At the start of the day I expected to shoot some glamour shots for a model. However, after receiving a last minute cancellation, a change of plans was in order. Since my equipment was already set up, I decided to revisit smoke and water (splash/ stop motion) photography.

The first attempt at smoke photography was a good. However, I continually had to bump up the exposure in post just to get a decent image. Also, the levels has to be adjusted to keep the background black. So this time the strobe was increased to 1/8th power and the background was moved back 3 feet. By doing this, a cleaner image was  obtained. The next thing to do is to become more creative in post and use the smoke in creative portraits.

Here are the new attempts:

The first attempt at water photographer included using vegetables, a fish tank and a lot of water. This attempt involved less water, one strobe and a reflective surface. The purpose of the first attempt was to capture the motion of the water as the vegetable broke the surface. This time the goal was to capture the motion of the water as a single drop breaks the surface of the pool. As always, critical focus was difficult to obtain. However, I am certain that with practice the images will improve in sharpness and clarity.

(Note: Be careful what you use to bounce the light. It will show up in the surface of the water.)

Here are new attempts:

The same settings I used in the first attempts with smoke and water photography were used this time, except were indicated. The important thing to remember is that f-stops between 8 and 13 make critical focus easier. Also, manual focus should be used when ever possible (Being able to make fine adjustments to your focus can make a world of difference).

For those who do not know, Peter Hurley is a phenomenal head shot photographer. Here he is given, what I think is, the greatest tip I've ever heard for shooting a great head-shot.  Now that I have seen this, I have no excuse for taking head-shots or doing portraits that make the subject look corpulent. 

Well I'm suppose to do a couple photo shoots in the upcoming weeks. So I wanted to play with my light kit and think out my lighting scenarios. Since I didn't have a subject, I just took my own picture. These were shot with a Canon t2i and a 24 to 105mm L lens (45mm) at F9.0 (ISO100).  I used 2 Alien Bees B800's at 1/4 power with soft-boxes to defuse the light.  

After watching a tutorial by PhotoExtremist  Evan Sharboneau, I decided to try High Speed Photography. I must admit, this type of photography requires careful planning. Not only do you have to make sure that your camera is properly setup, you have to spend a good amount of time setting up the shot. Now, I have done shoots that require some set up time. So, I was fine with the process. However, if you are the kind of person who prefers to do point and shoot photography, this may not be for you.

I used a similar setup to the one used by Evan Sharboneau in his youtube tutorial. I just used my kitchen instead of a garage and a bowl to get the water in a the fish tank instead of a hose. Overall, I am pleased with my first experience and will definitely work on refining my technique. A few of the shoots I took are listed in this post.  They were shot with a Canon T2i and a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens at f14. I used two AlienBees B800 flash units at 1/32 power. ISO at 100. 

If you want to see the  tutorial I followed, just go click the following link: High Speed Photography Tutorial

 Today I tried a few of new things.

1) I decided to let it fly. I usual need to compose every shot. Because of this, I often miss shots. This is something that is tolerable when I have time to compose a shot. For instance, when I'm shooting a model or I will be able to visit a location several times.I can redirect a model or visit the location until everything falls in place. However,it is not good to miss shots when its a once in a life time shot.  So, I am trying to become more instinctive. See the shot and take it, particularly when I'm taking doing street photography, shooting at a remote location or I have a paid shoot with strict time restrictions. 

2) I don't usually shoot random things. I look for art, not simple beauty. Yet when I get home and see these type of shoots, I am often drawn to them. I admire the photographers ability to find the beauty in what is often considered mundane. So I am coming down off my high horse and opening my eyes. My theory is that if I look at everything I will increase the chance of capturing those once in a lifetime gems. 

3) Becoming more open minded about the color, texture and style of my photographs. I tend to gravitate toward certain looks. This may seem fine. But by doing this I run the risk of making all my pictures look the same. So, I will try at least 8 new looks. Today I focused on a muted look. Although the images I took are not going to win me any awards, they are the forerunner to more expression and creativity. 

4) Last but not least. I will work on getting out of my own head. Our greatest detractor is our-self. So I will stop worrying about other peoples opinions of my work. I can and will accept constructive criticism, as I always have. But, I will not let it stop me from taking risks. There is no growth without risk. 

Anyway here are a few shots. Just the city in action. Shot in daylight with a Canon T2i and a Canon 24-105mm f4 L lens (around 200 to 400 ISO). Looks were applied on a iMac using aperture. No special plugins.   

 

OK. This was a weekend of experimentation. I have always been interested in smoke photography. But, I have never had the patience to attempt it. Well, that changed this weekend. I used a basic setup. Black foam core background, a light source to give me something to focus on and an alien bee 800 watt strobe set a its lowest power setting (1/32). I then lit a few incense sticks and began shooting. I was using a Canon 24-105mm /4 lens on a T2i with the ISO at 100 and the f-stop at around f10. I learned quickly that the magic happens in post. My first attempt was merely a collage of color (created by creating multiple layers in Photoshop and changing the hue).

Here is my first attempt:

After I saw how it was done and realized that extreme manipulation is expected when doing this type of photography, I decided to use my imagination. My second attempt is a bit more elaborate.

Here is my second attempt:

Overall I like my initial results. Each image has its own charm.

The most important thing to come from this foray into smoke photography is that I gained another weapon. I will definitely use smoke photography to augment other times of photography I am interested in. I will also use it to expand my creativity and broaden my imagination. If you haven't tried it, I recommend it.

I thought this was a interesting image. I did quite a bit of color processing to give it a hard yet detailed look. This was shot with my 12-24mm Tokina lens at F4, ISO 200.