Our first challenge was a success. Albeit I had been studying photography for a while now, it’s really different when there are instructions given and for once, unlike in events, everything can be under control.
The first challenge was about using a single source of light in a pitch black room. It seemed pretty simple at first but I learned soon enough that no challenge was meant to be easy. One of the problems I have is underestimating what I need for something so simple. I went up to our attic, the only pitch black room in the entire house. Since I wasn’t as efficient, I had to climb up more than 4 times because I kept being reminded of what I needed once I was starting to get into the shoot. I can remember a lot of times in other photography events of this happening to me. Which means,
The first thing I learned was to list down everything I need before a shoot
As I was building the set, I kept banging my head on the attic ceiling, my tripods being such a pain to set up.
And finally, the shoot. Originally the photo was supposed to be a flower withering because of the lack of sunlight. How a flower ceases to “bloom” when kept in the dark. But waking up my mind went elsewhere, my favorite cartoon, Wall-E, and his great attempt at helping the plant survive.
I set up the scene using the old stairs for my pomeranian. Gathered a bit of dirt from the plant itself and laid it down along Wall-E’s walkway, showing his struggle going forward and backward just to make sure it hits the light.
With the same meaning as the flower, it meant something deeper. If you want something to survive, you’d have to show it the light.
Now with the technique, It’s good to have a reference going in. And also don’t be afraid of switching the angles of the light to see how it affects your photo.
