Mirror

ISO: 80
Shutter: 1/30
Aperture: 8.0
On camera flash: 1/3 power

Our assignment for Monday was self portraits. I was going to do something with flash, but once I started getting my equipment ready I realized I had left my flash at the Kernel. So, I thought for a moment and decided to go for a nice soft light and use a tungsten light bulb.

I’m not sure I got exactly what I wanted, but I’m also not sure that this means I’m not happy with these. I actually think they turned out much better than they would have had my plan gone accordingly.  I knew I would need to shoot it tight and use light well, because “environmental” was not an option. My room isn’t too cool, and if someone else were to be shooting my portrait I would not let them use my room. I thought about using my garage as an option, but just bailed on moving all my gear out there (especially since I never know when there could be homeless people sleeping in it).

ISO: 80
Shutter: 1/50
Aperture: 8.0
On camera flash: 1/3 

ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/40
Aperture: 4.5
On camera flash: off

And for those of you who know I don’t have my 20D and that a Mark II doesn’t have an on camera flash, you probably realized that these portraits were shot on my Canon G9. I love that camera.

15 seconds of swirls

I didn’t want to just do a lame portrait. By a portrait’s nature they are easily simple. But I wanted to add depth.

This is a technique I have tried before when I first started to explore when I got into photography. It’s fun, and can add a mysterious layer to your photo that makes people think. It’s the same technique that Sprint is using to make its commercials. The top photo was one of the first that I shot and I like it the most.

Mary Margaret thankfully complied to letting me shoot photos of her in the dark for nearly half an hour. I just sat a camera on the top of my TV, composed and exposed for what I thought the exposure would be. With no lights in the room, I bounced a flash and then used a flashlight to draw the lines. A normal flashlight gives way more size to the light, so I taped it down to a small hole about as wide as a pen.

These aren’t amazing. They’re just kind of fun to shoot and learn how light works. I was covering the strobe with a blue shirt, when the shirt fell off and the flash fired full blast into the room, giving me the terrible photograph below. But it does show you how it was shot, so I threw it in.

Camera settings:

Shutter: 15 seconds
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 80
Off Camera flash: 430 EX @ 1/32 on first photo, 1/1 on others
Orange light source: Mag-Lite w/ gaffers
Top it all off: Camera - Canon G9

One star for effort

Before I even start, I don’t want any of that you’re too hard on yourself crap. My standards are high because life’s standards are high. I expect the best out of myself. Today I didn’t achieve.

Assignment: stop motion and blurred motion. Well, it turned out to be really freaking sunny but 19 degrees. It turns out people don’t move very fast when it’s cold. And stop motion photos being what they are, the only thing I could think of that would be moving fast enough to consider it stop motion was bicycles (cars don’t count). Given that, I still shot completely artsy and cut off everyone’s heads on purpose, slightly depersonalizing all of these subjects. Whatever, these photos are OK.

Here. These three. The following pictures are what totally ruins my days shoot. These were taken about an hour or less ago. I will explain each ones flaw.

This photo looks really cool at first, but only because you’ve seen those really cool chain link fence pictures that are rough, edgy and story telling. They’re through prison fences where inmates are behind them or maybe there is a group of Mexicans dashing over the fence and it represents a divide within our country. Or maybe it’s just a bunch of kids smoking pot by their high school. Whatever it is, it’s better than this. If you thought this photo was cool, that’s why. You’ve seen something like it and it brought back a good feeling. The composition is similar. If you didn’t think it was cool, it’s because you realized this photo completely lacks the content necessary to compete.

This.photo.is.horrible. The only reason I show you is because I came up with a picture story idea tonight. There are tons and tons of liquor bottles right here, along with deodorant, mouth wash (which the homeless drink to get drunk) and other trash. It looks like someone may have been living here, and I hope they still are. The train yard is right behind my house, so I’ll be keeping my eye out for someone hanging over here, although it is really cold out now.

And I thought I would leave you with my most blown photograph of the night. I staked out my spot and knew where I wanted my photo. I waited, and luckily, this guy came through after only 2 minutes of waiting (which is convenient at 1 AM). I blew the picture. It’s not exposed correctly. My framing is off. It’s just c rap. So hopefully I can shoot a blurred motion picture that doesn’t suck to turn in for my first photojournalism assignment.

I’m in no way happy with my take. But I hardly ever am.