ionut-cristian

Floating spirits

NIKON D90

Aperture f/1.8 ISO 200 Shutter 1/320

upload_date

Dec, 2014

Views

326

Likes

+16

Awards

Zenith Award

Top Shot Award 22

Creative Winter Award

Curator's Selection

Legendary Award

Great Shot

Top Choice

+19

Outstanding Creativity

+10

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Jaw Dropping

Peer Award

Top Ranks

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in my bedroom, on the floor. I'm an amateur 17-year-old photographer and I don't have a studio or any special place to take photos. I just grab my camera and do my creative work whenever inspiration hits me, regardless of where I am.

Time

If I were to answer this based on my memory, I would say I took this photo in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. However, according to the data stored with my "masterpiece", it was taken about a month before that, in the evening (so that it was dark enough).

Lighting

I wanted this photograph to have a magical look and I reckon I achieved that with the coloured lights, but I am not fully satisfied with the way the jar was lit because the light is not soft enough.

Equipment

This was shot handheld on a Nikon D90 with a Nikon 35mm f1.8 lens. I also used a Nikon SB-700 to light the right side of the jar, and a LED bar for the left side.

Inspiration

I had recently gotten into photography at that time and I had a lack of subjects to shoot (I wanted to do portraits), so I had to photograph still life. Although, I found that too boring and I wanted to improve it and make it somehow abstract. In addition, I had recently bought that lens (my first f1.8 lens) and I just had to experiment with bokeh.

Editing

There was not much post-processing since I was just a beginner at that time and I was still shooting JPEGs. However, I had to fix the white balance in post because it was on auto on my camera, and I added a bit of sharpening.

In my camera bag

I still carry the same Nikon D90 on each and every one of my shoots because I simply love it and I don't want to give up on this camera before it gives up on me. Alongside that I have a Sigma 18-35 f1.8 lens (which I bought as a replacement for the Nikon 35mm f1.8) and I can honestly say I absolutely love this lens for it's sharpness, zoom range and lack of colour fringing; and a Nikon 85mm f1.8G lens for portraits. In case I am shooting an event, I have my SB-700 with me, as well. I don't carry many accessories, though: I have one spare battery, a circular polarizer filter for each lens, and 1-2 extra memory cards.

Feedback

In case you are willing to capture a similar photograph, you might be surprised how simple it is. Just grab your regular set of Christmas tree lights, place them on your wall (I used some scotch tape to do that), place a clear jar at a convenient distance so that you get the amount of bokeh you wish for, but make sure you also have something to light the jar, because you'll do this with your bulbs off. It's that easy! You can experiment with various jar sizes and shapes, or even different glasses, bottles or vases. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be around Christmas time!

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Floating spirits

Behind The Lens

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