We got it! A suitable head-and-shoulders shot -- "something with beautiful lighting like your signature tabletop photo/logo," as Jill Stewart of Pajamas Media suggested the other day. We especially love the serendipitous miniature still life with digital thermometer and kitchen timer bathed in peachy morning light, lower left behind plate. 'Didn't even notice it until we got the 50+ duds plus this one good one up into Apple's iPhoto "contact sheet" (below). Click on photo for larger version.
Beauty in unexpected places? What cameraman Russell Metty did with a soft gauze effect for aging stars like Doris Day, we pulled off with mirrors, in this case a super-reflective "gold" place plate, one of a set of four from our sis that has graced many a stunning table setting through the years, most notably our festive meal this last January 30 in celebration of the Iraqi elections.
"Inner strength, determination, perseverance in the face of adversity, and a strong work ethic." That's what sisu's all about, and we've got the digital contact sheets to prove it. The keeper (self-portrait top of post) was the very last shot we took this morning (lower right in contact sheet), and the photo of Tiny below is in the fifth row, fourth column over from left.
More seredipitous effects as Tiny moves through the improvised portrait studio on the diningroom table. Swishing through, inspecting and marking everything with nose and cheek, she was too fast for hand or eye, so we just followed her movements as best we could and kept snapping the shutter. Here's the keeper:
Tiny arrives to inspect the setup, and we catch an unplanned reflection of curiosity satisfied. Visual surprises like the miniature still life in top photo and Tiny's image in the gold plate here suggest the world of difference between yesterday's snail cameras -- with their long lag time between snapping the shutter and seeing, not to mention being able to manipulate, what you get -- and today's digital cameras, with instant feedback within the camera's LCD monitor and then immediate availability in Photoshop by simply plugging camera or card reader into your computer. Even the exquisitely designed camera itself, sleek and tiny -- is a treat for the voracious visual eye.
In the "how this movie was made" tradition, we take you behind the scenes to see the jerry-rigged* arrangements that lie behind the glitz you see on the screen.
*In the form jury rigged it’s from the days of sailing ships and dates from the early 1600s, if not earlier. It refers to a mast which is makeshift or a temporary contrivance, perhaps because the original was lost or damaged in a storm. Nobody knows for sure where it comes from.
As usual - lovely pictures. It's nice to see you along with one of the kitties!
Posted by: Teresa | August 19, 2005 at 09:18 PM
The picture with your reflection seems very "Vermeer-like." I reviewed every Vermeer I could, but there really is no equivalent pose/mirror picture; however, the pose and expression seemed very much something he might have done. I suppose that sounds a little loopy, but it was the impression the photo made. I wonder if anyone can point perhaps to another artist's style (let's of course crop out or blur the electronic gear in the background).
Posted by: Jeff Hull | August 22, 2005 at 04:47 PM
More broadly than Vermeer: Flemish portraiture: Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding Portait. The challenge of painting a reflection in a convex mirror was contemporary.
Posted by: burst | August 29, 2005 at 09:02 PM
Here's that Van Eyck portrait (good comparison -- note artist's reflection in mirror):
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/eyck/arnolfini/arnolfini.jpg
Posted by: Sissy Willis | August 30, 2005 at 05:21 AM