Fiona (Stranger #52/100), Paris Elysees-Madeleine

Fiona (Stranger #52/100), Paris Elysees-Madeleine

Having met Jacques I ambled along the Rue Royale towards the Place De La Concorde, passing more super stone-framed doorway backdrops. Though the light had dulled slightly, when I Fiona and Mark overtook me I hailed them. Visiting Paris for the weekend from England, both were superbly sophisticated and friendly, but with Jacques at #51 I thought Fiona would mix things up a little more in terms of variety of sequence. Mark helped with the reflector and we shot a couple of quick frames in front of one of the doors. I have to say I made a couple of mistakes in framing, with the oddly aligned doorway and portal all slightly skewed, and perhaps not the best balance of soft stone and painted door. Nonetheless, Fiona's natural class and charisma justified sharing this one. Or two. I couldn't quite work out which I preferred, so would welcome comments. I did go with this one as the main image, as I think having both shoulders in the frame helps with the scale and anchoring. Thank you Fiona and Mark for stopping and interrupting your late afternoon stroll. I hope you had a superb weekend and like the final images. This is portrait #52 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Alternate Take - Fiona, Paris Elysees-Madeleine

Alternate Take - Fiona, Paris Elysees-Madeleine

See main shot for notes on this street portrait.

Jacques (Stranger #51/100), Paris Rue Royale

Jacques (Stranger #51/100), Paris Rue Royale

This is portrait #51 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved. (Detail to follow... Adding now...)

Frédérique (Stranger #50/100), Paris Montmatre

Frédérique (Stranger #50/100), Paris Montmatre

On my recent Paris trip I made the mistake of walking too much. On the Saturday I went over 40,000 steps (a threshold I've only reached twice previously in three years - one a marathon and one a half marathon followed by half day hike). As previously noted, my usual modus operandi is to find a background, test shoot for exposure/separation and then wait for the right person. Trying to cover too much ground in too little time, I found myself repeatedly breaking my process, marching on to cover ground. This saw me miss some great strangers; caught without a background I paused that millisecond too long and they were on their way. A few hours into the day, aware of this problem, I'd made myself the promise that if I saw someone to shoot then - comfort zone or not - I would stop them and tackle the background as the conversation unfolded. That resolution in mind, struggling up Montmartre, I saw Frédérique. She had an incredible, ethereal poise, and poignant, almost haunting intelligence about her that whispered of an old, noir-cloaked Paris. Like Franck earlier in the day, she listened, understood and agreed to take part in the project, so long as I could follow a few hundred yards, in this case to a bus stop. She confirmed the times, and noted we had eight minutes. Slightly too close behind the bus stop, but on hand at least, I noticed these black, glossy metal bars - offering a workable backdrop. Ideally I'd have shot with an extra twenty paces between us and them, but without that luxury, we framed the shot and talked. This is the first frame of four that we shot. In the comments you'll find the "straight out of camera" version - in which I'd nicked the top of Frédérique's head. Among the various self-enforced rules I'm observing in the quest for a consistent look across my project is having the full head in the main shot. Her pose, and expression, though were such powerful echoes of what had inspired me to ask if she would take part that I couldn't use one of the other three shots. (So often I find the first frame is the strongest). Enter Photoshop, wherein I rebuilt the missing details, widened the frame and de-cluttered the background. There's a photo-journalistic streak to street photography, which I respect, and this processing perhaps runs counter to that - yet I'm comfortable with that here. The ends, I think, justifies the means. Still I'm going to push myself harder in two seemingly contrary directions following this experience. The weekend reminded me to stay true to my MO, be patient, find a quality background, rein in distance covered and be ready to wait for the right person. Yet this shot, and Franck's, have forced me to accept that sometimes you just have to jump in, ready or not. As my grandmother noted in her memoirs; "You regret the missed opportunities more than the mistakes." If you're still with me after that ramble, you might wonder why I've written so much about the shot and the processing, but little about Frédérique herself. She was a superbly interesting person to speak with, yet amongst the topics covered were some thoughts on privacy which I must respect. She asked that I only share her portrait and name. This is portrait #50 of my 100 Strangers Project. Half way in and I cannot recommend it enough as a learning project, and as one of Flickr's best groups. If you're at all interested in taking part, why not check out some interviews with those who have completed the project. A new one is live today with the fantastic Paco_X which might inspire you further!

In The Light Garden (Girl In Rose Garden Lightpainting), Kent

In The Light Garden (Girl In Rose Garden Lightpainting), Kent, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
After lots of recent stranger/model work I wanted to keep up with my lightpainting. I've been doing lots of test sessions with the new TS-E 24mm to make sure I can use it blind come next months trip to Slovenia.

This is my third lightpainting using it, and I'm finding it hard not to use it on full swing. I guess that urge will diminish with familiarity, but I do like the effect it gives - here dropping out the unwanted fence and plumping up the blossom into cotton wool bokeh. All blur is in camera.

All lines were drawn in camera too - though I took the girl from my first frame, and roses from the third, so this is a composite of two shots.

My hands still bear the scars of tracing the roses in the dark. The green is from a plastic bottle top held over the torch; gels have never been string enough to colour bright LED light to my satisfaction. Having discovered bottle tops I think I might start a collection for future use - they're much less fiddly and far more effective than gel for this.

I'll be catching up this evening - hope everyone is having a bright start to the week.

Story Arch (In Camera Light Painting), Studland Beach

Story Arch (In Camera Light Painting), Studland Beach, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Last weekend the good weather saw us paddling along Studland beach. The tide was out, so we took Jessica up to the rock pools and re-discovered a set of caves I'd forgotten existed. That evening I went back to shoot from one.

It's a shot I think I'll need to reshoot, but thought it was fun enough for an initial post. I'm going to watch my tide tables and feet a little more to get smooth sand coming into the cave, and would ideally see a little less cloud for a final frame.

There's a strange ghosting from the TS-E here - I think the issues come from shooting straight on, close focused on the rock of the cave. Next time I'll see what I can do getting the girl closer to focus.

There's a little cloning on the left hand cave wall to remove a distracting chalky stain, but everything else is in camera as always.

Info For Strobist:

Three half power flashes of Canon 600EX-RT from 2m camera left to light cave. Girl is hand drawn with LED flashlight with sock as diffuser.

Sarah (Stranger #39/100), London Southbank

Sarah (Stranger #39/100), London Southbank, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Sarah and her friend Poppy had come into London from Essex to see the aquarium. I met them outside the Tate Modern, sitting on separate benches and chattering giddily. When I introduced the idea of a portrait, their first eager question was if I knew where they could find a Pret A Manger for food. They had a whirlwind of energy, a charmingly chaotic pace to their questions and a sparkle in their eyes, and I knew we could get a super portrait.

I shot chiefly with Sarah, simply because her scarf and hair were better coordinated to a background of ground-lit silver birch. I think I suggested the scene could look like a fairytale wood.

Colin and Stoyan had kindly stood in as models as I setup a single softbox on a stand in front of the trees ten minutes earlier, and guarded it as I wandered along the river looking for a subject.

We got a lot of great images, but this one - the first frame we shot - caught Sarah's energy and character the most expressively. The trees also framed her best - cradling her almost with their lines.

I wished I'd thought to ask why they'd chosen the aquarium for a visit - it seemed so unexpected and yet so appropriate a decision.

Sarah and Poppy - thank you for stopping. I hope you found your Pret!

This is portrait #39 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Info for Strobist:

Canon 600EX-RT in 38" Lastolite softbox, 45* up and left of Sarah, nearly point blank. Fired at 1/128, triggered by non-firing 600EX-RT on camera for focus assist. Gold reflector held by Stoyan camera right, low down angled up.