The second image in my next wave of updates to the Oil Can Project. This oil can presented a few more challenges in the setup as well as the post processing. Most of the oil cans I have found are dark and well aged. This one is quite bright and shiny. The decal on the front is a very bright yellow which required some manipulation of the monochrome conversion in order for it to stand out against the oil can itself.
Dover Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 15s, 27mm, f/11, ISO 200
I have been way to complacent and it has been way too long since I truly worked on my Oil Can Project. I remedied that situation on Sunday. I was determined to find a good space in my apartment to use for my creative, indoor projects.
I have this extra long, pub height table in my dining area and I knew it could be utilized to my advantage. The large sliding glass doors are on the left and all the kitchen lighting is on the right. I figured out a way to hold the backdrops with one of my travel tripods and I cleaned up my reflective acrylic squares which I use to create the reflections. I had my new “studio”.
The light from the sliding glass doors was not as controllable as I had hoped but I could adjust the intensity of the kitchen lighting. Luckily when I bought curtains for the doors I selected light canceling ones. I adjusted the amount of light in the kitchen and was able to achieve the look I wanted. I definitely feel more comfortable with a static light setup than I do using a couple of flashes. I think my next big purchase is a Lume Cube setup.
This is the first result from my Sunday session. I have quite a few oil cans that I have picked-up over the last couple of years that I have not photographed. I guess this is a warning that my stream will be a little full of these images in the next few days.
Major Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 20s, 28mm, f/11, ISO 200
I’m spending a little more time in Mobile, Alabama this weekend for work. Our only opportunity to get our tasks done was this weekend so I flew in on Friday evening. We had a good day yesterday, accomplishing most of our tasks so I had a little time this morning to get out with the camera (yes, I brought it this time!). If we have a good morning today I might go back to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park for better quality pics (fingers crossed).
This morning I stopped where Interstate 10 crosses Route 98 in the middle of Mobile Bay. I was hoping for a little more sunrise color in the sky but the clouds had not yet rolled past. You can see a sliver of orange barely above the interstate. It is all good, I do love me some light reflections on water…
10 & 98 Come Together Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6, 40s, 9mm, f/9, ISO 200
The first park I explored last weekend was Green Lakes State Park out in Fayetteville, NY. The early morning light did not do the namesake water its proper justice but I could not resist the way the trees were reflecting. I captured the view of the environmental education building from across the lake as the morning sun did its thing…
Environmental Education Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/25s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 100
My thought the other evening was to jump down to Bellamy Harbor to grab a few images during the sunset. I had a vision of the trees lining the canal starting to change color and I would be able to find a great autumn scene. I forgot to include Mother Nature in my plans. She can be mean at times.
There was a heavy layer of clouds hugging the horizon and as I drove toward the barge canal the sun kept marching into them. Luckily the sky to the East was not obscured and the few clouds present were reflecting the remaining sunlight. The waters of the Barge Canal were fairly calm which allowed for a nice reflection image of the Mill St. bridge.
Mill St. Bridge Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.4s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200
Going to the 40th Annual Remsen Barn Festival of the Arts was good for me in a couple of ways. The most obvious being I was able to support a few artists and bring home more art to hang on my walls (I need to make room first, LOL). I’ll share what I purchased in a later post. I also was able to see what other artists are doing and that always gets my mind thinking (which doesn’t happen often enough).
The best result of my field trip to Remsen is I pulled out my “studio” setup and attempted to photograph a few more items for my Oil Can Project. I tried to go with a natural light setup due to the nice windows upstairs in my apartment but I still need to work a few things out. The session was not a total washout. I salvaged a nice image of an old oil can pour spout. I remember my Grandpa using one of these back when I was a lot younger.
Pour Spout Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 3.2s, 34mm, f/11, ISO 200
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