RP 2022…

Well well well! Been 3 weeks I guess since I've posted something here? Things were a bit fussy. Busy a bit, tired a bit, and even sick a bit.
I've talked about making a post for my Arabic blog in my previous post, and I did that. But afterward, I fell sick a bit and I've been fasting for few days afterward which made me sleep most of the day and awake most of the night. No time to make much except to enjoy a bit of the silence of the night.
However, just in the past week I've managed to work a bit on some shots for the RP season, since it's February already; Retinitis Pigmentosa Awareness Month.

RP 2022

In the beginning, I wasn't quite sure what to shoot here. I've spent a considerable time making ideas and brainstorming. i got out with some good ideas (I guess?) but anyway, when thinking about the next steps on how to make these ideas happen, everything seemed clogged. I would either need some help, which I don't have, or need some special tools or props, and the like. For this reason, I had to play it down and be as simple as possible. 

RP Dilemma

So, the first idea that I came about to conclude is a shot that describes the dilemma that we, people with Retinitis Pigmentosa, face in various light and dark conditions and how there is no one solution that fits all situations. To shoot RP Dilemma, I've made use of the sun (using speedlites was an idea as well but I don't want to add complexity to the equation as it is already). Under the sun, I've placed an ND8 (3 stops) filter half-way on the lens and thus making the image half dark and half light. Honestly, working under the sun was such a pain and I couldn't figure out what I was shooting. I deemed all my photos useless and was going to delete them all, but until I went inside and viewed them clearly on LCD, I've realized that I've shot some usable images there. Well, one in fact out of don't-know-how-much. the final image needed some work of course in balancing the dark and light (dodge and burn) and few other things related to saturation and cropping. One thing I'm not satisfied with here though is the look and the direction of the eye which was supposed (as I was planning) to be direct and straight. 

Color My Life

Then I was up to another simple idea, and this time it did require few edits in Photoshop and not all done in-camera. The challenge, thought, with Color My Life is the framing of the image. In the shooting, I admit, I was working hastily as I wanted to finish with this shot as soon as possible and head to something else. I've done it after midnight when everyone was asleep.
Since I'm shooting in infrared, I needed an infrared source, and here comes my old arsenal of tungsten light bulbs (150W) which can be hard to find nowadays! I keep those for emergencies like this, even though I might use a speedlite as well but speedlites got its own problems (to name one: Focusing properly with infrared filter on lens).
The filter in use here was Neewer's IR720, which means the threshold here is 720nm. I could've also use my B+W 650nm infrared filter but I thought it might leak colors more than it should, as the aim here with shooting in infrared is to reflect the idea of low saturation. Higher threshold values would render the infrared image closer to a monochrome or B&W, while low threshold value would allow some color in. Thus, 720nm seemed a safe bet.
As stated already, the real challenge was framing. I had to test many crops till I landed on one that I deemed acceptable. The other challenge was merging the two images; The colored and the infrared. The challenge here was to select only the colored pencils and mask the rest. With my old version of Photoshop, such selecting tools are not the best out there and I had to spend a considerable time trying to do my best with the "marching ants". Yet, it's not perfect of course.
At the final stage, I've added extra sharpening to hands only to add more to the dramatic sense of the image, beside some bits of adjusting the lights in the image. 

The Caneman

However, probably the one in this series was the hardest. I was going to abandon the whole idea but I pushed myself to do it, despite the fact that I didn't quite like the place. I was aiming for some place with a black or dark background, and I don't have such a place anywhere at home, unfortunately.
The idea is, apparently as can be seen in The Caneman, a bit comical with a reflection on the hurdles of being a person with RP (the cane, the shades). Took me a while to adjust the power of the speedlite (and using the oval globe diffuser on the speedlite). But after all, I didn't like the shadow cast from my body (and it would make problems for me when merging the other shots later on) so I decided to take a shot for the scene without me to blend as a background.This bit, though, is not quite to my liking and I feel it popping out as "too unrealistic" even for a comical shot like this, but all in all, this is better than not doing anything at all. The rest of the work is, of course, some editing tricks in Photoshop (if I can call them so) and using the Radial Blur specifically to mimic the movements of the cane and the hand. As for the big head, it is taken from a separate shot of course, up close to the camera. Unlike the previous two shots where I used my favorite Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, for The Caneman I've used the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5. 

Finale

Up to the time of writing this text, there are still some ideas the cook at the back of my head and I'm not sure if I will be able to achieve them. February is still ongoing and seems I still have time. Of course, I can do them even after February but it would be nicer if I can finish these ideas related to Retinitis Pigmentosa during this month specifically.
Meanwhile, and looking back at what I would call a "resolution" for my retirement, about managing my time and setting some type of routine for me to do things around, all that seems to be falling apart for the time being, and I'm not sure if I can be up to the task with such turbulent sleeping schedule and tired body.
Now that I don't have to go to work, I'm yearning to go out and do some shooting specially at night, on the beach area, as I used to do in the old days, but driving my car gives me the shivers now. I heard about some people that had been fined for driving while they are registered as being "people with visual disability"; I don't want to be in that place. Yet, no one out there to help me out and tour me around. The national holidays are coming as well and typically it is a good occasion for some night-time shooting for all those decorations and light art. But I have to keep it all to myself for now. There are more pressing matters that I need to deal with and I think I would have some time to think about all of this when I'm over with those. Hopefully…

Full of Selfies…

With all that craze about COVID19 already, things are being idle here, like most of the world I guess. However, it is just such a good time for an introvert like me! What was supposed to be a short holiday of 5 days for the Independence and Liberation Day, stretched over now and to be a month and some days more.
Meanwhile, I'm here working with my camera at ease and trying to find new ideas, inside the house of course, as I would do usually. On the other hand, sleeping as much as possible. The progress is slow though but who cares? I don't have to wake up in the morning to do the damn fingerprint attendance anymore now. I miss doing panoramas though.
On another occasion, I've been working on some "projects" which I've started before the current crisis, and I consider these projects like an "open" projects; Meaning, there is no final goal to them or anything but I would think about shooting these ideas now and then.
This week and in this post, I'm going to talk about one of these projects which probably I didn't mention anything about before in this blog, and that is Shooting specular. What I mean by that is, using specular (unmodified) light from the speedlites to shoot, and of course the target is myself; i.e. a selfie.

Specularis

It is strange that the word Specular is not identified by many dictionaries as a valid word! It feels kind of annoying to type this blog post and finding the word marked with a red line as if there is a spelling mistake!
Anyway, as I've explained above, a specular light is a light that does not undergo any changes or modifications (diffusing specially) to enhance its qualities and take a better control of it. It is common and typical to use diffused light to shoot almost anything, from product to portraits or even scenes outdoors. However, I was inspired by a photographer which I've encountered online (unfortunately, the name escapes me but I think her last name was Adler). This photographer did some amazing portraiture shots using specular lights. Thus, I though, why not try out to do some myself as a form of challenge. Of course, the only portrait I can take is of myself here, and maybe if he got some time, it would be of my brother; My typical model.

Void

First try of these "specular" selfies, was done with one speedlite. Because I don't have the means to suspend the speedlite right on the top of me, the speedlite was a pointing to my face with some angle, but I tried to make it pointing downward as much as possible. The idea was to light the protruding parts of the face and keep the hollow spaces, like the eyes and the open mouth, dark. After some trials, I realize that at the current situation this might not be possible without using Photoshop after all, which I did. The areas that needed the "surgery" here are mainly the eyes and the mouth, with some burning to keep them black or dark as much as possible. The image after all was also cropped to focus on the face only, and converted to B&W with a gentle tint. I think I can call it luck that while shooting Void some dust or maybe some flare from the speedlite itself caused some sparkles which I didn't notice until I started to process the image. I'm not completely satisfied with Void to be honest but it was one try from a somewhat long running project.

A Specular Selfie

Then, I had another try and it was a simple one but with a twist. Or, well, two twists let's say. It is the typical on-camera selfie shot with produces these bright selfies with dark background like beginners or amateurs portrait shots using on-camera flash, but the speedlite on the camera was fit with a honeycomb grid to concentrate the beam on the face, plus 2 speedlites were put at the back bouncing them off the white wall and thus removing any shadows at the back. I love taking selfies with hoodies; I'm not sure why but I just do! However, there was still some Photoshop work needed with this A Specular Selfie. Cropping, adding more fill to the shades or dark areas of the image to get some details out of the hair. However, this was not the end for this selfie, as more interesting stuff had to be done!

The Gothic Selfie

Typically, when I see bright eyes in an image (of me or of others), I'd think of converting the shot to B&W to give it a dramatic twist, specially if the bright shining eyes were combined with a darker tone for the skin. To my surprise though, when I did that to this selfie, The Gothic Selfie just happened to appear! Well, maybe with some adjustments here and there but the general look was pointing to something "gothic" - or least this is what I think; I don't know much about these look-styles. And wait for it, please. There is more to come out of this selfie too!

Luminosity

This one is the last in this mini-series; I promise. The 3^rd selfie, Luminosity, is a combination of the Gothic and the original, blending them together using the, you guessed it, Luminosity blending mood in Photoshop. The look is quite intriguing I guess that I might consider such option in the future when I work with other photos. It is like adding drama using B&W method but then adding colors to it to make it a dramatic colored image. I did try this method indeed in the next shot as we shall see.
The next idea was a fun one to do, and a quick one (despite the many, many, test shots). What I mean by quick here is the fact that I didn't need any special setting or preparations for the speedlites or the camera. Well, just the camera on a tripod.

Abducted

Honestly, I was not really sure what I was doing here. But the scene appeared as if I was being abducted by some aliens, so I went on that title. In this setup, I've simply held two 430EXII speedlites in my hands on the sides near my face (on low power).Never underestimate the power of low power! There is a lot of drama that can be extracted in portraits by using low power in speedlites or strobes. The white orbs around my head here are the ceiling's fixtures with LED lights and I had to clone one spot here to make the pattern symmetrical. In fact, this pattern is what inspired me to name the image Abducted. As for the facial expression, I was not really sure what to do with my face but I just did it and things kind of complimented each other. Now, without jumping to the B&W version of this image, which looks ordinary to me in fact, I've applied the Luminosity method here and the result was appealing to me as well.

Abducted (lum)

One of the issues that I was not sure of when processing Abducted, is the matter of the skin tone as I couldn't really decide whether it is normal to be so, or it is too bright. I did put the tones down a bit for the skin but with the Luminosity method, things went down drastically when it comes to the skin; Looks like I've had a tan already! Combing this with bright shining eyes and you have a dramatic, contrasty, version of the image; Even more dramatic than the original.

Now, these selfies were kind of successive (sort of) and one idea followed the other. Sometimes I just get lazy and work few days later but the idea is there. But things got a turn here as I was thinking of changing the "modus operandi" for how I work with the speedlite. In the previous selfies, the speedlite was on top, front, and on the sides. So, it was time to put it under. I usually avoid this position under normal conditions because it is a mark for some horror look or movies. Well, I just got the idea for that!

Coronal Attitude

Despite Sickness
Shot with Huawei Mate 9
Edited with PS.

In Coronal Attitude, I was not sure what I'm doing here but all I wanted is to keep the speedlite down there. Despite its simplicity, this shot took a lot of time in processing. I was fluctuating in editing between what I usually or conventionally do, and editing trying to achieve that cinematic look. One point that I really, really, hated here is the highlight on the nose tip which looks like banding. I tried to fix this in various ways but nothing seems to work! Guess it's how my nose works! Another point here is the color of the face mask in my hand, which I was reluctant about; Should I keep it saturated or desaturate it? I chose to desaturate it a little (originally it was saturated more than the image shows here). I would be lying if I said that I don't like shooting with a mask on my face really. Not sure why, but I think they add some kind of mystery to the whole image and character. In fact, I did take a lot of selfies with the mask even back in January with my mobile. Back then I was sick actually with the usual cold and to protect Mom and others, I would be walking around with the mask; That was even before the outbreak and the spread of the COVID-19 worldwide and reaching here already (which happened around the last week of February). I just loved that morning light through the balcony.

They Are Gone

And along the way with the craze and the fuss about the virus, things got sad even further at home actually with the departure of one of my uncles. Even though I didn't bound much with him but I felt very bad inside specially that he suffered in his last years from various issues that doctors simply couldn't diagnose or realize. He was simply unconscious to what is happening around him until one morning, we got the news of his departure in the hospital. He is relieved now from this mundane world and its pains and silly people. Combining these sad feelings inside me and the stressful news about that virus made me shoot They Are Gone, which is in some way an appreciation message to those who work day and night taking care of things; Patients, tests, keeping things going in essential positions in the state and so on. Some of these people are at the risk of losing their lives doing their jobs to keep OUR lives going. If you are reading this, please show them some appreciation.
Now, back to the technical part about They Are Gone, you might ask what this shot has to do with specular light; Apparently it is taken with natural light (which is in a sense specular by the way, but we are speaking about flash specular light here). The fact is, I did use the on-camera flash here to lighten the shadows a bit on the lower part of the body. Not the big speedlite I mean, but that tiny almost-useless flash on-camera. For such situations, it does nice job I guess and I didn't want to complicate the shot more than that; Just a camera, a tripod and the cable remote. The hassle with it though was in the angle and the distance which looking at it now actually still makes me uncomfortable a bit. Despite the lighting being good somewhat it still needed some extra work in post-processing because in that phase changing one factor would change something else and the whole thing reacts like a chain-reaction and thus the quality of the light has to be adjusted again and again. The main work was to soften the image and (ironically) diffuse the light from the window digitally giving a dreamy look or a glamor look.

The Cane

And just before finishing this post, this is one last shot which I thought of just before the departure of February, the Retinitis Pigmentosa Awareness Month. Specular light was in use here as well and directed from the side of the face. I was lucky that the cane, despite its thickness, did a great job on blocking the light from the other side of the face just as I planned. I think also placing the speedlite a bit backward relative to the side of the face helped greatly with this and made the image split into 2; Light, and Dark. However, the main plan was to make a B&W image (thought I added slight tones to it) but the thing is, the red patch of the cane is not supposed to be visible anyway (and it isn't really in the original colored version). The major work in post-processing here though was on the eye, mainly with the dodge and burn tool (or something similar to that in fact).

Now, there are some plans or ideas cooking at the back of my head but there is one critical question that I'm still trying to find an answer for and that is: Would putting obstacles (not diffusers) in the light direction count as "modifying" a specular light? Logically it isn't but would be merely re-directing the light. Yet, I can't get over-obsessed with the idea and that sense of challenge when talking about specular lights as something to take it as it is and not touch it. But I'm there; Hopefully I'll get over that idea with some light "modifiers" that do not diffuse. Meanwhile, I'm working on some modifiers that diffuse the light too but we'll see. Been ages since I completed that project anyway!

Finale

Well, I hope everyone is OK and taking good care of themselves under these circumstances. For this blog, there had been numerous visits from Italy according to what I see in the statistics related to this blog, and that is before the crisis and lockdown. I hope, and I pray, that things will ease down soon specially with some good news arriving daily at the moment of typing this blog.
For someone as introvert as me, the situation didn't change much as I'm staying home most of the time, but the big stress here is caring for the health of those around me, specially my mother with her health issues which makes me close to having OCD over the health issues and cleanness.
On the artistic plane, there had been much work going on old and new images and hopefully I'll have the time to make a post about these in time, and as I'm typing this, the idea of making a new Arabic post for my other blog tickles my mind already, as I didn't make a post for that blog in some long time now. Also, on this plane, just one or two hours before finalizing this post, I've received a notification about one of my newly-added images on YouPic website which was marked as Inspirational by the admins of the website. That means more publicity for this particular image and apparently it has some interesting elements to it. This further even gives me an idea of creating a separate post about the 10 images been marked so far on YouPic and some story about them. We'll see about that.
Now, under these circumstances, the ideas are coming to me even stronger than before about trying to do something at home; Working at home, even though till this very moment of typing this, I couldn't reach a conclusion of how to do this or what to do even. But I have to say that under such circumstances I am blessed to be where am I already.

Cinematic Lady Nature
10^th Image to be marked as "Inspirational" on YouPic.

Awareness Month 2020…

Well, I was going to talk more about some stroboscopic shots, but then I remembered that there is one single and essential image that I should talk about a little for this week. That one which I've created specifically for Retinitis Pigmentosa Awareness Month (which is February). So, this one will be a quickie.
I have to say, though, that I'm not quite fond of the shot but I was critically out of ideas, and thought it is better to do something, anything, about it instead of waiting and probably getting over the month without shooting anything related to the topic. However, the basic idea of the shot was: The pains that hide behind the smile. That smile that everyone takes for granted and knows nothing about the things that lie behind.

In shooting this image I've tried to apply some simple designing elements as per what I've read lately (or rather re-read lately) in Learning to Photograph book. Probably there was not much to be done but I will talk about the image with some details.

Hidden Pains

Probably one of the things that I regret (well, kind of) in this image is not working on the black lines under the eyes properly. These were supposed to resemble tears. Anyway, I don't have any make-up artist to help with that so probably I'm pardoned here. As you can see, the image undergone quite some work, and I mean editing work, in Photoshop. So, probably this shifts the image a bit from being a photograph and rather be more like a (graphic) design. The edit involved (beside the usual with any photo) cloning out the eyes. To make things a bit organized, I'll try to summarize the ideas in shooting in this way in points:

• From the beginning I knew I needed some space, so the lens of choice here was Voigtländer 20mm (set to f/10).
• Needed some dramatic look and contrast, so I was inclined to shoot in infrared, using B+W 092 filter. The image was converted to B&W then.
• The camera was placed slightly below the face level and slightly pointing up. This perspective kind of adds exaggeration or gratification to the subject. Not meaning to brag here! It's just a design element at work, in opposition to have the camera look down at the subject which is somewhat delivers a sense of belittling.
• Single speedlite was used on camera (more on that below) with honeycomb grids to focus the light more on the face and the surrounding area, making for a more drastic and dramatic look.
• The hand gesture is added to put some emotion with the way the hand is shaped and also to add some elements in the lower space instead of leaving it blank. But probably I should've used my right hand to go along the face direction, but I'm a leftie and it comes naturally to me to use my left hand!
• The black lines (formed by face-coloring crayon and sprinkled with water) symbolize the dry tears. The hidden tears that is.

The speedlite, though, caused some hurdle and I had to give up on one thing I was trying to do, and that is flashing my back. It was one of these instances that I wished I had a radio-system like the new speedlites do (or with a set of transmitter/receiver). And with my flash cord not working, it was quite hard to trigger the flash behind me without moving it a bit on the side which is not quite the effect I was looking for (even though it does add some good rim lighting). Reflecting the beam off some surface at my back was also out of question since there was much clutter (in my room) and that would show clearly (using a snoot to focus the beam won't do much even). In a nutshell, I had to satisfy myself with only one speedlite on camera.
The rest is then a work for Photoshop, cloning out the eyes, for obvious reasons. Even though the image originally is in B&W, I've found myself adding a bit of tint when uploading the image, once cold tone and once a warm tone but a slight touch that might not be noticeable without a comparison to another version next to it.
Meanwhile, as I was doing many test shots and trying out many poses and angles and adjusting the camera level... etc, I was left with a number of test shots that I refused to delete, and I kept checking them now and then. In fact, some of them did show a glance of a chance for 3D anaglyph work but it didn't work out, but nevertheless, a new idea emerged which is not far from the idea of the original shot; Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Migraine

 As seen in Migraine, the play of Photoshop is in again. Strangely too, the colors look natural despite the shots being taken with B+W 092 infrared filter (usually when fixing the WB the image would look bluish). Migraine was such a play with images really and not a real "project" idea; that sort of thing that you would do in a whim or just for play. Worth noting here that the original image is the reverse of this one. After finishing my edit, I flipped the image just to connect it to reality a bit because most of migraines come to my right side. You can see a trace here for the back flash which created a nice rim light on the right side. However, this was not my aim as I wanted the flash to strike behind my head approximately and not on the side to create a rim light. Some sort of a halo so to say. Nevertheless, I'm having fun on editing these shots whenever I get the time to, specially that I'm doing some experiments on the "cinematic" look that everyone seems to talk about nowadays. So, such test shots are quite useful and one forgotten shot might just happen to be a great one under some effects and circumstances!

Finale

Well, this is about it, with all the RP work, which I don't think it is much of a work here, but the best I could think of then. I'm keeping the work on other projects as well. Hopefully I'll posting about some of these in the coming weeks. On the other hand, I'm also keeping myself busy with editing old shots as I've mentioned above, trying to achieve some of these "cinematic" looks. However, I think there is a change in how I see things when it comes to photography or more precisely when I deal with photo editing. I think for a long time I was held back by the "conditions" of most of photo contest which limits the editing of a photo down to some basic elements. It was something in the subconscious, to edit the photo in such a way that the core is not touched. Right now, thought, I'm willing to step on this limitation and I don't find it "critical" or "unprofessional" to edit a photo to change its nature for the sake of expressing and delivering the desired effect to the viewer, away from the desires of these photography contests. I'm pretty sure that the photos above, Hidden Pains and Migraine won't be accepted as regular photos but as mere edits or creative edits (some contests do have this category along the regular typical ones). Of course I'm not going to over do it, and I shouldn't; Because the basic line here is the idea that needs to be delivered with the photo. I didn't realize how bad the effect is,  for being a member in a photography group which put so much emphasis on contests to get ahead, until this moment. I think I'm glad now that I'm over it and out already.
Among all this work-to-be, my mood swings had been severe at some point. They say, usually, meditating would solve much of these unbalances. But the point is when such swings come along, it's like a Blitzkireg in the brain. The body is virtually paralyzed and nothing can be done or to be focused upon, neither the appetite to do anything (beside eating that is). In the meantime, I'm going around myself and exhausting my brain by thinking of ways to increase the income or find a totally different job, which probably I need to do at some point in my life, sooner or later. My thoughts are even beyond this scheme, for something beyond this place. Changing scenery, AND people as well. That is, to simply reside and start a life in a different place completely. Though it might be simple for some, it is not that easy on my side, as the issues are complex enough to hold me back from a simple vacation outside the country for the time being. The "time being" is a term encompassing 5 years so far. And more to come…

Strobogenic…

February! It really exists! If some other month like January is to be visiting us any time this year I'm kind of sure that half the population of Earth would be begging on the roads for their bread. from my side, I just hope that this month becomes an active month for me somewhat. I've been taking shots already and having some ideas here and there, and as usual, I won't put the eggs all in one basket in this post, but I'll be talking about a specific series of shots that I've done about 2 weeks ago; All by coincidence! Anyway, beside the series I'm going to talk about, there are some new editions made out of old shots and I've been posting some of those on my Instagram. I'm not sure though if I'm going to post about them here but there is one specific old shot that I need to post about here in relation to the series of shots I'm going to talk about.

Chain of Events

As I was looking at my images from 2018, and looking specifically for some photo that I didn't post before to my Instagram, I've encountered this shot, which is a selfie, but a regular one somewhat. The special thing, though, about this selfie, that it was an experimental one, taken with 2 speedlites holding them by hand on left and right, and each one of them had a black cardboard with a thin slit opening only. And that what made the shadow line at the center of the face. Since a selfie like that might be a bit "regular," I've decided to work a bit on it and transform it to something else.

Nach Mitnacht

Naturally, my first choice or the first thing to think about in such instances is to examine the B&W possibility and what it would yield. Tweaking the sliders around and voila! Some weird creature was created here, in addition to the eyes brightening. This was the beginning.
Some days later, as I was testing the stroboscopic (multi) flash properties with one of my 580EX II speedlites, I've decided to take a selfie or two. I was actually lazy; I was just there sitting on my recliner and taking shots. My aim was actually to make out some sense for the relation between the shutter speed, and number of flashes and the final outcome. I really did not have any aim about creating an image at this level; It was all still some testing only.
Anyway, without  going deeper into much technical details and talk,I was up to a surprise later on; I'll come to that.
As I went through the photos, I've started to filter and delete some of them which had no significant move. There are some with some good hand gestures. I kept those and started to work with them in Photoshop.

Avoidance

Typically, my first step when converting to B&W in Photoshop, would be using the Infrared preset from the list and start adjusting from there. Usually this preset do get to my taste in some way so I find it appropriate most of the time to start adjusting the tones from there. Surprise surprise, and as I was trying to suppress the background using the tones to turn it to black, weird things started to happen and I've remembered Nach Mitnacht right away. This was the spark that initiated the series, started from Avoidance and ending up with The Weekend Selfie. Some of these shots, like Avoidance, did require a significant crop (using cropping guides as much as possible). Despite the movement of the hands in some of these images, like, again, Avoidance, yet, the focus might be scattered away and I thought it might be better to ensure the focus and guide the viewer to the eye, and that required a great deal of a crop.

De-Focus

Not all images, though, did require such a big deal of cropping as I've stated above, but there was something to be done about some lines in the corners or the edges and such. For such instances, I tried to place the eyes exactly at the center of the image, as it sounds it is the natural placement for them, specially with moving ghosted palms, right? And let's not forget the horizontal placement of the eyes which I've tried to place on the upper third line via crop.

The Multi-Takser

Personally, I do like the brightness of the eyes in De-Focus more than their brightness in The Multi-Tasker but strangely, and this is the surprise, this image got popular on YouPic and even gained a star for being "inspirational". Not only that, but YouPic also published the image to their Instagram feed for the B&W category! I didn't know about its existence before. On Instagram itself, the image did gain some likes, but typically not much (yet better than other images I post daily now). I take it that this surprise might have been caused by the movement of the hand which is clearer and denser here than in De-Focus, and they take a bigger portion of the image in general.

The Weekend Selfie

This "liking" and push in (some of) the social media did give me a bit of "hype," if I can call it so. It did really make me think of future work using the stroboscopic flash often (which I did later, but that's for another post). But maybe the most important moral here which I need to remember, and keep remembering, always is that: Just grab the camera, and shoot, even when you are lazy. You wouldn't know what will be the results. In addition to this, I might be adding one extra point to my "style" with such processing, which makes portraits dark in a somewhat UV Photography style. Could be something to venture on a bit further. But probably shouldn't exhaust it to the limit of turning it into a cliché!

Finale

The Weekend Selfie
Sketch effect

Well, it is February already and the time has come, as in every year, to make up some photo shoot for Retinitis Pigmentosa. Believe or not, I did already make this shot and it is published, but I'll leave it for another post in another week or so. The shot was relatively simple and I tried to apply some elements from the designing tips I've re-learned lately. I'll come to that in time then, though.

Some variety of flash cords

Meanwhile, I'm hoping and wishing to get more time to work with my camera, specially with schools starting here and we are back to the cycle of traffic jams and the extremely-tired body. I have some ideas out there and yet I need to think them through and think on how to apply them. To add to my hardships already, my flash cord (which allows me to trigger the flash off-camera) seems corrupt and is not functioning well lately. It fell off. Is it time to get a wireless trigger? I mean one that can work under HSS and Multi or Stroboscopic modes, as well as 2nd Curtain Sync? Even if I got one, I'm not sure I would be able to trigger other speedlites that way unless I get a receiver for each one of them; A lengthy and an expensive task. I'll need to do more research in that venue.
I would be going on and on with my mood swings already but maybe I'll keep that, too, for another post. I'm so tired of everything here, literally, so much that I find it hard to chew the food I eat sometimes. January is over already but probably we are not over yet with the bad news still. In the meantime, I'm considering meditation (which I'm not sure when to do) in hope that it would teach me how to focus again. I miss writing poetry; I was supposed to write one for my late friend, Paula, who departed last November, but I couldn't find the mental power yet to compose. Maybe I should make this a priority over my work with the camera. As for now, it's time to close my eyes a bit…

Mental Stack…

Finishing with February, and now March begins with the typical pressure and stress for the many activities I must get involved in. Now after the ending of the Italian Style contest, I think it is OK to post my work here. Beside that I've been busy with February's project, as well as working with March's project. Adding to that, a Comic Con expo which we got involved in, and submitting images and orchestrating our participation in Austria's International Photography Contest (Trierenberg Circuit). Just reading these titles makes me feel exhausted already.

Settimana Italiana

I've talked previously about this contest related to the Italian Style Week (or simply Italian Week). Every participant is allowed one image into the contest. I've posted one 3D rendering of a shot some weeks ago in this blog (in B&W) but nothing more I think, so I'm going to post more shots from a single place in which I've worked for this contest: The Scandinavian House. Well, despite the name, it does have Italian furniture!

A Game of Scopa

First comes my participation image. It was the first thing to work on as I got in, and I've spent quite a time to center and put on some props (clothing and Scopa cards), and by mistake, I've placed a traditional rosary (for men) behind the vase which made it mostly invisible from that angle. The image didn't win anyway, probably because that Italian elements are not prominent in it. Anyway, the work is still going on to render more projections out of this panorama, which I might post more of in this blog later on.

Planeta Scopa

Moreover, later after shooting this panorama, I've wandered around to see any opportunities. Just recently, I've discovered a shot that I've made with my converted camera without using any filters, which I've neglected previously for its lack of interest and other technical problems. However, I noticed that I've shot it a number of times and with some shift in perspective, which sparked the idea of creating an anaglyph out of it. Which I did!

Il Vaso (3D)

The white balance here was fixed during the edit which rendered the colors back to normal (almost) as if it was taken with a regular camera. It is a hard task to make a concrete anaglyph using a fisheye lens, thus some ghosting effect is still obvious at some areas, but probably focusing on the edge of the vase or the rosary would pop the effect out.
Another shot was taken raising my Rokinon 8mm fisheye high up above a long table, being on a tripod itself. Took several shots to pick one from and then the shot undergone a distortion fix process with DxO. Not quite to my liking though, but I tried hard to keep some lines straight and the bowl round perfectly but that didn't go well it seems. Yet the shot was too simple and I didn't submit it to the contest of course. It might serve as a concept for minimalism though!

I Biscotti

Then there is the previously posted in 3D shot, which I've re-processed from a single RAW this time. Looking at it right now, I wish that I've shot it with my Canon EF 50mm at f/1.4 or f/2.8 at least to have more of a blurred background. However, I've this shot using Voigtländer 20mm, at its widest aperture at f/3.5. Good perspective and sharpness (even though manually checked), but the background needs more blurring to reduce the distraction away from the glassware. I did crop a large portion from the sides just to reduce the distraction and balance the image more (but not perfectly).

L'Urna

In all, this might be all that have been interesting for me in this place. Now, I'm busy working with other projects still and preparing many other things.

Feabhra

February (Feabhra) was the month of the national days (Independence and Liberation days) on 25^th and 26^th. For this reason, the project for this month was to be about Kuwait in general. To roll back the memory a bit, our group now had established an activity with this year's beginning, by picking a topic (sometimes by vote) for every month, and members involved in this activity must shoot from 1 to 3 images in that picked up theme.

بلداً آمنا (Safe Place)
Canon EF 50mm, f/2, 250^-1sec, ISO160.

Flag of Kuwait

My first trial for this project was with my mother and her colored rosary resembling the flag of Kuwait. I needed an old hand to resemble the old age which, for the time being, is often attached (mentally) to wisdom and faith; beside the fact that the rosary is hers given as a gift! I've taken several shots (and had some struggles with my speedlite). At the end I've picked this shot. In all shots, I was setting the focus point at the Arabic word [آمنا: safe] and as I was changing the angles to see a better view, the word just vanished from sight at times. However, I've struggled to satisfy myself with the depth of field, and finally decided to settle with f/2 here. The critical point though came after, when friends brought my attention to the fact that the rosary is encircling the specific phrase in the page (with a meaning almost the opposite of what I wanted in the line above); which delivers a meaning not what I really wanted in the first place. Anyway, now I've been busy with other things and I have no time to re-shoot this, but if need be, and if required after the critique, I might shoot it again.

Kuwait Print
Canon EF 50mm + ET, f/22, 250^-1sec, ISO100.

My next shot was inspired by a logo. A logo which was used for the Martyrs Bureau; an institution which was established after 1990-1991 war to take care of the affairs of martyrs of Kuwait and their families. The logo was composed for a fingerprint sketch colored with the flag's colors. I've used face-painting colors here on my brother's index finger, and though I did a random sketch and splashing, it did seem appropriate to have a more organized set of colors (which he did paint later on). The  real struggle was with the bulky tripod and lens (with extension tubes). To add to my frustration, I've added a rail to the tripod, while pointing the camera 90^o down (I wanted my brother to place his finger on a table top so his muscles would be relaxed). I thought of doing a focus-stack in the beginning but shooting at f/22 seemed just about enough (using one speedlite on the side). Even though I do own a simple LED ring light, but when it comes to f/8, its maximum power is barely enough, not to say at f/22! Thus, I needed to use a speedlite with its maximum power or so, at a close distance. Modifiers here were hard to use so I had to depend on changing the direction of the speedlite and play with its power a bit to get a proper exposure (with the help of the processing power for RAWs!). Looking at it now, I think I should have made it in portrait orientation instead.

Kuwait Eye
Canon EF 100mm Macro, f/9, 1/2sec, ISO400.

RoundFlash
Source: B&H

The last one in the list was the real puzzle. Using a high power flash made the flag's reflection disappear from the eye, while reducing the power did not help with the exposure (and eventually would need a longer exposure in parts of a second and that caused shake). In the beginning, my brother was my subject, and I used his iPad to reflect the flag from it on the eye, but he couldn't cope for long with the strong flash strikes. Thus, my sister took his place. Using light modifiers didn't help either. It was obvious that I needed to take the shot with ambient light and without using any speedlite but that was hard because of the shake. By trial and error, I've finally got a somewhat better view using the RoundFlash and raising the ISO. It was a compromise, since the reflection of the light ring did fall on the eye as well (naturally) beside the flag. Up till this very moment, I'm thinking about fixing this problem but no solution occurred to me yet. Many people insist that such effect is in fact a graphic editing, but I'm sure there is a way to do it (beside having the subject wear a contact lens with specific design, which is a harder option for me of course). I'll keep thinking about that and we'll see what will be the result!

Finale

Now, many things are weighing on my shoulders; at home, work, and the group. It seems to me that those psychological tricks to do things one by one and not thinking about the overall load - seems these tricks are not working with me here. I'm slowly saying goodbye to winter, which is a sad time for me actually.
Our group is participating in a Comic-Con expo for 3 days and I will be there helping other members for some time, so I might document the event; If I had the mood to. For the time being, I have to keep thinking of some more ideas for March project: Geometry via birds, fishes or fruit. Quite challenging, but I have some ideas already. The real challenge now is actually doing these ideas and having the materials available! I'm trying to keep my mind busy here; as busy as possible. But I'm not sure I would be able to hold that for long…

Retina…

Exhaustive week and actually I could barely find the time to type this blog down. Many activities (and mishaps) are going on and to add to the load, some photos need to be re-done. Anyway, I will try to go through this quickly if I can (and maybe have nap? well...). I was busy before this week with the writing for an Arabic articlefor my Arabic blog, for beginners with some lighting methods and names (specially to Arabize some technical terms). For this reason, I was not able to post any thing here.

Awareness Month

February of every year is named as Awareness Month for Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic disease that I suffer from already (beside an older brother and an older sister). I did one shot last year which took a lot of time from me but the result were not to the level I hoped for, but well, it was something done with gratitude.

Despite
February, 2016.

This year, I've remembered the fact by coincidence (via @rp_hub on Instagram), and decided to do something quickly because I had my load of work to be done already. Since the most significant feature about Retinitis Pigmentosa is the tunnel vision and the loss of peripheral field of vision (slowly to complete blindness in extreme cases), thus I've decided to depict that.
I've used here a small snoot (by impact) made specifically for speedlites. I had to unscrew the back of the snoot and fit my lens there. It was a matter of time to balance the camera, but as the problem prevails here, it was hard to center my eye (working alone as usual). In the beginning I was working with Voigtländer 20mm lens, but it occurred to me that since the lens will inside the snoot already, why not go big with a real fisheye: Rokinon 8mm; which it was.

Peripheral Damage
Rokinon 8mm fisheye, f/16, 100^-1sec, ISO100.

Despite the hard conditions here (everything is dark and light hard to reach inside) but I had to work with f/16. I've used all my speedlites here (3 of them), putting 2 close to my face and one at the back in hope it slips some light inside the snoot. Did many shots and probably this was the best, and I've discovered that the dramatic impact can be improved (and also eliminating some color problems) by simply switching to B&W. At the final stages of processing, I've sharpened the central circle only. The leader of our group liked the idea but he preferred the eye to be at the center, and that's why I need to re-do it!

Rotundum

In a moment of boredom, inspiration seemed to strike me out of nowhere. Now I'm wondering how come I didn't think of it long ago!? The whole thing started with a cup of Turkish coffee on weekend. I've always wanted to take pictures for the inside of the cup, since I've been hooked to this type of coffee. The purpose? Well, cup reading. My silly thoughts lead me even to do a panorama in some way from inside the cup in some way, but with time, the idea died out in my mind. However, with my new mobile phone and its camera, I was ready to play around and got some good results!

Turkish Coffee

I have to say that I didn't expect such result from playing around with Photoshop. Probably, however, that the object (or cup) should be curvy and does not form a perfect cylinder from the outside to have some sufficient details as in Turkish Coffee. Anyway, the method was simply that of changing the the coordinates from polar to rectangular, and that way a circular object would be flattened. Yet, I had to experiment with other circular cross-sections.
This method, now, sparked me mind for more ideas as I'm looking around for circular objects to be shot from the top (and in fact this is not the first time for me to be fascinated by the Circle). On the list I have mugs of various liquids as well as ordinary objects, like a pack of coloring pencils!

Pencilorama

I'm not stopping at this limit though. I've been trying already to see if any QTVRs are possible or could produce some interesting results. The view was surreal...

Peripheral Damage in QTVR.

Source: Amazon

This technique is not something new in fact; it is indeed one of the earliest methods to establish panoramas and fake-planets (fake-planets as in a planet formed from a single image instead of a real stitched panorama). The thing here is about reversing the technique and converting the circle into a rectangular. The original technique involves shooting a mirror ball from various angles to form several images of the place and then converting these circular shots to rectangles. Such technique was discussed with some detail in Christian Bloch's The HDRI Handbook; I have an earlier edition but there had been updates to the book! Even though such technique for panoramas seems to be obsolete by now (not sure) but still such things and techniques are worth learning!

Finale

Now I've been busy with the arrival of Austria's International Photography contest (Trierenberg Circuit) and many things on my table, beside the monthly project. I had some ideas to shoot but unfortunately the time slipped out of my hand and I couldn't submit some of these ideas to the specific sorting meeting for images of members for this contest. Ah well... 

I still have things to be done and some images to be re-made in hope that they will pass the second sorting process. Working alone in this gives me many back pains. I can't wait to have some proper sleep. But seems I won't be having that until I travel out for some time…