A week or so ago I was enjoying a gin and tonic in an airline lounge while waiting for a flight and, feeling contemplative, was staring into the glass watching the bubbles clinging to the lemon wedge nestled between the ice - it gave me the idea of trying to see what I might be able to photograph using bubbles and this is what I got.
They're not great, there were issues, but it as enough to pique my interest and I'll give it another try at some later date. I thought to share these though, and explain what went wrong.
The number one thing that went wrong was that I'm a shit photographer, I'm getting that out there first up. But there were other issues as well.
I had it in mind to have really crisp white images with the pop of colour coming from the berries but I didn't count on colour coming out of the berries, particularly the blackberry, so there's a tinge to the water. You may note some reddish lines below that berry which is the colour trailing down through the water I thought that looked cool and will experiment with that a little more, but I wanted clear water and didn't get it. Note to self, don't start with the blackberry in the water, do that last.
I also had the issue of the berries (and bubbles) moving.
The bubbles would form on the berries and as they did the berry would become more buoyant on one side or the other and it'd move, always at the wrong moment. This made for some very blurry images, but I persisted. I had to shoot at a fast shutter speed also to avoid the blurring effect of the bubbles coming up off the bottom of the glass. Just on that glass, it's not the right thing for shooting this sort of thing, but was the only clear (non patterned/etched) glass I had.
I found a lemon which I thought I'd try out also...it wasn't the best lemon I'd ever seen in my life, but was all I had so it got used. There's a few marks on its skin which I don't like and next time I do this I'll find a better lemon. These two shots below are all I got out of about twenty I took; sort of ok for a knucklehead like me I guess.
I wasn't really prepared for this shoot...I only had one small bottle of soda water and the berries were frozen ones which was not ideal. The lemon was sub-standard too. It gave me a taste of what to expect though, I learned something, and next time I'll make sure I have the right things. With fresh berries, or other fruits, it'll come out much better as there will be more definition and detail in the actual fruit which will (I think) balance out the shots better between the interest of the bubbles and fruit.
That's it though and as always you are invited to comment if you'd like.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free.]
Every image in this post is my own.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III was used to capture these images.
Some good ones in there! And yeh blackberries and mulberries love leaking colour XD
I thought the marks on the lemon added some nice texture. I think I understand the look you wer egoing for though. On the bright side developing ideas means more photos :D
Yep, I'll do some more with the lessons I learned in mind. These are ok for a first attempt I guess, but not that great also.
I think very few first attempts at anything are particularly great :)
That's probably true, and I tend to put undue pressure on myself. I've got some lavender shots coming in hot tomorrow afternoon, a post, and they're better so let's see how they're received.
I hope you've had a good week and your weekend is going to be a good on also.
Can relate to putting undue pressure on self ^_^; just remember to take and celebrate the small wins while figuring out how you're going to improve for the next time (or just take the small wins and accept that all improvements are going to be coincidental if it's something that you don't have the time or inclination to work on developing XD)
Sage advice indeed Ry. Thank you.
you are one such creative photographer, you have an idea to merge some objects into the sparkling water so get some bubbles on them, this is really very beautiful, the bubbles on the berries are so perfect
Thanks mate, I wanted to try something creative to see if I could get it to work and learned a few things in the process. I will be trying this again for sure.
I'm sure you will get it, happily waiting for the results of your creative photos ☺
I tried something else in a shoot yesterday and those results will post on Saturday...I hope people are as receptive to those as they have been to these ones.
I'm sure people will take it very well
The shots are lovely, I think you wanted the berries shot to look exactly like the outcome of the lemon and bubble.
I admire your creativity and when you get the fresh berries and lemon, I am certain the result will be different.
It is a beautiful Wednesday morning here, how are you feeling today sire?
Wishing you a great day...
Yeah, it didn't come out exactly to plan but I learned a few things for next time.
I've just returned form the hospital after a complicated day, now I have to unpack all the information and happenings. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully your day is going better.
And this is why most food photographers fake it ;) Glue, resin, whatever looks similar enough. These days they can clean up anything in post, so that's a help too.
Anyway, yours looks good! Especially the lemon shots. Really nice!
Yeah, they use all sorts of tricks to make things look good...I'm not an edit my photos sort of guy, I don't know how to use the software and would rather present my photos honestly anyway. It's not like I have anyone to impress or the photos are for commercial use. Life is imperfect and my photos are too. I'm ok with that.
I'm going to have another go at this after I do some more preparation and when I have more time. It will be interesting to see how the photos may differ. I learned a few things that will cause me to do things a little differently and I'm keen to give it a try, when I get some time.
In the meantime, I did some shots of lavender (one of my favourite things to photograph) and I'll post them on Saturday. I'm much happier with how they turned out...they stayed still during the shoot. Lol.
I hear you, man. When I started in photography, I learned all the tricks. I started with film, so I learned dodging and burning and other darkroom techniques. When I moved to digital, I learned all the same with Photoshop. About 15 years ago I was at the forefront of the HDR game, which is a hack to increase the range of digital photos to around what we can get from medium format film. But just as everyone was embracing that and as I was getting some internet fame for doing the same, I suddenly saw it all as phony and abandoned it. I returned to analog for a time. Real lo-fi analog like the Holga. If you don't know that camera, it was a cheap plastic medium format camera made by China in the 70s. It's shit quality, giving all kinds of light leaks and other imperfections. But exactly for that, it has become a favorite in the lofi photography world.
I've since moved back to digital again, but I no longer edit my photos much, beyond fixing some exposure mistakes. As you say, life is imperfect. I want to show reality, imperfections and all.
Anyway, I look forward to your lavender shots on Saturday!
I couldn't have said it better, because I don't know all that stuff! Lol.
Seriously though, I would rather present the reality of the situation, the imperfections, and if people don't like it because it's not perfect, I'm ok with that, I do it for me anyway..
Lavender coming hot. 😀
These are good shots. Then 7th one reminds me of a side shot of a heart shape in the shot glass, but lime color.
Thanks mate, I had to get creative here...it wasn't a straightforward shoot doing macro with things that move. I think they came out ok though and I'll have another go with fresh fruit in the future.
I think they're pretty good! My phone could not have gotten the sparkle yours did. I love the one with the single blackberry - that's a great shot!
Thanks owasco...I didn't use my phone, I used a camera, I don't think my phone would take shots like this...or maybe it would.
That blackberry...I ate it...not for being a bad model, but for being a tasty blackberry. Well, it would have been tastier if it was a fresh one, but I only had frozen and wasn't prepared to pay $5.50 for a punnet of strawberries and $6.50 each for a punnet of raspberries and black berries. I'll do a similar shoot again in the future using some fresh fruit and see if I can get better shots.
I feel like they turned out quite well considering you just kind of threw them together. I took some macro shots this past weekend from my garden. Those are nothing to write home about! I wanted to get some shots of my scapes though.
There wasn't much planning to be honest, so next time I'll put some more effort into it and see how those one come out. Are you doing a post of those shots you took?
I'm not sure yet about the post. I only took like two or three shots, so I am trying to figure out how I can work them into a proper post. Anything less feels like it would just be spammy. I might need to combine it with some other stuff.
I understand, but three is a good number as long as there's some words I think. I'm sure you'll come up with something, it'll be a shame not to present them to us.
I looked at the pics today and there is only one I am really happy with. I might do it as a June photo dump post or something like that.
Nice, I'll look out for it.
It's true what you say about the colour of the water, but that doesn't mean it's not a good photograph, just a different style.
I love the idea of the bubbles, especially the contrast between water, bubbles and fruit. The colour of the fruit gives it a great style.
I also like the contrast of the lemon with the dark background, very good choice.
I don't know if the movement issue can be solved, as the bubbles move... it's a question of taking a lot of pictures, I think, and see which one comes out better.
The issue of the colour in the water, I think the fruit should be almost nothing ripe, that would avoid the loss of liquids.
It reminded me of when I was learning drawing and painting, the teacher always had fruit, flowers and sculptures for us to draw and paint. With the fruits she would varnish them first... they would last longer... it's a trick.
Excellent, I love it, you are an excellent photographer, I'm a century away from that! I congratulate you!
I'm going to try a few different things. This time, probably due to the frozen fruit I used, things didn't come out that well but I picked up a few things I could do differently and will give it a try next time.
Persist and insist! I can't wait to see that new publication, it's going to be great!😀
You always say you are a bad photographer but the shots, to me; I particularly always love them. They could easily be used in a commercial or catalog because it's so eye-catching.
Thank you for saying so...I think I just get lucky with photos...or maybe I take so many the camera takes pity on me?
I died laughing at that. But the reality is that you're good even if you have no notion of photography.
It was supposed to make you laugh, so my job here is done. :)
The first lemon photograph in glass is the most beautiful one in my eyes among others. It's looking cool 😎.
Thanks, I liked that one too.
I don’t think you are a shit snapper, so much practice lining up targets before shooting the fuck out of them must help?
Lol...oh yeah I apply all of the techniques used in long range rifle shooting for sure...the recoil from the shutter release is much less, but that's not a bad thing.
And no sore shoulder !
Yep, exactly, and no hearing protection required either.
Good point well made!
Strange that you think you're not a good photographer hahaha, I think it's a great job. Maybe you didn't get the idea you wanted, but this is fabulous and I feel what you tried to share through these photos. You have talent, that's why good ideas occur in your mind to capture moments, I really enjoyed this, I thought it was great and it inspires me...
Thanks for your thoughtful words.
In my head this photo shoot went way better so I'm disappointed with the results, however for a first attempt I think they're not to bad and I learned a few things. We'll see if I can do it better next time.
I rather like that I can see the streams of color flowing from the berry. Nothing shabby about the shot, but of course, my expectations and visual pleasure were pleasing. There were redeeming qualities about many of the shots, such as the bubbles clinging to the fruit in the 7th shot - another fine example - for me.
The last shot completes it for me and yes, I thank you for sharing it. I look forward to the next set. Thanks, Galen.
Thanks Denise, it wasn't a straightforward shoot and I wasn't all that prepared to be honest, just wanted to give it a try to see how it turned out. I learned some things and will give it another try sometime to see if I can make the shots come out better.
Thanks for commenting though, I appreciate it.
This can be fun, in its own way. I enjoy the entire process most times. :)
Hope you are feeling well and all is well with you.
It's the process I enjoy for sure, the end result is nice too, but going through the steps, thinking creatively and bringing it all together is a reward too. I don't have all the equipment I need to make it up using what I have around the place, some works and some does not, but the whole process of it feels creative and is enjoyable. If I get a few snaps that are ok, then great. If not, I'll try again. It's sort of how I've lived my life I suppose.
Only you make me write stupid stuff like this!
Well, considering you asked if I'm well I'll tell you I'm as well as one can be without being too unwell. My wellness is...well, it's well and whilst I could be weller, I'm happy with my wellness as it stands currently, but also work towards being more well. When will that happen? Well, I'm not sure, but being more well will be...well, I guess it'll do me well to be more well.
Well, I should go. I hope you're well and that all is well with you.
P.s. That's not stupid stuff, it's just human and shows personality. Me likey.
Haha! Well, of course, that is what I get for asking. You wanna work on that? I would appreciate it.
Wow! That's a great job done by you, it good to try something new to find something new. You see such a great photographer, thanks for sharing these great pictures with us here.
You're welcome, I appreciate you taking a look and commenting.
By the way, I love the sixth and the last picture.
What name would you give to the sixth one?
I'd probably call it, bubbly boobs. (I know, predictable right?)
Hahaha yeah, a little predictable but great 😁. They look great
Sometimes knowing what you'll get can be comforting and familiar.
I like your articles. The shots are great. Your Olympus camera is doing great.
I noticed you recently downvotes my articles.
I’m a farmer that posts on updates from my farm, please could you explain to me where I got it all wrong.
I post original pictures of my activities at the farm, and if I should use other materials, I do reference their source. Please educate me.
I left you a comment about upvoting your own comments which is something you've been doing. In that comment I left I told you I would address it if that should continue. I saw you've been upvoting your own posts too. That's all there is to it.
You should stick to farming in the real world because farming for rewards here will not go well for you.
Should I also discontinue upvoting my articles? Please life here is very tough, I invested all my savings on Hive so that maybe I can generate curation rewards weekly to sustain my farm and animals in it. I need directions, support and encouragement rather. Thanks for the reply. I hope everything would be alright someday, and I hope to improve.
You can self vote anywhere you like, but I'll counter it, meaning I'll remove the rewards. Hive is not your personal bank and self voting is not acceptable.
This wasn't a good idea.
I hope seeing your upvote someday on my articles rather than downvotes. Enjoy yourself, and thanks for letting me know the rules on Hive, I’ll stick to the rules.
We shouldn’t be perturbed seeing that vanity upon vanity; all is vanity; in less that 100 years to come, we all may have left Hive alone.