This week I made my first attempts at reenactment-type photography. I'd been wanting to do a session with my husband and his antique Lee-Enfield rifle and we were finally able to try a few plates. We didn't have a lot of time and we were working in our small, shady backyard, so I didn't get the images I was trying for, but it was fun and I'm looking forward to trying again.
5x7 alumitype 9/28/2015
The first image, above, (isn't quite as dark on the original plate) though not technically underexposed, was just too dark for my liking, so we tried again with a slightly different setting.
5x7 alumitype 9/28/2015
In the second image, I was able to to get a lot more detail in the clothes and rifle, but his face is lost in shadow, as is the background. My husband really liked the first picture better, especially having the rifle in silhouette. After a day or two's contemplation, I have to agree. The first image also has an older, more antique feel to it.
What did I learn?
- Outdoor "action" shots are difficult to control--no matter what I did I was not going to get his face out of the shadow--not with the helmet, the rifle in aiming position, and the shady setting.
- Holding a heavy rifle for up to half a minute or so is very difficult for the subject.
- I need to get out of my backyard more--the lighting for this session would have been greatly improved if we'd headed out to the desert where we could take advantage of more light bouncing off dirt and sandstone.
- I want to try more of these!