While wandering a
garden path, the brightly colored feathers strewn
there called to me. I gathered them in and wrapped
them in thoughts gleaned from a workshop… “I can
fly, I can fly”. Upon returning home I set up a
‘studio’ on the dining room table. Natural light
poured in through the windows and skylights.
Setting the feathers on the table I stood,
listened, and again heard the hum, “I can fly, I
can fly…” Picking up my camera I started to play…
zooming and twirling the lens, spraying feathers
with ‘dew’… click, click, click, the music had
begun.
I took a clear, colorless piece of glass, treated it with Rainex, placed it atop four bricks set on end, sprayed the glass lightly with water, and nestled the feathers about ten inches under the glass. Mounting camera and macro lens on my tripod I resumed shooting using a variety of camera to glass angles until my lens came to rest pointed down, parallel to the glass. I then explored the effect of changing apertures, f/22 for detail in background as well as drops, to f/8.0, to f/5.6 to soften the feathers in background and drop. Began to feel as if I were floating in the feathers, fluttering in the drops… click, click, click, a rhythm had begun.
The play continued as I sprayed and re-sprayed creating drops of different sizes… big drops, little drops, drops coaxed into different positions with a bamboo skewer. Also played with the point of focus moving from feathers, to glass, to drops. With the focus wandering in the drops it happened… the gift of drops within drops… a sense of depth, of space… of universe. “I can fly, I can fly…” click, click, click, the music, the rhythm, the dance…
For me it was this music, this rhythm of playing, of exploring, of questioning, that made my heart sing… that made me dance!
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 180mm Macro Lens, ISO 100, Aperture Priority Exposure 1/8 at f/5.6, Manfrotto Magfiber 055MF4 Tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR Ballhead , storm door glass, spray bottles, Rainex.
I took a clear, colorless piece of glass, treated it with Rainex, placed it atop four bricks set on end, sprayed the glass lightly with water, and nestled the feathers about ten inches under the glass. Mounting camera and macro lens on my tripod I resumed shooting using a variety of camera to glass angles until my lens came to rest pointed down, parallel to the glass. I then explored the effect of changing apertures, f/22 for detail in background as well as drops, to f/8.0, to f/5.6 to soften the feathers in background and drop. Began to feel as if I were floating in the feathers, fluttering in the drops… click, click, click, a rhythm had begun.
The play continued as I sprayed and re-sprayed creating drops of different sizes… big drops, little drops, drops coaxed into different positions with a bamboo skewer. Also played with the point of focus moving from feathers, to glass, to drops. With the focus wandering in the drops it happened… the gift of drops within drops… a sense of depth, of space… of universe. “I can fly, I can fly…” click, click, click, the music, the rhythm, the dance…
For me it was this music, this rhythm of playing, of exploring, of questioning, that made my heart sing… that made me dance!
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 180mm Macro Lens, ISO 100, Aperture Priority Exposure 1/8 at f/5.6, Manfrotto Magfiber 055MF4 Tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR Ballhead , storm door glass, spray bottles, Rainex.
Kris
Morgan
