One of the things I love about photography is solving problems. The picture on http://www.fredsplace.org/images/bear/week3/ of the earmuffs hanging in the foreground with Lt. j.g. Jonathan Cox in the background is a great example. I was in the aft steering compartment and saw the picture, but execution was a problem. Like so many spaces on a Coast Guard Cutter, aft steering is incredibly cramped. I knew that pulling off a shot like that would take a wide-angle lens. So I grabbed my 12-24mm f/4 Nikon lens and stood up on top of a storage freezer.
But the problem with taking a picture of something hanging from a ceiling in a dark space is that extra light is required to make a decent photo. Usually that means adding flash to a photo. But shooting from the ceiling leaves no room for a hot-shoe mounted flash (the kind that mounts on top of your camera).
You can use an off-camera flash cable to take the flash off the camera, but in order to do that you must have one handy. I didn’t. So I did the only thing I could think of: I ingenuitized. (Yes, Jon, that is a word. Here’s the definition: ingenuitize – v. – in·ge·nu·i·tize. – 2 – To exercise or display ingenutity. [Latin ingenuits, frankness (influenced by ingenious), from ingenuus, ingenuous. See ingenuous.])
I turned the camera upside down and took the picture with the flash hanging down, into the room. It worked every bit as well as I hoped it would: the earmuffs got a great shadow-to-highlight transition, giving them form and depth and de-emphasizing the ceiling, which would otherwise be distracting, and the rest of the room got just enough light to show what was going on.
Mr. Cox walked away none the wiser, looking great in an interesting situation due to my work, and I walked away with an image I thoroughly enjoy, albeit one I had to rotate in Photoshop.
Would you like hearing stories and photographic problem-solving like this in the future? Anyone perpetually interested in the story behind the picture or the scene behind the camera? If so, register your comments below. If not, feel free to leave no comment and I’ll keep good and quiet about such things in the future.
Good night,
Andrew
Ok, Andrew, the headset in the rafters picture was my #4 pick, but I felt that since Mitzi is the only one allowed to have 4 choices, I better not select anymore. But I knew there was a story to that photo, as I have seen you take other photos in all manner of strange contortions to “get the shot.” Was to go……Love, Mom
I meant “Way to go….” not “was to go……” love, Mom
O.K. Since I guessed wrong and did not know that you were hanging from the ceiling I LOSE!!!!! I am impressed by the use of words I have never heard before and the ingenious way in which you exercise your talents as a photographer. I love it all. Keep it up. Certainly helps keep me on my toes. Love you and we will be praying that all goes well the next couple of days. Love, Grandma
Wow, strong work, Andrew. I really have never heard that word. Sounds like something you’d expect to errantly spill out of Dubya’s mouth.
HOWEVER, because I never take someone else’s grammatical prowess at face value (no offense), I decided to consult my muses, which include the myriad of online English dictionaries at my disposal. After a (semi)-exhaustive search of multiple versions of English dictionaries (including U.S., British, Australian, and Canadian – like anyone trusts the Canadians anyway) and adjusting spelling for regional orthographic divergences, (i.e. ingenuitised), I came up with NOTHING. You, my friend, are leading your adoring public astray. What if you actually got people to believe that you were acting in a lexically accurate fashion? You are to be reprimanded for your wreckless, feckless, irresponsible vernacular employment. I should write to Gwin Paden.
Who did you say your boss was again? Oh, yeah.
JRS
Andrew: I called Gwin Paden and reported you.
Love you still and anyway. Grandma
Andrew,
I enjoyed your photos and reading the story behind it. I know your doing great work!
KB