3 Great Minds :) - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/04/2002 09:39:39 AM · #1

I thought it was funny that three of us had the same idea of using a long exposure to capture ourselves multiple times in the same image. After taking well over 50 shots to achieve this effect, my hat is off to the other two folks who tried it, too!

The end result (for all three of us, I'm sure) was probably more difficult than most people would think. I used a hand-held flash and a 20-second exposure to pull it off. I darkened a room with a black backdrop, and started the exposure. Then I positioned myself for the first exposure and fired the flash at an arms-length. Then I turned around to shoot a second instance of myself with a different facial expression.

The hard part was to get positioned in just the right spot, while getting a facial expression I liked. There was a LOT of trial and error involved!

I don't know how many people marked me down because they may have thought I had a twin, but I'll take that as a compliment that shows that the effect worked well :) I thought you might get a kick out of seeing the original shot, with my arms extended to fire the flash, and portions of myself being rendered invisible where the background wasn't black:

Gracious

11/04/2002 09:55:52 AM · #2

Alan, You did an awesome job creating this picture. I'd like to try something similar. Thanks for the inspiration.

Sonifo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

11/04/2002 10:25:42 AM · #3

The problem with this sight is that there are to many who dont understand some of the things you can actually accomplish with your camera. And those same people get to vote.(Why ?) I didn't vote, but if I did I would have voted you a 9, because I know how hard it is to get the shot and then you did it so well. I tried this and mine came out grainy. I also love the exspressions you have. The only thing keeping from giving you a 10 is the background. You did a great job.
Sonja

I just know went and looked at your picture to see what your score was and WOW! You did a great job cropping. The picture you submitted would have got a 10 from me. :)

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/4/2002 10:27:16 AM.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/04/2002 10:28:31 AM · #4

Thanks for the kind words! Just for clarification... this wasn't the version I had submitted -- the submitted version was tightly-cropped of just my "heads" without the background clutter of my basement.

The version I submitted is here. :)

Originally posted by Sonifo:
...The only thing keeping from giving you a 10 is the background...

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/4/2002 10:29:21 AM.

Sonifo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

11/04/2002 10:31:41 AM · #5

I went and looked . You would have got a 10 from me. I edited my recent comment. :)

mcmurma

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Nikon MF 180mm f/2.8 ED AIS

11/04/2002 11:08:05 AM · #6

Alan, I must say that I thought your photo was well-executed AND it made me laugh.

I am surprised it did not place higher...

Congrats on great idea and another great shot.

shedonist

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/04/2002 12:40:25 PM · #7

Congrats on the great shot! I myself took one of the other 2 shots (less successfully I might add). My camera only allows 8 seconds max exposure without manually pressing the button down and probably wiggling the camera. For some reason, I could get get both exposures to come in clearly. I used a hand held light which I snapped on and off during the exposure while my husband scurried around in the dark.

It was great to see a really well done example of what I was going for. This was my first attempt at this type of shot, so I'm still pretty pleased with my results.

Amanda

11/04/2002 12:48:38 PM · #8

Amanda,

I enjoyed your shot, too! I know how hard that one had to have been, especially when trying to match up the glasses! And the 8-second limitation had to be pretty tough, too. I had initially tried to use a strobe light (rather than a flash) to do my shot, but it was just too hard to re-compose myself with such a short period of time between "blinks" of the light. I still had a hard time doing it with 20 seconds (I even used 30 seconds for a while, but it was introducing too much noise.)

Originally posted by shedonist:
I myself took one of the other 2 shots