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Donna Lear | all galleries >> Photo A Day 2004-2005 >> february > Intuition February 2
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02-FEB-2005

Intuition February 2

Playing with light again tonight, trying to learn the 'painting with light' technique. Most of the images were totally blown out, but this one ... it's not too bad. This was a flashlight and a 10 second exposure. I copied the first image, did a slight Gaussian blur and layered it over the top, trying for something a little softer than the original.

Earlier attempts resulted in these:




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Guest 06-Feb-2005 07:42
I like the placement of the subject within the frame and the angle of the light. The "spotlight" effect is very dramatic and the surface the bottle is on is attractive and adds to the classy dramatic feel of the shot. You do have a couple of hotspots from the lights, but they are not too bad.

You mentioned wanting a softer look, one of the (low tech) techniques I use to soften light and focus is to hold a piece of celophane in front of the lens during exposure. I use one of those precut photo mattes that are wrapped in celophane, the kind you can buy at Wal-Mart. Of course that can be tedious during a 10 second exposure, the other thing you can try is getting a simple frosted drinking glass and putting your flashlight inside to shine through the bottom of the glass.
Lee Rudd03-Feb-2005 20:34
Glass isnt the easiest subject to master this technique with, but you have captured an evocative image. Well done.
Meredith 03-Feb-2005 13:44
You should send this picture into the company as a spot for an ad. I can totally see it as an ad for perfume. Perfect lighting :-)
Susanne03-Feb-2005 10:32
Beautiful image. I love how the darkness surrounding the subject. Running late for work here, but loved your image so much had to tell you before I am out of here lol.