Seashell No.2.

[jiro]

I found some more seashells that the kids collected long time ago and took some shots. This one is the most elaborate on the detail and texture so it's the first one to pose as my model today. Thank you very much for viewing.



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Nikon D70, 70mm lens, ISO 200, f/16 at 1/250 second.

[FrankMi]

Willie, you are starting to make taking outstanding pictures look easy. Now that'll be a shock for those that try to duplicate your images!

I don't think you missed anything in this one, composition, lighting, symmetry, color, texture, depth of field, exposure, highlights, focus, even the details like the shadow and the light shining through the shell! This kind of an image sets a powerful benchmark for others to strive for. It reminds me of images you see in museums and technical reference documentation.

Now you have a problem. How do you improve on this? You'll find a way, I'm sure because you don't rest on you past successes and constantly explore new areas of interest.

[jiro]

Thank you very much, Frank.

Actually, All this stuff with the flash is still an experiment for me. I'm not trying to push anything on my shots because I am more concerned on learning how the flash is affecting the exposure. Positioning the subject is not that hard, all I do is to look at where the subject would look great relative to the where I positioned the flash. This kind of photography is way much more controllable than taking an outdoor shot. Once you know the proper flash power output and how far the flash has to be positioned all you have to do is to change the pose of the subject and just shoot, shoot, and shoot. Probably, my only limitation here is in finding interesting subjects to shoot at. I am glad I was able to absorb a lot of information from my experiments. I can assure you Frank, there is no easier way to learn this stuff than to really try doing it and observe the differences from one setup to another. I only have few months left to enjoy the learning process so I have to maximize all that I can learn soon.

[Wirefox]

Jiro

You are getting great definition on these. The only thing I am not keen on is the way the material. I can see a way around this unless you suspend the shell above the base (I use cotton and clone later) and try to get the flash of the camera so that the light is hitting the subject at right angles. Another way in PP is to select the area in question, open levels, take the black dropper and click on the darkest part of the selected area until the detail disappears. Great still life work though.

EDIT: although you are getting good results with these it might be worth considering building yourself a light box and grabbing a couple of angle pose lamps with daylight bulbs. It works a treat with this kind of stuff.

[jiro]

Thanks, Steve. This was shot with a softbox positioned on the left side of the shell and one white plastic reflector on the right. I did not use the built-in camera flash on this one. I like to get some shadows on the shot that's why I did not opt to go with a lightbox. That would probably my next project. Thanks for viewing.

[ChrisH]

Beautifully lit Willie - great colours and textures too

[jiro]

Thanks a lot, Chris.

[jupiterlush]

Hahaha, gorgeous. Pretty model wearing killer heels!

[jiro]

Hahaha, gorgeous. Pretty model wearing killer heels!

Speaking from a ladies' perspective, eh. Thanks for viewing, AL.

[Sam Smith]

I like it. Why do you only have a couple months left to do this?

[KeithH]

Lovely detail, textures and colors Willie but I'm feeling a bit uneasy about the slope of the cloth to the left and the leaning and unbalanced look of the shell Its probably just me though

[speedneeder]

That is a well lit and pretty neat shell!
I have to get me some black velvet, lol.