Some Christmas cheer

WHAT

This shot was taken on Christmas day at my mum's house where my family had Christmas dinner together. It depicts some of the table settings and decorations my mum had laid out.

I took a bunch of photos that day of the family and other objects in the room but I felt this one turned out the best.

WHY

I've mentioned in a previous blog post: http://kylietphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/race-day.html the importance of capturing the little things that really MAKE a special day what it is- things such as table decorations, food, table settings and the little touches people have added. Hence why I opted to take this photo.

There were other table settings available to use for this shot, but because this one was on a corner it meant I could easily move around the table till I found an angle I was happy with. I also liked how the golden bon bons in the background were arranged at right angles to each other from this position.

As it turned out, I ended up sitting at this very table setting later on for our big meal!

HOW

Because I was indoors and there was very little ambient light coming in from the windows (it was a miserable rainy day outside), I used a tripod for this shot. Using a tripod was another reason I selected this particular place setting to shoot- it meant I could actually fit the tripod in without having to move too much furniture. A tripod also ensured I could keep the ISO down low (200) to avoid a grainy shot.

I shot in manual mode and adjusted the shutter speed until it was at an apprpriate speed as determined by the camera's light metre. This turned out to be 1/5s.

I used a short aperture of f/5 to make the items beyond my main subject blurry to really focus on santa - otherwise I risked losing him amongst all the other stuff on the table. Plus I like the blurry background effect.

POST-PRODUCTION

In photoshop I increased the clarity, adjusted the black levels, and increased the highlights.

Abandoned train tunnel

WHAT

This location is an old abandoned train tunnel at the town of Mooloolah (about 1 hr north of Brisbane City). The tunnel was part of the original railway linking Brisbane and Gympie but fell into disuse in 1931. It's now part of the Dularcha National Park.

The tunnel is constructed of concrete and is quite spooky - it's dark, damp, has a resident bat colony and a massive echo effect.

WHY

I'd been to this tunnel a few weeks prior to taking this shot but failed to take multiple exposure shots on that first visit. This time, I returned with a friend (as I said, it's very spooky!) and took multiple exposure shots at -2,0+2 for HDR processing.

Prior to getting this particular shot, I had been taking photos a little way inside the entrance to the tunnel looking straight ahead to the opposite end. When I reviewed them, I discovered they just weren't all that interesting - yes, there was an old tunnel and yes, there was a light at the end of it...but that was about all.

I looked around for further inspiration and saw the arch-way (seen on the left of the image) further down the tunnel. So I picked up my tripod and marched myself further into the darkness and positioned the camera off to the right hand side and pointed it at the arch-way.

This new position resulted in light from the entrance behind me being cast onto one side of the arch-way, breaking up the monotony of the dark tunnel walls. Overall, a more interesting photo I thought.

HOW

Once in position, I set the camera to take 3 bracketed shots at -2,0,+2 exposures whilst in aperture priorty mode. I used a remote cable shutter and a tripod to ensure the camera was completely still.

POST PRODUCTION

Once home (and no longer in fear of being bitten by a bat on the back of my neck), I imported and tonemapped the three shots using photomatix to produce an HDR image. In photoshop, I then made slight adjustments to the contrast to really bring out the differences in the light/shadow areas.