UA-92224-2

Photo5 Candle: Darker Side

This is my entry for the Canon Photo5 competition, with the tea light candle:

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A man lost in praise before a candle unwittingly reveals a darker side of himself.

I really like this photo. The mischievous side of me enjoys the slightly sacrilegious message. I also like how the image can be looked at on different levels, and interpreted in different ways. Do the horns represent the man’s dark side? Or is the photographer trying to comment on a dark side to religion as a whole? Is this an attack on religion or a warning to the pious. Those who know me probably know what I think, but that’s less important than what you all think!

The idea for this photo was hard to come by, but kind of popped into my head as soon as I started thinking about shadows. The execution, however, was a lot harder. I originally thought I’d fake the light and the shadow with a flash just out of shot, so that I could get a nice sharp, clean image. However, after many failed attempts to get the shadows just right, I decided to just have a look through the viewfinder with the candle only. I was beginning to think the idea wouldn’t work

A few experiments (with long exposures and high ISO – challenging in itself) showed promise, and we eventually got a shot I was reasonably happy with. The main problem was that the shadows of the hands looked like hands, not the horns I wanted. In the end I relented and used photoshop to sliiiightly change the shape of the shadows, and instantly, Danny – my patient model – had horns!

Here’s the un-edited photo, so you can see how little was actually changed:

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Details:
Canon 350D
Tamron 24-135mm @24mm
2.0sec at f3.5 ISO1600

Photo5 Umbrella: Cocktail of Drugs

This is my entry for the Canon Photo5 competition, with the cocktail umbrella:

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To treat her arthritis, cope with the pain and related issues, my wife Naomi takes a daily cocktail of drugs. Seen here is a typical day’s dose.

A fairly straightforward photo. The idea came to me as I was driving to visit Naomi in hospital. I took the umbrella with me in case I thought of anything I could shoot the umbrella with in the hospital. I thought, at first, of putting it in the plastic drinking cup Naomi has there, but then the idea of the cocktail of drugs Nomi takes came to mind.

Naomi isn’t taking all of her normal drugs right now while in hospital, due to the antibiotics, and I didn’t have our cool measuring up with me either so I took the shot at home. I first took a simple photo of the concept structure, then spiced it up with a bit of flash magic. The result is a photo I’m pretty happy with, and a concept that I don’t think any other Photo5 entrants have used! I can also use this photos in my photo essay Naomi’s life with arthritis.

Here’s the setup:

Setup for Cocktail of Drugs

On a white sheet of card curled up as an infinity sweep, I placed a black speckled tile to look like a bar counter top, and give a reflection of the “cocktail”.

On the left pointed at the background, is a Vivitar 285HV at 1/16th with a blue gel and 50% neutral density gel (to cut down the brightness an extra stop).

On the right, another Vivitar 285HV at 1/16th, bare and with cardboard barn doors to control the light spill and lens flare, points back at the cocktail.

On the left, a folded sheet of A4 white paper acts as a reflector to fill in the shadows on the left of the cocktail.

Settings for the submitted photo:
Canon 350D
Tamron 24-135mm @ 135mm
1/125/sec at f/10, ISO100

Twelve Apostles print available

This week’s fine art photo print is a classic Australian scene, along the world famous Great Ocean Road along the Southern Victorian coast. The Twelve Apostles are a collection of gigantic rock pillars left standing after a process of erosion has pushed back the cliff face, leaving these monoliths standing free.

Twelve Apostles at Sunset

Naomi and I were actually taking this photo on assignment for the Australian touring company AAT Kings Tours. The twelve apostles (there are actually only seven standing, but only nine when they were named) are a top destination for the company’s tours, and they feature on the cover of many brochures. A couple of years ago, however, one of the larger and more obvious pillars collapsed, making all the photos in the catalogues obsolete. You can see the pile of rubble in the middle of the shot above. We were asked to go and shoot some new photos for AAT.

The photo they actually selected was a different one, taken in the midday sun, showing the vivid colours of the sea and sky. It was my first ever cover shot! A proud moment for me.

Personally, I much prefer this photo, with the golden sunset light and the dark, blue stormclouds in the background. If you would like to purchace a print of this photo, and have an iconic piece of Australia for yourself, you can do so at the Fine Art PhotoBlog. And while you’re there, be sure to check out the latest offerings from my talented comrades at the blog.

Darren under the bridge – P365 Feb23

We paid a visit to Darren and Colin this evening to see their new house, after they have renovated it. It looks fantastic! I took a few photos around the place, a couple of which can be seen here. After dinner, Darren and I went outside to take some photos.

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If you have seen Darren’s entry in the View From Below project, you’ll understand that I was keen for him to show me the location where he took his shot. Despite some flash problems I had, I enjoyed shooting in this wonderfully textured, dark, grungy location.

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