My Residual Self-Image
There is a scene in The Matrix when Morpheus explains to Neo why he looks so damn cool inside the Matrix: "Your appearance now is what we call residual self ima...
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There is a scene in The Matrix when Morpheus explains to Neo why he looks so damn cool inside the Matrix: "Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection of your digital self."
I guess this is my residual self-image (minus the cool shades and professional grooming-styling,...and the high-end Nikon full-frame that will be mine, one day)...
Self-portrait with almost all of the cameras I owned (in 2012)
Strobist info:
Key light is a Nikon SB-26 speedlight at around 1-8th power in a 50 cm softbox high camera left
A second speedlight at 1-64th power also camera left was pointed at the cameras around my mid-riff (I should have softened the light a bit with a small softbox but I was waddling around slowly with the weight of cameras by then!)
The third speedlight attached to my D300 in-shot was also set at 1-64th power and hopefully contributed very little to the overall lighting
All flashes were triggered by a generic wireless trigger
The photo was taken using my second digital SLR, the Nikon D5000, actuated wirelessly by the remote in my right hand
Read less
I guess this is my residual self-image (minus the cool shades and professional grooming-styling,...and the high-end Nikon full-frame that will be mine, one day)...
Self-portrait with almost all of the cameras I owned (in 2012)
Strobist info:
Key light is a Nikon SB-26 speedlight at around 1-8th power in a 50 cm softbox high camera left
A second speedlight at 1-64th power also camera left was pointed at the cameras around my mid-riff (I should have softened the light a bit with a small softbox but I was waddling around slowly with the weight of cameras by then!)
The third speedlight attached to my D300 in-shot was also set at 1-64th power and hopefully contributed very little to the overall lighting
All flashes were triggered by a generic wireless trigger
The photo was taken using my second digital SLR, the Nikon D5000, actuated wirelessly by the remote in my right hand
Read less
Jul, 2015Views
319
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Awards
Winner in Show Your Gear Photo Challenge
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
At home in my dining room. I don't have a studio and that is the only room which has a plain wall for a backgroundTime
At night, which is only important because the room has a large window but no curtains. Because this was a strobist shoot, I had to wait until it was dark outside so that I could control the lighting.Lighting
This portrait was lit by two Nikon speedlights: the key light was a speedlight at around 1/8th power in a 50 cm softbox high camera left. The second speedlight at 1/64th power also camera left was pointed at the cameras around my mid-riff which were otherwise too dark. There was a third speedlight attached to the camera in my right hand. It was also set at 1/64th power but used only as a prop.Equipment
The shot was taken with a Nikon D5000 (which at that time was my back-up camera) on a tripod using a wireless remote. My main camera was the Nikon D300 in my right hand. The speedlights were Nikon SB26/SB25's triggered wirelessly using generic wireless triggers.Inspiration
This photo is called "My Residual Self-Image" and the inspiration was from the movie "The Matrix". There is a scene in that film when Morpheus explains to Neo why he looks so damn cool inside the Matrix: "Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection of your digital self." Although photography is not my day job, it is what I spend most of my spare waking hours thinking about. Therefore, I guess this is my residual self-image. Draped around my neck are all the SLRs that I used to shoot with, from my first film SLR, the Canon AE1 (two of them) that I used for gigs back in the day, to my first digital SLR (Nikon D50) and my main camera at that time, the Nikon D300. Also present is my father's old film camera, the Konica Auto-S.Editing
Very little processing: only a few minor tweaks to brightness and contrastIn my camera bag
I normally carry as much gear as I can cram into a Samsonite rucksack: generally it will be my current main camera - a Nikon D750 usually with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached - and a second camera, which would either be a Nikon D610 or a Nikon D7000 usually with a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 lens attached. I also try to pack 3-4 Nikon speedlights and Commlite wireless triggers in case I need to add lights on location. I usually also carry a tripod wherever I go.Feedback
This was a self-portrait and so I had to compose and then shoot/review each image at a time. The cameras around my neck were surprisingly heavy: I wish I had somebody else to click the shutter!
