You commented about "preparing the photo". I admire how quickly you can generate a beautiful image. Can I ask how you do it and what equipment you use? Do you have a permanent setup for photographing your daily work? Thank you.
Bob Lafond
Yes, this is quite muscular! I love it- the bold blue shadows on the road, the warm late afternoon colors of the trees and grass, the energetic movement of the composition.
Hi Bob, yes sure, I'll run through what I do. In the summer it's not really a problem with plenty of light but this time of year I find it essential to have a lighting set-up to record the painting. I have two digital photo lamps on stands, these are not expensive and can be sourced for less than $100 including bulbs. The bulbs are k5500 daylight fluorescent bulbs with standard E50 screw fittings and give the equivalent of 160w each--they give a real daylight light and are pretty handy doubling up for illuminating your palette on dark afternoons. To record the paintings I put one each side of the picture, generally this is enough. Sometimes it's useful, with a particularly glossy painting to take the picture at an angle to the picture plane ie. tilted, this cuts out glare from the surface and the resulting distortion can be corrected later in your editing software. I have a fairly good camera which can take pictures in low light, often with long exposures on a tripod. It's useful if choosing a camera on a budget to get one that both takes pictures in RAW format, has some control over the white balance/light temperature, and can take long exposures ( the more manual control the better). After I've taken the photo I use Adobe Photoshop to correct any distortions, to sharpen the image and balance the color to the original. I guess it takes about 15-20mins to get the painting from easel to web. I don't have a dedicated area for this or a permanent set-up but I would really like one!
I just started getting your "post cards" and am thoroughly enjoying them. I'll bid on one eventually but for the moment I enjoy the work and the words! It's like having a good friend in a really lovely place sending me a gift every day!
Thank you,
Breta
Hi Julian Thanks for your advice about camera techniques. It is very generous of you to take the time to do this, considering your busy life. I am going to watch for the 'blue' light at dusk as I find it intriguing.
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