40. Color - March 16-22, 2016
Kevin-
Well, I thought about a number of ways to approach the Color theme. On Tuesday I was down at Anza Borrego Desert State Park and captured a nice "just after sunrise image" that had some good color on the foreground plant (and there aren’t many plants with color in California due to the extreme drought this year), with blue skies a few white clouds and mountains behind, but since I didn’t make that trip with the WPOTM in mind, I decided not to submit it.
So, instead I decided to get out a Trivial Pursuit game that we have here (a little bit different than a typical Trivial Pursuit game in that you also bet), because the colors in the board and pieces are so intense, and because I have tried a couple of other times to photograph still life objects on a table (Lego pieces for Labyrinth, cards and poker chips for Inner Workings for example) and never been entirely happy with the result.
This image is, I think, much better. I think part of it is because I chose to use a slightly longer lens (my 70-200mm Nikkor set to 82mm) and part of it is because I set the color balance for the indirect daylight coming through the windows, the turned on a warmer overhead light for additional glow.
The camera was tripod mounted. The exposure was 1/2 second at f/16. ISO was 200.
You might notice that the Trivial Pursuit card that is face up on the game table is titled Photography. It contains questions like “In what city did Alfred Eisenstadt take his famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day?” (And I would add that the sailor passed away last week).
The Trivial Pursuit card that is exposed at the front of the box of cards is titled Light. It contains questions like “What Star Wars villain brandishes a two-sided light saber in his battles with Jedi warriors?"
I’m happy with the result, even the arrangement and placements of the objects in the photo. So here is my entry for COLOR!
Well, I thought about a number of ways to approach the Color theme. On Tuesday I was down at Anza Borrego Desert State Park and captured a nice "just after sunrise image" that had some good color on the foreground plant (and there aren’t many plants with color in California due to the extreme drought this year), with blue skies a few white clouds and mountains behind, but since I didn’t make that trip with the WPOTM in mind, I decided not to submit it.
So, instead I decided to get out a Trivial Pursuit game that we have here (a little bit different than a typical Trivial Pursuit game in that you also bet), because the colors in the board and pieces are so intense, and because I have tried a couple of other times to photograph still life objects on a table (Lego pieces for Labyrinth, cards and poker chips for Inner Workings for example) and never been entirely happy with the result.
This image is, I think, much better. I think part of it is because I chose to use a slightly longer lens (my 70-200mm Nikkor set to 82mm) and part of it is because I set the color balance for the indirect daylight coming through the windows, the turned on a warmer overhead light for additional glow.
The camera was tripod mounted. The exposure was 1/2 second at f/16. ISO was 200.
You might notice that the Trivial Pursuit card that is face up on the game table is titled Photography. It contains questions like “In what city did Alfred Eisenstadt take his famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day?” (And I would add that the sailor passed away last week).
The Trivial Pursuit card that is exposed at the front of the box of cards is titled Light. It contains questions like “What Star Wars villain brandishes a two-sided light saber in his battles with Jedi warriors?"
I’m happy with the result, even the arrangement and placements of the objects in the photo. So here is my entry for COLOR!
Deron-
This photo kind of reminds me of Byron's M&M shot (if you kind of squint your eyes and move your head really fast!), but without the golf tee and full belly. In a sea of assorted shades of green, I found this red lady bug. Towards the end of our photo shoot, as I'm on my elbows, looking through the view finder, I see my dog's foot come into shot and step right on my subject. Photo shoot over... fear not, after a second the lady bug scurried off.
This photo kind of reminds me of Byron's M&M shot (if you kind of squint your eyes and move your head really fast!), but without the golf tee and full belly. In a sea of assorted shades of green, I found this red lady bug. Towards the end of our photo shoot, as I'm on my elbows, looking through the view finder, I see my dog's foot come into shot and step right on my subject. Photo shoot over... fear not, after a second the lady bug scurried off.
Byron-
I went back to some old friends of mine, M&M's. They come in a variety of bright colors. To get this shot I poured plain M&M's in a small bowl, stuck a golf tee in the middle and placed an M&M on the tee. To photograph it, I mounted my D3200 on a tripod and attached my 1984 vintage 55mm Micro-Nikkor f2.8 lens. The scene was lit by North window light. I shot it wide open (f2.8) at 1/30 sec. It was focused as close as it would go.
After the shot I ate the M&M's.
I went back to some old friends of mine, M&M's. They come in a variety of bright colors. To get this shot I poured plain M&M's in a small bowl, stuck a golf tee in the middle and placed an M&M on the tee. To photograph it, I mounted my D3200 on a tripod and attached my 1984 vintage 55mm Micro-Nikkor f2.8 lens. The scene was lit by North window light. I shot it wide open (f2.8) at 1/30 sec. It was focused as close as it would go.
After the shot I ate the M&M's.
Paul-
To those who’ve contend I’ve lost my marbles, a pictorial retort…
I thought the colors and patterns of 173 marbles (but who’s counting)—lit from top, bottom, and front would make for an interesting composition for this week’s theme. I wasn’t too crazy about the initial result: insufficient saturation, a flat appearance…not enough “pop.” Feh. Looking for a possible solution, I thought about filling the glass container with water. That seemed to do the trick. (I also thought about wedging an Alka Seltzer at the bottom of the vase before adding the water to see what kind of effect that brought to bear. No Alka Seltzer in the house. I purposely wanted the light to fall off a bit in the middle to conveying gradation. This was fun.
Freed of his holy calling—along the vows of chastity and silence that had been his burden to carry for a score of years—Sebastian (no longer Brother Sebastian!) had two things in mind to grace his lips: the nape of the neck of the beautiful, but sadly mute, Yvette, the washerwomen in the village near the priory, and a long string of fiery invective aimed at Abbot Aldolpho…the cruel monk who had made his years and vows harsher than any man could bear. So, while Sebastian dreamed of Yvette’s lithe form, it was the portly abbot’s throat he first gripped in his twisted hands as he snarled the words even the brothers in the distant scriptorium could hear: “Olympus E500; 35mm macro lens at 35mm focal length; 1/200 sec. at f7.1; ISO 640; the camera is mounted on a tripod and lighting is provided directly above and below the object with a flashlight supplying addition illumination in the front."
To those who’ve contend I’ve lost my marbles, a pictorial retort…
I thought the colors and patterns of 173 marbles (but who’s counting)—lit from top, bottom, and front would make for an interesting composition for this week’s theme. I wasn’t too crazy about the initial result: insufficient saturation, a flat appearance…not enough “pop.” Feh. Looking for a possible solution, I thought about filling the glass container with water. That seemed to do the trick. (I also thought about wedging an Alka Seltzer at the bottom of the vase before adding the water to see what kind of effect that brought to bear. No Alka Seltzer in the house. I purposely wanted the light to fall off a bit in the middle to conveying gradation. This was fun.
Freed of his holy calling—along the vows of chastity and silence that had been his burden to carry for a score of years—Sebastian (no longer Brother Sebastian!) had two things in mind to grace his lips: the nape of the neck of the beautiful, but sadly mute, Yvette, the washerwomen in the village near the priory, and a long string of fiery invective aimed at Abbot Aldolpho…the cruel monk who had made his years and vows harsher than any man could bear. So, while Sebastian dreamed of Yvette’s lithe form, it was the portly abbot’s throat he first gripped in his twisted hands as he snarled the words even the brothers in the distant scriptorium could hear: “Olympus E500; 35mm macro lens at 35mm focal length; 1/200 sec. at f7.1; ISO 640; the camera is mounted on a tripod and lighting is provided directly above and below the object with a flashlight supplying addition illumination in the front."