I have been interested for sometime in multi-exposure and superimposing subjects across time. This image is not a multi-exposure in camera instead it combined two photos taken only a short interval apart. It was just on dusk and there two ducks where lazily swimming by. I already had though of the idea of using flash and non-flash for the multiple images so I grabbed my camera and two a couple of photos, trying to keep the ducks in the center of the frame.
Back home I put the two images together but it was quiet boring because light water in the normal exposure cancelled the dark water in the flash photo (it a boring blue/grey)and the ducks where cut in half because they did overlap. So I had the idea of using a luminosity mask in OnOne 10. First I used a dark brocade textures layer and replaced the lighter values in the photo (the water) and kept the darks (the ducks and shadows). Next I overlayed the flash image and using an inverted luminosity mask let the blend bring the modified original photo and texture into the dark background. A slight crop, leaving the illuminated duck swimming on a surreal surface, with their available light selves becoming living shadows,
The Story of Narcissus, a fixation on Beauty, to Lighten a Darkness,
told as a Candle in love with its own Dream Reflection.
For PhotoFriday‘s topic Flame
Today was only my second photographic outing and it was good to be out in the fresh air with a strong sun, but at a low angle. Perfect to try and get some close up texture in the spent flower heads of reeds on the edge of the lake.
The first trick was to avoid getting the sun directly on my lens, because that causes flare and “fogging” of the image. I wanted the reed heads to be the detail (ie only things in focus so that means reducing the depth of field by going for the lowest aperture). I tried a variety of background/exposure. These reed heads are all with a couple of meters of each other. So whether I’m shooting up (with the sky as the background), straight ar the lake, or more down let me achieve three completely different backgrounds.
I’m not exactly the marketing type and estate agents leave me uneasy, so I figured this theme might be a real challenge for me. I did a bit of research of real estate ads in the paper and a then the little A4 posters in the agents windows. So their photos might in general be ordinary but a lot of effort had been put into the “over the top” descriptive headers. Rather than drive around and look for a specular house, I figure I should photograph my place (not for sale by the way) but perhaps in an “over the top” way like the agents descriptions. A long exposure night shot seemed to hit the spot after a tweak or two in perfect effects not sure I’m so good on the real estate speak headline itself.
The wind and risk of a sand storms has kept me inside the past couple of evenings, So I thought I might experiment with some ways to make abstract curves with my camera. I figure if I use the TV and led lights on remotes and other devices. Set the ISO slow (such as 100 or 200) high f-stop and slow shutter 1 to 5 seconds and experimented with moving the camera. Kind of light painting in reverse.
Without too much trial and error, I got some encouraging results, It was a matter of moving the camera as smoothly as possible and adjusting the time to suit different light sources. Some of the LED lights obviously omit a fluctuating light leaving dotted lines. The image below was prepared as a candidate for the final challenge in this month’s abstract theme on the patch. It superimposes two images.
Moral : Despite the brilliant flash effect the manmade lights only create local pools of illumination. The Stars are eternal.
I did get up especially and spent nearly an hour with my camera pointed skyward, hoping for just a glimpse of the lunar eclipse, but the skies here in Jakarta remained heavilyovercast. In fact the clouds where so low they where well lit my the city lights. The constant thunder and lightening did backlight the clouds and give hints of a few gaps, but the slightest trace of the moon, or the shadow of the earth on it, never materialized. Adding to the challenge was the extreme humidity, so everything on the camera fogged up. Even after half an hour to acclimatize, I found I still need to have my cleaning cloth wrapped around the camera.
I did manage an available light photograph of the fountain, beside which I had set up my tripod.
I most admit working with long exposures and movement was fun. 
