52 Variations - Variation Thirteen

Razor

My son like millions of other children loves to ride his Razor, what he calls his scooter. Interestingly, he is not so much a bicycle kid as he is a scooter kid. According to Gustavo "its just more fun." Good enough for me. So off I went to catch his "Razor Attitude" as I call it.

The concept was simple, get the sun coming over Gustavo's shoulder creating some flare while filling Gustavo with a 580 EXII at full power shooting into a 24" softbox. Simple enough really and worked relatively quickly. No drama, very straight forward now that I think on it.

Sorry I didn't get a setup shot, but there isn't much to see with my softbox attached to my deck using a super clamp. As always, let me know your thoughts.

Now I'm off to figure out what to do next week, I have no idea what I'm going to shoot. Any ideas, please let me know.

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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 shots by Clicking Here.

52 Variations - Variation Twelve

Burbuja

For those of you that don't speak Spanish Burbuja is Spanish for bubble. Why am I using the Spanish word, it just seems fitting and besides, I love the way it sounds. Spanish is such a beautiful language.

As I"m sure you figured out from the above, the theme this week is bubbles/burbujas. Since my son has been little he has loved bubbles, as most children do. So when we were at Target and saw the bubble stuff we just had to get some for this week's shoot.

The objective was not to only catch him playing but get a lot of speculars in the bubbles. Color and reflections were order of the day. I think that worked out well as the umbrellas provided the speculars I was after. If you look at the full size images on Flickr you'll even be able to see the detail of the umbrella, flash, stand, etc. I just love it. :-)

The setup was simple, two flashes into reflective umbrellas. A 580 EXII camera right at full power and a 430 EX camera left at 1/4 power for full. Both flashes were gelled with 1/2 CTO gels to warm the skin a bit. Simple as simple can be.

Now here is the problem, I couldn't decide on a picture. I was down to 4 and asked my wife and son to pick and all they could say is that I should get all of you to vote. So, below are the remaining 3 pictures, look at all 4 and leave a vote in the comments for the one you like the most.

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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 shots by Clicking Here.

Still Learning

So, I've been wanting to learn some new techniques and decided to start with High Dynamic Range (HDR). Above is my first, very first, did I mention first attempt at HDR photography. It is an interior shot of my Church. Achieved with 9 images at 1/3 stop increments.

My objective was not only to capture the image but also to make is natural looking without all the high contrast, extreme blacks and extreme saturation. I think I'm on the right track but still need to work on this a bit. I'm sure it will come in time.

Take a look and let me know what you think. Not a horrible start, but I have a long way to go.

52 Variations - Variation Eleven

Puppy Play

You are going to think I have attention deficit or something. Several times now I've intended to perform a specific shoot which was put to the side when I saw Gustavo doing something worth changing plans for. The below is one of those pictures, today was another one of those times.

Not much on the strobist front to share, just a speedlight on camera. What works for me in the capture is Gustavo's face. He is so enjoying himself and the dogs were having such a good time romping around with him. always nice to see that kind of joy. That is what this picture is about, purity and joy.

So take a look and remember these times in your life. They are fun to experience, especially as a parent.

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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 shots by Clicking Here.

52 Variations - Variation Ten

Grandparents

Simple, that is this week's theme. My parents have been watching the project so far and wanted to be in it. However, my mother made it a point to say that they wanted to keep anything they did as simple, "no drama" as my mother said. I could do simple, why not, my son loves them to death.

Simple enough shot to execute. Two speedlights shooting in reflective umbrellas with the light on camera left a bit stronger so the lighting wasn't too flat. I'm not sure I was successful in that as the light is a bit flat, but my parents seem thrilled with the shot and that is all that matters at the moment. Below is a quick setup shot for your reference.

In the end it was not difficult. However, I didn't want to draw attention to their wheelchairs. Both of my parents can no longer walk but are no less individuals as a result. Therefore, I wanted the picture to be of them, not their chairs. I wasn't trying to hide them, just not draw attention to them. Hope it worked, I think it did.

As always, let me know what you think. One thing this shows is that I do need to work on my group portraits a bit. I know I can do better.

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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 shots by Clicking Here.