Flint and Steel

Flint and Steel

It worked well yesterday, so let’s try it again. I returned to the shadow box (printer’s drawer) today with different subject. I really like how yesterday’s jaw harp in the shadow box turned out. This time I placed a flint and steel in the box. I left the same settings on the camera. I lifted the Aperture adjustments from the jaw harp photograph and stamped them on this photograph. It’s not quite as successful, mainly because the darker metal of the steel does not “pop” the way the lighter gray metal of the jaw harp did. However, I still like it. I think perhaps the flash is still a tad strong. But the shadows do add dimension, so I do want them. Like yesterday’s jaw harp, the flash, a Nikon SB-600 SpeedLight, is dialed down three stops, so the photograph actually began underexposed as it is. I think the ISO 800 helps make it too; there’s a little grain than plays well with the wood and the old-timer subject.

Camera is an Nikon D90; the lens, once again, is our favorite bargain Nikon lens, the Nikkor 18-55mm AF-S DX VR. ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/60sec, 40mm. The image is cropped about 1/3 of the original, to isolate the subject.