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:: Monday, June 26, 2006 ::
sticky Saf and I got together for an another figure study photoshoot the other day. After taking shots of her in some of her outfits, this one would start out as a straight forward (I find that amusing still thinking this is straight forward for me) nude bodyscape shoot as with the photo above. But I wanted to introduce liquids into the shots. Water or oil and caramel or something similar. I wanted some specific shots that were inspired by Toronto photog Scott Murdoch who once posted similar - and far superior - shots on his flickr but has since removed them.
We brainstormed a bit and with Scott's assistance determined that corn syrop would be the best. We shot at Saf's place and I set up a backdrop and moved around some furniture to get a clear space to shoot. And we had a plastic sheet down for drip catching. A shower curtain works quite well in a pinch. and aside from one light to cancel some shadows and bounced off the ceiling, the entire shot was done with window light.
If you think that this is difficult to execute, it is tougher than that. I didn't have Mandy as an assistant today so the pouring was either done by myself or Saf. We chilled the corn syrop in the fridge a bit to slow it down, but it was quite easy to work with. when things got too messy, she hopped in the shower and we essentially reset the canvas.
On a personal note, an image stabilized lens came in handy with the shots. Trying to remain focused when zoomed in on a gorgeous woman's chest with syrop dripping off a nipple is not something that you encounter everyday - and try to photograph it. And it occasionally meant awkward angles for me and her. Saf either lay down or kneeled or stood on a small low coffee table, and I bent over her kneeled or sat on the floor beside her or did what was needed. My camera after an hour of this was getting heavy, and the added IS was a good friend. :)
For this last image, I decided to emphasize the syrop more by taking a profile shot and only having the syrop in colour in a black and white shot. Only thing I would change is to perhaps make the syrop blue next time, but the colour in the shot below is a combination of Saf's tanned skin and the syrop. Nothing else. I wonder if you can easily colour corn syrop? I know you could use paint, but the translucency of the syrop in blue would be cool in a BW image. And less messy to clean that paint. Since I have the better part of a litre of the stuff left perhaps I will experiement with this on another day. Maybe find another volunteer too. ;)
And as a side note, sometime during my posting this series on flickr, my page views tipped over 100,000! That's three times what I have here! Though, I can totally understand why my pictures might get a wider response and return views than my now weekly-ish prose. :)
Carpe Diem
:: Mike Wood 10:55 [+] ::
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