The picture and the story of its making

[singlecoil]

For some time now I've been thinking that it would be good if those who had the inclination to go a bit further than simply posting a photo they had taken also had the opportunity to tell us about the creating of the image. It's rarely obvious what photographers have to go through to get the images they post, or how they overcame the challenges, where the idea came from, what they used etc.

So, in the hope that it might inspire some of you to tell us a bit more about the pictures you post, I'll start the ball rolling-

We (my wife and I) had spent a frustrating weekend trying to get a decent image out of the flowers and props we had bought yesterday morning. Didn't even get close. Just about to pack the gear away when I said about the cheese we had bought the week before. We'd bought some french Raclette at Waitrose because it looked interesting despite never even having heard of it let alone tasted it (we buy cheese on looks as well as taste) and we still had the Cropwell Bishop from the previous weeks shooting, so I suggested we quickly knock up a cheeseboard photo so as not to end the weekend without a picture.

Got some rolls from the freezer, used one of our Fablon covered boards as a base (it's not Fablon but a similar idea made by a German company called D-C-Fix), put some pickle in a little bowl, added some carnations and a scrunched up charity shop scarf to keep the orangey-pink theme going, poured some cheap Zinfandel into a couple of Tesco wine glasses, and took the picture. Then moved stuff around and took another picture, repeated until we got a result we were happy with.

We've got a Manfrotto Digital Director which works with an iPad that fits into it, so that makes it a lot easier as the live view and a jpeg of the result can be viewed at a reasonable size, the camera was on a tripod halfway up the stairs to get the angle, fired remotely from the iPad which is handy, so one of us didn't need to keep going up stairs to take the picture. Light was from a really big softbox just out of the frame at camera rear (at the rear of the scene, I mean), and a white reflector in front.

We had the Raclette ( the nearest cheese) lying down like the Cropwell behind it to start with, but the light reflecting of its surface made it far too bright. Turning it like you see it here put it in semi shadow which gave the result we wanted. Also there's a bit of light shining through the 'nose' which is a nice effect.

After we got the picture we tried the Raclette, it turned out to taste really nice which is surprising because it is seriously stinky stuff, surprising in such an innocuous looking cheese.

Raclette, Cropwell and Zinfandel by Elliott and Nolan, on Flickr

I look forward to seeing your pictures and reading the stories behind them Up to you how much detail you go in to, of course.

Edited by singlecoil on Sunday 2nd April 18:10

[djsmith74]

Interesting topic, and I'll give this a go. Not as detailed a description as yours, but hopefully a bit of a story will help. Here goes...

Picture 1
I had treated myself to a solo-week in NYC for my 40th birthday, and one evening decided to do the obligatory walk across Brooklyn Bridge to shoot the skyline from the other side. I'd had a few beers by this point as I'd done a bit of a bar tour on my way south through the city, so was feeling suitably lubricated!. I arrived at the waterfront at Brooklyn Bridge Park, set myself up in a decent spot and started shooting. The shots were coming out OK, nothing special, but then I guess the beer had got the "creative juices" flowing and I thought a long'ish exposure panoramic shot would be just the ticket....

In lieu of a tripod, I propped my camera up on one of the railing bollards (with the strap still round my neck, for fear of it falling into the Hudson - was sober enough to make rational decisions at this point!). However, the top of the bollard was curved, so I wasn't getting a stable platform. So I took out my trusty Lonely Planet guidebook and propped that on top of the bollard with the camera on that - not realising that I'd actually scooped up my hotel key inside the guidebook, which could have easily fallen into the Hudson. I still wasn't getting a stable camera, as the lens was making the camera drop at the front. So, I thought it would be a marvellous idea to prop the lens with my spare batteries, which I did so. The beer was kicking in at this point, and the whole platform could have easily fallen in the river - guidebook, hotel key, spare batteries. But, my beer-fuelled judgement decided it would all be OK. I proceeded to rattle off a load of long'ish exposure shots on timer, whilst panning the camera round on it's increasingly unstable platform, decided I'd had enough and the shots wouldn't be that good anyway, scooped up the "platform" and ambled back to the hotel via a few more bars! It wasn't until a couple of weeks after, when I was at home scanning through my photos, came across those shots, merged them together, that I was pleasantly surprised to get this despite the ramshackle set-up and beer-fuelled judgement....

New York Panoramics by djsmith46, on Flickr

Pictures 2&3
Not as lengthy a story, and more of a set of shots rather than a single image. I was very fortunate that my parents, brother & Grandma all chipped together to buy me a Leica M3 and Summicron 50mm lens for my 40th birthday. I'd always lusted after a Leica and, after several years of shooting digital, it was (& still is) very refreshing to go back to shooting fully manual with such a tactile camera.

Anyway, I had booked myself to go to my annual visit to the Hot Rod Hayride last year, and decided I'd take the Leica. I'd had a very busy few months in the lead up to the event, and thought I'd had all I needed without really checking. On the day, I grabbed my camera bag along with my clothes, looked inside and saw that I had no film. Panic set in. I started rummaging through my drawers and managed to find a few rolls at the back. I got them out and saw that they were cheap Agfa colour film that I picked up for £1 a roll at Poundland, and they were 2 years out of date. I checked my digital camera batteries and they were all flat, so I'd had no choice but to take the Leica and cheap out-of-date film if I wanted to capture the event.

I shot the event as best as I could, using a light meter app in my iPhone for exposure and, as with the NYC shot above, was pleasantly surprised that the cheap film actually produced a decent 'period' tone to the pictures!...

Hot Rod Hayride 2016 by djsmith46, on Flickr

Hot Rod Hayride 2016 by djsmith46, on Flickr

[Name of user]

I'll give this a go- with my shoddy photography skills!



This was taken at last years Goodwood members meeting, a great event. It must've been less than 15 minutes after I walked through the gate, I immediately saw a swarm of people around by the paddock area, looking closer I saw a dash of silver' so I decided to join the hoard. The car in question was a Mercedes w196 'silver arrow' raced by Juan Manuel Fangio and sir Stirling moss in 1954/55. The car was dominant, winning 75% of the races it entered, and it looks stunning too! But it wasn't just the car, as you can see in the photo- amongst the crowd is blonde guys head, poking out in the centre of the shot. The man in question was Mika hakkinen, racing royalty; to me that makes this shot just a little bit more special. I wanted a picture of the car the second I saw the it, so I got a good distance away and waited, and waited...and waited- it must've been at least 10 minutes until I saw a gap in the crowd large enough to get a shot of the car in, but there were still people obscuring the rear wheels, so more waiting it was. Eventually though, it cleared up, and I knew exactly what I wanted, I lined the car up slap bang in the centre of the shot, and took the photo, all of that waiting for one shot, but it was worth it!

[Resolutionary]

Good thread idea - my stand out from the last year has to be a shot I took in Canada, of a frankly menacing grizzly bear.

The story goes, I went to Vancouver to see some friends who emigrated, and although we planned a trip to Banff during my stay, they were both working for the first week of my trip which left me with lots of free time to explore. Prices for camera gear in Canada are extremely reasonable, and until that holiday my modest collection comprised of a Canon 70D a kit 18-55mm, and a 100mm macro.

My friend told me about a shop near his place which sold Canon stuff - I'd told him I would quite like a telephoto lens for the Banff trip - and I managed to pick up a 75-300mm new for the princely sum of £109ish (equivalent). The next day, eager to test this new lens out, I decided to do a solo trip up a mountain about an hour from Vancouver city. I'd traipsed around for ages, only seeing a grouse and a few deer, and then as I reached the top of a verge I noticed this huge brown thing plodding along about 100m from me. I had a vantage point, and couldn't quite believe my luck - so the idiot in me started snapping away with the zoom lens, not really noticing it was coming my way. It looked up while I was still looking at it through the viewfinder, and let out a bit of a roar which sent a small amount of poo out of me. This is the photo I ended up with!

[singlecoil]

I think a big part of the reason for this thread is that people post pictures with no back story, other people look at them but they have no idea what was involved in getting the image. And why should they? If we don't tell them they won't know. I think all the pictures posted so far are much more interesting and involving now we know how they came to be.