There I was, hanging out in the local primary school playground, waiting for thunder to roll. ND filter, remote timer release, wide angle lens, tripod, rain jacket... and I'm standing around in the big wooden playhouse they have, partly for the shelter, partly because I can climb the ladder to the upper deck to get a great shot of the sky and surrounding suburbs when the lightning comes.
The thing is, hanging around playgrounds with a camera while there's a class in after-school care just is not a good look. Even though I'm known to everyone as Miss C(7)'s dad, I felt kinda pervy. After half an hour or so, I skulked home. The rain had passed without a storm anyway. On the way past the classroom, I made sure to stop and make small talk with one of the teachers, chat about the weather, and my obsessive hobby. I almost showed her my test frames of the sky. A reputation as a kiddie stalker is something you just don't need.
So home I went to play around with some frames from my last shoot with Stuart Devinie at Fortune Theatre. Pushed the fill light, contrast, clarity and blacks sliders to the max and got this. The different looks that are quickly and easily possible when you shoot raw are just amazing. I'm going to keep experimenting with portrait styles. You never know, I might crack that Dave Hill look one day - although this is somewhere between him and Andrzej Dragan.
No comments:
Post a Comment