Do not copy nor use any of my images. All images displayed in my blog are Copyrighted and only with a written authorization the can be used.
————————————————–
During my busiest days as a commercial photographer I found a consistent demand for “Concept Photography”. This type of work basically consist of things and elements that can represent something else than the obvious object. Team work has always being in great demand. Therefore I found myself endless hours creating as many varied shots on several concepts. As usual, I tried to stay away from the stereotyped concepts such as a rowing team, sports teams, etc. I guess you get the idea. Instead, I decided to focus on technology of all sorts, same that works in a precise and timely fashion to deliver it’s mission. As well, I wanted my shots to have my own seal. In order to do that, I cranked my way of coming up with something that technically wouldn’t as simple and required an extra understanding about the elements that make photography possible. This shot was the best-selling shot among several of my stock photos.
If you are a photo buff and care for details here are the highlights.
White light is composed of the three primary colors. Our eyes adjust by default to see the same white light effect regardless of the hue/temperature of the light. In photography such is much more discriminatory. Film only see the colors used in the creating of the image and responds accordingly with the type of film used. Well, you already know that. However, here I played with the physics of light, photography and film to create a totally different effect. In my view, this was my way to add the difference that exist in people when in a team work together but with different personalities and approaches. When this tricolor-light is aimed to the same spot, it bring a colorless effect. I’ve done this for an extended period and when I started to experiment I discovered a very interesting result. The shadows, instead of looking as “absence of light”, therefore rendered dark, in this technique, the shadows take the hue of the predominant single color light. Therefore, they don’t look like shadows but dimmed lights and making the “obstructed” areas more visible.
In this shot the 3 primary color lights are aimed towards the surface of the pocket watch engine. The watch is golden, therefore all those tones are the true colors. However, where only one light falls, (underneath) creates that color shadow. The lights are set in a triangular way and meet right in the center. As well, they are low, therefore they miss the underneath parts except the fallen single light.
The shot was done with a macro lens and 35mm camera was set on a rigid studio tripod. Therefore, the camera always was aimed to the exact same spot. In a few of the shots with this technique, as the old typewriter in my banner, each light was exposed separately and many areas were masked to avoid undesired reflections in the wrong spots. The typewriter was done in 8×10 film. That made it much easier to spot tiny specs of undesirable reflections.
I hope you like this image please feel free to make comments. They are always are nice and very welcomed!
