Alphabet Photo Project

[adamhiram]

I decided to do an alphabet photo project this year. I've always liked the idea of a 52-week project, but wanted something I could do at my own pace, and loved @snowbear's recommendation in another thread. My plan is to post each photo here with a brief description, and we'll see how far I make it. All C&C is welcome!

A - Apple
I’ve gotten pretty good at high-key product photography where the subject is on a pure white background, but I never tried low-key lighting. Lighting is from overhead through a DIY 6” snoot with a paper diffusion panel. This is my take on this post from last year. In retrospect a smaller aperture would have gotten more in focus, but I already ate the apple.


A - Apple by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[adamhiram]

B - Bicycle
My son’s birthday was this week and his main gift was a new bicycle. I loved his look of concentration and the back-lighting, and thanks to the magic of Raw files, I was able to bring back enough detail to make this one a keeper. It was also a great opportunity to try out this recent tutorial on Fstoppers on sharpening and noise reduction, which were both very necessary after bringing back deep shadow detail.


B - Bicycle by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[adamhiram]

C - Close-Up
I came across this Youtube video explaining how TVs work and it was fascinating to see the scan lines on an old tube TV refresh in slow motion. I decided to take out my extension tubes and take a close-up macro shot of the pixels on my current TV. Each pixel is actually 3 separate pixels making up the red blue and green components. This entire image represents an area on the screen that is only 1.27x.85cm, smaller than a fingernail. Shot from about 1cm away with a 50mm lens and 68mm of stacked extension tubes.


C - Close-Up by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[snowbear]

Looks good. I've been too busy or sick to do much shooting, but I'll get into it this week. You could have posted them in my thread, if you had wanted.

 

[F5 Penguin]

Please continue, I'd like to see what you come up with. Pretty good with your A,B,C's already I see!

 

[jeffp]

The apple is great! I like it very much!

 

[adamhiram]

D - Dusty Grooves
3 second exposure using the 50mm f/1.8G again with 48mm of extension tubes.


D - Dusty Grooves by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[terri]

Great start! Keep up the good work.

 

[zombiesniper]

Very cool project and great progress.

 

[petrochemist]

Nice idea.
We had a series of monthly competitions on this theme at our club but interest died out before they where completed (we don't usually do competitions). Some letters proved a bit of a challenge!

 

[adamhiram]

Looks good. I've been too busy or sick to do much shooting, but I'll get into it this week. You could have posted them in my thread, if you had wanted.

Thanks! I didn't realize you had started a thread as well, but I'll definitely keep an eye out!

Please continue, I'd like to see what you come up with. Pretty good with your A,B,C's already I see!

Thank you.

The apple is great! I like it very much!

Thank you.

Great start! Keep up the good work.

Thank you.

Very cool project and great progress.

Thank you.

Good project! Great images.

Thank you.

Nice idea.
We had a series of monthly competitions on this theme at our club but interest died out before they where completed (we don't usually do competitions). Some letters proved a bit of a challenge!

Only 4 letters in and I already got stuck twice. I'm determined to see it through though!

 

[adamhiram]

E - Eggs
Overhead shot at 17mm, f/5.6, with lots of contrast and clarity. Blues desaturated to correct for poor/mixed lighting, and square crop to match the circular subject as well as hide a dirty stovetop.


E - Eggs by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[adamhiram]

F - Feathers
I needed a stand-in subject for portrait practice, and my kid's toys make for more interesting subjects than a styrofoam head. 3-light setup with a seamless gray backdrop.


F - Feathers by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[adamhiram]

G - Giggles
Happy kid in natural night.


G - Giggles by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[adamhiram]

H - Headshots
Some test shots from a portrait lighting exercise that uses the same camera settings and key light, but slight adjustments to get 3 different looks using a seamless gray background. The first shot used additional lights to overexpose the background, the 2nd used a grid on the key light to control spill, and the 3rd had the key light slightly more on-axis to create more spill, with the subject moved closer to the background.


H - Headshots by adamhiram, on Flickr