PHOTOGRAPH INFO

This photograph was taken this afternoon. I wanted to create some local "atmosphere" for a portrait series I'm working on and I thought it would be interesting to experiment with some flour as the atmospheric agent. It was a beautiful summer afternoon so I thought - what the heck, let's see what happens.

We used a step ladder, a sieve and a bag of flour. One person was on the step ladder shaking the flour through the sieve and one person was below the step ladder being photographed.

Lessons learned: 1) Don't do this on a windy day, or even a lightly breezy day. Airbourne flour travels very quickly, far and wide. 2) Wear clothes AND shoes that you don't care too much about. 3) Make sure you have an air can handy for the camera. 4) Leave the dog indoors. 5) Do not attempt to rinse flour out of your hair with a hose. The flour turns into dough. Shake your dry head thoroughly before rinsing it in water.

I'll have more from this portrait series as I go along.

Post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens at 52mm, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/1000s and aperture f/2.8. Converted the RAW file to B&W by using the gradient map, basic curves adjustment for contrast, very light color balancing for tone.

Thank you for visiting (flour-y) Durham Township!

--Kathleen

love it! the creativity is priceless and the 'clear side' on the right is cool. the write up is great...i can only imagine what my dog would do!

LOL. The photo is awesome and the lessons just as great. Thanks for the tips. ;)

This is an excellent portrait, Kathleen. I'm drawn to it for its quirkiness and simplicity of composition. Good one.

Marvelous!

OH! FUN! Weird and Wonderful! EXCELLENT.

Really "cool" :-)

Wow. This looks awesome. Sorry, I do not have other words .. Greetings from Germany
Martin

Great photo, very unique and the most wonderful description of the process, thanks for the smile today ;)

Wonderful photo with lots of shades and tones. The description is priceless :)

You've clearly lost your marbles ;o)

Awesome portrait!

This is such a striking shot. Thanks for the flour/water/hair tip. I probably would have reached for a hose right away. Obviously cooking is not my forte. :-)

I and my friend were thinking about trying some flour experiments, too, but haven't tried it yet. Thanks for your tips, they might be very useful ;-) Amazing shot.

Lovely shot, looks like a fly :) Sounds like it was a fun day.

I am so busy cracking up over this...I don't quite know what to say. I wish I could have been there to see the whole scene, because the description you gave has left the most amusing picture in my head.

If I ever did that my neighbors would know for certain that I've gone over the edge. Incidentally they already suspect as much. We were playing with a smoke machine and red spot lights in my living room this weekend...lol

Love this shot! As always your model looks like he was a very good sport.

LOL - oh, this is the best shot!!!!! I'm totally cracking up over your helpful tips. hahaha. Looking forward to the next photos in the series!

wow! first I thought it's water, but the "dust" in his hair and face made me doubt. The b&w and his 'look' makes it very powerfull, almost cold.

Wonderful!

One additional 'flour' tip: remember that flour dispersed in air is explosive if ignited. It's probably better not to combine this technique with an ignition source nearby.

What a fantastic picture, this kind of creative thinking is what makes me keep coming back.

Great image. Love his expression and the water is just brilliant! One of my favourite shots

Wonderful image.
Looks like you behind those goggles.

Excellent! Looks like fun.

Really like your work !!
It's always a pleasure to come on your blog.

ha! cute!

Very nice shot with a good show of creativity!

Wonderful idea!

Simply quite wonderful, what an excellent idea! Looks very proff.

i like the black and white verison better