I was feeling kind of lethargic this afternoon so I made myself a cup of espresso. Unfortunately it caught my eye and got cold while I was busy taking pictures of it!
One of the things I like about photography is that it heightens my awareness of visually interesting objects in the world around me; objects that I might otherwise take for granted or perhaps not even notice.
Cold Espresso + Good Photo = Happy Photographer
I have been having more and more fun experimenting with light box photos. This shot was made with the grapes placed on top of a cheap DIY lightbox with a Canon 580EXii stuck inside shining up through the table surface. Up top I used a 24″x24″ soft box with a 430EXii on one side as the main light, and a circular reflector on the other side to act as fill.
I did several different versions of this shot, both with my Canon 7D and the popup wireless flash controller, and with an evaluation Canon 5D MkII having another 580EX on top to serve as flash controller. I found very little difference in picture quality between the two sets in cases like this where the lighting is good. The 5DMkII really shines best when the light is dim.
I had some fun today shooting coffee beans on a DIY lightbox. The setup was a cheap white translucent plastic box from ikea with a 580EXII stashed inside pointing up at the beans. From the side I had another 580EX in a small soft box providing the side lighting. This was all shot with my trusty little Canon G12 with a ST-E2 transmitter controlling the flashes. The G12 is a great little camera for macro photography as long as your subject doest mind having the lens right up close to it, it works very well for times when you don’t feel like pulling out the tripod and DSLR for the shot.
