Backdrops Collections, brings together mini photographic sites, extending the existing Backdrop library collections available at
www.backdrops.co.uk.
At the time of writing this, Backdrops Collections is a new concept and will take time to expand. The current Collections include:
 Liquid in Motion
Smoke Signals
But dont forget you can still visit the main Backdrops website and its Galleries, by visiting
www.backdrops.co.uk
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The set-up for photographing smoke in this nature is relatively straight forward, requiring the following items:
- A black background - it is important not to use a shiny or reflective background. My personal choice is black cotton material.
- Incense sticks - provides the actual source of the smoke, ideal because of the long burning time.
- A flash gun - separated from the camera and used to light up the smoke during exposure.
The distance between background and incense stick should be about 12inches to ensure the backgound is totally black and out of focus. Your main focus needs to be set manually on the incense stick, which is best done with the light on. You will require something to hold the incense stick in place - something as simple as bluetack will do a good job.
Next set-up your camera on tripod about 1 foot away from the incense stick. This distance may vary slightly and is best judged after a few test shots. If you are using a zoom lens then adjusting this may also help. Once your stick is alight, turn out the lights and use either an off camera cord or timer delay on your camera to take the shot. Your exposure time should be a good few seconds, to provide enough time for your hands to take the shot and manually fire the flashgun. The position of the flashgun should be directly below the smoke firing the flash upwards and through the smoke. This high speed photography flash technique is recorded in the exposure, lighting up and freezing the smoke in motion.
The colours and effects you see in my final images are done in Adobe Photoshop using a variety of techniques such as inverting colours, adjusting the hue and saturation, cropping and reflecting parts of the smoke. |
