Playing with a light
I bought a book not long ago; OneLight Field Guide by Zack Arias. I'd been meaning to buy it for some time, and when I finally did, I was far from disappointed.
So after reading it, I went to the train tracks nearby to see if I had actually learned something. I took a camera, two lenses, a tripod, a stepladder, an umbrella, a monopod, a flash, a swivel head for the flash and the umbrella, an infrared transmitter, a model (my son) and an assistant (my wife).
I haven't done a lot of shooting with off-camera flash on location, so it's about time I did something for real. I need the practice, and my family is more than willing to help me out. I stuck the flash on the monopod and attached the umbrella to it, shooting through the umbrella the whole time, my wife holding it for me at various angles.
The flash strength was a bit of trial-and-error, but I finally got what I wanted. Now I'll just have to analyze the photos, read the book again and try once more. It's all a matter of practice, practice, practice. Without it, I'll fill up with rust.
My son loves acting, so he was more than willing to fool around in front of the camera for me. I will probably take him out to the train tracks again, to shoot some publicity style photos with him and his ukulele.
Here are a few pictures from the shoot. I had a tough time picking out the ones to show you - I guess it comes with being a camera-wielding dad.
Márus with his favourite hat.
Márus doing his old-professor imitation.
Márus looking straight into the umbrella.
Márus playing scared.
Are you sure you're talking to me?
Yes, he's holding his tongue.
The young baker
Last October my wife and I were offered to submit a cake recipe to a magazine in Iceland. This magazine, Vikan, has been published for over 70 years, and their 'cake' issue is probably a top five biggest seller in Iceland each year. The reporter, Ragnhildur Aðalsteinsdóttir (a Western Academy of Photography graduate), wanted a recipe and two photos - one of the cake and one of the baker.
After mulling it over, we decided to have our son bake the cake, a spiced chocolate sheet cake. Something simple enough for a ten year old to do by himself or thereabout.
A full page of baking.
What was supposed to be maybe half a page with two photos ended up as a full page with eight photos. I was very happy to see that, and got a preview through Skype from a few people before I was able to pick up my own copy back in Iceland.
Our kitchen is wide open, which enabled me to put up one light with a softbox in the living room, directing it into the kitchen.
Márus measuring sugar.
Pouring the batter into the sheet.
Oh, and here is the recipe, if you want to try it out.
The cake:
200 g margarine
2 dl coffee, brewed strong
3 eggs
300 g sugar
350 g flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Whip the eggs and sugar. Margarine and coffee heated together and added to the mixture. Dry ingredients added. Baked in a sheet for 15-20 minutes at 200°C.
The icing:
4 dl powdered sugar (icing sugar)
4 tsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp butter
1/2 dl coffee, brewed strong
1 tsp vanilla essence
Topped with shredded coconut.
And here it is!
Verði ykkur að góðu!