Drops in Motion

Drops in Motion

©JP Parmley

 Ok, it is Saturday and it is raining again........so lets continue with the water theme.

Here are images you can capture with a 15 minute set up.  If there is interest, I will create a video showing how.  Send me an email at john@photographybyparmley.com.   

Other wise.....just enjoy on this wet weekend.  Shot on Canon 7D, 24-70mm 2.8L, 1/250th, f13, ISO 200.

  

  

Splash Down

Splash Down

©JP Parmley

Here is a fun picture I did with the kids this evening.  This is real simple to set up and the results are endless.  Using a 10 gallon fish tank filled up about 3/4 of the way, drop two peppers into the tank from about 12 inches above the water.  The lighting on this shot requires two flashes.  One from the bottom and one from the top.  You can connect them via cables or wireless transmitters. You will need to set one of the peppers in the water and use manual focus.  Once you have set the focus, you don't have to worry about the camera trying to search for it during the shot.

I used a black board for the background and started dropping and shooting.  The kids played around with different heights and I experimented with trying to catch them early and late in the splash. 

What else could we drop into the fish tank????  Send me your ideas.

Enjoy,

JP

Canon 5DMII, 50MM 1.4: 1/160th, f18, ISO 400

Rain Drops

Rain Drops

©JP Parmley

I had planned to get up today and get some shots of just random things and some shots at the Dragons game tonight.  I was disappointed when I woke up to a 40 degree raining day!  I walked outside to get a feel for what it was like outside and noticed that the rain drops were perfectly suspended in the shrub just outside our door. 

Sometimes you can find a perfect shot just by looking down.  I grabbed my 24-70mm 2.8L Macro lens and a Canon 7D body to get that extra zoom factor. I also took a few on the 5D Mark II body.   Using a tripod I captured a handful of images that came out fairly nice given the completely overcast sky.  Try adjusting your aperture from about 5-16 to see the differences in the depth of field.   I ran the images through Lightroom to reduce some noise and add a little contrast. After a quick crop, her you go.

If you don't have a macro lens, you can still take this picture.  Just make sure you set the picture to the full resolution so when you zoom in on it you have as much detail as possible.

Canon5DMII, 1/640th, f6.3, ISO1600

Canon 7D, 1/100th, f8, ISO2000

Canon 7D, 1/250th, f5.0, ISO2000

Enjoy,

JP

Sparklers

Sparklers

©JP Parmley

Continuing from yesterdays post on long exposures and moving lights made me remember a 4th of July wedding by brother and I shot about 5 years ago.  We were on the front lawn of the Patterson Homestead in Dayton, OH where the reception was being held.  Just before the end of the reception, they broke out sparklers for the guest and kids to play with.  This opened up a great opportunity to use the techniques in the previous post, but with a twist.  Getting the subject holding the light source to be completely visible, but not blurred from the motion was the goal.

To accomplish this, you need to make one minor, but important adjustment to how the flash is controlled.  Normally, when you use a flash, it fires at the beginning of the exposure.  To get these pictures below, you need to fire the flash at the end of the exposure.  This ability is called 2nd curtain or rear curtain.  In the Canon cameras you can set either first or second curtain in the custom functions. 

With a second curtain setting and an exposure of about 1/2-2 seconds you can get a picture like this even without a tripod.....just hold still during the picture.

Try this with someone moving a flashlight around and you will get the same effect.  Send me some pics using this technique and I will post them.

Canon 5D, 1/2 Sec, f9, ISO400

Enjoy,

JP

A Bright Idea

A Bright Idea

©JP Parmley

So here are a few ideas to brighten up your shooting.   These ideas are not new, but you can have lots of fun creating these shots.

First lets look at the light bulb that it on but it is not screwed in.  Mount you camera on a tripod and set it in a manual mode.  Place a light bulb on a black sheet and have a variety of flashlights available.  I used small LED flashlight in the first picture with the camera set at 4 seconds, f16, ISO 100.  The second picture was shot with a Maglite at 8 seconds, f16, ISO 100. 

The trick is to center the light on the glass that you want lit up.  Make sure to keep the light tightly focused on the bulb. 

Canon 10D, 4 sec, f16, ISO100

Canon 10D, 6 sec, f16, ISO100

These next few pictures are taken with exposures from 6-8 seconds.  In a completely dark area waive a flashlight or laser light source during the exposure.  You can adjust how fast you move the light to get a different affect.  If you are going to write words, remember to write them backwards!  

 

As always, send me your pics and I will post them for you.

 

Enjoy!

JP

Photoshop Tutorial on Multiple Exposures

Multiple Exposures in Photoshop
©JP Parmley

In my first video tutorial I will show you a quick way to merge 4 separate images into 1.

4 Separate Images Taken on Tripod

Merged Image with Multiple Exposure Effect

No, I do not have four 70-200mm IS lenses......Just one.  But with some very simple steps, you can create the illusion.

You can use any camera mounted on a tripod.  Use your dog, kids, spouse or whatever as a subject to create some interesting pictures.  Send me what you create using this method and I will post them.

Check out the tutorial here:  http://youtu.be/Eb55ptsQjB4

 
JP

Bubble Reflection

Reflection
©JP Parmley

Here is a quick pic that with one minor focus setting you can get a sharp and focused picture.   With the Canon line of cameras there are three focus settings: One Shot, AI Focus, and AI Servo.  I am sure there are Nikon settings that mirror this, I am just not familiar with them.  For an object in constant motion, change the focus setting to AI Servo and put the lens in auto focus.  This will allow the camera to track the focus of the bubble as it floats through the air.  Without the AI Focus setting, the chances of getting a truly in focus picture would be hit or miss.  Because the bubble is in motion, you will also want to increase the shutter speed.  The camera settings are below the pictures.

For this picture I actually got two reflections: One of me taking the picture and one of my brother playing with the kids making the bubbles. 

Canon 7D, 16-35 2.8L II, 1/320th, f4.5, ISO1000

Canon 7D, 16-35 2.8L II, 1/320th, f4.5, ISO1000

Happy Easter

JP

Heart Shadow from Rings

Heart Shadows
©JP Parmley

5DMII, 24-70 2.8L, 1/100th, f3.2, ISO 800

Here is a quick trick that you can take even with your smartphone. To create a heart shaped shadow in a book follow these easy steps.  I will typically take this shot at a wedding using a bible.  

Place the ring or rings if you want two heart shadows in the middle of the book on the fold.  Using a small light source (I used a small LED flashlight for these two samples) shine the light down onto the ring(s).  Experiment with the angle and distance of the light to get different affects of the shadow.

You can add a little or lot of blur to the text using Photoshop to enhance the depth of field.  You can adjust the strength of the blur at the top using the "Strength" slider.   Instructions on how to use the Blur tool are located here.

5DMII, 24-70 2.8L, 1/100th, f3.2, ISO 800

 

 

 

Enjoy,
JP