Showing posts with label man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label man. Show all posts

Thursday, 13 February 2014

38 of 365


38 of 365
Originally uploaded by Rob Johnstone
Yes I do sometimes have weird ideas spawned from the most innocent of events, this one, or rather the original one (see flickr) was triggered unwrapping a wiifit board I had ordered for my wife. It must have been the tactile feel of the bubble wrap, and the slick, dark shininess of the black plastic wrap that fired up my imagination!

34 of 365 Ofspect


34 of 365 Ofspect
Originally uploaded by Rob Johnstone
Our school recently had an ofsted inspection. This led me to a train of thought about who inspects the inspectors. So OfSpect was born. This is a bit of a cheat, as the original image is two inspectors. However I don't think the world is ready for a composite of me in drag at the moment so just the drab me for the time being ;)

28 of 365 I'd forget my head if it....

A nice idea poorly executed. Still it was fun to do. No light bulbs were harmed during the making of this image

26 of 365 Wascally Wabbit

Bad bunny. Inspired by the pixar short. I happened to be wearing my tux after leaving a party early. I grabbed the opportunity to snap a little scene. Hop(e) ya like it!

23 of 365 Life thru a lens

This is a composite, however only to get both the inverted me, and the frame of the little lens nearly in focus.

This sweet little piece of glass came from dead projector. Have you ever dismantled one of those? Loads of great little trinkets in them.

22 of 365 If You Want To Get Ahead....

The 365 project has it's ups and downs. i often get behind in the project. My ideas dry up, my energy saps, sometimes I just can't be arsed. So not a photo a day, but more like 365 portraits sort of squeezed into a year, mostly trying to do one a day.

This one was a rushed one, well aren't they all. If I had taken more care I would have arranged the hats better. I can't believe we have so many hats to be honest. I am particularly taken with the little tequila hat.

Friday, 31 January 2014

St. Albans Trapeze

St. Albans Aerialesque

I was recently invited to photograph the trapeze/acrobalance group that my wife belongs to.  I have done this before, which I have previously blogged.  I have deliberately not read my previous posts, as I would like to see if I write similarly about the experience, and if I actually learnt anything from the previous time.

The group is now run by a different leader, Kate who welcomed me to the first session of the evening.  The premise initially was to get shots for their website to help promote, and then to get shots for people to use for prints, social network profiles, that sort of thing.  Now regular followers of this blog will know I am not a professional photographer, however I do take like to achieve results I can take pride in, whilst giving those who are kind enough to pose a set of images that make them smile. 

St Albans AerialesqueSt Albans AerialesqueSt Albans Aerialesque

I unpacked my eclectic array of gear, and set about getting some shots of the class in progress.  We decided to try and get some shots of trapeze moves that started at the basics.    I could not dream of doing even the moves that they assure me were the simplest to achieve.  My setup was my trusty Canon 60d and 17-55mm (ish) f2.8 combo with a 480ex flash on camera.  I try using a lastolite eazybox, but neither me nor my camera really gets the exposure right doing this dynamic sort of shooting.  As a consequence these shots had massive shadows, and were a little harsh in places.  More practice needed I think.  We shot for about an hour, before the members of the second session began to arrive.  This session was to be more structured so as to be able to improve and control the lighting.

TrapezeTrapezeTrapezeSt Albans Aerialesque

I set up a background behind a low trapeze.  This was the single biggest mistake of the evening, and I regret doing it.  The cloth was far too small for the performer to keep within, and so I have ended up with numerous shots of people bisected by the backdrop.  Some I have been able to salvage in Photoshop, but this is time consuming, and to my self critical eye not the most appealing way to present the work of the performers.  If I get the opportunity in future I will not use a drop at all, and keep the environment as the background, despite it's busyness.

TrapezeSt Albans AerialesqueSt Albans AerialesqueTrapeze

Having said that we did have a lot of fun as people had brought stuff to dress up in.  This added a dimension to the shoot, and the images which was a lot different to last time.

TrapezeSt. Albans AerialesqueSt. Albans AerialesqueSt. Albans Aerialesque

I had a fantastic time with the group, and we did make some great images together. If I was asked to go back again, I would in a heartbeat.

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