JRN 420 Painting with Light Assignment # 2

Dreams and Reality



Rebecca Crawford, Painting with Light, F 5.6, Shutter 73, ISO 100.

Dreams provide us with visions of ourselves in roles and places we never imagined. Sometimes the choices are similar to situations we are as facing in reality. The key is discovering if our dreams give us clues or helpful hints to what we should do, or if they are just bizarre thoughts.

To create this photo balloons were strung from the beam in the studio on both sides of the frame. I knelt first on the right of the frame and a strobe was fired. Then I switched positions to the other side, and another strobe went off. The balloons were hit with a little bit of light from a flash light with a little bit of blue tone. The background is a police flasher, moved around as fast as possible.



Rebecca Crawford, Painting with Light, F 5.6, Shutter 84, ISO 100.

Fear grabs hold over everyone. Awake or dreaming, the things we push away come back to haunt us. Although the situation may seem impossible to get out of, many times the answer is to face it and fight back no matter how afraid we may be.

On this photo a muted strobe was fired to freeze me and a blue filtered flashlight was swirled around me from top to bottom, around legs and back up. Then a red filter was put on the flashlight add starting from bottom went up again.

This assignment was a lot of fun, hard, but I learned a lot. Mainly keep out ambient light, it is difficult to stay in a position for too long, have something heavy enough to hold the shutter button down, and keep trying until it comes out right.

JRN 420 Portrait 1

A saxophone player from the age of 10, Dustin Kunkel always was the "band kid". He played throughout high school, tried to learn piano, but found it wasn't for him. Around his 18th birthday his best friend bought a guitar which sparked Kunkel's interest. Now at the age of 23, he practices on his Washburn electric four times a day for up to one hour sessions. He says he likes music because "it is a universal language that everyone knows."
Kunkel can be very outgoing, crazy, and even a bit dramatic at times. He does almost anything to get people to laugh or smile, especially while playing. It seems he is always happy. When he is away from playing shows and is by himself or a few people, he is nervous and shy. Having a crowd seems to make him feel comfortable.

I had a few issues in the studio, but for the first time using all the lights and setting up, I think it went ok. To shoot I used a Nikon D80, rim light, main, side, and small back light. Lens ranged from 50mm to 200, and shot at about F16, 200 shutter and ISO .

FIRST STUDIO PHOTOS

Always preferring to be outdoors than in, I have never shot much more than a snapshot inside...and I have never shot in a studio. I had not set up a soft box, used a strobe, known what a pocket wizard was, or a white lightening. Needless to say, up until mid-last year/ this semester, I was feeling a little behind.
But though I love the outdoors I am not one to shoot landscape. Instead I love working with people, being crazy, and just having a good time.
The photo above is my first attempt... on the the Nikon D80 with an 85mm and F16...white balance set on auto...wasn't working so hot....little blown out.
The second photo was same, except I set the F stop to 22. The last few takes are my favorites. I learned that it is important to keep the rim ligt from bouncing back into the camera, as it will mess up your exposure or leave you with some glare. Keeping distance from the subject is important, or you will cut of body parts, or have to jump back to catch the action and will miss the moment. So stay back, use the zoom and that why you are prepared for what they do. Keep the subject close to the light, but keep in mind reflective objects they may be wearing. Like the chain and the glasses above. Keep relaxed. Remember to not "chimp" and stare at your LCD, once you have a good idea roll with it. Otherwise you waste time and your subject looses interest too. Keep your ISO at about 200 (because those lights are indeed plenty bright). And action and reaction and 98% always better than a straight pose for showing character. It is more than what I know or can see, but there has to be show emotion or moment to tell everyone else who they are. Lastly, stop freaking out, breathe, and just have fun. Learn as you go. The first time might not be the best but everyone learns and gets better.
PS.-- I noticed that despite trying to get these in order they start off at the very top with last frame, then scroll down to first take. :)