Week 45- Extra Credit

 This week's challenge had to do with capturing one's fear. I have a fear of heights and I was not about to capture that fear. Because in order to capture I would probably have to climb something pretty high up, to take a photo looking down. Sure I could do some photoshopping type of adjustments but then it would not be photography (at least for me). Instead I chose to complete the extra credit challenge.

The extra credit was "new photography technique".

The technique I chose was light painting. No it's not a new technique for me, because playing with a flashlight in a dark, dark room and taking various photos has been in my repertoire for a long time. What changed in this process was the use of an ND filter.

We all know that neutral density filters have been used outdoors to cut down the amount of light that comes into the camera. Most photographers use the filter when capturing landscapes or waterscapes. For example when wanting to create smooth silky water, the neutral density filter is placed on the lens, cutting down the amount of light entering the camera, which then allows the photographer to decrease the shutter speed and have a long exposure shot. 

In the case of light painting, I used the neutral density filter to cut down the ambient light.  Therefor giving me the ability to play, not in a dark, dark room, but rather in a very well lit room and yet be able to slow down the shutter speed to an amount that would be slow enough to light paint.

 The above photo was my first attempt. I was so focused on the light and where to aim/paint that I did not adjust the focus. Hence, the focus is on the loose Brussel sprouts while the ones in the colander are out of focus.  I would have liked everything to be focused. The exif for the above photo is: 30 sec. f/4 50mm, ISO 64.

On the next photo, I thought..... how about I pour some water from a yellow watering can with one hand and light paint with the other. I am not ambidextrous but I managed. Or I thought I did. That yellow glow on the top of the jar is the light shinning on the watering can but what you can't see is the water pouring down. 

Exif: 30 sec. f/4 50mm, ISO 64

The next photo was the same set up as the one above but this time I added  a candle to the scene.

Exif: 30 sec. f/4 50mm, ISO 64

This last photo was slightly different than the other three. I decided to take four separate shots. In each shot I aimed and painted with the flashlight on one specific area. For example on one shot the flashlight lit up just the flower basket, on another just the newspaper, and so forth. Then I took all four of the captures and stacked them in photoshop, resulting in the photo below.

Exif: 20 sec. f/6.3 50mm, ISO 160.

Because of the contrast between the light and dark in the above photo, this particular capture can also fall into the Chiaruscuro technique of photography. 

And so the saying "Two birds with one stone" can be applied here as well 😉