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
Great story Paul! I'm telling you, we need to require photos or videos of the shot being taken as a requirement for the contest!
Comments
Great story Paul! I'm telling you, we need to require photos or videos of the shot being taken as a requirement for the contest!
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch