Week three is here and I'm ready to post a day early...yet again. What momentum, what dedication, how exciting! Okay, posting a day early is not really exciting but I'll take what I can get, no matter how small and insignificant.
This weeks photograph was inspired by my son himself. Not in the way the entire project was, this time he told me what he wanted the picture to be. I love that he is taking an active role in the 52 Variations Project. Digressing for just a moment, he does love taking pictures and has a wonderful eye. I wish I could master the rule of thirds the way he does. Not bad for a 9 year-old.
So here was the idea, that I should take a picture of him taking a picture of me. How simple how beautiful. I'm ashamed I didn't think of it. My planned picture for the week was much more complex, and much more mundane. The brilliance of a 9 year-old, how I wish I were 9 again. So here it is, my son's brilliance at work.
Here's the how we did it. I gave my son my 40D, yes without the grip, (he is only 9 after all) and my Nifty Fifty (50 f 1.8). The trick was deciding how to trigger it. Expecting us both to push the button at the same time was too optimistic, so I called my buddy at FlashZebra (Lon) and ordered a cable so I could trigger the 40D with my CyberSyncs. It was a thing of beauty as I was able to trigger the 40D and 580 EXII (upper camera right at 1/4 power) at the same time. It was sweet, if I do say so myself.
The last two weeks I found I fell in a rut or was about to as I used a 1/8 grid and 1/2 CTO on my 580 EXII. This week I wanted the light source larger but yet soft, so I used my 43" Wescott collapsable umbrella in a shoot through manner. Worked like a charm, at least I think so. Let me know if you think I'm smoking crack on this one. Below is a quick shot of the setup. As always, please ignore my messy basement. (Note that the CyberSync triggering the camera is on the floor as the cable was nice and long.)
There are things I would do differently next time. For example my depth of field is too shallow and the Canon and 40D stamps on the camera are not sharp. Also, I had to crop out his right hand as his index finger was not on the shutter button. Kind of ruins the illusion of him taking the picture. However, in the end I'm happy with the outcome as long as I did justice to my son's idea while getting a bit creative by capturing him while firing his flash while softly applying lighting to his face and the camera.
So what does everyone think? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and input.
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As always go to the Flickr set for all project pictures by Clicking Here. You can also find a full explanation of the project along with an index of the shot by Clicking Here.
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