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Location
Hopefully this doesn't distract from the "magic" of this image, but it was taken in my lounge/living room at home next to my couch.
Time
It was captured around midday (who says noon is a bad time to photograph?). I was laying on my couch on a dreary day and for a brief few minutes the sun came out, shone through my window and illuminated the leaves of my pot plant. Luckily my camera was in the next room.
Lighting
Because of the time of day the lighting was obviously very vertical. I shot the drooping leaf on a 90 degree angle to better capture the symmetry and fill the frame. I was lucky the plant just happened to be near my large west facing window at the right time.
Equipment
The shot was captured handheld with a simple bridge camera (Fuji FinePix X-S1). No fancy lighting set ups, no multitude of lenses and filters to select from (except my polarising filter which stays almost permanently on) and no complex planning. It was simply shot "on the fly" on the spur of the moment. I think I shot three images before the sun vanished again for the next few days.
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Inspiration
I guess it was the sudden appearance of the textures, colour and repetition on a grey day. As my gallery shows I am not very creative and don't spend much time setting up images to shoot. I am much more of an explorer and love the concept of 'finding' images to record. That way of thinking takes me places I would not otherwise visit. Therefore, imagine the thrill of discovering something new and unseen in my own house!
Editing
There wasn't much post processing involved with this image, as I am still learning how to edit my shots. Currently I am using GIMP 2.8 for editing, becasue it is free and I find it both intuitive and adequate for my current novice level. The saturation was slightly increased to make the greens more vibrant and I added a "light glow" filter effect for a bit more contrast. That was about it apart from the border and signature. From memory I didn't even need to crop.
In my camera bag
This is a tough question to answer at the moment. My first "real" camera was an SLR purchased second hand in 1988. It went everywhere with me and slowly acquired plenty of accessories and lenses (I once had a disposable income before becoming a parent). However, my camera bag became so heavy with gear that I began leaving it at home more and more often until it all became retired to the wardrobe. With this in mind I have intentionally been shooting with bridge cameras only since going digital a few years ago. This has allowed me to travel with just my camera, sometimes a tripod and an OpTech Rainsleeve. However, in the past few weeks I have gone mirrorless, meaning I have begun the cycle of adding more accessories to my DSLR body once again.
Feedback
Just keep your eyes open and camera close. A few years ago I participated in an online 52 Week Project. It taught me to not only see more, but to look more. I have been known to even take my camera to the supermarket, because you just never know what you will find. And don't worry about the rule book or having all the gear. If you like it, shoot it. You may not get a second chance.
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