Fashion Victim [Victima de la Moda]

Location [Localizacion]: Livingroom [Salon]

Model [Modelo]: Fernando Tabernero

Photographer [Fotografa]: Ivett Chicas

Set-Up: Nikon D40 mounted vertically on tripod with SB600 from the side. Reflector/bounce at foot of tripod facing model.

[Montaje: Nikon D40 montada verticalmente en trípode con un flash SB 600 desde el lado izquierdo. Un reflector en base de trípode reflejado hacia modelo.]

Multiplicity [Multiplicidad]

'5'

The above image I submitted to a photo contest. I've been sunbmitting to various lately but the competition is fierce! Regardless of the outcome I'm proud of the above image for various reasons.

1. I thought of the idea as I was falling asleep and actually executed the very next day.

2. I had to preplan the set-up, like an actual production. Set-up the books, fruits, veggies etc. Think of warddrobe, make-up, hair.

3. I had to plan and be aware of lighting at all times, make sure it was consistent for all characters at all times.

The theme was 5 per day, as in 5 fruits and vegetables each day.

[Participe en un concurso de fotografía con la imagen de arriba. Ultimamente he participado en varios pero la competicion es feroz! A pesar de como salga todo estoy muy orgullosa de esta imagen por varias razones.

1. Pensé en la idea la noche anterior en lo que me quedaba dormida y lo ejecute el siguiente día.

2. Tuvé que planear todo con anticipacion, como una produccion real. Tenia que preparar las frutas, hortalezas, libros, etcétera. Tuve que pensar en el maquillaje, peinado y ropa.

3. Tuve que planear y estar consiente de la luz en todo momento, asegurarme de que era consistente para todo los personajes en todo momento.

El tema era 5 al dia, 5 frutas y hortalezas al dia.]

Blending and Textures [Mezclando y Texturas]

I've wanted to use textures in my images for a while now. But I'll admit I was intimidated and didn't know where to begin. Flickr has been a great research and resource tool for me. While browsing I found this great free textures website, I like it because it's simple and organized - good stuff! Here is my very first image with texture:

[Hace tiempo que quería usar texturas en mis imágenes. Pero admito que la idea me aterraba y no sabía por dónde comenzar. Flickr ha sido una buena herramienta de investigación y recurso en esto. Mientras buscaba por aquí encontré esta magnífica página de texturas gratis. Me gusta porque es sencilla y organizada - cosas buenas! Aquí está mi primera imagen con textura:]

This image has a lot of ingredients, if you're curious as to what, continue reading.

[Esta imagen tiene muchos ingredientes, si tienes curiosidad de que se trata, continúe leyendo.]

The image that inspired it all is a picture I took while in Barco de Avila. It's a picture of the backyard as the sun was setting. I love the colors in the image but felt something was missing. I kept opening up the image and staring at it ... thinking that if I stared long enough an idea would come to mind. Here is the original:

[La imagen que lo inspiro todo es una foto que hice en Barco de Avila. Es una foto del patio en el atardecer. Me encantan los colores de la imagen pero sentía que algo faltaba. Abría la imagen y lo miraba fijamente... pensando que si lo miraba lo suficiente alguna idea se me ocurriría. Aquí está la original:]

Then I ran across a self portrait I captured months ago while experimenting with the lighting in my apartment. The lighting is all natural light coming in from one window, I believe it was about 5PM (summertime), so not too strong.

[Después encontré un retrato proprio que capte hace meses cuando experimentaba con la luz en el piso. La luz es todo natural, entrando desde una ventana, creo que era las 5 de la tarde (en verano), así que no muy fuerte.]

Since I was using the backyard image I wanted to replace the closet doors and mirror frame with something you might find outside. A wooden shed of some sort came to mind so I used an image of a door I had captured in Barco de Avila.

[Como estaba usando la imagen del patio quería reemplazar las puertas del armario y el cuadro del espejo con algo que encontrarías fuera. Un cobertizo de madera de algún tipo se vino a mente, así que use la imagen de una puerta que también capte en Barco de Avila.]

The final ingredient was a texture. I found one by JustN8 on Flickr that I enjoyed.

[El ingrediente final fue una textura. Encontré uno hecho por JustN8 en Flickr que me gustaba.]

Combine all these and voila!

[Combinar todo esto y voila!]

Digital Jargon

Yes, I've been a little absent from the blog ... but I promise I've been busy learning and practicing.

I've started my Dark Room Lab course and I'm learning a lot about film (pelicula or carete), film processing (revelado) and printing (positivado). I'm combining some of what I learn to my digital photographs. Sometimes with success, other times, not so much.

In digital we were beginning to work with studio lights and portrature. I've always had difficulty with portrait shots because I get nervous when directing the model. When I'm not nervous I'm focusing on the camera and forgetting to give the model instruction and direction. So I decided to take my good friend Sarah Milligan's advice and put myself in front of the camera. (Note: Sarah gave me this advice while I was shooting her [with my camera that is], she was a fantastic model, directing herself wonderfully.)

I decided to do a self portrait session. In addition, I liked the grainy effect you get when you shoot with a high ISO film. So I took to the streets, set up my tripod, and set my ISO to 800.

NOTE: In film a high ISO gives grain. In digital a high ISO gives noise. NOT THE SAME THING. In digital that noise (grain) is the camera making up pixels --- never a good idea.

Lesson learned: In digital, shoot at the lowest ISO your camera has available, you can always add a grain effect later in Photoshop. But for your viewing, here are some shots from that day:

Here are two frames shot at ISO 200, which is as low as my Nikon D40 goes. Some cameras have ISO 100 available. Just go on and keep it at the lowest your camera offers.

On a different note, La Feria del Libro (The Fair of the Book) is currently set up in El Retiro Park. There are stands and stands of books, all at discounted prices, and of every genre you can imagine. It's here for two weeks but I've seen the stands going up for weeks and as soon as the doors opened I headed down to take a look. My mission -- to find the latest from Annie Leibovitz titled "Annie Leibovitz At Work".

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!