Inspiration strikes in the strangest places.
There I was last winter, soaking in a steaming hot bath, gazing at my toes and meditating on the State of the World when, out of nowhere, it struck me. Taps ... tub ... and toes peeping out of the water. What a great angle for a photograph!
I won't say I cried "Eureka!" and dashed naked through the house looking for my camera. But the the next day I took another bath (no sarcastic comments please), setting it up carefully, with plenty of foam, a loofah, and a strategically-placed bathy sort of bottle. Then I placed my camera on a stool beside the tub, climbed into the water and lay down.
Gingerly picking up my camera, and holding it very tight, I shot away, with the flash pointed up at the ceiling. Bathrooms are beautiful places for photography. They generally have a lot of white in them, with plenty of reflective surfaces too. The light bounces all over the place and fills in shadows giving a very balanced effect. (They're excellent for portraits too. But that's another story.)
It's an odd feeling, to be lying in a hot bath taking photographs.
Cut to this Christmas.
When I got back from my jaunt to UK through a snowy France and a blocked Channel Tunnel, I found an e-mail waiting from a group called Elf Cottage Music (yes, that's their name ... I kid you not) telling me that they bought one of my photographs to illustrate a seasonal song of theirs called A Stay at Home Quiet Christmas. And the video of it could be seen on YouTube.
What image of mine could they have used? A Christmas tree in the snow? A sprig of holly isolated on white? Skiers swooping down a wintry mountain? It surely had to be something Christmassy.
Watch carefully at 1m30s ...
There I was last winter, soaking in a steaming hot bath, gazing at my toes and meditating on the State of the World when, out of nowhere, it struck me. Taps ... tub ... and toes peeping out of the water. What a great angle for a photograph!
I won't say I cried "Eureka!" and dashed naked through the house looking for my camera. But the the next day I took another bath (no sarcastic comments please), setting it up carefully, with plenty of foam, a loofah, and a strategically-placed bathy sort of bottle. Then I placed my camera on a stool beside the tub, climbed into the water and lay down.
Gingerly picking up my camera, and holding it very tight, I shot away, with the flash pointed up at the ceiling. Bathrooms are beautiful places for photography. They generally have a lot of white in them, with plenty of reflective surfaces too. The light bounces all over the place and fills in shadows giving a very balanced effect. (They're excellent for portraits too. But that's another story.)
It's an odd feeling, to be lying in a hot bath taking photographs.
Cut to this Christmas.
When I got back from my jaunt to UK through a snowy France and a blocked Channel Tunnel, I found an e-mail waiting from a group called Elf Cottage Music (yes, that's their name ... I kid you not) telling me that they bought one of my photographs to illustrate a seasonal song of theirs called A Stay at Home Quiet Christmas. And the video of it could be seen on YouTube.
What image of mine could they have used? A Christmas tree in the snow? A sprig of holly isolated on white? Skiers swooping down a wintry mountain? It surely had to be something Christmassy.
Watch carefully at 1m30s ...
To say I was gobsmacked is an understatement.
Still ... for once it's nice to know where one of my photos has been used. Thanks Elf Cottage Music.
And always be on the lookout for new angles for your photographs.
Happy New Year.
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4 comments:
Classic! The photo and the story. Well done and best wishes for a great 2010!
John
Thanks John. And a very happy and productive 2010 to you and your family too.
What? No pedicure?
Wishing you and yours the best of the new year, Alistair.
Melissa
Real Men don't have pedicures.
:-)
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