This is abnormal (in more ways than one), but I have done a mini shoot up in the middle of the week. The topic this time around was, “Body part in a cardboard box.” The picture above was the first thing that popped into my head.

Obviously I took several pictures and did a composite in Photoshop. The set up was quite simple: 1.) Set up boxes 2.) Take picture of box on tripod 3.) Take picture of self as close as possible to boxes on timer 4.) Erase/Mask unneeded parts.

The important thing is that you use identical lighting in all of your shots. This makes things a lot easier. The shot above was with a SB-800 with a shoot through umbrella camera left. Shot in commander mode at ISO 800 1/15th at f/8.

Also, if you want to do any adjustments, do adjustments on one picture, then synchronize settings across all images before working on the composite, this will save you a lot of work.

Here is my friend Steve’s take on the subject.

I also went to the Portland Japanese Garden today, but I will save that for another day. (Don’t expect much because I’m terrible at landscape work)

Run!, originally uploaded by blister gone.

It’s Valentines Day, I’m waiting for Audrey to finish her study/volunteer time, so I’m at home doing nothing. My shoot up friend Steve decided to do a subject shoot from an ordinary object. Today’s subject was – Shoes.

The Process
I started by shooting a couple shots with the concept of the common problem of “which shoes should I wear today?” with a row of shoes, and my feet standing in front of them. The shots were ok, but it wasn’t really working for me. I knew I could do better. By this time, I had set aside my Gitzo because it was not low enough for the perspective I wanted. So I went and got my Gorilla Pod. I shot a couple more frames, but still was not happy with it. I guess the shots didn’t come out as cool as I thought they would.

Then I thought, I wonder if I can create a Shoe Monster with my Gorilla Pod. Hm, it needs a head. So I went and got the good ol’ photogenic rangefinder and put it on there, and stuck two of the legs into the shoes. One of the arms is stuck out ready to seek and destroy.

I’ve shot a couple of these Gorilla Pod monsters, but they were all kind of boring. There’s no action or drama, it just sits there. So I somehow got the idea to use my lego guys from my Millennium Falcon as the victims.

Boy, it is hard getting those Lego characters to keep upright.

So I had everything set up and ready to go. Now the challenge was the lighting. I had been shooting one SB 800 off camera, but I knew I wanted some kind of backlight for the monster, and some fill light for the lego characters. So at first I tried placing the SB 800 in the back to send light forward, and having a reflector to bounce back light back into the legos. Not nearly enough light. I tried several configurations before I gave up, because I had to knock out the ambient light as well. So I said screw it, and went upstairs to grab my B800.

I ended up using the SB-800 with a small softbox for fill on camera left, -1 FEC from the ambient, and the B800 camera right to light the shoe monster. I think this worked out perfectly as the light from the B800 acted as a nice kicklight for the legos. It gives nice separation from the background so they stand out.

Here’s the set up shot:

Any suggestions for a subject for next week?

blacksand beach, originally uploaded by blister gone.

Even though I had a bad back, I’m glad I lugged my camera all the way to Maui, drove a ton, and all the way down to the Black Sand Beach near Hana.

Believe it or not, very little enhancement was done to this photo. It really is this beautiful. Unfortunately, at the time I only brought my 20D and the 24L, which is about 35mm equivalent on full frame. So it wasn’t very wide. I left my 10-22mm at home. Kind of glad, because this photo is actually made up of 4-5 photos stitched together. Giving me slightly more resolution than I normally would have captured.

I probably won’t go back because the drive was just too long and painful (Road to Hana), I’d rather be doing something else. They say the drive is the best part – with all kinds of scenery and wildlife and such. Thing is, I grew up in Oregon, so it felt a lot like going on one of the many hiking trails here, by car.

I’ll take the beach any day.