say cheese

Two long tables had been joined together for a chili cookoff. These are the kinds of competitions a person can really sink his teeth into! It is critical to take small portions, especially if you want to taste as many varieties as possible. Instead of serving one bowl, I carefully grabbed a bowl AND a cup in the same hand... that way would spend less time waiting in line. As they were making announcements and presenting the judges, I wondered if the shredded cheddar would come out okay in a photo. I went in for a macro (using a new light ring that I made myself), and I heard some people making fun of me for taking pictures of cheese.

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Pfft! (muttering) People.

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You know, that these are probably going to be the very people who get in a jam and need a free photographer at a moment's notice to produce "professional" looking prints and have them turned around overnight. (And I would be the guy with a camera who says yes.) They should never make fun of a guy who takes pictures of cheese? I mean, what if he really IS crazy?!!!

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I think people are difficult. What I mean is, that even though I love people (I really do), it's harder to get a good photo of them, than say a bumblebee or a flower or whatever.

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I practiced this weekend. I set up a spot with four flashes. One was a few feet to the left of the subjects, and aimed to the wall behind them. One was at the end of a stick that I held high to my left. On the right, I had a flash unit covered with tissue paper for soft fill-in. All of this was triggered by my camera's little flip-up flash, and I had wax paper in front of that, for a softening effect. I was happy with the results, but I did not have them sign model release forms, and I don't want any trouble with the stuff I publish on the blog.