Conversation #2
I captured this at the Ro Shaw pottery studio. The artist had several ceramic bowls mounted on the wall. I set a long exposure and used a stop-start motion to c...
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I captured this at the Ro Shaw pottery studio. The artist had several ceramic bowls mounted on the wall. I set a long exposure and used a stop-start motion to create the effect of overlapping circle. The title comes from the conversation I was having with the artist.
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OLYMPUS E-M5MarkII 
Aperture f/18 ISO 200 Shutter 32/10 Focal Length 40/1 
Salado, Texas, US
Nov, 2020Views
62
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured at the Ro Shaw Clay Studio in Salado, TXTime
This photo was taken at mid-day. The front room of the pottery studio is lit by windows on the east and south walls. A lovely diffuse light fills the space, changing brightness depending on the time of day.Lighting
Long exposure photos are heavily dependent on the available lighting, especially when using intentional camera movement. I've found that hard, contrasting light works well, but a subject with strong texture can work when the lighting is soft.Equipment
I captured this photo on an Olympus E-M5 MarkII with a 40-150 f4.0 lens, their entry-level telephoto, set to f18 and a 3.2 second exposure. I let my natural hand movement create a shaky, multiple exposure effect.Inspiration
The title alludes to the fact that I stopped by the studio to visit with Ro Shaw, a clay artist. I was moving in a more artistic and creative direction with my photography, and we got to talking about processes for creating art. I was learning about abstract photography and what it means to label something as abstract art. We talking about working with different media, and things we found that inspired us to create new works. He had recently completed a commissioned piece that was hanging on the wall in his studio. It was an art installation intended for someone's home, made up of a number of hand-thrown clay bowls mounted to a barnwood background. The light was just right for me to try a couple long-exposure shots with intentional camera movement. The edges of the bowls caught and reflected a little more light than the background, so they show up as edges and "bubbles" in a long handheld shot. This is the result!Editing
There was some post-processing. I adjusted the white balance to bring out the warm colors, and played with contrast and curves to emphasize the texture. Finally, I cropped in to a 4x5 ratio in what felt like a pleasing arrangement of shapes in the frame. I'd say 85% of what makes this work as an abstract image was already there in the camera. The post-processing was used to enhance the strong qualities of the image that were already there.In my camera bag
I shoot with Olympus cameras and lenses. I carry two E-M1 bodies - a MarkII and a MarkIII - and three lenses. I own two Pro zoom lenses, the 12-40 f2.8 and the 40-150 f2.8, as well as a 25mm f1.8 prime. That big telephoto is my bread and butter - I tend to like the compression of a telephoto lens, and that one is an internal zooming lens. It's heavy, but the image quality is fantastic, and it's the first lens I owned with a constant aperture. On the other hand, I love the little 25mm for portraits with very shallow depth-of-field.Feedback
Creating interesting and satisfying abstract images takes a lot of experimentation. Bright light sources against a dark background usually create more light trails and texture to the final image. Every light source and subject matter call for different camera movement techniques - that's why I say to experiment. Here's a couple things to try - pan horizontally or vertically, and try the same exposure but pan faster or slower. Adjust your aperture and ISO to allow for a longer exposure without blowing out the highlights. Instead of holding the camera level, tilt it or rotate it while you pan. Sometimes, I don't pan the camera, I just let my hand shake during the exposure. Bottom line - play with it and see what you come up with!
