Shiny things

I was presented with this interesting coffee/tea pot (not sure which) fresh from a second hand market in Copenhagen, shiny things present a particular set of challenges for the everyday photographer especially when using flash mainly due to the highly reflective surfaces, so, I set about shooting it with a number of different setups, all with flash ranging from a single on-camera flash and ending up with 3 off-camera. All were shot with the same exposure 1/250th @ F8 against the same grey card background and all have had the same very basic retouching.

1. Simple on-camera flash, note the harsh,
ugly shadows behind and bright reflection of the flash.

2. Flash still on camera but angled up and bounced off the ceiling,
 less shadow and  better rendition of the grey  background

3. Now the flash is off the camera and positioned on a stand  45 degrees to the right
and above, shadow now falls on the table and the pot has
more definition and less reflections but I still didn't like it.

4. A little more complex, 2 flashes 1 from either side through kitchen paper
to diffuse and one flash from camera right with a blue gel to accent the
grey background a little, also a white card directly above,
nice even reflections and good detail in the pot itself.

Food photography part 1

I did say at the start of the year that I would strive to produce more photography involving food, well I have recently been researching techniques and theories concerning lighting for food, and I can say the jury is well and truly split between those who advocate natural light and those who extol the virtues of flash, it is also clear  that the trend for the moment is to shoot "real" food as opposed to stage managing ingredients that are substitutes for food  for example scoops of cream cheese supposed to imitate ice cream and ice cubes made of clear plastic. For sure there are situations where all these tricks have their rightful place but for the regular contributions to satisfy the media's hunger as part of magazines, websites and blogs then the immediacy and raw reality of real food works. Lighting-wise it appears that the norm is to light food from the back and fill the shadows on camera side with reflective materials ranging from mirrors, white card to scrunched up silver paper.
Here are some test shots I made today using some odds and ends from around the kitchen. More to come...

The 2 light portrait

Eager to practice a technique from a birthday present book, the gang were assembled on Sunday and living-room furniture was moved around appropriately, collapsible background was erected, flashes were charged and positioned, coloured gels added for mood and finally doggy treats added for Maggie who was sporting a new hairdo and who can be a little reluctant in such situations, anyway here are some of the results.

  

More splashing around

Technically speaking, this type of shot is not that difficult to achieve. It is principally one high speed flash strobe bounced off of a piece of white card behind a receptacle of water and a plastic bag of water hanging above punctured with a pin to let drops fall directly on to a predetermined spot on the surface on which your camera is pre-focused.
The rest is purely timing and trial and error, you are better off being patient and taking many shots, as eventually you will get something you are pleased with, then some small adjustments in light room and your done!
Here is a small selection from this afternoon, (click on an image to see it larger on black)

Spinning a yarn

Picked this up this morning on our usual rounds of the 2nd hand markets and just had to buy it, why? well it's just got that "feel" about it.
A bobbin winder, that is it's name and purpose, and this one is well worn, Swedish made it was originally used for winding thread on to bobbins, I looked in to their history and didn't find that much other than there are plenty around mostly selling on Ebay and apparently they are most often used nowadays as ornaments in Swedish peoples summer houses! I think we will put it next to our other Swedish-made-clamp-to-a-table item which you probably recall. 

The very end of 2011

My grandad always liked the parson's nose of a roast chicken, he always used to call it "the last bit over the fence" so this day in December is more or less the same last bit over the fence. At midnight tonight the bongs of Big-Ben in London will herald the arrival of another year which will no doubt bring with it the usual raft of surprises, happy times and good fortune to most of us, it's the time to make resolutions and plans for all the things we will hope to do differently.
In terms of blogging I am going to post more food photography and publish more recipes they seem to be tops in the ratings I see from my viewer statistics, strangely enough the most viewed post since I started this blog is this one I don't know why there is so much interest in a pair of folding spectacles!
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by (I can tell you, you cover a wide area of the globe) and please let me know if there is any other aspect of photography, food or other trivia you would like to see more of.
In closing this year I would like to share a short video that is dedicated to all the other dog owners out there who think your dog is better trained than he really is. Enjoy and happy 2012 to all!

The youtube video

All spruced up

Today was official Christmas tree decorating day, boxes of carefully stored (thrown in the sauna, sauna? I here you say, yes SAUNA) were dusted off, suitable music was iplayed and spectacles were donned for the purpose of threading cotton, wire and ribbon through tiny eyelets. Lights were tested and worked (Hurrah!) and appropriate food and beverages were consumed throughout the entire process, yes it's but a week away...excited? YES and to top the tree.... well what did you expect?
Here's some of the details: