Incense, by Pol:
How DPNow Pictures of the Day are selected One of the most enthusiastic and involved photographers on DPNow is
Pol, aka 'Polly'. Her
gallery is another cornucopia of styles and subjects - versatility is her middle name! A while back an entire
discussion took place surrounding some experimentation with photographing wisps of smoke. Some beautiful effects can be achieved, as well as a wide variety of results through imaginative lighting.
Pol explains what she did: "I used a Pentax *istD camera with a Pentax 50mm 2.8macro lens and the Pentax AF-360FGZ flashgun.
"I was setting things up for some smoke experiments, inspired by some work from
David Nightingale. This was a test shot I'd taken to enable me to prefocus on the smoke and then shoot the smoke swirls in complete darkness, using a cable release and one off-camera flash.
"I used a black velvet background with Joss Sticks burning in a small container placed about a metre in front of the background. Off camera flash was placed to the right of the smoke, black reflectors to the left so that the light came from one side only - background and black reflectors reducing the chances of any light bouncing back from the flash."
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Incense, by Pol:
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Click on the picture to see a larger view in Pol's gallery.
(Free forum/gallery registration required)
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"Manual settings for the shot were ISO 200 (lowest possible on the *istD) f/16 and 1/30 sec for the best possible depth of field. I confess I was guided by David Nightingale's own experiments and exposure settings .. so a vote of thanks goes to DJN sharing such details."
Pol modestly describes herself as 'only a hobbyist photographer.' "I never actually had my own SLR camera until 2003, when my husband bought the *istD and gave it to me as a gift. I loved it from the first time I handled it and have am now aiming to develop skills at my own pace." She adds: I mainly used compact film cameras for snapshots down the years though I've been married 34 years to a a 'non-serious shooter, dedicated kit man, camera collector and hoarder.' Apparently those were his words, not Pol's!
DPNow POTDs are selected exclusively from photos uploaded to the DPNow photo gallery. If you haven't already done so, why not
register for free access to both the
DPNow discussion forum and
photo gallery and show some of your own photos? A POTD could be one of yours one day!
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