Your welcome! yeah I'm a bit of a Pyro myself, so I had no problem with fear of burning myself.
Its really hard to get it in focus, What I did, was I sat behind my camera (it was on a tripod) and extended my arm as far as I could, and changed how I was sitting till the distance between my hand and the lens was where I wanted it (about 5" away) then I focused on the match with the lights on, and then turned the lights off, sat in the same spot, put the 10 second timer on and had it set to take a 2 picture burst. and bam, after many failures I got a decent looking picture.
My approach was similar; I set it to manual focus for a set distance (max arm's reach away) and used a piece of string hung from the ceiling to remind me exactly where I needed to be to be in focus. The I shut down the aperture to get a bit more depth to get it in focus better.... I left the stairway light to the basement on because it was not nearly bright enough to make a difference in the photos. This way I had a "modeling" light to keep things going.
Next time I'm gonna have my wife help out (she was kinda surprised I didn't ask for help when I was explaining the trials and travails of getting the shots) and aim for really fulfilling the assignment. Basically: get the _proper_ exposure for the flare instead of overexposing it so much.
If responding to a picture I've posted: please, provide constructive criticism. Destructive criticism can go take a flying leap.
If we don't know what could be improved or could have been done differently, we'll never know how to get better at what we're doing.
Hey Nate,
thank you for playing!
Out of three one first one "matches" (pun intended:-) the theme (it looks like it flares), the other two are "just burning" :-(
Good idea to introduce another subject (face) into the frame.
Unfortunately, it also made the match flare only an auxiliary object (it's even not in focus), while the idea was to concentrate on it specifically..
Still a rather good attempt though:-)
I guess I read a little more flexibility into the assignment, but the second two are definitely not flares, so I should have re-read the assignment before posting.
I think I'll retry it where the flare is actually properly exposed (and ask my assistant aka wife to help out). Is having an assistant OK within the assignment? (I'm gonna try it either way, just making sure before I post).
If responding to a picture I've posted: please, provide constructive criticism. Destructive criticism can go take a flying leap.
If we don't know what could be improved or could have been done differently, we'll never know how to get better at what we're doing.
I guess I read a little more flexibility into the assignment, but the second two are definitely not flares, so I should have re-read the assignment before posting.
I think I'll retry it where the flare is actually properly exposed (and ask my assistant aka wife to help out). Is having an assistant OK within the assignment? (I'm gonna try it either way, just making sure before I post).
Thanks!
Nate
Assistants are fine, as long as they are not child labor;-)
Each match was lit by the flame of another. As each match flamed up, I pressed the shutter release. Surprisingly, I had a few shots where the match flared, the flame disappeared for a moment, then returned. That was very strange!
My exposures times ranged from 1/40th to 1/250th, and the aperture ranged from f8 to f22, until I found that f20-22 was best. I stood each match in a bicycle mini-tool socket wrench for the leaning shots, and then through some felt and into the same tool, and shot the last few from a higher perspective; number three is one of those. I checked my focus for every single one of my fifty-two exposures, and post-precessing was kept to a minimum. I also kept a small dish of water handy for dousing the spent matches, which I promptly spilled immediately after the final shot.
"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather
which I promptly spilled immediately after the final shot.
!
Really nice work! I winged it, you studied it. Great work. Thanks for helping the rest of us over a hurdle.
I'm moving onto the hair challenge and the single light portrait. I have a GREAT idea. Now I have to convince my daughter who has all the hair. (See my avatar for my lack of hair...)
Each match was lit by the flame of another. As each match flamed up, I pressed the shutter release. Surprisingly, I had a few shots where the match flared, the flame disappeared for a moment, then returned. That was very strange!
My exposures times ranged from 1/40th to 1/250th, and the aperture ranged from f8 to f22, until I found that f20-22 was best. I stood each match in a bicycle mini-tool socket wrench for the leaning shots, and then through some felt and into the same tool, and shot the last few from a higher perspective; number three is one of those. I checked my focus for every single one of my fifty-two exposures, and post-precessing was kept to a minimum. I also kept a small dish of water handy for dousing the spent matches, which I promptly spilled immediately after the final shot.
"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather
Comments
My approach was similar; I set it to manual focus for a set distance (max arm's reach away) and used a piece of string hung from the ceiling to remind me exactly where I needed to be to be in focus. The I shut down the aperture to get a bit more depth to get it in focus better.... I left the stairway light to the basement on because it was not nearly bright enough to make a difference in the photos. This way I had a "modeling" light to keep things going.
Next time I'm gonna have my wife help out (she was kinda surprised I didn't ask for help when I was explaining the trials and travails of getting the shots) and aim for really fulfilling the assignment.
NTWPhotos.com
Member, Livingston County Photographers Group (http://livcophotographers.com)
If responding to a picture I've posted: please, provide constructive criticism. Destructive criticism can go take a flying leap.
If we don't know what could be improved or could have been done differently, we'll never know how to get better at what we're doing.
I guess I read a little more flexibility into the assignment, but the second two are definitely not flares, so I should have re-read the assignment before posting.
I think I'll retry it where the flare is actually properly exposed (and ask my assistant aka wife to help out). Is having an assistant OK within the assignment? (I'm gonna try it either way, just making sure before I post).
Thanks!
Nate
NTWPhotos.com
Member, Livingston County Photographers Group (http://livcophotographers.com)
If responding to a picture I've posted: please, provide constructive criticism. Destructive criticism can go take a flying leap.
If we don't know what could be improved or could have been done differently, we'll never know how to get better at what we're doing.
Each match was lit by the flame of another. As each match flamed up, I pressed the shutter release. Surprisingly, I had a few shots where the match flared, the flame disappeared for a moment, then returned. That was very strange!
My exposures times ranged from 1/40th to 1/250th, and the aperture ranged from f8 to f22, until I found that f20-22 was best. I stood each match in a bicycle mini-tool socket wrench for the leaning shots, and then through some felt and into the same tool, and shot the last few from a higher perspective; number three is one of those. I checked my focus for every single one of my fifty-two exposures, and post-precessing was kept to a minimum. I also kept a small dish of water handy for dousing the spent matches, which I promptly spilled immediately after the final shot.
First Strike
Going "Nukular"
And them's my entries!
EXIF - In Order of Appearance:
1.
Focal Length: 250mm
Sensitivity: ISO 100
1/40 sec - F/20
2.
1/60 sec - F/20
3.
1/60 sec - F/22
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"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather
Really nice work! I winged it, you studied it. Great work. Thanks for helping the rest of us over a hurdle.
I'm moving onto the hair challenge and the single light portrait. I have a GREAT idea. Now I have to convince my daughter who has all the hair. (See my avatar for my lack of hair...)
Great entries, Lee!
Now I'm off to do the single light portrait, too. I have a friend in mind, now I just need to ask her to be my subject.
See you all at the next one.
__________________
My SmugMug Gallery
My Facebook
"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather