In my last post in mid-April, yes, I know I have slacked on creating my blog posts, but with all the disruption that the pandemic has caused close to home and world-wide I have been distracted like the rest of everyone. To top it off, as of this post I still not have received my stimulus check or my pandemic unemployment benefits and am now working with local and federal government officials to rectify the situation and I’ll leave it there…
So, back to my last post in mid-April…I wrote about starting a new project while being in quarantine. I wanted to try different lighting angles, making minute changes, to see what I would get using myself as the model. This took a lot of running back and forth, using the camera timer, and setting it for 10 exposures but I think it was worth it. Before you think “why didn’t she use a remote trigger”, well, I have two, but one is wired and too short and the wireless for some reason would not work. Go figure. About a month later, I was reading an article in my monthly edition of “Behind the Shutter” https://www.behindtheshutter.com/ and found out about the Canon I-phone app that you can use to trigger the camera. (By the way, I find at least one nugget of gold in every issue of this magazine. I highly recommend it for photographers). I figured there had to be one for Nikon and there was, so imagine
how much easier this would have made my earlier project if I used this app. I tested it out when did more self-portraits to improve my posing direction to see how it looked in camera. Another blog for another time.
My lighting project was successful as I found by changing my strobe angle just a bit, I was able to create a different feel to the image even keeping everything else the same. The photo in this blog is the image I liked the best, so much so, that I printed and framed it. The 24x24 framed image hangs over my fireplace. I had been looking for some time to replace the cheap art that hung there since I moved in and could not find anything l liked, so if you can’t find the art, create it.
I also wanted to have a metal product sample to show clients in case someone asked about it. I really was torn on what to print, the black and white, which is usually my favorite, or the color version. For the color version I wanted something soft but with just a touch of a vintage feel to it, which is what I feel the color version gives me so I had it printed on metal, again 24x24, and it hangs in my office ready to show others. I don’t like self-portraits, but I thought a comparison of the same photo, one printed on lustre paper (B&W) and the other on metal (color) would give a good comparison to clients. Personally, I think metal looks best for landscapes, but that’s just my opinion.
There is no doubt about it, that what we experienced with the pandemic and quarantine was rough, and more so than I thought it would be in the beginning. I started out optimistic using my time to get a lot of my administrative tasks completed and once this was over, I was sure that new opportunities would present itself to me. But as the weeks went on, especially without getting benefits, I got in a rut. I was not motivated to do anything and sleeping in seemed like a good idea until I came up with this project. God has blessed me with my love of photography, and this is not the first time that it has helped me get over a tough spot. This time with the pandemic, it gave me the opportunity to teach myself something new while providing hope for a brighter future.
What did you do in quarantine? Please comment on any activities and projects you worked on while in quarantine, I'd love to hear about them!
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