decided that I owed it to myself and those who voted for my qualifying entry, "Released"(link), to enter an image. I have competed in several of the challenges here (including LPS) and more on other forums, but this would be my first composite type image, a far cry from “Released” which was a purely photojournalistic approach with no chance for a re-shoot, or even a second try.
I had three concept ideas, but settled on this one for the challenge of shooting it and building it to match my vision. An exercise to stretch my capabilities.
Last Saturday I began shooting the ELEMENTS of this image, but had begun composing several days before thinking through exactly what images I needed, and how they should be blended together to realize my concept. Friday night at midnight, I was at Walmart opening and inspecting various light bulbs. I discarded those with off kilter filaments and saved those that weren’t bent for further comparison. I eventually found the bulb for me. You would be surprised at the overall lack of quality control as far as what light bulb innards look like!
Saturday morning, my first shot was of the patio pavers just outside my back door. This first element of my image required work to change the rectangular pavers to squares and to line up the mortarless joints to mimic the squares that are found on a periodic table of elements. Here is that first image - Second, I needed the text. With the new rules on EXIF for composites, and in the spirit of a discussion in a separate thread on an accounting for every pixel, I decided to NOT use the type/text tool directly on the image. Instead, I created a file containing the text I needed. Next, I displayed it on my monitor and captured a photograph of the monitor. I later cropped away the parts I did not need and blended it with my paver shot. Those two images below. - - Finally, I was ready to shoot the lightbulb itself. I waffled a bit on white balance, but decided I wanted some yellow in the glow. Shot against a yellow wall, I took about 8 frames, bracketing the exposures. My goal was for the filament to NOT become a completely blown out mess, and to keep a sharp fine focus on the innards of the bulb. Here is that image. - After combining them all, I ended up with this final image…an exact duplicate of what I envisioned. - …but there was a problem. I decided that the “R” to the right of the “W” was competing for “eye-time”. To combat this I cropped in a little closer for the final entry image. This new crop threw away much of what was in the image that was supposed to act as hints to the chemically challenged to be able to figure out what the background was. This forced one last change from my original intent. The title. All along I had called it “Dubya”. Now I needed a title to help lead the viewer into realizing they were looking at a periodic table of elements. ..and so…I landed on “Tungsten No.74”. “Tungsten No.74” as entered. - It was a huge personal success to construct the image and have it appear exactly as it appeared in my mind. In the end I was glad I decided to enter the round. As anticipated the competing images and the photographers who entered them were worthy opponents. Of all of the other forums on the net, the challengers here at Dgrin are the most capable. Thank you all who voted for “Released”, my qualifier. Thanks to the judges, as it appears I got some votes there also for “Tungsten No.74”. Thanks also to all who have been involved in making the challenges as competitive and inspiring as they have become.
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The whole ordeal took about four hours (makeup, lighting setup, shooting, wrapup). Yet it was a great fun, a new experience for everybody - and a nice entry for yours truly.
... It was a huge personal success to construct the image and have it appear exactly as it appeared in my mind. In the end I was glad I decided to enter the round. As anticipated the competing images and the photographers who entered them were worthy opponents. Of all of the other forums on the net, the challengers here at Dgrin are the most capable. Thank you all who voted for “Released”, my qualifier. Thanks to the judges, as it appears I got some votes there also for “Tungsten No.74”. Thanks also to all who have been involved in making the challenges as competitive and inspiring as they have become.
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Jeffreaux, great sequence! Looking at your 'final before crop' image, I actually like the uncropped version better
I did too, but was leery of that "Re". To keep it from getting attention I cropped to make that "R" a partial...so ...of less consequence than the "W".
Visited the oldest cemetery in town with a rough idea of a pic - saw this gravestone and thought it offered better potential than the original (more obvious / cliched) idea.
Took a few shots to get an idea and reviewed them back at 'base camp' - and decided on viewpoint / composition etc.
Checked weather forecasts for what I thought'd be suitable ... sunny days after 1500 ish a definite no-no 'cos of shadows cast from other nearby graves.
Took shots dry ... and then tried wet (slung a jug of water over surface) - which really changed the whole ballgame, depending on orientation of pol. filter.
Went back and messed around with either ... and mixed ... and decided it'd be 'interesting' to be there when it was raining to get rain streaks + splashes ... and streams of water running down the central eroded section - to emphasise the action + add an obvious 'natural' element.
This is where the fun really started - considering the 'summer' we've had in the UK ... I'd have thought the chances of getting suitable 'stair rod' type rain would've been a cinch.
How wrong can one be ...
Apart from one short sharp shower that I missed, there was nowt.
So, one last ditch (sorry!) attempt ... to provide my own wet stuff.
After a bit of head scratching I removed the screen washer reservoir / pump + feed hose off the car and rigged it upto a spare 12v battery.
Got clearance from the groundspeople that it'd be ok to use this lot and had a go - I did get some shots, but flow rate / pressure was inadequate (streaks looked too pshopped) and the central 'stream' obscured the nature of the eroded section in such a way that I considered it a negative rather than positive to the pic.
Decided to use an earlier pic and messed around with it until got something that I thought was ok ... then a friend suggested a bw take ... which for the subject matter seemed better ... thus end result.
So .. at one stage I'd got:
Cam with flash on off cam macro brkt ... on tripod No1
2nd flash with diffuser on tripod No2
Screen washer hose affixed to head on tripod No3
Car battery + cables
Spare water bottles
Big umbrella (to protect cam ... generally windy)
Shots with this lot were typically
Left hand using remote release
Right hand squeezing end of washer hose in attempt to get 'right sort' of spray .. directing same in wanted place.
80 secs worth of water / shots before refills needed ... all done on own as kids grown up and away, swmbo busy.
Still consider this 'rained upon' shot would be a good one / worth trying ... but I'll stick to macros, methinks
Comments
I don't love my flash yet because I'm still trying to learn it. I had fits during the boxing shoot with it--moreso because I understand it on its own and the strobe on its own, but together...:bash It will be a learning curve.
I suspect my neigbors are staying far, far away after seeing me light fires on my porch for hours on end. :giggle Moreso for my immediate next-door neigbhbors, who also arrived home during my boxing shoot, also on my porch:
I joked once that I worry when I do my elaborate staged shots about a deliveryman coming with something I need to sign, forcing me to answer the door covered in bizarre make-up or fake blood. During the boxing shoot, I had both UPS and the mailman come by. I got some straaaaange looks that day.
I think we should start demanding a nail-biting smiley to be added. :giggle
Much needed during these times!
Hey, are those charred shutters?
So are you shooting your sb800 in ttl mode or manual?
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
Ha! My poor shutters. :giggle It's actually just peeling paint I'm still waiting for managment to fix. :bluduh But my fire wasn't too far from them...uh, oops?
I started out shooting in manual, but I couldn't set it to be the master flash (to wirelessly trigger the slave strobe) in manual mode. I even went to the instruction manual and could not for the life of me figure out why that option wouldn't pop up in the settings while in manual mode.
I was happy to have a sync cord, but I really didn't want to be tethered to my flash. Meh. And having HSS with the SB800 made me forget that I don't have HSS for the AB strobe. Boy, I was fuming until I figured out that glitch.
Thank goodness my friend was very patient, since I'd warned her this would be my first real go at this and would likely be futzing with the lights a heckuva lot. I got some good results, but I want to nail the consistency issue.
More Strobist reading in my future!
I pretty much waited until the last minute and was running out of ideas. I wanted my photo to literally have all four elements in it.
In my front yard, I have a tree that splits into two about three feet up from the ground. So I decided to use that. I took my Mark III and put it on a tripod then set up a Vivitar 285HV at 1/4 power set on manual, connected it to a pocket wizard, and fired it into a 60" silver umbrella. This was set up off to the right of the photo.
I took a potted plant, pulled it out of the pot and shook the soil out of the roots so they'd show up a little bit in the picture. I draped the plant over the tree and got it to prop up by it's self.
Connected to the tree (behind the plant) is a small lantern. So I took a small candel, put it in the lantern and lit it.
The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked
Ran it through Lightroom where all I did was bump up the clarity to 50, desaturated the image over all, then brought back the green in the plant slightly.
Earth = tree and plant
Wind = from my lungs
Fire = small back lit candle
Water = blown from my mouth
I had three ideas for this round and started by scouting out local piers. That concept was supposed to include an expansive body of water and thunderstorm but the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate.
My wife and kids were in a toy store in Brookline that weekend and my 9 month old tried to eat a nearby newspaper. I grabbed the soaking item from her mouth and noticed a short piece about a public art exhibit that was put up for the month of August. The concept of pinwheels as a means of showing wind seemed perfect so I made a mental note to visit there in the next few days.
After a 1 year old birthday party, I drove out to the park where the art was installed. The sky was perfect but I realized that catching one of these things turning was going to be a challenge. They were placed on a hill which was surrounded by a tree line on three sides.
A number of the homemade pinwheels were looking the worse for wear after two weeks in the elements. If you look closely, you'll see that they are composed of a metal hangar, cork and the plastic turning-thing. I studied the group to get a sense of which actually turned and tried to shoot some frames that included the S curve that the artist had designed. None of the pinwheels at the base of the hill were turning so I started moving up.
I settled on one patch that had a few turning pinwheels. Set up the tripod and a polarizing filter (don't have an ND one) and shot some frames. I would basically stand there with my finger on the shutter button ready to fire with any hint of wind. All while constantly adjusting the shutter speeds to keep up with changing light conditions.
At one point, the whole exercise seemed pointless and I lay with my head on the grass looking up at the sky. I happened to look behind me and realized that this was a far better vantage point. Took my tripod and inverted it to try to maintain a long enough shutter speed to ensure some motion. I got one miraculous gust of wind that turned the two windmills closest to the camera and squeezed off 4 frames. That was pretty much it for wind for the day and, after a bit, I headed home.
I looked at the results in Lightroom at home and was disappointed in all but those 4 frames. I had to flip them vertically but forgot to do a horizontal rotation. Did some work in LR then to PS for levels and a few other adjustments. I submitted that one pretty early on.
It was only later that I realized the scene looked 'wrong' from what I had seen that day and did the horizontal rotation. The shot seemed to lose most of its dynamic tension with that so I left well enough alone. I tried to shoot my own pinwheels later on in the week but they didn't come out as nicely as this scene. Posted a few other attempts and PP versions but was roundly shot down.
So, a lot of luck in finding this piece of public art and some dumb luck in getting the vantage point added up to this entry. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.
Thanks and good luck to eveyone.
E
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
OMG--too funny!
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
I actually started to shoot before the winner for #5 was announced. I had figured I would cover the base and I have some great "splendor" and Squalor pics. But when I won I had to change gears and figure an element. My first thought was a lightbulb...but then someone got that up really quick so I thought I better get a move on and do my second and third thought....the 'elements' in christianity is wine and bread which was broken representing Christ's body broken on the cross for our sins. So I was shooting in my small studio with black background.
At the same time I was thinking about the element of suprize...so I enlisted my lil one.....and tried a few shots...
But this just wasn't cutting it as well as I had hoped....so I got my youngest son down to try and ad a human element to the elements...
But it just didn't say wow to me!...after several hours in my dark studio (it has no windows)...I decided to take a break. I walked out the door and happened to look outside...it had been raining most of the day but there was a break in the clouds and the blue sky peeking through. So I grabed the elements, a mirror and my camera and headed out to my deck....first I did side views with my lil one holding a second mirror up behind the elements to reflect the sky....
Then I decided a different view was necessary to make the viewer stare longer at it...
I realized that even though the angle and lighting were perfect....the straight line ove the elements was bugging me. So I went out a couple days later in the early morning when the sun just came through the trees and shot the one entered...
As the time got closer to the due date...I started feeling uneasy about my entry...will the judges understand or see the connection of elements? Not everybody can. There were so many great entries...so I went back out on the deck on another semi clear day....with a storm off in the distance...and thought that the element of the storm is good...but I need a wow...thats when I pulled out my art easle and canvas...and my palette....and there standing on my deck taking pics of the two together with and without the easle...and me in my pj's still.....decided I would take a pic of me painting the scene. Which is something I would do anyway! So I reset all the easel and settings with my son standing in my place so I could set all the settings and focus. Then we switched places....and at my ok he pressed the shutter. I would have used this one as the entered image...but my final decision was to not use this one because I was afraid that someone would object to a "voice controled shutter release" as someone so elequently put it.....
As it is I found a use for this pic on the assignment board...with a little proding from Nikolai...here was the finished product...
Alright, these stories are just too good!! I think we should require a new rule...along with posting the EXIF, we need to post the video of the shoot as well!!!
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
Luck always favors the prepared mind. Great illustration of persistence and keeping your eye open for a better shot! Great story, thanks for sharing! And a great photo!!
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
You really need to start a stock photography site if you don't have one yet. These are very useful images and I think they would have a good demand. Something to think about.
Great job! I like 'em all!! Great creative approach and technical execution.
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
+1
Some of the images were previously shown in a teaser thread in People, I apologize for the duplication.
The shoot idea came out very spontaneously one Saturday, when I was shooting Tina, Lori, Meghan, Shantelle and Amanda. We were shooting portraits, chatting and generally having a good time. We started talking about various "projects" we had in our minds, an idea of a "vampire shoot" came up - and lo and behold, we decided to shoot it the very next - Sunday - night.
The concept scene was simple. A guy (Tina's son Scott) gets drunk, picks up two goth chicks (Shantelle (his GF IRL) and Amanda) in a bar, they "help" him to get home, a walk through the park - and he's in for a nasty surprise. While Amanda distracts him, Shantelle bites him, then they have a feast and finally all three (Tina comes in late as a adult Vampiress chapenroning the youth:-) drag the body out of sight.
Since the location was withing a few feet from a potential parking spot this was a fine opportunity for me to test my recently acquired Vagabond-II power brick, and, along with that, give my ABs a taste of the outdoor shooting. Thus far this has been a sole priviledge of the sunpacks, but from now on the situation is gonna change:-)
After arriving to the location I decided on the setup and set up the lights. Scott was helping.
As you can see from the image above, it was a three-lights set.
The elevated brollybox on the c-stand created a f/2.8 fill.
A barn-doored non-modified flash at f/4 behind the tree played a role of the moon (even matching the actual moon position:-), while the tree itself played a role of the flag, preventing the rim light hitting the camera and thus creating a light pollution.
Finally, the third light with a 10-degree grid (mostly dynamically operated by Tina, who was only invloved in the last act) played a f/4 spot, highlighting the faces, which otherwise would be backlit by the "moon" or not lit at all due to the shadow from the tree trunc.
Without the lights in the frame the scene was lit like this:
The rest was purely a matter of positioning the actors and then - "lights, action". I can't believe I was actualy saying those very words, but that's what it was. I was very cautious about the "juice" in the power brick (which performed beautifully, I must add), especially considering the fact that we had to use modeling lights - otherwise it's was a pitch-black and I couldn't frame and focus - so we shut it down between the looks and then Tina was turning them on at my command. The whole shoot was pretty much like shooting a movie, none of the looks was static. The kids were moving continuosly, repeating the key actions again and again.
My only other significant directorial decision was to make sure that Amanda and her gorgeous fluffy blond hair is always in the rim light, like so:
The whole ordeal took about four hours (makeup, lighting setup, shooting, wrapup). Yet it was a great fun, a new experience for everybody - and a nice entry for yours truly.
Hope you liked the story :-)
Very original, Nikolai! I wonder how serious your subject took the scene? Lots of giggling..?
It was their idea, so it was actually rather solid acting work. I mean, we still had a good time and there was a lot of laughs and jokes in-between, but once the lights were on they were pretty much into the scene. I even asked them to make noises to help themselves with the mood, you should hear all the hissing and gnarling...
You made me giggle.
Too much fun!! I'm starting to get a bug up my butt about taking a few of the kids around here out to the park and just letting them go loose and crazy to see what I can capture. I love it!
Your idea, on the other hand, may have a lot of spontaniety, which can be great, but you have to be ready to capture it. And I wouldn't count on retakes either:-)
What was your method to get ice to burn? What fuel?
I have had success with Purell....the hand sanitizer. It is clear and has a high alchohol content. Your neighbors probably don't want me to tell you how I found out it was extremely flammable!
...I enjoyed your image, and the stories, and you are welcome to buy the house next-door. I think you'd make an excellent replacement for my current neighbor!
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
I was using paint thinner on the ice, then tried using vodka, then went the bowl route because I didn't have any other liquids (I could think of) that would burn. I'll have to keep Purell in mind should I attempt this again...I do have some leftover heartsicles in the freezer.
I'm certain you'd make a better neighbor than one of mine for sure! That'd be cool.
I nearly did not enter an image for this round. During the shoot window we moved my daughter(link) off to college, I provided event coverage for an extravagant birthday party(link), and was involved in training 36 new employees at my “real job”. Aside from the time issue, I was deflated by all the renewed talk of “voting irregularities”. Childish. Even the “experiment” by one member to tamper with votes just to see if it were possible I found to be unethical, irresponsible, and repugnant. Now that my opinion on the matter is out there I must also add that I shot film for over 25 years. This, I assume, is the current method for qualifying and adding weight to our opinions.
In the end, I decided that I owed it to myself and those who voted for my qualifying entry, "Released"(link), to enter an image. I have competed in several of the challenges here (including LPS) and more on other forums, but this would be my first composite type image, a far cry from “Released” which was a purely photojournalistic approach with no chance for a re-shoot, or even a second try.
I had three concept ideas, but settled on this one for the challenge of shooting it and building it to match my vision. An exercise to stretch my capabilities.
Last Saturday I began shooting the ELEMENTS of this image, but had begun composing several days before thinking through exactly what images I needed, and how they should be blended together to realize my concept. Friday night at midnight, I was at Walmart opening and inspecting various light bulbs. I discarded those with off kilter filaments and saved those that weren’t bent for further comparison. I eventually found the bulb for me. You would be surprised at the overall lack of quality control as far as what light bulb innards look like!
Saturday morning, my first shot was of the patio pavers just outside my back door. This first element of my image required work to change the rectangular pavers to squares and to line up the mortarless joints to mimic the squares that are found on a periodic table of elements. Here is that first image
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Second, I needed the text. With the new rules on EXIF for composites, and in the spirit of a discussion in a separate thread on an accounting for every pixel, I decided to NOT use the type/text tool directly on the image. Instead, I created a file containing the text I needed. Next, I displayed it on my monitor and captured a photograph of the monitor. I later cropped away the parts I did not need and blended it with my paver shot. Those two images below.
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Finally, I was ready to shoot the lightbulb itself. I waffled a bit on white balance, but decided I wanted some yellow in the glow. Shot against a yellow wall, I took about 8 frames, bracketing the exposures. My goal was for the filament to NOT become a completely blown out mess, and to keep a sharp fine focus on the innards of the bulb. Here is that image.
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After combining them all, I ended up with this final image…an exact duplicate of what I envisioned.
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…but there was a problem. I decided that the “R” to the right of the “W” was competing for “eye-time”. To combat this I cropped in a little closer for the final entry image. This new crop threw away much of what was in the image that was supposed to act as hints to the chemically challenged to be able to figure out what the background was. This forced one last change from my original intent. The title. All along I had called it “Dubya”. Now I needed a title to help lead the viewer into realizing they were looking at a periodic table of elements. ..and so…I landed on “Tungsten No.74”.
“Tungsten No.74” as entered.
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It was a huge personal success to construct the image and have it appear exactly as it appeared in my mind. In the end I was glad I decided to enter the round. As anticipated the competing images and the photographers who entered them were worthy opponents. Of all of the other forums on the net, the challengers here at Dgrin are the most capable. Thank you all who voted for “Released”, my qualifier. Thanks to the judges, as it appears I got some votes there also for “Tungsten No.74”. Thanks also to all who have been involved in making the challenges as competitive and inspiring as they have become.
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Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
Sounds like you guys all had a blast!
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
Thanks for sharing!!! I loved your image. Great example of transition from mind to digital reality. Love the shot!
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
I did too, but was leery of that "Re". To keep it from getting attention I cropped to make that "R" a partial...so ...of less consequence than the "W".
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Visited the oldest cemetery in town with a rough idea of a pic - saw this gravestone and thought it offered better potential than the original (more obvious / cliched) idea.
Took a few shots to get an idea and reviewed them back at 'base camp' - and decided on viewpoint / composition etc.
Checked weather forecasts for what I thought'd be suitable ... sunny days after 1500 ish a definite no-no 'cos of shadows cast from other nearby graves.
Took shots dry ... and then tried wet (slung a jug of water over surface) - which really changed the whole ballgame, depending on orientation of pol. filter.
Went back and messed around with either ... and mixed ... and decided it'd be 'interesting' to be there when it was raining to get rain streaks + splashes ... and streams of water running down the central eroded section - to emphasise the action + add an obvious 'natural' element.
This is where the fun really started - considering the 'summer' we've had in the UK ... I'd have thought the chances of getting suitable 'stair rod' type rain would've been a cinch.
How wrong can one be ...
Apart from one short sharp shower that I missed, there was nowt.
So, one last ditch (sorry!) attempt ... to provide my own wet stuff.
After a bit of head scratching I removed the screen washer reservoir / pump + feed hose off the car and rigged it upto a spare 12v battery.
Got clearance from the groundspeople that it'd be ok to use this lot and had a go - I did get some shots, but flow rate / pressure was inadequate (streaks looked too pshopped) and the central 'stream' obscured the nature of the eroded section in such a way that I considered it a negative rather than positive to the pic.
Decided to use an earlier pic and messed around with it until got something that I thought was ok ... then a friend suggested a bw take ... which for the subject matter seemed better ... thus end result.
So .. at one stage I'd got:
Cam with flash on off cam macro brkt ... on tripod No1
2nd flash with diffuser on tripod No2
Screen washer hose affixed to head on tripod No3
Car battery + cables
Spare water bottles
Big umbrella (to protect cam ... generally windy)
Shots with this lot were typically
Left hand using remote release
Right hand squeezing end of washer hose in attempt to get 'right sort' of spray .. directing same in wanted place.
80 secs worth of water / shots before refills needed ... all done on own as kids grown up and away, swmbo busy.
Still consider this 'rained upon' shot would be a good one / worth trying ... but I'll stick to macros, methinks
pp
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