shannonkunka

Can You See Me?

Jan, 2016

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in my universities photography studio. This was an experiment and the third time shooting this particular series.

Time

This photo in the series is one of my favorites. It took quite a bit of time to get this particular photo. I started using actual fabric and other see through materials placed in front of my camera lens. This happened at any time of the day when I could get my brother to be my model. I ditched that idea and started messing around with projections. The photograph was taken in the middle of the afternoon in the studio. The only light source coming from the projector.

Lighting

I never thought about trying to use a projector for my lighting. I really enjoy using as much natural light as possible. That obviously was not possible for this assignment. I knew what I wanted and could not think of how to achieve it. I researched some other artist and was some that messed with a projector. I tried it out myself. I would definitely recommend trying to use unusually light sources to light your subject. You would be surprised with what you can achieve.

Equipment

This was shot with a Minolta srT201 with a 50mm lens that sat on a tripod. A projector was used, connected to my laptop so the image could be projected. there was two chairs used as well, one for me and the other for my photo taker.

Inspiration

I was going through this time where I felt like everything I did was ignored. I felt invisible and like I just blended in with my surroundings. My fine art photographs tend to revolve around how I feel and what I am going through. I wanted this series to have myself blend in and disappear into the darkness. This is the final result of one of the photographs that was taken.

Editing

This photograph was taken with color film. I used a color enlarger and processor to print my photos. I could not do much processing because of this. I dialed in the color codes and aimed to get the color of the projection. The processor did all the rest.

In my camera bag

I have two bags, one for my film equipment and one for my DSLR. The film bag has my Minolta camera with a 50mm lens and a 80-200mm zoom lens. There is also a flash in the bag. Before I take my bag with me, I always toss in my manuel light meter, which has saved me quite a few times. In the DSLR bag, I have my Rebel T5i with an 18-55mm lens and a 55-250mm zoom lens. There is a shutter release cable and another manuel light meter. In a side pouch, there is a few filters. I have the UV protective filter, circular polarizer filter, a florescent filter, and a green-yellow, light red, and yellow black and white filters. Then there is the +1 through +4 macro filters that I love to use when I have the opportunity.

Feedback

One can achieve this specific look using any kind of camera. When using a film camera, you have to be patient and still. Having only one shallow light source to light the subject can be tricky. Make sure to turn on the main lights in the room when you are trying to maintain a sharp focus. Also make sure that both the model and the photo taker are comfortable, that means maybe bringing a heater if you know the room you will be residing is an ice box. I messed around with the position of the projector. I found that having the model two to three feet from the wall and the the photo taker directly in front of you is best. Then to have the projector diagonal from both people to create an acute angle with all three subjects is key. Having the projection aimed onto the model at this angle helps keep the background black the way you see it my final image.

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shannonkunka

shannonkunka

Can You See Me?

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow shannonkunka

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