My favorite flower photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe once said, “ The more pictures you see, the better your are as a photographer.”
My wife placed a potted orchid in the bathtub. I walked by that evening thinking that was a good place to water her latest plant and never gave it another thought that night. While I wandered about making coffee and breakfast the next morning, I realized that lone orchid sitting on top of an upside down plastic barrel in our bathroom tub was a photo opportunity in the making. I could see the light beginning to come through the frosted bathroom window and the slight beginnings of a glow on the flower. I knew within an hour or so the sun would move to that side of the house and continue in that southern path for the rest of the day.
When my wife had come home with that flower some days ago she had suggested I make a few photos of it for our monthly calendar
I had been taking staff portraits for a client and I hadn’t put equipment away yet so I thought I’d setup a small studio and take pictures. However, as I looked at the soft diffused light coming through that frosted window and realized the continually changing quality of the natural light would give me a fun and leisurely project that could last all day. All I needed to do was set up a natural light studio in the bathroom.
I began by erecting a black velvet backdrop behind the flower just below the window.
The light came through a window above and behind the orchid. The bathroom was bright, but not enough for a balanced image, so I positioned a white reflector front right between the tripod-mounted camera and the tub. I’ll mention here that I tried white, gold and silver reflector coverings and decided on white.
My camera’s ISO was set at 100, the aperture at f/8 in the morning, and f/16 until late afternoon. That left exposure control with the shutter and after my initial meter readings in the morning all I had to do was keep testing by releasing the shutter and checking my LCD as the light factors changed throughout the day.
This project was about capturing the quality of light as much as it was about making a good portrait of my wife’s orchid.
All I had to do was make regular trips to the bathroom, sit on the floor instead of the toilet, and take pictures as the light changed.
Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe excelled at this style of plant photography and he was my inspiration for this. Many of his artistic and sensuous flower photographs were carefully positioned next to a window so he could create wonderful flower photographs using both natural light and studio lighting. My photography usually includes some type of artificial light, so this project was a change and fitted perfectly into my goal this year to expand and move my comfort zones.
By the end of the day I had taken over eighty images to choose from. I selected out, and selected out again, until I had one that worked best for me. I wanted the image to be more about a creative form than about the orchid and cropped severely to force that view.
All and all, it was a successful day and a great photograph for this month’s calendar.
These are my thoughts this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net. Stop by Enman’s Camera at 423 Tranquille Road in Kamloops. And if you want an experienced photographer please call me at 250-371-3069. I also sell an interesting selection of used photographic equipment.