The Elements -- behind the scenes

[shatch]

Jeffreaux2 had a great idea to do "behind the scenes" again. If you don't mind...let's put them here. Looking forward to seeing everyone's set up and story.

[KurtPreston]

I should be able to do this Wed or Friday, especially since I actually have more of a story than 'I annoyed the osprey until it got ticked and came after me' :)

[richtersl]

I should be able to do this Wed or Friday, especially since I actually have more of a story than 'I annoyed the osprey until it got ticked and came after me' :)
Did it switch to dragon mode? :rofl

[KurtPreston]

Did it switch to dragon mode? :rofl

LOL!

[VelvtRide]

I had been wracking my brain for a new idea from what I usually shoot - and I got especially frantic once I saw the first entry. I realized there were so many different 'elements' you could do with this theme.

When I settled on the suicide thing, I had to come up with some kind of setting - I knew what I wanted to do, but trying to get it done was another thing. I don't have a studio or lighting or anything.... I've got a Canon 10D with a 17-40 L lens and a tripod

I went out and bought 1/2 a yard of black velvet. Then I started looking around for an Arsenic bottle - little did I know how hard that would be. I finally ended up at an antique store and found a plain brown bottle. While there, my mind was going crazy as I saw all the old bits of this and that and started getting more and more ideas. Thank gawd I didn't get side tracked! It would have been so easy! :lol3 I also found a candelabra made from brass that I thought I could use somehow as well as the lace doily. I had to create an arsenic label in PS - print it out and stick it to the brown bottle.

With no studio, and extremely limited lighting sources, I opted to do the shoot in my own bedroom with the late afternoon sun. I covered half the window with a blanket and shut the blinds. I opened two of them at eye level for some facial light. I hung the black velvet leaving some of the window untouched - for the light to come through.

Got my girl, made her up and put her in front of the velvet and started snapping. Tripod, and set the camera to Tungsten setting I had the shutter remain open to gather as much light as I could.

All this may sound 'normal' and 'usual' to you - but to me, this was the first time I had ever used any other setting on my camera other than the pre-set setting as that's all I have figured out because I haven't been shooting very long - this was the first time I had ever done an 'in depth' sitting.

I lit the candle and had her hold it while posing for the photo and started snapping away. 20 or 30 shots later, we came out to view them.

Can you say "ick"? :lol3 Ok, back to the drawing board - went back into the room, at least, 5 more times taking as many as 300 pictures. My girl was extremely patient and didn't mind that it took almost 4 hours to do. :lol3

The worst thing that happened during the entire process, was that each time I looked at the pics and decided I needed to open the shutter longer, postition the hand different, move the candle to a different spot, fix the backdrop, open the blinds more, cover more of the window or position her head slightly, I ended up forgetting about the other items in the next series of photos. :bash

Ok, so I got the lighting right, but need to tilt her head more. Ok, heads tilted more, but now her hands are out of place. Ok, hands look good, but forgot about the doily. :twitch

All of this really taught me so much and I'm anxious to broaden my horzions - and it's terribly exciting.

[Nikolai]

Jeffreaux2 had a great idea to do "behind the scenes" again. If you don't mind...let's put them here. Looking forward to seeing everyone's set up and story.

Good idea, guys, will do tonight.. :thumb

[shatch]

I entered a couple of different photos. None of which are contenders, but I did receive a couple of requests of how I did it. So I'll share.

Hooked!
This is a photo I have wanted to do for some time. There is a business park on one of the busiest roads in my town. The pond there has always invited me to come and shoot this shot! I shared the idea with my brother and he took the bait. We met there on a short notice evening with about 7 minutes of sunlight left. We raced around preparing. My nephew held a flash off camera near my brother who had just hopped into the water. The sun dropped below the horizion and we missed the "great" light. But shot anyway. On the second shot, the sprinklers came on. You'll see the water splashing in the water next to my brother in the shot. We took a total of 3 shots of this angle.
http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728314_4NVx8-L.jpg


Next, we took the 17lb fish my brother caught a few years ago (mounted) and had him hold it in the water and pull it out. Liked this photo. Almost looked like he was bare handing!

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728376_8dc8W-L.jpg


I then took a photo of the Grand Tetons as I was heading into Island Park for the day. Replaced the buildings with the mountains. Pulled the other elements into the photo, such as the hand drawn fish line and also a photo of a fishing fly. A little salt and pepper and blammo! I felt I was done.

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/355170948_WWXDB-L.jpg

Usually if your photo is a strong contender for winning, you will receive a lot of PMs. I didn't so I knew this was a failure for the competition. So I went back to the drawing board and chalked this one up to a fun night out with the boys.

___________________________________
I threw together a few ideas, but none of them felt good enough to me. Man...you all have seen the entries!!!! Some amazing!! stuff in there!

But I finally decided to work this idea.

So Much for Homework

Took my daughter out and hung her from the swingset.

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728557_7yhFy-L.jpg

Next I took a photo of some papers she threw in the air. I think we used about 5 seperate photos to get the pages we wanted in the compisision. Here is one of the photos.

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728652_mZTgs-L.jpg



Next was the background photo which is in front of our home.
http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728474_2xxop-L.jpg

Next was adding a photo of a tree I had taken for an earlier idea for the same contest.
http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/358728422_AZ5ow-L.jpg

Brought them all together in a collage and added some hand drawn images to the papers. Added a same color as DGRIN band to the left of the photo to allow the papers to blow outside of the photo.

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/357142695_hSjb5-L.jpg


Another failure entry but fun memory and good exercise in assembly.

I look forward to seeing the other behind the scenes. I really enjoy the stories and set ups. I wanna see them all!!

Best wishes and good luck to all of the amazing entries!!

[shatch]

I had been wracking my brain for a new idea from what I usually shoot - and I got especially frantic once I saw the first entry. I realized there were so many different 'elements' you could do with this theme.

When I settled on the suicide thing, I had to come up with some kind of setting - I knew what I wanted to do, but trying to get it done was another thing. I don't have a studio or lighting or anything.... I've got a Canon 10D with a 17-40 L lens and a tripod

I went out and bought 1/2 a yard of black velvet. Then I started looking around for an Arsenic bottle - little did I know how hard that would be. I finally ended up at an antique store and found a plain brown bottle. While there, my mind was going crazy as I saw all the old bits of this and that and started getting more and more ideas. Thank gawd I didn't get side tracked! It would have been so easy! :lol3 I also found a candelabra made from brass that I thought I could use somehow as well as the lace doily. I had to create an arsenic label in PS - print it out and stick it to the brown bottle.

With no studio, and extremely limited lighting sources, I opted to do the shoot in my own bedroom with the late afternoon sun. I covered half the window with a blanket and shut the blinds. I opened two of them at eye level for some facial light. I hung the black velvet leaving some of the window untouched - for the light to come through.

Got my girl, made her up and put her in front of the velvet and started snapping. Tripod, and set the camera to Tungsten setting I had the shutter remain open to gather as much light as I could.

All this may sound 'normal' and 'usual' to you - but to me, this was the first time I had ever used any other setting on my camera other than the pre-set setting as that's all I have figured out because I haven't been shooting very long - this was the first time I had ever done an 'in depth' sitting.

I lit the candle and had her hold it while posing for the photo and started snapping away. 20 or 30 shots later, we came out to view them.

Can you say "ick"? :lol3 Ok, back to the drawing board - went back into the room, at least, 5 more times taking as many as 300 pictures. My girl was extremely patient and didn't mind that it took almost 4 hours to do. :lol3

The worst thing that happened during the entire process, was that each time I looked at the pics and decided I needed to open the shutter longer, postition the hand different, move the candle to a different spot, fix the backdrop, open the blinds more, cover more of the window or position her head slightly, I ended up forgetting about the other items in the next series of photos. :bash

Ok, so I got the lighting right, but need to tilt her head more. Ok, heads tilted more, but now her hands are out of place. Ok, hands look good, but forgot about the doily. :twitch

All of this really taught me so much and I'm anxious to broaden my horzions - and it's terribly exciting.


Congrats on having your "breakthrough" experience. They are soooo fun to experience...albeit frustrating at times too. Way to think creatively and use what resources you have. You will find that the majority of great photos are not done with amazing equipment and set ups, but with just a thought of creative use of available elements and light. Well done!!

[VelvtRide]

Another failure entry but fun memory and good exercise in assembly.



I don't think so at all. I thought they were both great! :thumb

[peterst6906]

Shatch, I think the word failure is a little strong. Even if they don't get chosen for this mega round by the judges (a failure in that sense - which I'm sure is what you meant), then they are still very good images.

They are executed to your normal high standards and the skills may have added benefit in some future normal or mega round and give you a winning edge in another theme.

Far from failures in my book.

Regards,

Peter

[Tango]

not near as a dramatic story from me on my image...

get on location an hour before sunrise to a pre-selected composition.
lots of stubing my toes on rocks and that kinda sort during my short hike.

setup tripod & connect trigger, and wait.....

shoot expos for pre-sunrise, then sun star, and finally the FG.

PP: merge using Marc Muench multi-HDR merge technique, then do a highpass sharpening, then slight curves, and very little sat added.

the hardest part is the water...to make it look like water instead of a black hole i had to play with localized luminances and a hint of filtering...

post entry and pray:thumb

[VelvtRide]

not near as a dramatic story from me on my image...

get on location an hour before sunrise to a pre-selected composition.
lots of stubing my toes on rocks and that kinda sort during my short hike.

setup tripod & connect trigger, and wait.....

shoot expos for pre-sunrise, then sun star, and finally the FG.

PP: merge using Marc Muench multi-HDR merge technique, then do a highpass sharpening, then slight curves, and very little sat added.

the hardest part is the water...to make it look like water instead of a black hole i had to play with localized luminances and a hint of filtering...

post entry and pray:thumb

One thing I did was try my damnedest to get a shot that I didn't have to manipulate in CS3.

Orignial photo:
http://velvtride.smugmug.com/photos/358897293_RkPky-M.jpg

Entry photo:
http://velvtride.smugmug.com/photos/356604102_Ab2JL-M.jpg

I want to learn to take good photos without having to rely on PS to make them look good - which has been a crutch for me. "Oh, it's gonna look like crap cuz I don't have the right light or can't figure out the right setting on the camera to use - oh well - I can just PS it."

I can't tell you what a learning experience this has been for me. I dug out the manual to my camera, did some searching on the internet about this feature, that feature and everything I could about my camera. In the end, I was really jazzed because I only bumped up the lighting because I felt it looked better - but didn't need to do anything else! :clap

Please don't get me wrong, here - the images that have PP look amazing and I will continue to use it - just for me, this contest *made* me try to take the *right* photo with the *right* settings - something I was not doing before.

[shatch]

not near as a dramatic story from me on my image...

get on location an hour before sunrise to a pre-selected composition.
lots of stubing my toes on rocks and that kinda sort during my short hike.

setup tripod & connect trigger, and wait.....

shoot expos for pre-sunrise, then sun star, and finally the FG.

PP: merge using Marc Muench multi-HDR merge technique, then do a highpass sharpening, then slight curves, and very little sat added.

the hardest part is the water...to make it look like water instead of a black hole i had to play with localized luminances and a hint of filtering...

post entry and pray:thumb

And the result...an amazing landscape photo! Thanks for sharing.

[shatch]

Thanks Peter and Vevtride for the clarification of understanding. You have reminded me well that the journey is a victory and needs to be appreciated and enjoyed while on our way to our desired destination. :thumb

[VelvtRide]

And the result...an amazing landscape photo! Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree! :thumb

[Llywellyn]

This round marked a lot of “firsts” for me, especially with regard to my second idea. The biggest thing I tackled was a multi-light setup. After spending a few days just reading about how to photograph ice, I realized my one AB strobe just wouldn’t be enough, so I broke down and finally bought an SB-800 flash unit (something I’ve been putting off for more than a year). I then spent many days reading Strobist. :wink

I created the heartsicles with chocolate and cupcake molds and lollipop sticks to make two different ice hearts—one that could be held from behind and one that could be held from below--then jury-rigged a device that would hold the heartsicle while I lit it on fire. I ended up using some copper plumbing thing (I couldn’t tell you what it was) with a length of thin, stiff pipe to stiffen the copper, all wrapped in electrical tape with a small clamp secured on the end…with more electrical tape. This was clamped to a light stand.

I originally wanted to capture everything with one photo, but after more thinking I realized this just wasn’t possible. First, the fire and water droplet varied too much in the required shutter speeds. So I needed two shots—okay. Second, I wanted to light the ice from the side and below, but I didn’t want to risk lighting a fire directly over my strobe. :rolleyes So two shots turned into three.

For the water droplet, I held the flash in one hand, turkey baster in the other, remote in my mouth and shot away, dropping the water on a piece of glass from a picture frame suspended over my flash. Heartsicle was lit from the side and below. Fire was lit from the side only.

This is actually an accidental frame. I was so nervous and tense about the gust of flame I was expecting, I accidentally pressed my remote shutter release when I flinched. The flame is from the match I was holding behind the ice.
http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/gallery/1440977_tmkpz#353595013_5VAZw-M.jpghttp://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/353595013_5VAZw-M.jpg

But I couldn’t get the ice to light! I eventually placed a bowl of paint thinner underneath my ice heart to try to engulf the heart. This worked—a little too well. Apparently you can char ice. :huh
http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/358919754_dkihx-M.jpg

Also, pouring water over a bowl of burning paint thinner causes the bowl to overflow with a river of fire. Recovering from this requires dumping an entire bucket of water quickly over the river before it flows too far… :deal

In LR I created two versions of the heartsicle—one with a Tungsten WB and another with Shade, I believe, to get the cold and warm parts. Blended those in PS then added the flames and water droplet. C'est finis. :D
http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/355651258_qMPzM-M.jpg

[Halite]

Thanks Peter and Vevtride for the clarification of understanding. You have reminded me well that the journey is a victory and needs to be appreciated and enjoyed while on our way to our desired destination. :thumb

I have most definitely appreciated seeing the results of your journey and look forward to seeing more.

[VelvtRide]

Geeez, Kerry! I think I would have liked to have been there during your shoot. :lol3

A lot of Ack!, Oooops!, sh*t!, OMG! and hurryhurryhurry! :lol3

[richtersl]

Apparently you can char ice. :huh
http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/358919754_dkihx-M.jpg



Oh dear Lord....:huh :rofl

[davev]

Mine wasn't to tough, I took maybe 150 shots, moving the flash around to try to reduce the glare and show the grains of sand falling.
I then had to black out some of the glare, straighten the horizon, some highlight/shadow adjustment, some free transforming to
get the bars parallel, and a few other fine adjustments.

I tried shooting this is a few different ways and different spots.
The shots outside were really bad. Too many refections that I could not tone down.
I tried placing it on an old stump, but the grains of sand just blended into the wood grain.
I tried different exposure times. As the exposure got longer, the sand again lost the look of, well, sand.

Anyway, here's the original.

http://davev.smugmug.com/photos/358934036_xM4sd-XL.jpg

and the one that is entered.

http://davev.smugmug.com/photos/353583030_dSPvC-XL.jpg

[shatch]

This round marked a lot of “firsts” for me, especially with regard to my second idea...

Not only did you produce a fantastic photo, but what a greatly entertaining story. You made me laugh. Thanks!!

Congrats on pushing yourself to a new level and congrats on the sb800. Do you love it?

[shatch]

I have most definitely appreciated seeing the results of your journey and look forward to seeing more.

Thanks Halite! It is nice to know that someone else likes my images other than my kids. :D We all tend to be over critical of our work, or blind to the details, or both! Thanks for the kind words.

[barrotj]

Do you suspect that your neighbors may have a video on it's way to AFV? :rofl

BTW I truly like your thought on this one, Well done! :thumb


Also, pouring water over a bowl of burning paint thinner causes the bowl to overflow with a river of fire. Recovering from this requires dumping an entire bucket of water quickly over the river before it flows too far… :deal


http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/355651258_qMPzM-M.jpg

[richtersl]

A lot of Ack!, Oooops!, sh*t!, OMG! and hurryhurryhurry! :lol3

I had a bit of that as well, including: :huh :scratch :help :doh :bluduh :crazy :patch :humungus :bash :hack :hang

After my first attempts didn't quite work out, I decided to head to the river at around sunset. After much :bash, I decided to pack it in and head back home. I stopped once more by the riverbank and I spotted a duck admiring his reflection in the water and snapped a few pics. As my luck would have it, the swans were behind me and wanted nothing to do with that duck. :bluduh Or me. :patch

Still not happy, I headed over to a nearby creek the following morning and toted my tripod along. After nearly falling on my butt :doh, I found a spot to set up shop and then waited for the sun to get a little higher. Snapped a few more pics. This time I was a bit happier with the outcome but was not sure if any were strong enough for the theme.

I decided to solicit another set of opinions and posted a thread with a few more shots. :help Worked a little more on the duck shot and then decided to throw it in as an afterthought.

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/358960518_Lbp3h-S.jpg

There wasn't much to do post-processing-wise: just clean up some dust bunnies, do some noise reduction, apply a peach-toned gradient filter to it, minor curves adjustment, and a saturation adjustment. I still didn't care for the water texture, so I applied a PS Action that softened the waves a little.

:hangThe duck seemed to have spoken the theme more strongly than the other shots.

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/358964680_V2uDK-S.jpg

Consensus seemed to be that the photo could use a crop. And after reviewing it again and again (and again and again) :scratch and then playing with it again and again (and again and again) :crazy. It did look better cropped. Then it was a matter of figuring out WHICH crop. :hack

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/356878587_LtH87-S.jpg

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/356878616_XgqWg-S-1.jpg

I finally settled on the pano and submitted it.

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/357545892_vnAKQ-S.jpg

But in spite of the frustration, I had fun with this!

[shatch]

Mine wasn't to tough, I took maybe 150 shots, moving the flash around to try to reduce the glare and show the grains of sand falling.
I then had to black out some of the glare, straighten the horizon, some highlight/shadow adjustment, some free transforming to
get the bars parallel, and a few other fine adjustments.

I tried shooting this is a few different ways and different spots.
The shots outside were really bad. Too many refections that I could not tone down.
I tried placing it on an old stump, but the grains of sand just blended into the wood grain.
I tried different exposure times. As the exposure got longer, the sand again lost the look of, well, sand.


Great conversion Dave. I like what you did with it. Amazing how much time and effort we can put into a "simple" photo. Well done! :thumb

[shatch]

I had a bit of that as well, including: :huh :scratch :help :doh :bluduh :crazy :patch :humungus :bash :hack :hang

After my first attempts didn't quite work out, I decided to head to the river at around sunset. After much :bash, I decided to pack it in and head back home. I stopped once more by the riverbank and I spotted a duck admiring his reflection in the water and snapped a few pics. As my luck would have it, the swans were behind me and wanted nothing to do with that duck. :bluduh Or me. :patch

Still not happy, I headed over to a nearby creek the following morning and toted my tripod along. After nearly falling on my butt :doh, I found a spot to set up shop and then waited for the sun to get a little higher. Snapped a few more pics. This time I was a bit happier with the outcome but was not sure if any were strong enough for the theme.

I decided to solicit another set of opinions and posted a thread with a few more shots. :help Worked a little more on the duck shot and then decided to throw it in as an afterthought.


Great story Richters! I'm glad you shared it with us. I do like the photo too!

[VelvtRide]

It's 5:30.... and I don't have any nails left to chew. Can I borrow yours, shatch? :lol3

[richtersl]

It's 5:30.... and I don't have any nails left to chew. Can I borrow yours, shatch? :lol3
You can't have mine because I don't have any left, either! :rofl

[VelvtRide]

You can't have mine because I don't have any left, either! :rofl
I've chewed all the pens in the house, too. :uhoh

[shatch]

It's 5:30.... and I don't have any nails left to chew. Can I borrow yours, shatch? :lol3

Sorry, you wouldn't like mine. They are filled with dirt from pulling weeds on Saturday.

With the pens gone too, you should next move to carrotts! They are good for you too. Maybe celery would be good as you can chew on it forever and it never goes away. Hey! don't they sell fake nails? That might work! Give that a try.

Or you can convince yourself like I have that I don't have a chance so why bother worrying?

[VelvtRide]

Sorry, you wouldn't like mine. They are filled with dirt from pulling weeds on Saturday.

With the pens gone too, you should next move to carrotts! They are good for you too. Maybe celery would be good as you can chew on it forever and it never goes away. Hey! don't they sell fake nails? That might work! Give that a try.

Or you can convince yourself like I have that I don't have a chance so why bother worrying?

I'm just excited to see who DID win. :D


Carrots... yum!

[Llywellyn]

Not only did you produce a fantastic photo, but what a greatly entertaining story. You made me laugh. Thanks!!

Congrats on pushing yourself to a new level and congrats on the sb800. Do you love it?
I can laugh about it now, but had I giggled at the time, I'm certain the neighbors who eyed me warily as they walked by my porch would have been quick to call the local loony bin to pick me up! :lol3

I don't love my flash yet because I'm still trying to learn it. I had fits during the boxing shoot with it--moreso because I understand it on its own and the strobe on its own, but together...:bash It will be a learning curve.

Do you suspect that your neighbors may have a video on it's way to AFV? :rofl
I suspect my neigbors are staying far, far away after seeing me light fires on my porch for hours on end. :giggle Moreso for my immediate next-door neigbhbors, who also arrived home during my boxing shoot, also on my porch:
http://www.theoriginalblackcat.com/photos/358902372_EYHZX-L.jpg

I joked once that I worry when I do my elaborate staged shots about a deliveryman coming with something I need to sign, forcing me to answer the door covered in bizarre make-up or fake blood. During the boxing shoot, I had both UPS and the mailman come by. I got some straaaaange looks that day. :lol3

[Llywellyn]

It's 5:30.... and I don't have any nails left to chew. Can I borrow yours, shatch? :lol3

I think we should start demanding a nail-biting smiley to be added. :giggle

[VelvtRide]

I think we should start demanding a nail-biting smiley to be added. :giggle

:nod

Much needed during these times! :lol3

[shatch]

I can laugh about it now, but had I giggled at the time, I'm certain the neighbors who eyed me warily as they walked by my porch would have been quick to call the local loony bin to pick me up! :lol3

I don't love my flash yet because I'm still trying to learn it. I had fits during the boxing shoot with it--moreso because I understand it on its own and the strobe on its own, but together...:bash It will be a learning curve.


I suspect my neigbors are staying far, far away after seeing me light fires on my porch for hours on end. :giggle Moreso for my immediate next-door neigbhbors, who also arrived home during my boxing shoot, also on my porch:

I joked once that I worry when I do my elaborate staged shots about a deliveryman coming with something I need to sign, forcing me to answer the door covered in bizarre make-up or fake blood. During the boxing shoot, I had both UPS and the mailman come by. I got some straaaaange looks that day. :lol3

Hey, are those charred shutters? :rofl Your neighbors are lucky to have you. When you are shooting, they don't even need TV.

So are you shooting your sb800 in ttl mode or manual?

[Llywellyn]

Hey, are those charred shutters? :rofl Your neighbors are lucky to have you. When you are shooting, they don't even need TV.

So are you shooting your sb800 in ttl mode or manual?

Ha! My poor shutters. :giggle It's actually just peeling paint I'm still waiting for managment to fix. :bluduh But my fire wasn't too far from them...uh, oops?

I started out shooting in manual, but I couldn't set it to be the master flash (to wirelessly trigger the slave strobe) in manual mode. I even went to the instruction manual and could not for the life of me figure out why that option wouldn't pop up in the settings while in manual mode. :dunno So I switched to TTL. I was annoyed by the inconsistency of output from my strobe and the line-of-sight thing. I researched Pocket Wizards and RadioPoppers all weekend. :wink

I was happy to have a sync cord, but I really didn't want to be tethered to my flash. Meh. And having HSS with the SB800 made me forget that I don't have HSS for the AB strobe. Boy, I was fuming until I figured out that glitch.

Thank goodness my friend was very patient, since I'd warned her this would be my first real go at this and would likely be futzing with the lights a heckuva lot. I got some good results, but I want to nail the consistency issue.

More Strobist reading in my future! :D

[photobrando]

I had a few other ideas to show the elements, which involved the use of friends as models. Unfortunately, people have lives, so the ideas I was going to use will be on the back burner.

I pretty much waited until the last minute and was running out of ideas. I wanted my photo to literally have all four elements in it.

In my front yard, I have a tree that splits into two about three feet up from the ground. So I decided to use that. I took my Mark III and put it on a tripod then set up a Vivitar 285HV at 1/4 power set on manual, connected it to a pocket wizard, and fired it into a 60" silver umbrella. This was set up off to the right of the photo.

I took a potted plant, pulled it out of the pot and shook the soil out of the roots so they'd show up a little bit in the picture. I draped the plant over the tree and got it to prop up by it's self.

Connected to the tree (behind the plant) is a small lantern. So I took a small candel, put it in the lantern and lit it.

The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked :rofl. I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so...LOL. It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.

Ran it through Lightroom where all I did was bump up the clarity to 50, desaturated the image over all, then brought back the green in the plant slightly.

Earth = tree and plant
Wind = from my lungs
Fire = small back lit candle
Water = blown from my mouth

http://www.photobrando.com/photos/358625366_ER2di-L.jpg

[eoren1]

I had three ideas for this round and started by scouting out local piers. That concept was supposed to include an expansive body of water and thunderstorm but the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/359099369_M2eqM-S.jpg

My wife and kids were in a toy store in Brookline that weekend and my 9 month old tried to eat a nearby newspaper. I grabbed the soaking item from her mouth and noticed a short piece about a public art exhibit that was put up for the month of August. The concept of pinwheels as a means of showing wind seemed perfect so I made a mental note to visit there in the next few days.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/353137360_2Rrb5-S.jpg

After a 1 year old birthday party, I drove out to the park where the art was installed. The sky was perfect but I realized that catching one of these things turning was going to be a challenge. They were placed on a hill which was surrounded by a tree line on three sides.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/359100631_BAvwr-S.jpg

A number of the homemade pinwheels were looking the worse for wear after two weeks in the elements. If you look closely, you'll see that they are composed of a metal hangar, cork and the plastic turning-thing. I studied the group to get a sense of which actually turned and tried to shoot some frames that included the S curve that the artist had designed. None of the pinwheels at the base of the hill were turning so I started moving up.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/359099628_KUSxu-S.jpg

I settled on one patch that had a few turning pinwheels. Set up the tripod and a polarizing filter (don't have an ND one) and shot some frames. I would basically stand there with my finger on the shutter button ready to fire with any hint of wind. All while constantly adjusting the shutter speeds to keep up with changing light conditions.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/354823660_fxNTu-S.jpg

At one point, the whole exercise seemed pointless and I lay with my head on the grass looking up at the sky. I happened to look behind me and realized that this was a far better vantage point. Took my tripod and inverted it to try to maintain a long enough shutter speed to ensure some motion. I got one miraculous gust of wind that turned the two windmills closest to the camera and squeezed off 4 frames. That was pretty much it for wind for the day and, after a bit, I headed home.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/353067653_kJrYo-S.jpg

I looked at the results in Lightroom at home and was disappointed in all but those 4 frames. I had to flip them vertically but forgot to do a horizontal rotation. Did some work in LR then to PS for levels and a few other adjustments. I submitted that one pretty early on.

It was only later that I realized the scene looked 'wrong' from what I had seen that day and did the horizontal rotation. The shot seemed to lose most of its dynamic tension with that so I left well enough alone. I tried to shoot my own pinwheels later on in the week but they didn't come out as nicely as this scene. Posted a few other attempts and PP versions but was roundly shot down.

http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/353558698_jnYom-S.jpg http://www.orenphotography.com/photos/353558514_qHnjG-S.jpg

So, a lot of luck in finding this piece of public art and some dumb luck in getting the vantage point added up to this entry. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.

Thanks and good luck to eveyone.
E

[Llywellyn]

I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so...LOL.

:rofl I think in addition to those lists that let you check if there are any sex offenders in an area before you move into it, they should create one that warns of any photographers in the area. The things we do for a photo, neh? :wink

[richtersl]

The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked :rofl. I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so...LOL. It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.


OMG--too funny! :rofl :rofl :rofl

[VelvtRide]

I love these stories!! Photobrando I gotta say I laughed out loud when I read how you got the spray in there. :lol3

[JAG]

I actually started to shoot before the winner for #5 was announced. I had figured I would cover the base and I have some great "splendor" and Squalor pics. But when I won I had to change gears and figure an element. My first thought was a lightbulb...but then someone got that up really quick so I thought I better get a move on and do my second and third thought....the 'elements' in christianity is wine and bread which was broken representing Christ's body broken on the cross for our sins. So I was shooting in my small studio with black background.
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353178221_E2xxe-S.jpg
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353178165_Ssocu-S.jpg

At the same time I was thinking about the element of suprize...so I enlisted my lil one.....and tried a few shots...
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353178061_tWFM5-S.jpg
But this just wasn't cutting it as well as I had hoped....so I got my youngest son down to try and ad a human element to the elements...
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353178083_JMzn6-S.jpg
But it just didn't say wow to me!...after several hours in my dark studio (it has no windows)...I decided to take a break. I walked out the door and happened to look outside...it had been raining most of the day but there was a break in the clouds and the blue sky peeking through. So I grabed the elements, a mirror and my camera and headed out to my deck....first I did side views with my lil one holding a second mirror up behind the elements to reflect the sky....
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353178315_bivoN-S.jpg
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353856134_4rSmz-S.jpg

Then I decided a different view was necessary to make the viewer stare longer at it...
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/353159756_FQui5-S-2.jpg

I realized that even though the angle and lighting were perfect....the straight line ove the elements was bugging me. So I went out a couple days later in the early morning when the sun just came through the trees and shot the one entered...
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/358453885_6fY3P-S-1.jpg

As the time got closer to the due date...I started feeling uneasy about my entry...will the judges understand or see the connection of elements? Not everybody can. There were so many great entries...so I went back out on the deck on another semi clear day....with a storm off in the distance...and thought that the element of the storm is good...but I need a wow...thats when I pulled out my art easle and canvas...and my palette....and there standing on my deck taking pics of the two together with and without the easle...and me in my pj's still.....decided I would take a pic of me painting the scene. Which is something I would do anyway! So I reset all the easel and settings with my son standing in my place so I could set all the settings and focus. Then we switched places....and at my ok he pressed the shutter. I would have used this one as the entered image...but my final decision was to not use this one because I was afraid that someone would object to a "voice controled shutter release" as someone so elequently put it.....
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/356472408_wVdDe-S-1.jpg
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/356787029_Gp7dn-S-3.jpg

As it is I found a use for this pic on the assignment board...with a little proding from Nikolai...here was the finished product...
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/358428213_uAFSJ-M-1.jpg

[shatch]

The water came from my mouth. I searched the house for a spray bottle and came up with nothing. So I connected my wired remote to my camera, and stood to the left of the shot and spat water all over the place in an attempt to mimic some kind of water droppings. Not too sure if it worked :rofl. I only wonder what my neighbors were thinking with a flash going off at 11 in the evening and the noise of someone feverently spitting all over the place every 45 seconds or so...LOL. It took me maybe 20 shots to come up with something that would suffice.

Alright, these stories are just too good!! I think we should require a new rule...along with posting the EXIF, we need to post the video of the shoot as well!!! :rofl

[shatch]

...So, a lot of luck in finding this piece of public art and some dumb luck in getting the vantage point added up to this entry. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.

Thanks and good luck to eveyone.
E

Luck always favors the prepared mind. Great illustration of persistence and keeping your eye open for a better shot! Great story, thanks for sharing! And a great photo!!

[shatch]

JAG
You really need to start a stock photography site if you don't have one yet. These are very useful images and I think they would have a good demand. Something to think about.

Great job! I like 'em all!! Great creative approach and technical execution.

[Tango]

. This, like every other shot I've taken for LPS and now DSS is one that I never would have taken had it not been for these Dgrin contests and all of the helpful members.

Thanks and good luck to eveyone.
E

+1 :thumb

[Nikolai]

Some of the images were previously shown in a teaser thread in People, I apologize for the duplication.

The shoot idea came out very spontaneously one Saturday, when I was shooting Tina, Lori, Meghan, Shantelle and Amanda. We were shooting portraits, chatting and generally having a good time. We started talking about various "projects" we had in our minds, an idea of a "vampire shoot" came up - and lo and behold, we decided to shoot it the very next - Sunday - night.

The concept scene was simple. A guy (Tina's son Scott) gets drunk, picks up two goth chicks (Shantelle (his GF IRL) and Amanda) in a bar, they "help" him to get home, a walk through the park - and he's in for a nasty surprise. While Amanda distracts him, Shantelle bites him, then they have a feast and finally all three (Tina comes in late as a adult Vampiress chapenroning the youth:-) drag the body out of sight.

Since the location was withing a few feet from a potential parking spot this was a fine opportunity for me to test my recently acquired Vagabond-II power brick, and, along with that, give my ABs a taste of the outdoor shooting. Thus far this has been a sole priviledge of the sunpacks, but from now on the situation is gonna change:-)

After arriving to the location I decided on the setup and set up the lights. Scott was helping.

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/354036761_26WZW-L.jpg

As you can see from the image above, it was a three-lights set.

The elevated brollybox on the c-stand created a f/2.8 fill.
A barn-doored non-modified flash at f/4 behind the tree played a role of the moon (even matching the actual moon position:-), while the tree itself played a role of the flag, preventing the rim light hitting the camera and thus creating a light pollution.
Finally, the third light with a 10-degree grid (mostly dynamically operated by Tina, who was only invloved in the last act) played a f/4 spot, highlighting the faces, which otherwise would be backlit by the "moon" or not lit at all due to the shadow from the tree trunc.

Without the lights in the frame the scene was lit like this:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/354037427_GQ3DX-L.jpg

The rest was purely a matter of positioning the actors and then - "lights, action". I can't believe I was actualy saying those very words, but that's what it was. I was very cautious about the "juice" in the power brick (which performed beautifully, I must add), especially considering the fact that we had to use modeling lights - otherwise it's was a pitch-black and I couldn't frame and focus - so we shut it down between the looks and then Tina was turning them on at my command. The whole shoot was pretty much like shooting a movie, none of the looks was static. The kids were moving continuosly, repeating the key actions again and again.

My only other significant directorial decision was to make sure that Amanda and her gorgeous fluffy blond hair is always in the rim light, like so:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/354036868_Bzy4X-XL.jpg

The whole ordeal took about four hours (makeup, lighting setup, shooting, wrapup). Yet it was a great fun, a new experience for everybody - and a nice entry for yours truly.

Hope you liked the story :-)

[VelvtRide]

:clap

Very original, Nikolai! I wonder how serious your subject took the scene? Lots of giggling..?

[Nikolai]

:clap

Very original, Nikolai! I wonder how serious your subject took the scene? Lots of giggling..?
Thanks!
It was their idea, so it was actually rather solid acting work. I mean, we still had a good time and there was a lot of laughs and jokes in-between, but once the lights were on they were pretty much into the scene. I even asked them to make noises to help themselves with the mood, you should hear all the hissing and gnarling...:rofl

[VelvtRide]

Thanks!
It was their idea, so it was actually rather solid acting work. I mean, we still had a good time and there was a lot of laughs and jokes in-between, but once the lights were on they were pretty much into the scene. I even asked them to make noises to help themselves with the mood, you should hear all the hissing and gnarling...:rofl

You made me giggle. :lol3

Too much fun!! I'm starting to get a bug up my butt about taking a few of the kids around here out to the park and just letting them go loose and crazy to see what I can capture. I love it! :thumb

[Nikolai]

You made me giggle. :lol3

Too much fun!! I'm starting to get a bug up my butt about taking a few of the kids around here out to the park and just letting them go loose and crazy to see what I can capture. I love it! :thumb
Well, just to make sure - the whole act was rather well thought out by Tina, so it wasn't a total spur of the moment. Each scene was very clearly defined, so it's not like we arrived at the spot and started to think "how we're going to shoot a little vampire scene". Besides, these are all college student.
Your idea, on the other hand, may have a lot of spontaniety, which can be great, but you have to be ready to capture it. And I wouldn't count on retakes either:-)

[jeffreaux2]

But I couldn’t get the ice to light! I eventually placed a bowl of paint thinner underneath my ice heart to try to engulf the heart. This worked—a little too well. Apparently you can char ice. :huh



What was your method to get ice to burn? What fuel?

I have had success with Purell....the hand sanitizer. It is clear and has a high alchohol content. Your neighbors probably don't want me to tell you how I found out it was extremely flammable!:rofl

...I enjoyed your image, and the stories, and you are welcome to buy the house next-door. I think you'd make an excellent replacement for my current neighbor!

[Llywellyn]

What was your method to get ice to burn? What fuel?

I have had success with Purell....the hand sanitizer. It is clear and has a high alchohol content. Your neighbors probably don't want me to tell you how I found out it was extremely flammable!:rofl

...I enjoyed your image, and the stories, and you are welcome to buy the house next-door. I think you'd make an excellent replacement for my current neighbor!

I was using paint thinner on the ice, then tried using vodka, then went the bowl route because I didn't have any other liquids (I could think of) that would burn. I'll have to keep Purell in mind should I attempt this again...I do have some leftover heartsicles in the freezer. :D

I'm certain you'd make a better neighbor than one of mine for sure! That'd be cool.

[jeffreaux2]

I nearly did not enter an image for this round. During the shoot window we moved my daughter (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=102668)(link) off to college, I provided event coverage for an extravagant birthday party (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=102981)(link), and was involved in training 36 new employees at my “real job”. Aside from the time issue, I was deflated by all the renewed talk of “voting irregularities”. Childish. Even the “experiment” by one member to tamper with votes just to see if it were possible I found to be unethical, irresponsible, and repugnant. Now that my opinion on the matter is out there I must also add that I shot film for over 25 years. This, I assume, is the current method for qualifying and adding weight to our opinions.

In the end, I decided that I owed it to myself and those who voted for my qualifying entry, "Released" (http://jkmann.blogspot.com/2008/06/released.html)(link), to enter an image. I have competed in several of the challenges here (including LPS) and more on other forums, but this would be my first composite type image, a far cry from “Released” which was a purely photojournalistic approach with no chance for a re-shoot, or even a second try.

I had three concept ideas, but settled on this one for the challenge of shooting it and building it to match my vision. An exercise to stretch my capabilities.

Last Saturday I began shooting the ELEMENTS of this image, but had begun composing several days before thinking through exactly what images I needed, and how they should be blended together to realize my concept. Friday night at midnight, I was at Walmart opening and inspecting various light bulbs. I discarded those with off kilter filaments and saved those that weren’t bent for further comparison. I eventually found the bulb for me. You would be surprised at the overall lack of quality control as far as what light bulb innards look like!

Saturday morning, my first shot was of the patio pavers just outside my back door. This first element of my image required work to change the rectangular pavers to squares and to line up the mortarless joints to mimic the squares that are found on a periodic table of elements. Here is that first image
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352865761_xfCoe-M.jpg
Second, I needed the text. With the new rules on EXIF for composites, and in the spirit of a discussion in a separate thread on an accounting for every pixel, I decided to NOT use the type/text tool directly on the image. Instead, I created a file containing the text I needed. Next, I displayed it on my monitor and captured a photograph of the monitor. I later cropped away the parts I did not need and blended it with my paver shot. Those two images below.
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352865039_7Xp9f-M.jpg
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352879315_3Sirs-M.jpg
Finally, I was ready to shoot the lightbulb itself. I waffled a bit on white balance, but decided I wanted some yellow in the glow. Shot against a yellow wall, I took about 8 frames, bracketing the exposures. My goal was for the filament to NOT become a completely blown out mess, and to keep a sharp fine focus on the innards of the bulb. Here is that image.
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352864849_6RcGY-M.jpg
After combining them all, I ended up with this final image…an exact duplicate of what I envisioned.
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352879874_XyjTh-M.jpg
…but there was a problem. I decided that the “R” to the right of the “W” was competing for “eye-time”. To combat this I cropped in a little closer for the final entry image. This new crop threw away much of what was in the image that was supposed to act as hints to the chemically challenged to be able to figure out what the background was. This forced one last change from my original intent. The title. All along I had called it “Dubya”. Now I needed a title to help lead the viewer into realizing they were looking at a periodic table of elements. ..and so…I landed on “Tungsten No.74”.
“Tungsten No.74” as entered.
-http://jkmann.smugmug.com/photos/352878730_kvsM6-L.jpg
It was a huge personal success to construct the image and have it appear exactly as it appeared in my mind. In the end I was glad I decided to enter the round. As anticipated the competing images and the photographers who entered them were worthy opponents. Of all of the other forums on the net, the challengers here at Dgrin are the most capable. Thank you all who voted for “Released”, my qualifier. Thanks to the judges, as it appears I got some votes there also for “Tungsten No.74”. Thanks also to all who have been involved in making the challenges as competitive and inspiring as they have become.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p>-</o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>

[richtersl]

I was wondering how you did that! Awesome!! :thumb

[richtersl]

The whole ordeal took about four hours (makeup, lighting setup, shooting, wrapup). Yet it was a great fun, a new experience for everybody - and a nice entry for yours truly.

Hope you liked the story :-)

Sounds like you guys all had a blast! :D

[Nikolai]

...
It was a huge personal success to construct the image and have it appear exactly as it appeared in my mind. In the end I was glad I decided to enter the round. As anticipated the competing images and the photographers who entered them were worthy opponents. Of all of the other forums on the net, the challengers here at Dgrin are the most capable. Thank you all who voted for “Released”, my qualifier. Thanks to the judges, as it appears I got some votes there also for “Tungsten No.74”. Thanks also to all who have been involved in making the challenges as competitive and inspiring as they have become.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p>-</o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>

Awesome work, Jeff, and great way to show how to turn one's vision into reality! :thumb :bow

[shatch]

Jeffreaux2,
Thanks for sharing!!! I loved your image. Great example of transition from mind to digital reality. Love the shot!

[KurtPreston]

Jeffreaux, great sequence! Looking at your 'final before crop' image, I actually like the uncropped version better :)

[jeffreaux2]

Jeffreaux, great sequence! Looking at your 'final before crop' image, I actually like the uncropped version better :)

I did too, but was leery of that "Re". To keep it from getting attention I cropped to make that "R" a partial...so ...of less consequence than the "W".

[puzzledpaul]

Fairly straightforward story in my case.

Visited the oldest cemetery in town with a rough idea of a pic - saw this gravestone and thought it offered better potential than the original (more obvious / cliched) idea.

Took a few shots to get an idea and reviewed them back at 'base camp' - and decided on viewpoint / composition etc.

Checked weather forecasts for what I thought'd be suitable ... sunny days after 1500 ish a definite no-no 'cos of shadows cast from other nearby graves.

Took shots dry ... and then tried wet (slung a jug of water over surface) - which really changed the whole ballgame, depending on orientation of pol. filter.

Went back and messed around with either ... and mixed ... and decided it'd be 'interesting' to be there when it was raining to get rain streaks + splashes ... and streams of water running down the central eroded section - to emphasise the action + add an obvious 'natural' element.

This is where the fun really started - considering the 'summer' we've had in the UK ... I'd have thought the chances of getting suitable 'stair rod' type rain would've been a cinch.

How wrong can one be ...

Apart from one short sharp shower that I missed, there was nowt.

So, one last ditch (sorry!) attempt ... to provide my own wet stuff.

After a bit of head scratching I removed the screen washer reservoir / pump + feed hose off the car and rigged it upto a spare 12v battery.

Got clearance from the groundspeople that it'd be ok to use this lot and had a go - I did get some shots, but flow rate / pressure was inadequate (streaks looked too pshopped) and the central 'stream' obscured the nature of the eroded section in such a way that I considered it a negative rather than positive to the pic.

Decided to use an earlier pic and messed around with it until got something that I thought was ok ... then a friend suggested a bw take ... which for the subject matter seemed better ... thus end result.

So .. at one stage I'd got:
Cam with flash on off cam macro brkt ... on tripod No1
2nd flash with diffuser on tripod No2
Screen washer hose affixed to head on tripod No3
Car battery + cables
Spare water bottles
Big umbrella (to protect cam ... generally windy)

Shots with this lot were typically
Left hand using remote release
Right hand squeezing end of washer hose in attempt to get 'right sort' of spray .. directing same in wanted place.

80 secs worth of water / shots before refills needed ... all done on own as kids grown up and away, swmbo busy.

Still consider this 'rained upon' shot would be a good one / worth trying ... but I'll stick to macros, methinks :)

pp

[shatch]

Fairly straightforward story in my case.

Visited the oldest cemetery in town with a rough idea of a pic - saw this gravestone and thought it offered better potential than the original (more obvious / cliched) idea.

Took a few shots to get an idea and reviewed them back at 'base camp' - and decided on viewpoint / composition etc.

Checked weather forecasts for what I thought'd be suitable ... sunny days after 1500 ish a definite no-no 'cos of shadows cast from other nearby graves.

Took shots dry ... and then tried wet (slung a jug of water over surface) - which really changed the whole ballgame, depending on orientation of pol. filter.

Went back and messed around with either ... and mixed ... and decided it'd be 'interesting' to be there when it was raining to get rain streaks + splashes ... and streams of water running down the central eroded section - to emphasise the action + add an obvious 'natural' element.

This is where the fun really started - considering the 'summer' we've had in the UK ... I'd have thought the chances of getting suitable 'stair rod' type rain would've been a cinch.

How wrong can one be ...

Apart from one short sharp shower that I missed, there was nowt.

So, one last ditch (sorry!) attempt ... to provide my own wet stuff.

After a bit of head scratching I removed the screen washer reservoir / pump + feed hose off the car and rigged it upto a spare 12v battery.

Got clearance from the groundspeople that it'd be ok to use this lot and had a go - I did get some shots, but flow rate / pressure was inadequate (streaks looked too pshopped) and the central 'stream' obscured the nature of the eroded section in such a way that I considered it a negative rather than positive to the pic.

Decided to use an earlier pic and messed around with it until got something that I thought was ok ... then a friend suggested a bw take ... which for the subject matter seemed better ... thus end result.

So .. at one stage I'd got:
Cam with flash on off cam macro brkt ... on tripod No1
2nd flash with diffuser on tripod No2
Screen washer hose affixed to head on tripod No3
Car battery + cables
Spare water bottles
Big umbrella (to protect cam ... generally windy)

Shots with this lot were typically
Left hand using remote release
Right hand squeezing end of washer hose in attempt to get 'right sort' of spray .. directing same in wanted place.

80 secs worth of water / shots before refills needed ... all done on own as kids grown up and away, swmbo busy.

Still consider this 'rained upon' shot would be a good one / worth trying ... but I'll stick to macros, methinks :)

pp

Great story Paul! I'm telling you, we need to require photos or videos of the shot being taken as a requirement for the contest! :rofl