Matters of Light and Depth

Multimedia Examples

2007-11-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

A New Tower for the Times

Staceyann Chin: Storyteller

Fill Flash and Blending

2007-11-15T12:44:00.001-08:00

Dell McMillan, a bagpiper for Boone County Fire Protection District Pipes and Drums, listens to a speech in front of City Hall following the Veterans Day parade on Sunday, Nov. 11. (f/11, 1/125, ISO 200, TTL Flash)

Blending (Alternate Select)

Color Correction

2007-11-05T12:42:00.001-08:00

Painting with Light

2007-10-23T09:35:00.001-07:00

Entering the dark and treacherous forest of Grindstone, a mysterious traveler wields the Umbrella of the Unseen, an artifact imbued with the power to make its possessor invisible. Unfortunately, proprietors of the umbrella often fall prey to the predators of the forest when they forget that the umbrella itself is conspicuously glowing yellow. (f/11, approx. 7 min. on bulb, ISO 200, daylight white balance)

Self-Critique

Painting with light was an appealing assignment to me because it allowed me to temporarily step outside of photojournalism and back into the kind of illustrative photography that I started in high school. My initial concept for the assignment came from a sequence in the movie “Punch-Drunk Love,” in which Adam Sandler’s character is running from four men who have been hired to appropriate money from him. However, the idea didn’t pan out because it required a large, blank wall that is unlit, and I was unable to locate such a wall nearby.

Shortly before I was due to shoot, I recalled the long, unlit path that runs through a passageway of trees in Capen Park. This seemed to be an ideal scene for an image reminiscent of “Sleepy Hollow.” With my equipment and crew (Sara) in tow, I went out to Capen Park in the dead of night (9 p.m.) for what was to be the creepiest shoot I have done to date. (The second creepiest shoot being at the giant Burr Oak near McBaine.)

Upon arriving at the park, I immediately saw… nothing. The path was so dark that I could scarcely see 10 feet into the trees. I first scouted down the path with a flashlight to get a general sense of how I could frame my shot, and then I triggered a strobe (at full power) at various distances from the camera to see what the practical range of my shot could be. I wanted to create am eerie tunnel of light down the path, so I gelled the strobe orange and flashed the trees on both sides in about five segments. To ensure that the strobe itself wouldn’t be visible, I used my camera manual as a shield. As I got further away from the camera, I increased the rate of flashes to three or four per segment.

Next, I added myself to the shot by standing between the strobe and the camera. I found that I was barely visible when I triggered the strobe only an arm’s length in front of me, so I had Sara stand a few feet behind me and trigger the flash (gelled yellow) about four times. I must give credit to Sara for wisely suggesting that I hold the umbrella to create a silhouette. I then added the floating umbrella to various parts of the scene by holding it above my head and triggering the strobe underneath. With the strobe at full power, the umbrellas were too dominant, so I dialed the strobe down to 1/8th power to create a better ghosting effect. In my selected image, the strobe is visible under one of the umbrellas because I didn’t fully shield it with my body. Overall, I was very pleased with the result.

The only major problem that I encountered in the shoot was with stray light “leaking” into the top-left corner of my image. I was unable to determine the source of the light because it was an overcast night and the only visible lamp was well out of range. I suppose with such a long exposure, it’s difficult to be certain of what’s going to be visible. I also encountered minor problems with rigging a shutter release with gaffer’s tape (which accounts for the several blank frames in my outtakes). In general, I found that painting with light can yield unexpected results, but that element of mystery is certainly part of its appeal.

Lighting Setup

Single Flash

2007-10-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. The Devil

Bounce Flash Select

Members of the MU Cultural Association of India rehearse a traditional folk dance in Stotler Lounge on Wednesday, Oct. 17. The association will present the dance in Jesse Auditorium as part of the 16th Annual India Night on Oct. 27. (f/4.5, 1/125, ISO 200)

Direct Flash Select

Vicki Hobbs, vice president of membership for the Muleskinners Democratic Club, works at the Boone County Democratic Headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 18. While preparing for next year’s presidential election, Hobbs still stresses the importance of the upcoming City Council election in Columbia’s first ward. (f/11, 1/125, ISO 200)

Self-Critique

For my first take of this assignment, I shot musicians in a Jefferson City pub. Pubs, of course, present very challenging lighting situations, so this wasn’t the ideal location to practice flash-use for the first time. The situation was further complicated by several obstacles (microphone stands, speakers, etc) as well as a large mirror on the wall behind the musicians.

I mostly tried bouncing the flash off the ceiling (a dull gold tile that created a fairly nice warm color), but I found that the light fell off so quickly that only the musicians’ faces were well lit (as in image 10). I probably spent the majority of the shoot figuring out how to hold the flash (which is truly like another arm) and calculating the correct aperture in manual mode. At some point, it appears that I even changed my ISO to 400. Overall, my images ended up being underexposed or looking wholly unnatural.

After getting some tips from Andrea, I went back out for a second shoot. This time I went to Memorial Union thinking that I would shoot the Comedy Wars improvisational show. Fortunately, I happened upon some students who were rehearsing an Indian dance, and they allowed me to take some pictures.

I first tried to bounce the flash from the ceiling, but since it was about 30 feet high, I began utilizing my hand as a bounce. I was generally please with the warming effect this produced, but since my hand diffused the light so much, I was forced to use a very wide aperture (my lens can only open to 3.5/4.5) or shoot close to the subjects. My select from this shoot is not necessarily my favorite compositionally (and it is underexposed), but several other images that I liked were too hot (images 12 and 13).

To practice direct flash, I went to the Boone County Democratic Headquarters. I tried to use the flash to emulate bright, natural light coming from an office window. I dialed down the flash to 1/8 power, for my comfort and that of the subject, and this allowed me to shoot fairly close. I had difficulty with hard shadows falling behind the subject and with white or metal objects in the foreground reflecting all the light. Primarily, I found it difficult to be adaptable in each situation because I had to be continuously conscious of what I was doing with the flash.

Metal (And Glass)

2007-10-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

“There are two sides to a trumpeter's personality: There is the one that lives only to lay waste to the woodwinds and strings, leaving them lying blue and lifeless along the swath of destruction that is a trumpeter's fury. And then there is the dark side.” – Irving Bush (f32, 1/125, ISO 200)

Self-Critique

Coming into this assignment, I was already afraid of the lighting challenge presented by metal and glass. The obstacles demonstrated in the studio were highlighted by Rita’s “fond” recollections of shooting this assignment in graduate school. Though I had been told that metal was the more difficult material to light, I selected to photograph a brass trumpet. I played this particular trumpet for four years before locking it away in its black, plastic case for the next seven. At the very least, I thought I could find a place for it in my new pursuit.

My first (and only) lighting setup was almost too simple. Against a black background, I placed the trumpet on a table clad with black velvet. I positioned two soft-boxes (each 600 Ws) on either side of the table at approximately 45º angles. Initially, the soft-boxes were about six feet away from the table, but this produced prominent reflections in the bell of the trumpet. I then moved the soft-boxes closer to the table until they were “tented” directly over the trumpet. Though reflections of the lamps were still visible, I was able to work the angle of my shot until the lighting appeared even across the trumpet.

With this simple setup, the bell of the trumpet still posed a problem; the soft-boxes were clearly recognizable in the reflection. Rather than reconfiguring the lights, I merely opted to avoid shooting the bell directly. In retrospect, I wish I had taken more time to deal with the problem head-on. By taking the easy route and eliminating the bell from most of my shots, I eliminated the most recognizable part of the trumpet.

While the contrast of the brass against the black background was visually appealing, I found it difficult to develop an interesting concept with the trumpet. My partner (and grip), Rebecca, suggested adding some color to the shot, so I tested a few frames with curled ribbon, but that seemed to be an addition for the sake of an addition. (Likewise, adding a practice book didn’t work.) Finally, I decided to return the trumpet to the comfort of its black case. Fortunately, this black case has a metallic lining well-suited for the situation, so I incorporated it into my shot.

Looking at my selected image, I regret that I didn’t add another highlight on the curve of the trumpet’s bell. As it is, the light is only hitting the rim, so a portion of the horn is lost in the blackness of the case. I’m pleased with the aesthetic look of this image, but I must admit that it doesn’t reflect the challenge of lighting metal. Since the thin lining of the case isn’t highly reflective and the most problematic part of the trumpet isn’t visible, this shot is “playing it safe.”

Lighting Setup

Classmate Studio Portrait

2007-09-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

With lips pursed and eyes averted in the distance, Tara Ballenger’s elusive qualities do not yield to the camera with ease. Ballenger says that she sometimes finds herself lost in thought, but far from being detached or aloof, she seems both in the moment and persistently pensive. (f22, 1/125, 200 ISO)

Self-Critique

My experience with the classmate studio portrait was slightly inauspicious from the start. Since I was absent from class when partners were assigned for the project, I was unable to start planning until the following week. After speaking briefly with my partner Tara, I knew that I would have to learn more about her before I could conceptualize a lighting setup. Unfortunately, due to conflicting schedules and a lack of communication, we waited too long to claim a timeslot for the studio and were forced to shoot with limited time.

In planning my lighting setup for the portrait, I wanted to take Tara’s personality into consideration; however, my interview with her was less than thorough and did not yield any concrete conceptualization. I made a general single- and multi-light diagram based on my observations and went into the studio with much apprehension.

On the first shoot, I set up a single strobe with a honeycomb attachment at three quarters front –right and placed a white reflector on the left to partially fill the other side of Tara’s face. I set the strobe at 1200Ws and metered both sides of Tara’s face (at 1/125), which yielded 2:1 ratio of f16 on the right and f11 on the left; however, this range proved to be overexposed, so I bracketed full stops and decided to shoot at f22. Looking at my take, this seems to be slightly underexposed. I soon found that Tara’s facial expressions seemed to convey deep thought, so I decided to emphasize this by using the negative space of the black background to “isolate” her in the frame.

For my multi-light setup, I positioned a strobe with a medium softbox in front of Tara and a strobe with a honeycomb on the boom focused on a gray background. I initially set the power ratio for both strobes at 1000Ws, but when this was too hot I dialed the power down by two stops. My meter reading showed f22 for both lights, but this was once again too hot. I bracketed from that point and ended up shooting at f29. I was pleased with the color saturation and wide shadow transfer edge (on the background) that this setup achieved, but I had trouble with the light being uneven and with the light on the background being too hot. In retrospect, I should have placed a reflector under Tara’s face to fill in the shadows.

When reviewing my outtakes, I quickly found that most of my shots were unusable due to dust on my image sensor. This is particularly apparent on my multi-light setup with the gray background and was intensified by the fact that I was shooting at such a narrow aperture. Since this was already responsible for many ruined shots for the changing light assignment, it seems that I should invest some time into cleaning my sensor. My selected image is a reflection of this, but also one that I felt expressed Tara’s elusive quality.

Overall, this assignment was a true experiment for me. I clearly need to spend more time in the studio to learn about power and light ratios and effective metering. Despite my many mistakes, I am excited by the possibilities that studio photography opens to me.

Single Light Setup

Multi-Light Setup

Multi-Light Select
(Note the visible dust on the background)

Changing Light

2007-09-13T13:06:00.001-07:00

6:30 a.m. (1/2 sec. at f/3.5)

6:57 a.m. (1/50 sec. at f/3.5)

10:16 a.m. (1/400 sec. at f/11)

3:34 p.m. (1/200 sec. at f/22)

7:26 p.m. (1/30 sec. at f/11)