Spark of Creation

[blattin]

My first DPS post! Hurray!

This shot was taken in a friend's garage as she was working on an art project for a beginning welding class at a local university.

- Settings -

Camera: Canon 20D
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/200
Exposure bias: -1 step
White Balance: Manually set to 10,000 Kelvin
Focal length: 11mm
Shot in RAW + Large Fine jpeg

In hindsight, this should have been shot at 22mm or possibly a 50mm prime. The non-cropped version is much larger even though I was within a meter or so of the torch. Because of this a lot of resolution was lost, so it would be unfit for a large print.

- Post Production -
The photo was cropped down quite a bit.
A white garage door was burned out between the subject and the sculpture using Photoshop.
Minor contrast, levels, and vibrance tweaks.

- Notes -

This was my first attempt shooting someone welding and it involved a lot of guess work. Spot metering about 2 feet from the arc helped immensely. The wide angle worked well for some other shots, but I'd shoot with a 50mm prime if I could do it all over again. Beware how close you get to the arc. The lens was definitely in danger of catching a spark in this shot.

I initially started shooting with a 2xND filter, but found it to be unnecessary.

DO NOT LOOK AT THE ARC! Compose before the arc is fired up, shoot in continuous, and pray. The arc light won't damage the CMOS, but it absolutely will damage your eyesight even through the viewfinder.

Comments and critiques are very welcome.

I'm quite new to photography so this was a very exciting challenge to try and capture. Please feel free to add me as a contact on flickr. I'd like to get a chance to look at more photographers work!

*Hmm, signature won't show up.
Flickr: BrandonLattin
www.flickr.com/brandonlattin

[rick020200]

Very cool shot, and awesome first post! You've done very well if you are new to photography.

Did you capture RAW files? If so, this could be an ideal situation where an HDR based off the same RAW file could yield incredible results. If you didn't shoot RAW, look into it. I think you're already ready.

[daddyoproductions]

Very brave! I wouldn't even attempt this and no wonder you had to crop it I think it's great! TFS
~C

[wondertwins]

wow i really like this shot. Do you happen to have the finish product of your friend's project?

[blattin]

I don't. She was asked to leave it with the school on display for a semester, but I have some more well lit shots of it available.

On another note, a friend pointed out that my burning of the garage door in the middle isn't complete, and I just can't see it on my display. Any hits besides cranking the brightness on my monitor for seeing those pesky near-black colors when editing?

[Thanatoz]

wow its great... good composition and the exposure worked well.
I really like this /jealous