Shooting for the Special Five

Each year the Foothills Camera Club here in Calgary has a competition called the Special Five. You are allowed to enter one picture for each of five themes. (You could theoretically enter one shot that conveys all five themes and though it has been suggested its never actually been done). I had some shots in my collection that could serve but I wanted to get something unique for the competition. Here are three images that I shot this weekend for the competition.

Abstract - "Lyrical Destruction"

This was probably the most interesting shot and despite the work, it was pretty easy. I took a dead CD and beat it with a hammer and cut and scratched it with a pair of scissors. Next I put a couple of drops of grenadine and olive oil on the reflection surface. My SB600 to camera right provided a flick of light which showed off the crazy colors. I got in nice and tight with my macro lens to (hopefully) disconnect the viewer from what the scene really is and transport them to this place.



Eye(s) - Mechanical Iris

Again, I had a macro in mind with this. This shot actually had a few incarnations in my head but eventually I decided to go off the beaten path and hope that the judges were open-minded enough for my interpretation.  To add to the idea I decided to color the aperture blades in Lightroom 2 to make them look more like an iris.

Isolated - "Inmate for a Day"

This was another quick setup. Hudson gets put into his kennel each day when my wife and I go to work.  Suffice to say he really doesn't like it. I wanted to convey his feeling of isolation in this shot and wanted to make it look prison like. (Now I feel guilty for putting him in his kennel.)

I put my SB600 to camera right near the kennel and more or less killed the ambient light I had in the room. In Lightroom I cooled the shot off and boosted the contrast to really give it an edgy look. I was going to remove the water dish but as soon as I opened the kennel Hudson made a run for it. My dog is nothing if he isn't smart.