A few years ago, Jim and I led a literacy education delegation to South Africa. While in Cape Town, we bought this sculpture. For my get-pushed challenge, David (@dtigani) challenged me to create a low-key b&w shot. To take this one, I used manual settings with the widest possible aperture and the lowest possible ISO. Then I experimented with shutter speed and ended up at 30 seconds. I made sure the room was totally dark, and used a flashlight to illuminate the heads on the sculpture from the side. When I got the shot I liked, I converted it to b&w and here it is.
@dtigani Thanks! I have a few more from today that I think I'll post during the week, but wanted to try a few other things first. This has been so much fun -- learning a lot about the settings!
@sgiesman Thank you Sarah for the fav! I really appreciate it as it probably was the single shot I've spent the most time on for my Project 365. @jankoos Thanks Jan!
Super cool shot! Thank you for sharing your process. I would love to create such an image one day. I think it's great that you are always experimenting, Taffy! Very inspirational! FAV
@taffy I just looked at your set up! It is complicated. It sure helps to have a visual though. I am going to look around for what might lend itself to this kind of image.
@pflaume This is what I used for my guide: http://www.lightstalking.com/low-key-photography
Really, it looks more complicated than it is. You'd have everything laying around the house except possibly a tripod and a piece of black fabric. And then, taking over a bathroom for the day!
@jankoos Thanks Jan!
Lisa -- for fun, I took a photo of my set up. If you're going to do this, you might take a look as you can see it's not all that complicated. Just a little time-consuming. http://www.flickr.com/photos/taffyraphael/8567922586/in/photostream
Really, it looks more complicated than it is. You'd have everything laying around the house except possibly a tripod and a piece of black fabric. And then, taking over a bathroom for the day!
Challenge well met.
Thank you for viewing and such support.