[Photographer Profile] #13 Necronomicon

Necronomicon

My name is Stephen, or Steve to 99% of the people in my life, and I like to take the occasional photograph.

Photography, as a hobby, has fallen under an umbrella of other creative pursuits I've undertaken throughout my life. I fancied myself as an amateur writer as a child; I swapped type-writer for pencils as I moved into my teens, spending most of those years drawing; I flirted with music in my latter teenage years, picking up the bass guitar, and later it would become a more serious hobby when I fell in love with the cello.

Photography came after all of those, although I always felt that I had a bit of an eye for a photograph and often played with point-and-shoots owned by each of my siblings. I finally decided that I wanted to take up photography as a serious hobby in 2010, prompted by a holiday to Athens I had planned. I felt that if and when I ever got into photography, I'd look back with regret at a holiday spent immersed in some of the most beautiful and historically-rich architecture in the world if I couldn't capture any of it. To this end, I beseeched the help of my elder sister to give me an introductory course in the art of photo-taking. I then jetted off to Greece with her 450D in hand, with an extremely superficial knowledge of its workings. Naturally, I didn't get anything spectacular from that trip, though I retain a soft spot for this particular shot taken beneath the Acropolis:



Upon returning, I had caught the bug; and shortly after I purchased my own DSLR, a 40D, from Adverts.ie and promptly drove to Dublin to collect it from the seller. In February of 2011, I signed up to an 8-week 'improvers' photography course in Cork College of Commerce. I wouldn't say it made me a better photographer, but I did learn some fundamentals that I'd completely missed when I was trying to self-educate with the help of Google (among other things, how to read the light meter). Exactly one year later, in early 2012, I joined the Cork Camera Group. If I could presume to impart some advice on anyone new to the hobby, it would be to join a camera club. If it is half as educational as my own experience has been, you will learn an immeasurable amount.

It's coming up on three years since I picked up the 450D, that portal into the world of this new hobby, and one which I can't conceive of ever turning my back on. I don't think I would go as far as to say that I have any particular style - and I make a conscious effort to occasionally venture out of my comfort zone for educational purposes - but there are undoubtedly a few areas which I pay more attention to than others. If I had to nail my colours to the mass I would say that macro is my primary interest, though my interest diverges across a number of macro pursuits. What I have probably shared the most on the forum are my insect photographs:












I'm also fond of combining photography with another passion: Lego. I'm always humbled by peoples' reaction to these shots - there's no hint of stigma about an adult's interest in what is ostensibly a child's hobby (unless they're just being outwardly polite); rather, they always seem to appreciate seeing something a bit different. I even sold this first image at a recent exhibition I was involved in with the camera club:




Some others:

I think my interest in Lego spawned a broader interest in tabletop photography. I've found myself experimenting with ideas that aren't always completely original but I've found very educating in simply trying to execute:




Outside of macro I'm growing to like portraits, though it is an area still firmly outside of my comfort zone; most of my pursuits in this area has focused on hands, which may be an odd niche but one that I'm fascinated with:




I'll leave you with a link to my photoblog, which I endeavour to keep reasonably updated. I got a bit fed up of simply uploading my images on photo-sharing websites - I ended up using them as image dumps, and I felt that the photos completely lacked context. I figured that if I was forced to write about the photos I wanted to share, I would be more selective about what I put out there. I'm still active on Pix.ie, but first and foremost I tend to direct people to my blog: http://avmode.wordpress.com/

leche solara

Steve, you have a great range of styles. All of the photos you have used in your presentation are top class. You seem to have quickly mastered whatever style you pick up on. Please explain what set up you use for the insect shots.

Necronomicon

Thanks for the kind words

For my insect shots, I have the following set up:

Canon 100mm f2.8 | Canon 580ex II | Rayflash ring-flash adapter

All shots are taken handheld, usually around 200th or 250th of a second. I've flirted with the idea of upgrading to the 'L' version of the lens because it has image stabilisation, which would be handy since they're always handheld.

I find that the aperture has to be stopped down to around f/11. I try to capture as much detail of the insect as possible; and when you're that close to the subject, you lose a lot of detail with a shallow depth of field because much of the subject is cast out of focus. The problem is, when the aperture is that narrow, lighting becomes difficult. You can't really compensate by using a slow shutter speed, because when you're shooting handheld you need the shutter speed to be as quick as possible. For this reason, flash is really an absolute must. The problem with on-camera flash, though, is that the flash is too far away from the subject to capture every detail. That is why the ring-flash adapter is one of the best purchases I've ever made. I took a picture of my set up here:



For anyone that hasn't used one before, it basically turns your Speedlite into a ring-flash by funnelling the light emitted from the flash and distributing it evenly in a circle only inches from the subject.

That's about it, I think. I find that the hardest thing about these shots aren't the technical details I've outlined above, but the more behavioural elements. By that I mean knowing the best time of day to capture an insect, knowing how to approach them, knowing which insects live in which habitats and at which time of year - and I still feel like a relative noob as far as that side of it goes.