Photo Assignment: Week 9

It has been a busy couple of months and sadly this blog has taken a back seat! Still, time to catch up.

The fourth assessed theme was still life. I really struggled with this one. Not wanting to do anything that had been done before, I was struggling to find a different take on the theme. Then my son fell asleep, so I covered him in cuddly toys – as you do!

I was suddenly inspired by the scene in ET where he’s hiding amongst the toys. Safe to say, the idea didn’t go down well, so I had to think of a way of re-presenting the image. As the deadline for submission loomed closer, I was running out of ideas, and then he happened to fall asleep again, so I got the image up on my tablet and cradled it on him. Voila.

Because the colours on the screen didn’t come out too well, I converted it to black and white, which made it a stronger image and allowed me to beef up the contrast of the original image on the screen.

The submission deadline has come and gone and the marks returned, but I still think this one didn’t go down too well. I justify it on the premise that he’s still and he’s alive – but perhaps it was a bit of a stretch!

Merrion Lines

Taken at the small courtyard in front of Merrion House, Leeds. A nice mix of brick and concrete.

Photo Assignment: Week 8

The third assessment was themed ‘Secret Spaces’. My original idea was to shoot a doorway with someone just about to enter the room beyond. I could only think of one location and it wouldn’t have been possible to shoot there, so I improvised and kept the idea, but at a location I could shoot.

Light was quite important for this one and there are two desk lamps inside the wardrobe. The room lights were switched off so the emphasis would be on the light coming from inside. My daughter modeled for me – she’s the only one that will – and as usual, she took her direction straight away and added her own twist. (If she doesn’t end up an actress I’ll be very surprised!)

The image has probably had more post capture work done to it than any other image. I’m not one to mess around images beyond curves and contrast, but this one needed a fair amount of cloning, masking around the wardrobe and some dodging.

So that’s three assessments down and two to go – got those to do over the Christmas break. In the mean time, Merry Christmas to everyone. Thanks for the visits, likes and comments over the year. Here’s hoping for a great 2013 for everyone.