Stillness: Coin

douglas

How is this for conveying stillness?

anwmn1

douglas wrote:

How is this for conveying stillness?

Doug, your shots recently have been amazing! I don't know how this really fits in to the theme of stillness, but it could work. It is hard to tell how someone else will interprete it. Suggestion though- try and get some more detail from the coin- we all know what it has stamped on it but if could be read off your picture it would be that much better.

What lens and what did you use for lighting?

Aaron

douglas

anwmn1 wrote:

Doug, your shots recently have been amazing! I don't know how this really fits in to the theme of stillness, but it could work. It is hard to tell how someone else will interprete it. Suggestion though- try and get some more detail from the coin- we all know what it has stamped on it but if could be read off your picture it would be that much better.

What lens and what did you use for lighting?

Aaron

Thank you for input Aaron, I agree it could use more detail I was planning on trying to reshoot for better quality if I thought it would fit the theme well. I am Using Oly E500 with 14-45 3.5-4.5 kit lens and shooting in the dark with a small flashlight to light the scene at F8

Bendr

I like it!

I notice a slight double image on the reflection...
Was it hand-held? if it was, might try with a tripod...

Great job!
Ben

douglas

Bendr wrote:

I like it!

I notice a slight double image on the reflection...
Was it hand-held? if it was, might try with a tripod...

Great job!
Ben

Thank you Ben,
I used a tripod but I handheld the flashlight, next time I will find a a way to keep flashlight stationary during exposure time.

Swartzy

That's a great shot & idea
How many times have we seen the coin rolling? Oh, BTW...to keep everything in place........the solution: DUCTAPE

douglas

I just went through all my shots in this series and they all have pretty much identical double image in reflection, must be refracting off the acrylic the coin is ontop of?

douglas

Swartzy wrote:

How many times have we seen the coin rolling? Oh, BTW...to keep everything in place........the solution: DUCTAPE

Thank you Swartzy, Ductape that's the ticket!

Antonio Correia

I think the photo is excellent and a great ideia for stillness...
:

Nick Morgan

I agree that this image is great. I also think it's excellent for stillness, for a couple reasons. The simplicity of the image and the isolation of the subject focuses attention carefully without any distractions -- so our eyes are ketp still. Stillness is also present because we are frozen in the middle of what looks like motion -- the rolling coin. What really makes this picture work for me is the uncertainty or anxiety of what will happen to the coin in the very next moment after the capture. It looks like it might fall over, or tilt into a circular roll, or perhaps it will keep moving directly forward. Or maybe it isn't moving at all -- perhaps it was propped up.

One criticism I have is that I don't think the coin should be positioned right side up and so directly in the center of the image. That reduces the tension and the uncertainty I described, and it also makes it look like the coin was not caught in motion at all, but was standing up motionless. When I imagine the coin standing motionless, the picture is much less interesting to me.

At any rate, great photo!

douglas

Nick Morgan wrote:

I agree that this image is great. I also think it's excellent for stillness, for a couple reasons. The simplicity of the image and the isolation of the subject focuses attention carefully without any distractions -- so our eyes are ketp still. Stillness is also present because we are frozen in the middle of what looks like motion -- the rolling coin. What really makes this picture work for me is the uncertainty or anxiety of what will happen to the coin in the very next moment after the capture. It looks like it might fall over, or tilt into a circular roll, or perhaps it will keep moving directly forward. Or maybe it isn't moving at all -- perhaps it was propped up.

One criticism I have is that I don't think the coin should be positioned right side up and so directly in the center of the image. That reduces the tension and the uncertainty I described, and it also makes it look like the coin was not caught in motion at all, but was standing up motionless. When I imagine the coin standing motionless, the picture is much less interesting to me.

At any rate, great photo!

Thank you for your input. Very interesting observation and take on the subject matter. Its interesting to hear what the photo conveys to different people. The coin was actually propped up and that was what I was thinking as stillness when i planned the shot, but I like your take on it too. I shall take some more shots and see what I can come up with.

douglas

Antonio Correia wrote:

I think the photo is excellent and a great ideia for stillness...
:

Thank you very much Antonio!

Zahid Niaz

Execellent effort! To me, the "reflection" is disturbing and distracting ... perhaps the coin would have created more impact without its reflection and with a longer shadow than the present one.

Joan

I think a reflection is necessary and interesting, but the reason you're getting a double reflection (which, I agree, is distracting) is because you're getting reflections from both the top and underside of the acrylic you have the coin sitting on. A thinner piece of acrylic would have less of a reflection. If you reshot it without the acrylic, but with only the coin sitting on the stone (or whatever it is) surface, do you see any reflection? As for stillness, I like it! The coin is not just caught rolling or tumbling, but is balanced and still. Nice work!

~ Joan

hugz

Really nice pic
I like the reflections

douglas

Joan wrote:

I think a reflection is necessary and interesting, but the reason you're getting a double reflection (which, I agree, is distracting) is because you're getting reflections from both the top and underside of the acrylic you have the coin sitting on. A thinner piece of acrylic would have less of a reflection. If you reshot it without the acrylic, but with only the coin sitting on the stone (or whatever it is) surface, do you see any reflection? As for stillness, I like it! The coin is not just caught rolling or tumbling, but is balanced and still. Nice work!

~ Joan

Thank you Joan, the acrylic is sitting on top of a piece of black velvet, I couldn't get it to balance except on top of the acrylic. I reshot a different coin and the writing shows up better and I got rid of most of double reflection, not sure i like the angle better or not though. The shot is posted below.

douglas

hugz wrote:

Really nice pic
I like the reflections

Thank you hugz!

douglas

Coin Take 2
Here is another simalar shot, I like the reflection better and the way the writing shows up better, but not sure about angle and shadow or angle of shot.

Bendr

I agree, I like it straight up, when I look at that pic, I don't look at it as a rolling coin, I see it as a photo of a coin sitting there, unmoving which I feel helps add to the feeling of stillness...

While when it is not straight it still feels the same way, but feels like for some reason the coin is accidently crooked...

Ben

hugz

I like the feel of the first photo, it seems quieter therefore conveying more of a sense of stillness.