[olavf]

Sounds dangerously easy.

I like the idea of using a neon lamp as a bleeder for the cap though. Nice big red one that says “I keeeeel you” when lit.

[olavf]

am I the only one not getting oi_piss_me_off ‘s shots?

They look like travel brochure shots 😛

[olavf]

Olavf, now I see why you said goddammitsomuch on facebook.

I figured you’d already figured out why… You and I seem to have a history of like-minded entries 😉

They’re different enough that I didn’t worry about it though. (Besides, those ornaments took me the better part of the evening to make, not to mention Kat’s work on the dummy pages. I’d just finished post-process and kicked over to FB when you posted that lol)

[olavf]

LOL! Here’s hoping it’s the former and not the latter, olavf.

Heh. No doubt.

Still debating throwing in my one ‘B’…
http://www.follandfamily.com/TF/farktography/110112.threes/firex3-7242_sm_web.JPG

[olavf]

I’ve got two new, and I’m debating archiving for a third still. I don’t want to post three just for the sake of posting three (and I suspect I don’t have anything in there as strong as my new ones)

harpo I hardly ever do either, with the exception of the kids. And, my favorite ‘three’ archive shot is one I used in ‘Have a Seat’. I thought of plenty of things to do in pairs, and a couple of fives, but that’s right out.

CauseISaidSo I have a feeling I’m going to do spectacular this week. Problem is that I don’t know if it’s going to be a spectacular win, or a spectacular fail yet 😉

[olavf]

That was my thinking too.

[olavf]

I’ll check the mail, if you like.

[olavf]

my new strobes

Awesome! I was just thinking last night as I was taking one of my entries this week that it would sure have been easier if I had better lighting. I’ve only got one external flash, so for shots that require it, I usually put the camera on bulb and then walk around and light it, but that really lengthens the whole shoot-review-try-again process.

You can get an entry-level kit for under $200 either with strobes or hot lights. And most of the stands I’ve seen have pretty standard mounts so you can upgrade in the future without having to replace your whole kit. Just stay away from the CFLs if you can – I haven’t seen any that give out a decent light level.

My starter set was a 3-light Smith Victor tungsten rig, and I’ll probably still use it depending on what I’m doing.

/of course, then you start getting into backdrops, light boxes…

-edit: I don’t know if I’m going to try the strobes tonight. I spent a good three hours making props for my 2nd pic and I’m not sure I’ve got the energy now :/

[olavf]

Okay, the next time we’re about to be eaten by a grue, we’ll make sure you’re included in our gristley fate.

/ftfy

On the text thing… I’m inclined to say ‘not’ since most brochures have captions, not actual text on the photos.

[olavf]

That’s funny, ennuipoet – I prefer still life ’cause it doesn’t complain that I’m taking too long to get it just right! And I’m gonna try to do the same this year (shoot at least one new per theme), time permitting.

Heh. Wait until you see the one I finished last night for this week’s contest. It took an number of takes, and was definitely a bit painful to pull off…

[olavf]

OK, I had an idea for this one that I really like but I’m not going to have the time to do it right, so I’m throwing it out for anyone else’s use. It’s the Three Wise Monkeys (Hear No Evil/See No Evil/Speak No Evil). With the right kids in the right poses, I think it could be really cute.

I’d planned on doing it with my semi-cooperative 14-year as a multi-exposure single shot, but as I said, I’m not gonna have time. olavf and/or kat, I particularly had y’all in mind – if you can grab one of your two daughters’ (you’ve just the two, right?) friends, I think it’d make a cute shot. You likely already have your entries, but if not, you’re free to use it (and of course I’m not going to be offended it you don’t).

That might be worth a go, just for the fun of it. The girls are with their dad until Friday night though, so I’d have to try the multi-exposure route. I was actually thinking something along those lines anyhow, since I haven’t really had a chance to play with my new strobes yet (Yay 2x Britex HS-600’s W000!)

[olavf]

olavf, I definitely want to be purist on this contest. Brown is not monochromatic in the sense that was intended for this (imho). For the sake of participation we may want to stretch the limit, but I think the closer you can get your color photo to looking like something from the “Color Popping” contest, the more successful you will be in voting and growing your eye.

Those are my thoughts as well. It’s going to be difficult to come up with three that are nearly pure grey tones, but I figure the closer I can get, the better. (That’s why it’s called a ‘difficulty’, right? 😀 )

[olavf]

CauseISaidSo wrote:

Trying to shoot something original for each contest is about as close as I can get to this level of commitment, too. I do really enjoy it but I find that it always take more time than I thought it would to setup and execute. Hopefully I can grow to be more efficient as I learn.

I’ve got a couple of other photography-related projects going on too – like the website I mentioned the other day. That doesn’t help either.

I do like the idea though. Maybe by summer I’ll have the time and the gumption to start one. Maybe try for a Summer Solstice to Summer Solstice thing or something.

[olavf]

rav‘s picture is cool. I’d like to see what happened with a higher f-stop so the background was more in focus and you had a similar gray-scale texture matching the color textures 😉

*Oops.* I only took two images, at the same f/, pretty much as afterthoughts as I walked back to my truck. My guess, though, is it wouldn’t be as effective, as the concrete did have some small colored rocks in it, and they’d be more pronounced if clearly shown (you can see this in my image as is; bump the saturation to see it better–or worse, as the case may be.)

But thanks! As far as afterthoughts go, I did think it came out rather nicely–better than the tangerine against the white lattice fence that preceded it for 12 frames…

Gotcha. I was thinking about the juxtaposition of the color against the almost identically textured background (were it in focus). I didn’t realize it would have brought more color in in this case. (think, not criticizing – trying to make good ‘better’ 🙂 )

I’ve only got one shot so far this week, and that one was painful, so don’t feel too bad. I may be lucky to end up with two I’m happy with.

[olavf]

FWIW I have exactly one picture for this one – that I’ve taken for the contest anyhow. but I suspect I’m being a bit of a ‘purist’ to the idea too. I know it’s going to be a difficult job for me to take anything else in the next few weeks.

The petals definitely ‘pop’ but I’m concerned about the tones. If the judges say that’s okay, cool, but it’s not what I’ve been thinking.
/I don’t know that I’d complain about more leniency though 😉

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