Dig Me Out!

Struggle Struggle Struggle! I'm trying to dig for time out of nowhere! And to add spices to the sore wound, my body is not helping me out with migraines and headaches from time to time.
I'm running out of time because of the many sorting-out meetings in schedule for which I have to prepare some new photos. I have some ideas and did some of them already, yet more is needed as we head to perform in some special project for the color Red. The project is aimed at finding a foot-stand in one of the themes for the on-going Trierenberg Circuit (Austria's) contest.
One of the ideas that I've spent days trying to figure out the settings for was a selfie (also aimed at a special theme in the contest), but a special kind of selfie. A selfie that tells my story with Retinitis Pigmentosa. It coincides also that February is named as Retinitis Pigmentosa Awareness Month, which helped me spread the image in some social media just before the sorting-meeting.

Despite
Canon EF 100mm macro, f/9, 60^-1sec, ISO200.

I don't think this shot would pass the sorting process though. I'm new to portraiture and the sole idea behind it was to show or express how I feel about Retinitis Pigmentosa. The makeup (some face colors for kids actually!) is supposedly depicting Visual Field Test results, and people with RP do get most of the chart black like that.

Approximate render for the
last setting used for the shot.

I was trying to implement a high-key technique, but since I'm not an expert and must work with 3 speedlites only, it took me some long time. Needless to say how much time was spent to find a proper lens. The tripod in the image is blocking the way somehow (cropped lot of it though). I think there is so much needed in this picture but all I can say is, it's the best I can do… for the time being.
Without proper soft-boxes and/or umbrellas, the struggle was real. Let's not talk about the background! It seems that I need to invest in some shopping spree, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do this for long, and whether I do have the proper place at home to store them. I'm having storage problems already as it is.  Spending some long time (in hours) trying to fix the props and modifiers or diffusers is not the proper way to work at all!
Left to say that the camera in the image is indeed 7D, like mine, and one of the earliest ideas for this shot was to shoot in front of a mirror but the idea was abandoned. Luckily, a friend in the group is converting to Nikon and selling off his Canon EOS 7D for a cheap deal. I wanted such opportunity already because I do have "special" plans for this camera later. Some people say why I did not pick up a full-frame camera? Well, if I did pick up such camera (and could afford it!) I would make it my main camera then and do the special stuff to this very old EOS 7D I have already. Now, I'm having 2 7D's it is not hurdle to get used to the menus and other specs in the camera.

Monster Outside The Closet
Rokinon 8mm fisheye, f/16, 250^-1sec, ISO100.

Another selfie, which I'm keeping for the Red project, is Monster Outside The Closet. The idea is simple: we always hear of monster inside the closet, so, reverse the idea. The initial idea was to set the flashes with green gels, but decided to change them later. I'm not quite happy about this shot (also, I was told to cut it into a square). I was hoping the texture or the clothes would be clearer. Anyway, till the sorting meeting for this project comes, I can't really say what will be decided.

In the meantime, I do have many ideas on the queue line, and I'm trying my best. If only my health would permit me more freedom! One of the images that was liked is the one you see above (untitled yet) which has some focusing issues and I'm trying to redo again but with different lighting techniques. The process is on-going still and I couldn't produce a concrete result. All what I'm hoping for now is, not to win anything, but to gain my peace of mind back, and lie with hope that all these activities inside home would take my mind off my problems… I'm so tired now… I'm posting this and heading to bed. Good whatever-is-your-time-of-day.