Blog on working Fine Art Concept… Howdy -
I've been thinking about how to bring landscape elements of the South Texas and Hill Country area into a unique perspective for print — also keeping in mind a pastel color pallet, we discussed. I picked up some peonies (will get to this in a bit) and lit the flower using mix lighting from studio strobes to sunlight (which is diffused ambient lighting, more about that in a sec.) My goal was to mix photography and painting style within the same capture.
So I shot these images
at f11 @ a shutter speed of 2sec. f11 allows for greater depth of field and sharpness but requires significantly more light. The first moment the shutter opens its captures in super sharp detail the flowers peddles (this is because the studio strobes flash brighter in compared to the diffused lighting from the sun. After the first millisecond, I then roll the focus of the lens from 3 feet to 1 foot and move the entire camera like a paintbrush. (as a note the camera is fixed on a weighted tripod to keep the noddle point fixed, which is the central perspective of the lens, each lens has a different noddle point, I digress) As the camera receives light into the sensor over the course of 2 seconds, it begins creating layers based on overlapping exposed paths as I move the camera, which establishes the painting style effect. The value of this particular development is; its all captured in camera and maintains ultra-high resolution and with the right printing paper, it will appear as a painting from a distance.
My next test…
will be looking at agave attenuate. My hope is finding a look in which I can rebuild a lighting setup and capture scenics elements within this developing style. I picked peonies bc I love their layers of depth. I waited shy of 2 weeks for this particular flower to shape in this way. I wanted it look almost picture perfect with a touch of reality. I believe wildflowers, water, trees assets, and other scenic elements could be shot with a staged backdrop paper as in these shots by literally bringing in a grey/ blue backdrop behind the element on location. Which, in a way, could be fascinating as a study of, instead of the documentarian type style.