I worked my way back to my Oil Can Project last night. I should be saying I captured more images but at least I processed one I had taken earlier in the month. With the plethora of subjects I have collected so far, it was time for a small family portrait. I thought it would be interesting to compare the differences in the cans I have been able to find so far. These are my largest and smallest oil cans. Plus, it never hurts to have some oil in the family portrait to really sell the concept… LOL
Family Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 22mm, f/11, ISO 200
I’m back to the oil cans. I had spied this can during one of my trips to The Eclectic Chic antique store but my hands were already full! Luckily, someone was paying attention and I found this one under the Xmas tree this year. Apparently I was a little better behaved this year… LOL
I have been playing with the lighting and tried for more side light in this picture. I wanted to add some shadowing which I believed would give the can more depth. I’m not sure I succeeded but it was fun (and frustrating) trying to figure it all out. I think I need a few more items for my “studio” (OK, corner of my office on a TV tray) in order to make the post processing a little easier. Takes my a little bit of time to mask out the backdrop.
Swing Spout Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 22mm, f/11, ISO 200
As I work on this Oil Can Project I find myself conflicted in the direction it should go. I have been loving the Black & White version of all the cans. I think processing the images as such creates a very dramatic look and brings out the details in each one. There have been a couple of oil cans that I thought looked very cool in the color version of their image. Today’s image drives this internal debate to new heights…
Quite a few weeks ago I found a set of Kendall motor oil cans at one of the shops I have been frequenting. At the time I already had my hands full of other items but not wanting to “lose” a potential addition to my project I bought the red can. I have attempted numerous times to photograph the single can but I was never happy with the results.
I received the other two cans as part of my Christmas loot. Having a nice trio of cans solidified my resolve to “find” the image I wanted for my project. The result is the first image below. Now I have another issue, the color version is a stronger image in my opinion. This is bringing all sorts of thoughts to my internal debate on the direction of this project.
Then I couldn’t help myself. I took the color version a little farther by adding a slight vintage look to the image. I reduced the saturation, added a slight blue tone and finished it off with a grunge texture overlay. For me, this puts the color image back inline with the monochrome oil cans.
I’m still not positive the direction this project will take, but that is half of the fun…
Kendall B&W Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200
Kendall Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200
Kendall Vintage Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200
Another one of my great Christmas presents. This one is different in that it is a pour style can rather than a pump style. I like how this image turned out. The texture and age of the can definitely show through in this setup. I was able to create a better reflection for this can which highlights more of the weathering on this can by the different shadowing.
Fill’er Up Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 14mm, f/16, ISO 400
My family went out of their way this Christmas to find more stuff for me to photograph. I received more oil cans for my project, the other two cans of oil to join the one I purchased a while ago and even a couple of new items for what will probably end up another series of stuff for me to collect… lanterns. I spent a few hours last night working on my setup for capturing photos of all this new stuff. I think I have a better understanding of what I need to do. I still need to figure out one last piece but for now here is one of the new items from my stocking… a little oil can.
Spout Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 32mm, f/16, ISO 400
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