17 replies to this topic

[Cal]

Hey Wetpixelators!

It was 3am and I couldn't sleep - most likely due to the mass caffeine doses required by my honours thesis (marine bio.) Strangely enough I couldnt get a photo out of mind. I imagined a guy dressed like Charlie Chaplin running and dancing across the pool bottom - Strange, I know

anyway, I managed to find a willing victim ( Mike, a mate from uni.) We went shopping for the goods.

First item : White Gloves

This was the hardest. We went into a bridal shop, a porn shop and a lingerie shop. The porn guy gave us a weird look when 2 big guys walked in and asked for white gloves then turned around and left

Second item: White Tie & Shoes

We drove around town and searched out "opp shops." Basically, second hand shops for recycled clothing.

Thirdly: Suit and hat

Strangely enough Mike found a top hat in town the week before.

Total cost: $30 or so.

-----------------------------

The hardest part of this whole shoot was trying to tie the damn tie!




Without that out of the way we got going!

The running man

For this image I used 2 x ds 51 strobes on TTL at 1/90th F19. I sat still and got Mike to make a whole lot of movements like he was dancing and running. I then took two of most compatible images and flipped one horizontally to even out the light- Dark edges, light middle. I created a new image ( twice the width and same height) and placed the two images into it. I then used clone stamp at a low opacity to smooth out the harsh edges. I then used light room to enhance the details and contrast. Total post production time = 2hr.

no 1




Low self esteem

I had this idea of a persons reflection screaming at them. I got Mike to lie back with his legs over the edge of the pool so he could face straight up and not move to get a smooth reflection.

I shot multiple frames as quickly as possible and got Mike to alternate screaming and smiling.

1/125th at f16 iso 100

no 2



More reflections- just trying out different shapes and patterns

no 3



no 4




Heres some shots with attitude.

I took on board some suggestions by other wetpixel members and got a friend to stand over the pool and point a torch onto Mike's face to highlight it. I really liked the results.

1/10th at f3.5 at ISO 400. I was disappointed with the noise from the Nikon d80.

no 5



no 6



no 7

Edited by Cal, 27 March 2009 - 04:52 AM.

[Cal]

And a few more

no 8



no 9




And heres my favorite from the session:

This is the same technique from image no 1.

The running man drops his hat! - Luckily he caught it

The full version is to big to post so pop over to my flickr page to check it out in large size

no 10



About 4 hrs of work including trying out different techniques images etc

Hope you enjoyed them!

Cheers

Cal

Edited by Cal, 27 March 2009 - 04:52 AM.

[photovan]

another day another adventure with Cal. Great work. I enjoy the composite at the end.

Hope you are putting this much creative energy into your thesis

[Drew]

This is going to sound misogynistic because it is... BUT... the swedish model is better!

[BrianM]

Cal, I agree with Drew. Charlie Chaplin look alike guy is no substitute for the Swedish model.
Also, come on, the guy didn't even have a fake flower in his button hole. You're definitely slipping. ;-)

[bruceterrill]

Hey Cal,

How about putting the Swedish girl on E-bay to get some money for a boat trip?

I think that you're swimming in the wrong pool. . . . get back to your thesis and show us what you're capable of!

Bruce...

[aussie]

Nice shots Cal, good to see the creative juices are still flowing even if you aren't getting out to sea!

I'm thinking I'll come down in the next few weeks for a weekend, satisfy my lust for rust out on the Yongala. Start saving your pennies, would be great if you could join us!

Ryan.

PS. Bruce, good to see you're still hanging around mate

[randapex]

A bit of light on the face for #6 would have made that a kill shot. JMHO. after several bottles of vino lol.

Keep on it my friend.

Rand

[Cal]

Thanks guys!

Needless to say, I enjoyed the Swedish model shoot slightly more :-) However, I did feel that I had some better ideas in this shoot. A beautiful model can only get you so far..............

Ok, thats a blatant lie

Well later in the week i'm throwing my office mate into the pool whilst shes wearing make up and a dress. That should be fun!

anyone have any tips for suggestions for these shots?

I agree no 6 would have been awesome with more light on the face.

Cal

Cal

[james]

Hi Cal,

Nice new stuff - it looks like you've got an awesome pool to work in.

My advice would be to use one flash on your camera and experiment w/ your other flash as a slave. Duct tape is your friend - try taping the flash to a tripod you can take in the water or something.

That will let you get photos w/ light coming from a direction that is not where your camera is.

Cheers
James

[loftus]

Shades of Man Ray!

[Cal]

Thanks James - thats a grovy idea. My flash units are connected via a cable tho so it might get a a bit messy underwater

Cal

[wetdog]

You don't say what kind of flash units / strobes you are using, but most can operate as slaves triggered by the flash from a unit that's wired.

[Cal]

Im using 2 x ds 51 strobes.

There connected via a hot shoe. I can stretch the cord out to maybe a 1m but not much further.

Any suggestions?

[Ed_Dman]

Really cool stuff, Cal... I like #8 & #10, awesome.

Ed.

[jtresfon]

Hey Cal you get an "A" for effort!

Perhaps it's just the size of the posted shots but I found most of them to be too dark to really make out the action at a quick glance. I think your lighting needs a bit of tweaking, with the exception being No. 2 - The screaming/smiling reflection. Both the concept and the result is fantastic. Well done...

[Cal]

Thanks Ed and jtresfon,

I'm editing my pics on a laptop these days which makes the photos look slightly different (darker) when viewed on a pc monitor. I'm not sure why,

[Scubamoose]

I'm editing my pics on a laptop these days which makes the photos look slightly different (darker) when viewed on a pc monitor. I'm not sure why,

Both monitors are calibrated?