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rsmithdigital

P3130064 flattened web

E-PL5

Aperture f/1.0 ISO 200 Shutter 1/5

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Mar, 2015

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Love the lighting.

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Great Still Life!

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I expect to see many oil paintings like this on my trip to Holland next year.

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Behind The Lens

Location

"Three Pairs" is one of my most successful images.I am a big fan of the Renaissance artists Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Da Vinci. I love the Chiaroscuro lighting that they used in their paintings. So I decided to replicate this light in a small scene in my basement. http://rsmithdigital.com/?p=1806

Time

So one night, I set up this scene on a scrap piece of plywood rubbed down with mineral oil to darken and bring the wood grain out. Then I placed a few items that I found around the house. The tapestry is an upholstery remnant purchased from a local textile store.

Lighting

I used a warm LED spot light, on a small light stand, pointed through a small wood blind to break up the light and to create shadow and texture. And of course the candle made up all of the lighting. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible since the Masters lighting was mainly from the sun or from candles.

Equipment

I am a fan of the old manual lenses, Olympus, Nikon, Canon, Rokinon, and so forth. For this shot I used an Olympus Ed Zuiko 28mm 1:3.5 OM mount on an Olympus E-PL-5 camera mounted on a tripod with a remote shutter release. My settings were ISO 200, Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Speed 1/5 sec, and a focal length of 28mm

Inspiration

I'm always Googling Still Life Paintings and Photography...and the work of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Da Vinci for lighting and composition ideas.

Editing

I shot this image in RAW and I used Photoshop, Topaz: Detail, and Nik: Color Effects to enhance detail, texture, and color to mimic a Renaissance painting.

In my camera bag

I shoot now primarily with an Olympus OMD E-M10 & E-M5 . I have retired my pen camera to a back up. I am a collector of older lenses most of them used, but I am always looking for the sharpest lens I can find in a specific focal length. It's hit and miss but less expensive than purchasing new gear. I'm fond of Olympus cameras because of their low light performance, Other than that I don't care who makes it, as long as it's sharp.

Feedback

My advice to anyone doing a similar project is to keep it simple, low, and slow. Keep your lighting a simple one light source. Keep your ISO as low as you can to prevent noise especially in a dark scene. Nothing is moving so shutter speed is not an issue. Focus on the closest object and close down aperture until you get all of your elements in focus. Don't be afraid of taking lots of shots stepping your aperture up as you shoot, then review all of your images closely after you import them. Use a sturdy tripod and remote shutter release and shoot in bursts of three or four shots.

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rsmithdigital

rsmithdigital

P3130064 flattened web

Behind The Lens

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