lighting au naturelle

I don't really shoot indoors enough to justify buying a dedicated lighting rig so generally shoot by ambient window light. Here are a few examples (not great quality but they're only digital proofs to show the lab that printed cibas of the original transparencies).



All were shot with a Pentax MX SLR and 100mm f2.8 lens (to minimise perspective distortion), on the ISO50 version of the late lamented (by me at least) Agfa RSX-II pro slide stock.

The pictures were taken around five feet from a large window, its light diffused by a net curtain (left of the picture), and bounced around by two large home made reflectors made from A0 size mounting board with aluminium foil glued on. One reflector was placed to the right of the frame, the other in front, placed below the camera position. Exposure was 1 second at f11 (small aperture used to compensate for the focal length of the lens). The background was a plain piece of black velvet pinned to the wall a foot or so behind the subject, and draped over the base.

I'd get better results with a proper rig, but the total cost of this set up was around £10. When I've enough shaving kit to justify pulling a roll of my dwindling supply of RSX from the freezer I'll have another go.

Beautiful shots - especially the first two!

WhosYerBob said:

Beautiful shots - especially the first two!

Click to expand...

Thank you - the first shot was part of the first session I tried the technique, some things I pretty much knew what I was doing (the exposure reading was taken with an ancient Weston Master lightmeter and invercone from the fifties), but the lighting was hit and miss really.

I've tried a few in mono with varying success - flowers won't work so used what I had to hand - inevitably a camera



or stuff a female friend loaned me (the toothbrush was mine)



I'm not sure she's forgiven me for calling it 'Dirty Stop Out'

The photos of the flowers are outstanding. I believe you nailed all three shots!
Please post other photos as it is a pleasure to view your pictures

Stunning. Enter these pictures in a camera club competition and you'll walk away with a prize for sure.

Ceri said:

I tried the technique, some things I pretty much knew what I was doing (the exposure reading was taken with an ancient Weston Master lightmeter and invercone from the fifties), but the lighting was hit and miss really.

Click to expand...

There are plenty of folks who consider the Weston Master with an invercone to be the best ambient light meter ever made. I certainly wouldn't argue.

Please do post more of your photographs, it's a real pleasure to see traditional photography done properly.

I am with you. I don't shoot indoors enough either. So, natural it is.

I think your flower pictures are amazing.

extremely nice work. i like the third flower shot best, the dramatic lighting along the tall, thin vase is happenin', man.

can't wait to see your SOTD shots...

Nice contrast. Wouldn't look the same with a flash.