With the sun is low in the sky then it’s the perfect time of year to observe the elongated shadows cast. Your challenge is to photograph those unusual shadows. If taking your own shadow, then look for ways your cast shadow can interact with its environment. No sun, or stuck indoors? No problem! Your torch or another light source can cast your long shadows! This is one of those challenges that will improve your observational skills as well as inspire creativity.
Oh boy! I really struggled with this week’s challenge! The weather we have been having made it VERY hard to get out and see any actual shadows.
I knew early on that this was going to have to be another project that was done inside. I was thinking and thinking all week about what i wanted to do.
I ended up just noticing the interesting shadows that the lights in my bathroom make and how…tentacle-like they are almost are.
Not a huge fan of how this one came out, this week definitely forced me to flex my imagination on what can be the subject of photography.
-Lance
Week 3 was fun even though the weather is still terrible. I was getting ready to make some scrambled eggs and I noticed that the eggs were casting some short shadows. My apartment's lightning is terrible so I thought about using a hard light in front of the eggs to elongate the shadows. I also remembered the "Rule of Odds", which states that; "when you're including a group of subjects in your photo, an odd number, rather than an even number will produce a more interesting, and visually pleasing composition". I also wanted a textured background to separate the background from the eggs. Luckily there's a section in my apartment with wooden floors that helped me achieve this.
During the photoshoot, I played more with the different camera settings, rather than shooting with my usual custom settings. The big takeaways are:
I opted for Programmed Mode. This allowed me to set the Aperture F/8, a Shutter Speed of 1.3 Seconds, and an ISO of 50....yes 50! I wanted to avoid noise at all costs.
I changed the Focus Area to "Zone". I wanted a specific zone, but mainly the eggs to be in focus, instead of one egg.
Finally, I changed the Metering Mode to "Highlight". I was surprised how this simple change gave my hard light lightning a softer look.
-Os Rivera Os Rivera Portfolio