#19: Magic
Feeling a little demoralized over a couple posts this week involving cheap tricks and a lack of dedication, I’m happy I was able to close out the week a tiny bit stronger. Another concept that I would have loved to play with for this theme was Clarke’s quote that, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” However, having no access to such sufficiently advanced technology that I could think of, it was a creative dead end.
I guess I can’t get away with using fire anymore, since this is my second time this month doing so, but I’m happy with this one for entirely different reasons. In this photo, I rather like the details.
I’ve been doing surprisingly little work in post for pretty much all of these shots (save for the aforementioned cheap trick), although what work I have been doing is time-consuming. But mostly all I’ve done is clean up some backgrounds. But the “motion whoosh” of the wand/hand was done in-camera simply by using a 1/13 exposure time and having my camera perpetually set to second-curtain sync (so my hand was crisp at the end of the motion, not the beginning). And I’m a little joyful over the tiny, tiny rimlight on my thumb. (The only lamp in this photo, if you’ll believe it, was below the frame.)
So happy for this three day weekend! If it warms up some, maybe I can take some more outdoor shots.
Glad I looked up the quote, or I would have thought it was directed at me.
Although if it were, I can’t say it wouldn’t be fitting, because this and several other shots in the series have been surreal enough to make me think “Photoshop” at first glance, or would have had I not seen them in the context of this blog. When I first saw the magnet I didn’t realize it was a photograph at all until I read the post. The cards, too, seemed too perfect to be real. And then you’re all like “I just used a 1/13 exposure time…” and it’s like a magician revealing how the trick–excuse me, illusion–was done. Not that I feel like I could just go and get the same quality of shot just from reading your blog, but it does motivate me to continue exploring deeper into photography as a hobby.
Looks cool. This probably won’t appeal to you, but have you thought of doing one of your photos with a pin-hole camera or zone plate? Instead of going high tech it might be fun to try something primitive…might help you get an old style look if you try and do a period piece. Not that i’m suggesting Daguerreotypes or anything…
or you could fill a wine glass with water and take a photo through it or something…I think caustic water effects are kewl also.
just brainstorming.
[...] didn’t take long! Only one day after I mention that I haven’t done much work in post for this project, I present an image [...]
@Matusz: Haha, layers, Mike! I’m like an onion over here. The title fits at least two roles.
You’re also very kind. If a photo at first seems fake but all that was actually done in-camera, well, that puffs up my chest a little bit. (Although admittedly, “Magnets” was a photo of a photo in a certain sense.)
I’m sure that a man as clever as you could, in fact, duplicate most of these shots, as well. I’m deliberately avoiding getting too much into technique on these posts (though failing sometimes), but I don’t hold secrets about technique. Photography is such a wonderful industry, because the unique value in each photographer isn’t that he or she is secreting away some particular knowledge — quite the opposite, in fact. Most photographers happily share all their secrets, because the value in photography, whether the motive is profit or purely aesthetic, is in the ability to communicate one’s unique vision.
Speaking of your photography, have you got your own website up and running yet?! I want to see, my good man!
@Charles: That’s brilliant! There are ways to turn an SLR into a pinhole camera, which I’ve been a little interested in for a while; I’d also love to make an Actual Pinhole Camera. No idea how I’d use zone plates… but if you have any ideas on that, or other things you’d like to see me try, I would truly love to hear them!
Do help me: What do you mean by “caustic water effects?” I’m curious!
I’ve got a pinhole camera, just need to get some film for it…and hope my winders actually work
Also, my hole isn’t centered 
When you go to a swimming pool and the patterns that the light creates on the surfaces under the water due to refraction and reflection…Or take any moving body of water…could do it in a bathtub i guess. I was wondering if you could make it look like you were underwater…without much post and without having to actually get wet. One idea i had was to print out wavelike patterns onto a blue transparency and put it in front of a desklamp of some type…I know water is clear (pure water anyway), but i tend to think blue because of the sky reflection on the surface and because when you are underwater and look up….The photoshopping would come in with trying to make it look like your floating in your room
And possibly some added seaweed.
Wineglasses are fun to play with…with liquids, and with laser pointers.
I liked your battery picture earlier.
Ah, cool stuff! I’ll keep that in mind. By sheer coincidence, Meena just bought me a little underwater camera. Hopefully I get a chance to use it soon!
Oh, and this sound silly, but thanks for alerting me to the existence of my own “Reply” button! It’s on my mind that I’d like to tweak this layout/design rather a bit, and that’ll be one of the things I change. A project for next month, though.