ShadowMask Part 2: Proof of concept 1
After cutting out the first gobo the plan was to test how well the overall concept worked in the studio environment using digital.
Planning diagram
Studio setup
Actual lighting diagram
Result
Conclusion:
The overall concept looks like it will work well with a little bit of tweaking especially with the light not associated with the gobo.
Still need to test using a “negative” gobo and then move onto a full scale test using large format film…
As I think about the overall project more and more I think it might end up being centered around “spirit animals” with each individual choosing which animal they most closely associate with.
More to come 🙂
Simon (@darkhalide)
Greetings… Its been a while
Howdy
If you are looking for more recent stuff try @darkhalide on Instagram
Blog has been a bit neglected of late but I am starting my first real project in quite a long time and thought this was probably the best place to put my thoughts, trials, failures, successes…
Anyway the project is a group of images for exhibition using my large format 4 x 5 Cambo camera which has also been sadly neglected sitting in its box in my garage for longer than I can remember.
The concept is to use cutouts (or gobos) to create shadows or highlights on portraits. This is done by using a snooted studio light so as to not spill too much light around the gobo.
To create a gobo I have been printing out images onto framing matte board and then cutting them out with a craft knife.
So far I have cutout a few gobos…
I plan to play around with both positive masks as well as negative masks so see which one will work best or possibly a mixture of both…
Glasses
This was an image I made for a friends birthday invite but I ended up framing it for her as well.
Its every pair of glasses she has ever worn 🙂
All glasses were shot on a product light table individually and then put together in Photoshop.
Nikon D90, 50mm f1.8, ISO 200
Hi My Name Is Simon…
Posts have been a bit far apart of late and to be perfectly honest I have been out taking a whole heap of images, partly because its winter and cold outside.
I have just invested in a set of studio lights (Bowens Gemini 750s with batteries) and haven’t really had them out of there case since I got them 🙂 The double garage under the house is being roughly converted to a studio space and eventually I should start setting up some shoots there. I am however excited by the prospect of taking the lights out to some urbex locations to shoot some portraits but really need the weather to be a bit more settled.
I went out for the first time to shoot street yesterday and although I didn’t take any images I’m going to try and get out at least once a week.
Anyway hopefully this means a few more images to come onto the blog.
Here is a shot from a couple of months ago from Fergus as I was just starting to get bits and peices set up…
Simon/Darkhalide
Photo courtesy of Fergus Cunningham
Death Of A Friend… D70s You Will Be Missed
Last week my trusty Nikon D70s decided that after 8 years of being thrashed that enough was enough.
This post is a dedication of sorts to all the fun we have had together over the last 8 years…
This is the last shoot it ever took… Finishing up the shoot for Spook The Horses on a rooftop in Wellington… You will be missed 😦
All Images Nikon D70s (deceased), Various Lenses and ISOs
Marms
Alex aka Marms (his Tumblr HERE) doing the all important stand-in for testing lighting during our band shoot on a roof…
Nikon D70s, 50mm f1.8 Lens, ISO 200, 1x Electra 500W Strobe
Fatherhood Friday: Ballerina
Emily had her ballet show last weekend and she want me to take some pictures of her in her costume before it had to be taken back. Sam got in on the act also 🙂
(Sorry to Facebook people who have already seen these).
Nikon D70s, 50mm f1.8 Lens, ISO 200, 2x 500W Electra Stobes with shoot through Umbrella Softbox and Barn Doors for Backdrop.
4 x 5 Flowers
Not being able to go out and take images means that I get to be at home and look through images that I have taken in the past.
These shots were from a final year paper at University and were shot using a 4×5 camera and then each image was mounted in custom made light boxes (made by me).
I still have the series floating around somewhere I must get them out sometime and look to see if they are still functional or not…
Horseman 4×5 Camera, 180mm Lens, Fuji Velvia 50 ISO Film, 2 Studio Lights, Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED Scanner.
The Performance Arcade 2011
On another wander around the waterfront we (Samantha and I) came across this series of art installations. Samantha was very interested and kept wanting to go back and look some more. You can see her hanging out of the backpack in a window reflection in one of the shots with the photography studio.
I think my favorite images is the very last one…
Nikon F5, 50mm f1.8 Lens, Ilford HP5+ 400 ISO Film, CanoScan 9000F Scanner.
New Oakleys
I managed to lose my Sunglasses a number of weeks ago and since they were worth a bit (left over from when I had money and no kids) decided to claim them on insurance.
Yay they finally came… Good old Oakley X-Metal Juliets.
Thought Id better do a pic before they got all scratchafied.
Nikon D70s, 18-70mm Lens, ISO 200. 2 x Electra 500w Compact Studio lights shooting into white reflect umbrellas. f29 @ 1/640th sec (even though its only supposed to sync up to 1/500th)
Macro Stitch Image “Back of a Gargoyle”
Nikon D70s ISO 200 50mm f1.8 with PK13 extension tube f8 1/125sec with 1 studio light
This image is actually made up of 9 images stitched togeather in Photoshop
The overall dimensions are something like 100cm x 25cm at 300 dpi
This was an experiment to see if I could combine macro photography and stitching to make a macro panoramic image. This was done by moving the camera along a macro rail rather than rotating it like when you make a landscape pano… I am really tempted to make a turntable of some sort to put an object on and then make a 360 degree stitched image of it…
As a test I thought this worked pretty well.
Darkhalide Photography 
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