Rainy Day Self Portrait

What do you do on a rainy Saturday afternoon? When you have a camera, you set up for some self portraits. It’s been a while since I did my last self-portrait. This one came out well. I need to update my social media images, and my profile at work.

I had two different setups for my lights, the first was main light camera left with fill light camera right. Both shot using umbrellas. I also had a small flash behind me to add some separation from the backdrop. The second setup was using only the main light with a grid and barn doors on it. I still used the flash behind me for separation. This image used that second setup.

And speaking of that backdrop. This might be the first time I used it. I actually made it from a large cotton drop cloth. The first step was painting it with diluted gesso. After that dried, it was time to begin painting it with brown, yellow, and orange paint. It took a couple of sessions painting over areas to get the right colors.

I’ve been planning to do a series of portraits using Rembrandt lighting. Rembrandt e, there was a consistency to the background behind his subjects.

I had to make a bunch of test shots. After pushing the shutter release, I had to get to the right spot for the lighting to work.

So, what do you think? Have you made any self portraits? What went well? What did you learn?

Can’t Sleep

For some reason I can’t sleep tonight. I’m up at 4am and my brain just won’t shut off. This has been going on for a few weeks now where I’m wide away at about 5am. For the longest time, I couldn’t get enough sleep. I’d sleep until the very last second I could, then get up and rush like made to get ready for the day. Then, about 3 weeks ago, it was like a switch went off in my head. I’m up at 5 or 6am, wide awake and can’t get back to sleep.

So, what do I do at 4am, when I can’t sleep?  I work on photos.  I just upgraded to the latest version of Adobe Lightroom. This version adds some cool features.  One it the ability to lay out a book, and then have it printed.  After working with it for a couple of hours last night, I realized that I’m really rusty on graphic design.  I haven’t really done anything since my undergraduate days. I need to work at this.

This morning it was working on an image that I took at the Franklin Park Conservatory a few weeks ago, but didn’t use in my original posting.  I’ve been trying to be more aware of objects and items in my environment that would lend themselves well to a photo.  I found this shut-off valve and thought that it was pretty cool looking with the crystals crusted on the interior of the handle.  I thought it would be a good detail piece to help show some of the things that are a part of the conservatory.

Learning from the Masters

Learning from the Masters

I’ve been waiting to work on this one for a long time. I snapped this one a long time ago, and planned to work on it someday. I loved the image of the young boy emulating the older men learning how to fish in the surf.  The best part is the two men with their hands on their hips. When I saw the image on the beach, I knew I wanted it in black and white so that it had a nostalgic feel to it.  I remember following my dad and doing the things he wanted to do, just so I could be with him.  He worked a day job during the week and at night and on the weekends he farmed my Great-Grandfather’s farm with his uncle, cousin, and his cousin’s roommate.  I tagged along so that I could be with him.  He didn’t have a lot of free time to spend with me, and it was the only way that we got a chance to do things together.

I thought that it was pretty cool to be working on the farm, driving the tractors and the farm trucks.  I got to learn from the masters how to run that farm and how life was tied up in a cycle of life.  I could understand that the meat that ended up on our table came from the animals we raised.  It’s kind of like how this boy will learn that the life he takes from the ocean will feed his family.