Ashanali Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) The July challenge will be launched later tonight. For the challenge you will need a torch or a video light or even a lamp that you can easily move around... you also will hopefully have worked out how to do a long exposure. For those who aren't up with all that OR who have cameras that can't do what they need them to do, you will still be able to take part in the challenge but I'll keep it simple for you. More on this tonight when July is launched... it will be a month of frustration for many but when you get the desired result, all the frustration will be worth it. UPDATED WITH CHALLENGE: This month the challenge is all about the light... focussing on still life and/or painting with light. For those who aren't yet confident with their cameras or don't have a camera capable of shooting the painting with light segment, your challenge is to create classic still life images using available light only. NO FLASH! Yes, this is the time to grab a bowl of fruit and make it look pretty. So how do we make it look more than just a bowl of fruit? This month you need to really look at how the light is falling. Is there a lovely filtered light coming through a window somewhere? Do you have a lamp positioned in a dark corner that can light a bowl of fruit and make it look artistic... essentially, try and find a location that reminds you of a classic painting. Once you have your fruitbowl/subject positioned, take a series of images from a variety of angles. A bowl of fruit is ideal because within it there are a range of shapes and colours. Other items you could use would be hats, shoes, bouquet of flowers or any other objects with a variety of colours/shapes/textures. Have fun mastering still-life! To get a truly stunning result isn't as easy as it seems. for those shooting on DSLR's, try shooting in either Av mode OR manual. For those who are confident with their camera gear and want to really challenge themselves, your challenge is 'painting with light'. Painting with light is a technique that can be incredibly frustrating to master but the results are simply stunning. These are the images you see that look like oil paintings by the old masters. This link is one of my all time favourite Flickr members who has incredible control over his 'painting with light' techniques. http://www.flickr.com/photos/arienti/sets/72157614081723386/ (link contains photos of nudes. warning for those who are easily offended) People/dogs/moving/living subjects are the hardest of all to capture. Start easy and a fruit bowl is perfect for the reason set out in the first challenge. If you don't have a bowl of fruit, look for other objects with a variety of shapes/colour/texture. how do you paint with light. You need; camera, tripod (or something firm to sit the camera on), torch/lamp/video light, subject. Ideally you want a room that is utterly and completely black as the only light should be the light you choose to direct onto your subject with your torch. Shooting at night is recommended. You should be shooting in manual mode and your settings will be a bit of trial and error. A good start will be ISO 400, shutter speed of 5 seconds (yes, 5 seconds) at F8. With your room lights turned on, set up your subject and set up your camera on the tripod. Focus your camera then make sure you switch it to MF. You will either want to remote trigger your camera OR use the timer to set off the shutter. When you are ready to shoot, turn off your light, turn on your torch and hit the shutter button. Using your torch you are going to illumninate areas of your still life that you want to show up in your final image. Move the light over the subject and don't be scared if you have to walk quickly past the front of your camera to move to the other side of your subject to get the effect you want. (You shouldn't show up in the final image if you move fast enough.) Make adjustments to your settings as needed. If you're overexposed, either move backwards with your torch, make your ISO 200 or take your aperture up to 11 or 16. If it's still under exposed, increase the length of your shutter speed to 8 or even 10 seconds. Ideally you will end up with still life images that have an amazing painterly feeling. This is a technique that can take ages to get a single pleasing result. Don't give up if you get frustrated, simply put down your camera for the night and try again the next night. I promise that you will be so excited when you get "THAT" shot. It's worth the pain... and once you have the hang of it you can try extending the length of time you expose your subject for and you can move onto more difficult subjects (like people or dogs). Good luck everyone! I'm still on dial up for three days but I'll be back in to check out how everyone is going after that. If you have any questions please PM me as I can't open image heavy threads until our internet speed is back up again. Edited June 30, 2009 by Ashanali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Just make sure you include simple instructions for dummies like me I have a new camera and I have no idea, but I am learning and I want to take part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Sounds great! This is so good for challenging me. Goodbye auto settings, so long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Sounds interesting, looking forward to hearing more!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Challenge has been added! enjoy. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I found this old bloke and took some pictures while he was dozing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Blab thats really cool, can I ask how you did it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Blab thats really cool, can I ask how you did it I set the camera up on a tripod and framed and focussed the shot. I had the camera set to a 15 second exposure and timed to open the shutter 2 seconds after I pressed the button. Once I had everything as I wanted I switched off the light and shone a torch on the subject, 'painting' the parts that I wanted to stand out the most. I continued this until I heard the shutter close and the exposure was over. The way to set a 15 second exposure and a delayed picture will be different on every camera. What kind of camera do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks Blab, I have a pentax x70 I am really greatful for your help and time, I am eager to learn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks Blab, I have a pentax x70I am really greatful for your help and time, I am eager to learn No worries - I'm learning too. Quite quickly thanks to Leeshy's challenges! I am a Canon girl so I can't help you with Pentax settings but I'm sure somebody here would if you need a hand to do that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Leeshys challengers are great, they are helping me explore ways to use the camera of auto lol I have been trying previous months challanges and using the hints and help I will give it a try, will probably be the last day of the month before I get anything worth puttingup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Oh geez, a month of painting with light? That might be a little tricky!!! I'm looking forward to the challenge though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~*Shell*~ Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Oooooooo - this is going to be tricky! I might not be able to get one everyday but I'm sure i'll have fun trying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Yeah, you're right, Shell! Maybe I'll aim for a month of still life photos and do as many as I can with this technique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~*Shell*~ Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I'm going to do my own challenge this month on top of the painting with light challenge - my new role at work starts on the 20th so I want to capture the before and after of my promotion. I think the studios I'll be working in will look great painted with light, they're already dark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildatHeart Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 oooo, this looks like fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocco Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) I love the idea of this challenge. I did some painting lastnight. First time even attempting a long exposure, so I hope to improve on this. Roc snuggled in his blankie. Got a slight blur on his right eye from blinking, but I guess you cant help that too much. Edited June 30, 2009 by Rocco1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huga Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Oh wow - great start guys! Both fantastic! I will suck But I enjoy the challenge Thanks again for your dedication each month Ash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I've changed my mind... I'm doing a Month of... Light! That way I can do some more light men experimenting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Internet speed is fast again! WOOHOO! We thought we had to wait until the third. Okay, great start by blab and rocco! Can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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