I thought for this month I would combine our theme with a hint of mystery, as, of course, halloween is almost upon us. This shot was tricky to pull off;
I had to set up my camera on a tripod aimed at my second floor hotel room and with my camera set to a pre-determined exposure and on 5 second time delay, remotely triggered the shutter. The time delay allowed me to hide the trigger in a shirt pocket. The exposure was set for around 3 or 4 seconds and all I had to do was make sure I remaind stock still; having my hands positioned against the glass helped to eliminate blurring. I later cropped the image, toned down the yellow cast, increased the contrast and applied a stroke of light gray of about 2 pixels. This was taken in Quito, Ecuador, and I had a friend down below guarding the camera equipment.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 5 comments posted
Marti Buckely
Very creative. I like the way you have the ghost a little off-center and adding the stroke lets me know that. Nice job. Posted: 10/10/2020 19:34:45
Joseph J Zaia
Jerry, I love your ingenuity in capturing this self-ghostly image, but I must ask, if you had a friend with you, why not have him pose at the window? In any case, I feel that in this case, any motion created and not having the hands so sharp, would have added to the ghostly effect. Yes, a very creative and effective idea. Posted: 10/12/2020 04:24:42
Jerry Biddlecom
I could have had my friend stand in the window, but I was more interested in experimenting with the technique that I ended up using -- just to see if I could pull it off. I was trying to portray two "states" of matter, if that doesn't sound too far fetched -- the suggestion of solid flesh of the hands pressing against the glass along with a transition to the etherial feel of the rest of the body. Again, regarding the possible stand in -- it was quite late and I didn't want to be yelling back and forth up to the second floor window. Actually, now that I think about it, this was probably a shot up to the third floor of the hotel. Posted: 10/24/2020 14:20:54
Peggy Reeder
Pretty spooky! This certainly tells a story. Who is that person? Are they in distress? What's going on?? I agree with Joe that you probably didn't need to be so still. Ghostly movement would have been good. Posted: 10/17/2020 14:51:07
Kaylyn Franks
Cool idea. I agree a little motion and the hands not so sharp will really enhance your ghostly idea. Posted: 10/20/2020 10:46:03
