Dandelion 3
This shot was taken with a 5D Mark iii, using a 28-135 macro and wired remote trigger, in a 36" collapsible light box and against a black background. Light...
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This shot was taken with a 5D Mark iii, using a 28-135 macro and wired remote trigger, in a 36" collapsible light box and against a black background. Lighting was a ring flash and two smart phones with flashlight apps.
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Apr, 2016Views
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Fall Award 2020
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo inside a small light box, set on a table, in my living room. The black cloth lining made the dandelion seem to float in space.Time
This was done in the early afternoon, as an experiment, while the harsh Texas sun wasn't conducive to shooting out doors.Lighting
I used a small hair clip to hold the flower upright and set a ring flash around it, flat on the surface, pointing straight up. Two cell phones with flashlight apps on either side of the light box helped to balance out the light so it was more omni-directional. A brush with a small butane lighter set the delicate petals of the dandelion ablaze to round out the lighting of this little experiment.Equipment
A Canon 5D Mark III, with a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 macro, and a wired remote, mounted on a Vanguard alta pro tripod (with ball head), and a cheap ring flash set on the table rather than mounted on the end of the lends rounds out the equipment used for this shot.Inspiration
A little spare time and the harsh summer sun of Texas gave me the perfect opportunity to play with the new light box that had just came in. I had experimented with several different things in the box when the idea of taking some macro shots of a dandelion from just outside my back door; setting it on fire just seemed the next logical step.Editing
A small bit of smoothing on the background, to take out what little light had fallen on the backdrop, and a slight high pass filter to make the details pop are all the processing that was done to this image. I prefer to do most of my work in the camera rather than on the computer.In my camera bag
These days my bag consists of the 5D Mark III, 50mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8L II, 70-300mm f/4-5.6, 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM macro, and the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4.Feedback
The only key to taking shots like this are a willingness to listen to the creative voices and experiment; never be bound by what you have done or seen, but instead push your boundaries and solve riddles.
