48 March 2016 Watch the video online at bit.ly/NPhoto56
NIKON SKILLS CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
D
epending on where you are
in the world, spring may
still feel a little way off – but
as a photographer you
don’t just have to wait for the
moment, sometimes you can
create it for yourself. Frozen
subjects have a wintr y magic all
of their own, and the way the ice
around them holds on to and
refracts the light as it melts
means no two photographs
are the same.This project involves finding
a bright, vibrant subject, then
freezing it in a block of ice. If
you’re using buoyant subjects,
such as flowers, place them in
a pot of shallow water, allow this
to freeze, add more water to fully
submerge the flower, and then
freeze it again. Once the block
of ice is ready, you are going to
suspend it above some candles,
the idea being to feature a mix of
ice, water, fire and perhaps evensome smoke all in a single
still-life image.
You’ll need a macro lens in
order to get really close to your
subject, but if you don’t have one
you can shoot wider and include
more of the candles within the
frame using your standard
zoom at full zoom. You could
also use a cheaper alternative
to a dedicated macro lens,
such as a magnif ying filter
or an extension tube.
Macro photography provides
all sorts of challenges, from
requiring extremely precise
focusing with a narrow margin
for error, to calling on a keen
attention to detail when creating
your scene. Despite these
challenges, with some careful
positioning and key settings you
too will be capturing stunningly
detailed macro melts.The mission
O To take a macro shot
of melting ice
Time
O One hour
Skill level
O Beginner
O Intermediate
O Advanced
Kit needed
O Nikon D-SLR
O Macro lens
O Trip o d
O Black backdrop
O Lamp (a desk
lamp is fine)
O Subject (eg leaves)
frozen in ice
O Tr ay
O CandlesPROJECT THREE / CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
Thaw out
Simulate the coming of spring with To m Welsh’s
technique for shooting a melting ice still life