36. Selfie - February 16-22, 2014
Kevin-
Okay here, at last, is my SELFIE. Actually it a sort of selfie of a selfie. In it I broke some “rules” concerning portraits. The most important of which is to shoot an image of a person with a longer lens, say 70-120mm in full frame terms to give a proper sense of perspective. Here, because I was showing a tight face shot with my iPhone in the image, I set up my Nikon in a similar, close, wide angle way to capture the combination. In fact I mounted my 14-24mm zoom lens and zoomed it all the way to wide, to 14mm. I was less than 6” away from the front of the lens. I knew this would create lots of distortion and exaggeration. Look at the size of my ear in the image and you’ll see what I mean. Obviously this wide angle from the side perspective isn’t exactly ideal for me nose either. Whatever. The iPhone is merely a prop. The Nikon which shot the image was triggered by a wireless remote in my other hand.
I mounted one of my Nikon flash units in a soft box on a light stand to barely illuminate the front of the frame, and then used another flash unit behind me with a red gel over it to provide most of the light. I also had to slow the shutter speed of my Nikon from the normal flash sync of 1/250th of a second to 1/30th of a second so that the image on the iPhone would also be visible. So, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/30th of a second, 24-70mm Nikkor set to 14mm.
Okay here, at last, is my SELFIE. Actually it a sort of selfie of a selfie. In it I broke some “rules” concerning portraits. The most important of which is to shoot an image of a person with a longer lens, say 70-120mm in full frame terms to give a proper sense of perspective. Here, because I was showing a tight face shot with my iPhone in the image, I set up my Nikon in a similar, close, wide angle way to capture the combination. In fact I mounted my 14-24mm zoom lens and zoomed it all the way to wide, to 14mm. I was less than 6” away from the front of the lens. I knew this would create lots of distortion and exaggeration. Look at the size of my ear in the image and you’ll see what I mean. Obviously this wide angle from the side perspective isn’t exactly ideal for me nose either. Whatever. The iPhone is merely a prop. The Nikon which shot the image was triggered by a wireless remote in my other hand.
I mounted one of my Nikon flash units in a soft box on a light stand to barely illuminate the front of the frame, and then used another flash unit behind me with a red gel over it to provide most of the light. I also had to slow the shutter speed of my Nikon from the normal flash sync of 1/250th of a second to 1/30th of a second so that the image on the iPhone would also be visible. So, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/30th of a second, 24-70mm Nikkor set to 14mm.
Byron-
In about 1972 Richard Nixon had himself photographed on the beach. He wanted to soften his image. Of course, he was wearing dress shoes and a presidential windbreaker.
I was in a similar situation not far from San Clemente (Nixon's Western White house) so I took a picture of myself on the beach dressed about the same. I'm even wearing a hat with an "N" on the front. N for Nixon.
In about 1972 Richard Nixon had himself photographed on the beach. He wanted to soften his image. Of course, he was wearing dress shoes and a presidential windbreaker.
I was in a similar situation not far from San Clemente (Nixon's Western White house) so I took a picture of myself on the beach dressed about the same. I'm even wearing a hat with an "N" on the front. N for Nixon.
Deron-
This sinister looking photo was not supposed to be sinister at all. I was going for a classic Indian war paint look, but I ended up with something more akin to The Gimp from Pulp Fiction.
I may have submitted something else, but the headache I went through for this photo kind of forces me to submit it. After finding the proper design, I painted it on, spun the D40 around and clicked off 30, or so shots. I was afraid someone might come to the door wanting to borrow sugar or flour or, maybe more appropriately, a machete, so I quickly jumped in the shower to wash away this 'Mask of Muerte'.
Unfortunately, It didn't really want to come off! So nervously, I scrubbed and scrubbed and soaped and scrubbed before it finally disappeared, but now I 'm dealing with a face that is dry and as red as a sunburned lobster, but I'm pretty sure I'll get over it... and possibly open a beauty salon in Beverly Hills, where I can overcharge The Real Housewives for an Extreme Accidental Exfoliation.
This sinister looking photo was not supposed to be sinister at all. I was going for a classic Indian war paint look, but I ended up with something more akin to The Gimp from Pulp Fiction.
I may have submitted something else, but the headache I went through for this photo kind of forces me to submit it. After finding the proper design, I painted it on, spun the D40 around and clicked off 30, or so shots. I was afraid someone might come to the door wanting to borrow sugar or flour or, maybe more appropriately, a machete, so I quickly jumped in the shower to wash away this 'Mask of Muerte'.
Unfortunately, It didn't really want to come off! So nervously, I scrubbed and scrubbed and soaped and scrubbed before it finally disappeared, but now I 'm dealing with a face that is dry and as red as a sunburned lobster, but I'm pretty sure I'll get over it... and possibly open a beauty salon in Beverly Hills, where I can overcharge The Real Housewives for an Extreme Accidental Exfoliation.
Paul-
“…vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” -- Ecclesiastes 1:2
Upon opening the door to the Sitting Room and finding herself suddenly faced with the grisly tableau before her, Vivette (the upstairs chambermaid), grew faint and was heard to cry out: "Olympus E500; 14-45mm (f3.5) lens at 20mm focal length; 1/80 sec. at f5.6; ISO 400; camera is hand-held."
“…vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” -- Ecclesiastes 1:2
Upon opening the door to the Sitting Room and finding herself suddenly faced with the grisly tableau before her, Vivette (the upstairs chambermaid), grew faint and was heard to cry out: "Olympus E500; 14-45mm (f3.5) lens at 20mm focal length; 1/80 sec. at f5.6; ISO 400; camera is hand-held."