Apples!

Image 1; f7.1, 6", iso100, 105mm

I've been reading through "Photography, A concise history" and found a few images in there that really interest me. One was of an apple named, "untitled" or "Galaxy Apple" by Paul Caponigro 1972 (page 227, plate 125). Initially it looks like a really simple shot. When you look closer and then go and try it out, its a different story. His exposure is just spot on. The lighting and reflections are just enough to show you the apple is three dimensional and round and shiny, but still allows for the varying shades and bright spots to be in perfect balance. The spots have a really nice patter as they spread out over the skin from the cores centres. The background is lit either side to pick the apple out really nicely to, or maybe from behind?

So I decided to try this out. I really can't put into words how hard this has been. The end results are nowhere near as good as the ones Paul Caponigro produced but I had fun doing it and they let me play around with candles and a flash and other different lights to try and achieve the same sort of results as the original.


Image 2; f20, 25", iso400, 105mm

Image 3; f20, 25", iso400, 105mm

Image 4; f20, 30", iso400, 105mm

After looking at the images a little closer I wanted to play around with the image 4. It had a much smaller aperture and long exposure (f20, 30", iso400, 105mm) so the whole image is sharper and has more detail, this helped show more variation in the tones of the skin also. I did a little retouching to this, dropping a hair, dulling down the reflection and changing the levels to up the contrast.


Image 4; f20, 30", iso400, 105mm (retouched)

I felt this image is technically closer to the original, with the sharp edge to the apple, the background lit slightly to help bring the edges out. But the first image has a nice feel to it with the shallow DoF. it also looks a lot shinier. I'd taken time to block most of the light in the room so the highlights were less harsh in image 1 and I think it works well.

Also I found a 1:1 crop (square crop) worked best in my opinion, though my apple was very round rather than the oval one in the original by Paul Caponigro.

All in all I'm happy with the project! It also went very well with some cheese once I'd finished!

Hide That Can

After seeing the "Ghost Town? Empty Homes in London" on ITV and having a chat with another OCA student (see the comments to my "London's Empty Homes" post) I've just remembered a book called, "Hide That Can" by Deirdre O'Callaghan. It's a very true and open book containing some great portraits of the homeless men staying at Arlington House, a hostel in Camden, London...

I'm really passionate about portraits but have never had the guts to ask a stranger if I could take there photo. I'm hoping I can overcome this as I think the project I have in mind, which has been influenced by both of these topics must include Portraits.

London's Empty Homes

There was a really interesting program on the other night on ITV (29.10.08) "Ghost Town? London's Empty Homes" was a documentary on the fact there's around 55000 families registered homeless whilst 85000 homes lie empty and unused within the capital.

Anyone who's ever driven along the A406 North circular will have seen the rows of empty, boarded up, lifeless homes. London transport started purchasing these nearly 25 years ago now with plans for extra lanes. 25 years on there still boarded up and now lie in a desperate state of repair. Amongst these sorry sites there are still a few families living in their homes, homes that are like any other, looked after and cherished. All whilst the house next door looks like a war zone.... This has really sparked off some ideas that I want to follow up.

Waiting game

Well I'm cold, the dogs cold and the cows think I'm mad. I've been in the fields where I saw the Hawk for the last hour now and no sine of it. Is this the stupidest thing to try... stalking a stalker?

Must remember to....

.... TAKE MY CAMERA WITH ME, EVERYWHERE!
I was out last night with the dog and walked past a tree with an old weathered grey branch. When I looked again I realised that stump of a branch was a Hawk! I could only have been 5ft away! Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep that image in my mind.

Contrast

- Rust pitted chrome ?
- Same shot done twice. Black and White. Light crops in field. Once at early misty morning, once in the early evening with grey overcast sky?

Not sure why I've started this list but think it may come in handy....

Image Sequence

From the field at the top of the road...
Walking the dog tonight I noticed the car lights light each house up as they go down the hill.
I'm wondering how a sequence of shots could work? maybe I could merge the shots too!

Bus or Tube
A sequence of close up portraits as the bus moves (head and shoulders? maybe to include the window as a frame for the shot?)