The other day I felt like the wood project was over, but lacking any better ideas and it being convenient I went there again. The difference being I had a cheap old flash gun in my pocket. to play with. I didn't have a plan beyond using the flash to see what could be done.
I tried using the flash to illuminate close things while having the ambient light underexposed, but that wasn't doing anything interesting with static shots. So I started waving the camera around without looking through the viewfinder with a slow shutter speed. It's woprked for me before and the addition of some artificial light brought something different.
It was a bit of fun and a few of the results, while nothing earth shattering, had something going for them.
They're not intended to be 'straight' or documentary photographs, so I happily fiddle with them on the computer to drag more out of them. When I have got the black and white project boxed off I might carry on in the wood doing something in colour using flash.
Something I often see recommended to do when bored or unable to get out of the house is still life photography. I give it a go now and then but it doesn't really suit my nature. I think you have to be a control freak of some kind to do it well. The same applies for any indoor photography that involves arranging things or people, and especially lighting. I like experimenting - particularly by letting go of control, taking lots of pictures and picking the best rather than setting up one or two, and generally not having to be precise.
However I'd watched a short video clip which mentioned Edward Weston's pepper photographs and it motivated me to try and photograph the sheep's skull I picked up some time ago. This also gave me a chance to try out the L-bracket I'd bought to use my camera in portrait orientation on my tripod. Why I bought the bracket I don't know. I think I had some daft plan a while ago. Anyway, it was useful for photographing the skull.
I could have tried using artificial light but the video said Weston used daylight for the pepper photos. I found somewhere that provided diffuse light and set to. I soon got fed up! At least digital allowed me to take a few shots then review them on the computer. Delete them all and start again. Eventually, by diffusing the light some more and using some mounting card as a reflector I got close to what I was after. This was nothing as dramatic as the peppers. That's not my kind of look. I don't know why, but I prefer my photos to be less dramatic. The main things I concentrated on were reducing shadows and framing the shot. Messing about with tripods nad heads to get the camera position spot on really does infuriate me. At least the geared head is easier to use than the ball head, but tripod legs are a pain in the bum.
I continue to use the 60mm macro lens in place of a standard 50mm. It's what I took to the woods and used for the skull picture. It can be a bit clunky to focus but the focal length seems to suit me. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough.
The weather today almost tempted me outside. When the rain started hammering down I was glad I had resisted the temptation. What I did do was mess about trying to photograph the rain from inside! This I started doing with the macro lens. I soon realised I needed something longer. A rainy window is a photographic cliché. One I like though. I really must get that window cleaned...
The driver behind photographing rain was another post on TP asking about doing just that. Needless to say I didn't follow the advice by the 'experts' and did it my way. I didn't end up with the sort of results the person asking for advice was after anyway, despite setting out to achieve that. Getting rain streaks is pretty easy, set a slow shutter speed and prat about with it. Why they'd needed to ask about that I dunno. I gave it a try using the camera's pop-up flash. Job done, time to play.
I found what the flash was doing more interesting than the streaks. More messing about ensued. Most of the time with the lens defocused.
All three pictures (if they are pictures) above were taken by me standing in my kitchen doorway. Which goes to show that there can be variety found anywhere if you have a brain connected to your eyes.
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