Having fun II

Ok, the weather is being winter, what else can anyone say about winter weather in the Pacific Northwest. And while it was snowing this morning, accumulating 1-3 inches, by early afternoon it was rain and the snow was melting fast. And by early evening it was rain and snow and the temperatures fell but the ground had warmed up. All the while the temperatures were bouncing between the low to mid 30's depending on where you lived.

So, I continued with my small studio work. I expanded the flash setup to be one flash in a large softbox and two each in two smaller softboxes. Huh, sounds backwards? To some it may and would be, but each flash has full range settings from 1/8 to full power in one-third or one-half stops. The one in the large softbox is newer and more powerful with a faster recycle time. The others are 10-12 years old so I can run them at 1/4 to 1/2 setting for faster recycling time.

And so I decided to see if I could create some Valetine ideas, or at least some quirky thoughts expressed in images using the manikin and the penguin. I have to learn to see differently, as I tend to follow the same poses and scenes, all the while learning to play with the light, exposure and all the rest. It's the old matter of spending 50% of the timt to get 90% of the way to something and realizing the last 10% will take the other 50%.

It's the old adage, the devil is in the details, which is not my strong suit. If I focus or work on something so long I get tired of seeing it. I simply want to quit, so I leave it to take breaks. I don't have the dedication to persist with one image to the point I get it as near to complete and perfect as I want, something I have to learn in increments. Which is raises the question.

When do you quit with one image, take the raw and work the rest in Photoshop or continue to get the best image in the camera to minimize the Photoshop work? I prefer the latter, which I think teaches the basics and real side of photography, learning to capture the image you want. To do that I shoot jpeg, lots and lots of jpegs, all with small differences in lighting, light position, scenery, subject position, and on and on. So the learning is experimentation and play.

This is where I think one improves their skills in seeing, simply having fun, keeping a smile, finding the humor, and letting the penguin wander around the stage getting his face in the shots.