I enjoy puzzles and challenges in my photography. In this shot I try to elevate the paperclip.
I like puzzles and challenges. This is useful in my day job in high technology; I also like to explore various challenges in photography, one of which is lighting subjects in just the right manner. I have taken several courses over the years to hone my skills in this area, which has given me a set of tools for solving these puzzles.
During one of the courses on product photography, I figured that it would be a good challenge to create an interesting image out of an every day object…
Paperclips!
After going to Staples to buy a box of paperclips, I arranged them on a black surface to get a distribution of color. The challenge now was to light them in a way that would be both interesting and would keep the surface all black; I used a single flash for this set up to have the light rake across the paperclips.
The result was a pretty interesting image, especially when seen in a sizable print format.
Welcome to week 191 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!
Thanks again to all of you for the wonderful posts on last week’s theme of Mist! I have to admit that I struggled a bit with this week’s theme, as the holidays are also coming up and I wanted to leave some options for next week’s theme. However, after some looking around, I thought that it might be interesting to go for something rather Common… Whether it is the every day, common object or the things that you have in common, or crossing the town common… This is a word that allows for plenty of creative directions to be taken, so feel free to take the one that speaks to you!
I look forward to reading all of your posts on this theme and seeing what path you have chosen on this theme.
Here’s a rather common object…
Common Objects
There are few objects that are more common than the paperclip: a bit of metal, bent several times to give it utility. My goal in this product shot was to lend something a bit more artistic to this run-of-the-mill object. By using a very low angle of incidence in my lighting of the scene, more shadows were projected by the paperclips, adding a bit of drama.
The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!
Let the common be your guide to uncover the uncommon in the every day!
