September 25, 2010

September 23, 2010

Micro Micro Micro

Digital original
The more I work with the Canon 65mm micro lens, the more respect I have for people who do micro photography...it is hard to get just the right point in focus, let alone get a good composition. These images of watch parts give some idea of how shallow the depth of field can be!
Digital original

September 16, 2010

Ingrid & Denise in a Pool

Digital original
This was my second session experimenting with underwater nudes (the first session had been in a much shallower pool), and this session provided even more experience to begin planning with. As the last pool proved to be too shallow, I set about finding a deeper in-ground pool I could borrow, and through a fellow photographer, located one an hour outside of Halifax. As it turned out, a long-term model Denise (who's first figure session with me twenty-one years ago,  in 1989) was also available and keen to pose in the pool, so with two models, I headed out to the pool
Digital original
Working in the deeper pool was fabulous, in regards to pose possibility, and creating the sense of figures floating, but it was a greater challenge for me, on the photography side, as I had to dive deeper before photographing, and only had a short window before I had to surface to breathe. Very quickly this became the limiting factor for the session (though the images the two models helped me make were really pleasing).
Digital original
In the end, more than anything, this session helped me realize exactly how challenging my initial idea is going to be to realize; I am now mulling over options, including building a water-tight camera housing, and operating the camera remotely from poolside (using an external monitor to compose, and remotely capturing the images. It is going to take some time to work out the process, but the few images I made over these two experimental sessions have caught my interest, for certain.

September 12, 2010

Micro Photos

Digital original
I had a couple of hours free today, so I pulled out the 65mm micro lens, and got up close and personal. I can't imagine using this lens without a focusing rail - even with it, getting the right part of the subject sharply in focus is a challenge.
Digital original
The above detail is from a 4" long folding ruler...the hinge at the corner!

September 02, 2010

Experiments in a Pool

Digital original
I've been musing over a complex digital manipulation series recently, which would require some underwater nudes (and a lot of molasses); not at all familiar with the problems of working underwater, I put out a question to some friends, asking if anyone had access to a pool I could do some experimenting with (stressing that nudity would be part of the process).
Digital original
As luck would have it, not a week layer I was at the house of a friend of a friend, working with Ingrid and Stephanie in a borrowed pool. The process was challenging, with communication, posing, and the depth of the pool all presenting challenges...but it was enough to answer some questions, and help me know where to head next...first and foremost on the needs list...a deeper pool!