A Good Egg
This was created to play with depth of field and lighting. They are goose eggshells
This was created to play with depth of field and lighting. They are goose eggshells
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Oct, 2017Views
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Awards
Winner in What is that? Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
All Star
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
The setting for this photo was an improvised seamless setup made from black cloth in my basement. This way I could control the lighting and use a tripod to get the stability I wanted with the small aperture I wanted to use.Time
This project was shot after midnight in preparation for a college class I was taking. I was assigned to describe a process with photos and this was the image I used to show the completion of the instructions. I was describing how a person would carve an eggshell.Lighting
Lighting here was fun to play with. I wanted the eggshells (goose) to be the only thing the viewer paid attention to. The room has dark except for a single studio light in a softbox. I wanted a shadow on one side to show the shape of the eggshells to give emphasis to their curved nature. The background was set as black as possible also to remove any distractions from the eggs.Equipment
my camera for this shot was a Nikon D300s with the Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 set to 17mm. I used a Manfrotto tripod for stability because the exposure was 2/3 of a second. A softbox studio light on a tripod provided the only lightInspiration
This shot was inspired by a college assignment I was given. The students were assigned to describe a process using photos. I chose to share the process involved when carving a goose eggshell. This was the final photo in the series which shows the completed egg and 3 other goose eggs to add interest to the image. I also wanted the carved egg to be the only piece that was completely in focus so I set the aperture to blur the other 3 eggs a bitEditing
No post-process was used for this image. I don't feel there was a need to alter the image from what was produced in camera.In my camera bag
My kit contains a Nikon D810, which has been my goto setup with a Nikkor 105 mm f2.8 lens. Recently I upgraded my second body to a Nikon D500. I bought this body for it's lowlight capabilities. Normally the Nikkor 16-80mm f2.8-4 lens resides on the D500 and is the setup I carry when I want to travel light. For those special occasions where I need a wide view the Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 fills the void and a Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 helps me reach out long and far for those subjects that don't like us getting close or the animals that might cause severe bodily harm. The Nikon speedlight system works wonders for all my supplemental lighting and I carry a 12" folding reflector for modifying existing light. I Manfrotto tripod when needed.Feedback
Controlled settings are pretty easy to construct from materials a person can find at home. As for advice to shoot something similar, create a setting you like, such as the black cloth I used for this image, and then experiment, use your imagination to create something other than a static single subject in the middle of the frame. That would have sufficed for the purpose of the assignment but I wanted a shot that would leave a stronger memory to the viewers
