Experimental Photography @ It's Best

Photography for those out there that don't know is all about light. Once you learn and accept this truth your photographs (regardless of the subject) will be better for it. The artists out there may jump down my throat for taking such a technical approach but what else would you expect from engineer. Respecting the science behind the art can open up a flood gate of new and creative ideas (and being out of your mind drunk doesn't hurt either).

I guess before I go any further I need to go back to the beginning of the story (the drunk part). So I love photography and a little over a year ago I got this bad ass Nikon D80 (totally worth the grand I dropped on it). Well one night last fall I was watching Clemson football with those who wish at this time to remain anonymous. It was the infamous Clemson - BC game, which wasn't really going Clemson's way (ok so going back and looking at the pictures Clemson was winning at this point but we all know about Clemson's fatal flaw) so those parties (including myself) for who anonymity is king were getting tanked.

One of the thoroughly trashed individuals decided that he wanted a picture of that prick (Matt Ryan) covered in Clemson orange (from the paint of the field). Since we were getting trashed in the comfort of our own living room there weren't too many options available. Then, even though I was approaching a drunken stupor, I had a glimmer of an idea. The TV is in hi-def and my camera is pretty heavy duty why not just take a picture of the TV screen!? So after several poor attempts I finally get a decent picture (pretty good for fall over drunk, eh?).

Alright, so from this drunken experience I now knew it was theoretically possible to take a picture of a TV screen. Now fast forward one year, the Tigers beat BC and inspiration hits (here's where knowing about light comes in handy). I decide why the hell can't I make a cool fucking picture by leaving my shutter open for a nice long while in front of the TV? I mean it's dark as fucking night in here and the only light is coming from the TV. What the hell will a little extra light hurt? So I run and get my tripod, attach my cable shutter release to the D80, attach my D80 to the tripod, and start shooting. The result was pretty damn cool in my opinion.

Want to try this for yourself? You will need:

1. a camera with manual shutter speed adjustment
2. a tripod
3. a shutter cable or self timer (for best results)
4. a TV (hi-def is best)
5. alcohol of choice (just makes the creative process easier and more fun)

Be sure to try different shutter speeds (for me anywhere between 1/25 - 2 sec worked best). Also think about what colors and logos you do or don't want. Logos show up because they are essentially static and don't move like the rest of the picture. I found children's shows and comedies to have the best colors. The most blur occurred during promos, commercials, and opening credits when the scene changes rapidly. The news sucks because you get this creepy shadow affect (imagine Brian Williams as a ghost...scary right?).

So yeah...Photo Geek out!