{Self-Portrait Project} Runaway Pudding

exposure: 1/8000sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 800

Hi everyone! This self-portrait was sort of my Christmas themed one (changed my idea a few times). For Christmas 2011, I dressed up as a pudding for my friend's party. It was full of stuffing and it tempted all of my friends to continually chase and tackle me. This inspired the shot of the pudding chase where I envisioned myself being chased by a mob of hungry Johns because I looked pretty tasty.

The photo was taken with my camera mounted on a tripod and pre-focused. I took several shots of myself in different positions and outfits. I then merged all the photos in photoshop to get the final image.

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- tripod

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} Snorting Coke... Coca-Cola

exposure: 1/60sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 800

Hi everyone! I saw a photo by Wesche Photography where he was pouring red wine into his mouth and I was inspired to do the same thing. I like his idea and you can check out his version by clicking here. As you can see, it was a big fail for me but it was so funny trying to do this. I completely missed my mouth and the coke poured into my nose. I had the weirdest fizzy sensation in my nose.

This shot was taken with my camera lying down on the ground with a flash mounted on top of the camera. I had the remote cable in my hand and I was taking the photo at 8 frames per second so I could pick the best shot later. 

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F43AM)

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} Bang!

exposure: 1/60sec f/stop: 8 iso: 400

Hi everyone! I've seen so many photos like this where a person has a gun and shoots themselves in the head with something coming out on the other end. So this is my take on that concept. 

The shot was taken with myself lying down on a white crinkled backdrop with party streamers lined up on the floor. The photo was taken with my camera and flash mounted on a monopod facing down. I used a remote cable to trigger the camera.

Gear used: 

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- monopod

- remote cable 

{Self-Portrait Project} A silhouette against the sunset

exposure: 1/4000sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! Today I thought I would do a silhouette with the a77 and the 70-400mm lens. I love this combo and I shoot with it quite a lot now even though its quite heavy.

The photo was taken with Marione helping me with the lighting and angle of the photo and after that we mounted the tripod to set up the shot. The camera was pre-focused and metered to get the silhouette effect. The camera was on a self-timer for 10sec. Enough time for me to get ready in the shot.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 attached 

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Just Cruising

exposure: 5sec f/stop: 11 iso: 250

Hi everyone! Today I thought I would try another experiment but this time with my cousin's camera mount suction cup (thanks cuz!). I always wanted to do something like this but I was a bit scared because I was afraid the camera would fall and break and its actually on loan so I was even more afraid. I wanted to capture the light streams of the street lights with me in the car. I couldn't do this properly because I was using a NEX-C3 and I couldn't trigger my flashes but it worked well enough. I'll do this again when I have my own rig that can support my a77.

The shot was achieved with the NEX-C3 on a suction cup with a camera mount on top. The flash was also attached to the camera. I took a number of test shots and ended up using shutter priority. The camera was set on a 10sec timer and I quickly rushed to my car and started driving. 

Gear used:

- Sony NEX-C3 with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F7S)

- camera car mount

{Self-Portrait Project} Powdered up

exposure: 1/1000sec f/stop: 4.5 iso: 400

 Hi everyone! This photo was more of an experiment and to see how I would look. The powder turned out great but unfortunately my face didn't and that's how it was for a few photos. I just couldn't change my facial expression lol. It was a fun but messy photo in the studio.

I took this photo with my camera set on a tripod with it pre-focused on myself. The camera was on a 10sec timer and I had to time my jumps to catch myself in mid air with the powder going everywhere. I also used two flashes off camera on my left and right.

Gear used:
- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached
- two flashes (HVL-F58AM and HVL-F43AM)
- two light stands
- tripod
- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} Cleaning my face a little too well

exposure: 1/1000sec f/stop: 3.5 iso: 100

Hey everyone! Whilst driving today, Marione and I were talking about what would happen if I was wiping my face and my mole came off or if it was really just dirt on my face. We were joking and laughing about it and I thought I would do it as a self-portrait. For those of you who don't know, I have a mole on the left side of my face. You can check out my other photos so you know what it looks like but how do you think I look without the mole? 

I took the photo with my camera setup on a tripod with a remote cable connected to it. I used three flashes for this shot. Two flashes were facing the backdrop to get the white background and the other was used to light my face. I had the remote cable in my other hand to trigger the camera.

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- three flashes (HVL-F58AM, HVL-F43AM, HVL-F42AM)

- two light stands

- tripod

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} My Feminine Side

exposure: 1/10sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! As the title suggests, its my feminine side. You have to admit, we all have one, well the people that I know have one. With the help of Marione, she transformed me into a female version of myself which I shall call Johanna. This was quite awkward but hilariously funny at the same time and kudos to Marione for coming up with this idea and it definitely brought me out of my comfort zone which I initially wanted in my self portrait photos.   

The photo was done with my camera set on a tripod connected to a remote cable to trigger the shot. This is two photos in one and merged together in photoshop. I shot the male version of myself first and then shaved and then got all prettied up for my feminine self and took another photo. Very awkward!

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- tripod

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} On my way to Hogwarts

exposure: 1/3200sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! So I've finally watched all the Harry Potter movies and I was thinking of going to the Harry Potter exhibition that is on at the powerhouse museum. So if I were to go there I thought flying on my filo broom would be my mode of transport.

I took this photo with my camera set on a tripod and pre-focused where I would be and set the camera on a 2 sec self-timer. I took quite a few photos just to get the timing right. Marione helped me with a bit of editing in photoshop with clarity and contrast and extending the broom.

Gear used: 

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- remote cable

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Multiplicity

exposure: 1/10sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! Have you ever thought about how much work you could get done if there were more than one of you? Or if you ever thought that you could do a Kage Bunshin (Naruto term). Personally, I think it would be awesome but in reference to work, the only copy of me actually doing something useful is the one in the orange shirt washing the dishes. So come to think of it, maybe I wouldn't get much work done =.P

I took five photos and merged them all in photoshop. The camera was on a tripod connected to a remote so I wouldn't move the camera at all. I did different poses and I was in different outfits to make each individual stand out more. 

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- tripod

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} You're Next

exposure: 1/4000sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 400

Hi everyone! In the spirit of Halloween I thought I would do a self-portrait that would fit with the occasion. I was sort of going for a Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) or one of those slasher film villain looks. I wanted to be holding a machete or a huge knife or even an axe to add more to the photo but I didn't have any and a small kitchen knife wouldn't do. Anyway, Happy Halloween!

I took this photo with my camera mounted on a tripod turned slightly turned on its side to get a bit of a tilt in the photo. I used two flashes with red gels on light stands behind me and the camera was triggered via a remote cable.

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- two flashes with red gels (HVL-F58AM & HVL-F43AM) 

- two light stands 

- remote cable

- tripod 

{Self-Portrait Project} Night Drive

exposure: 1/640sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 200

Hi everyone! I used to drive around a lot to the city and pretty much anywhere at night taking photos in different places or just hanging out with friends. I was more a nocturnal person compared to what I am now, getting up at four in the morning to take photos. I guess this photo is a tribute to my old nocturnal life.

I took this photo in my car with my camera set on a tripod in the driver's seat facing the back. I used two flashes, off-camera on light stands. One was outside next to the door I was facing and the other was at the back of the car. I used a remote cable to trigger the camera and flashes. I didn't actually take this self-portrait in the city. It is instead two photos in one, where the city background was taken a long time ago and I my self-portrait was taken today. I merged the photos together in photoshop to the best of my ability (my photoshop skills aren't that great) and this is the final result.  

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached 

- two flashes (HVL-F58AM & HVL-F43AM)

- orange gel

- two light stands

- remote cable

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Hola!

exposure: 1/15sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 200

Hi everyone! Or shall I say hola! The past couple of days, the weather in Sydney has been great but unfortunately, I'm a bit sick so I actually haven't had the chance to go out that much so here is just a simple random self-portrait of myself with a very cheesey smile in the studio with one of those comic like speech bubbles. I have an idea to do something like this with speech bubbles later on but we'll see if that goes on ahead.

The photo was taken with my camera mounted on a tripod triggered with a remote cable. The speech bubble is on one of my light stands which I edited out in photoshop. I also used a simple bounce flash.

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F43AM)

- remote cable

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Grief

exposure: 1/4000sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 400

Hi everyone! This photo is dedicated to anyone that has had or knows anyone that has had to deal with a physiological disease or a mental health illness. Everyone reacts to it differently. Some may get angry, some may become depressed, some people carry the burden on their shoulders with a smile or others can deny and refuse to accept that there is a problem. I think my reaction if I ever had something like that is feel completely alone and lost in my thoughts. I recently lost a relative to cancer and though I miss her, I know she's in a better place.

RIP Lola

Also note that today is world mental health day where its main goal is to create awareness and educate people on mental health. It can affect anyone but it can be treated effectively because the support is there.

I took this photo with my camera on a tripod and a remote cable. Wireless flash was used attached to an Orbis ring light to the left of the camera. Converted to black and white in photoshop.

Gear used:

- Sony a77 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- Orbis ring flash

- remote cable

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Bowl diving

exposure: 1/250sec f/stop: 14 iso: 200

Hi everyone! I was at home deciding what kind of photo I should take for this week's self portrait but after much deliberation it was already night time so I couldn't do what I wanted. Make this a lesson to myself to always plan my shots ahead. I ended up thinking of what kind of shots I actually do like which are mainly fast action water shots. So I filled a bowl of water, poured some milk to get some color into it and plunged my head in.

I set it up on a couple of jars to get the level right, pre-focused the camera and had my remote cable ready to take the photo. I was using my external flash mounted on the camera as well. You can't actually see all of my right hand but I was holding the cable to trigger the shutter. I only took one shot because this made a huge mess after the splash and I got in a bit of trouble with all the water everywhere but it was worth it.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F43AM)

- remote cable 

{Self-Portrait Project} Contemplation

exposure: 1/10sec f/stop: 10 iso: 100

Hi everyone! At least twice every week, I get up at four in the morning to take some landscape photos. It's a lot of fun to do and even better at the beaches. It's so peaceful and quiet that I get to think and enjoy the morning air whilst taking photos. I don't think I'd ever get sick of doing this. 

This was a tough photo to take because I didn't have anyone to hold the tripod in case it got knocked over by the waves. My camera was set on a tripod with a graduated neutral density filter and a neutral density filter. I pre-focused and set a self timer for ten seconds and quickly ran to the rocks to do a pose. Time was against what I initially wanted to achieve in this photo because since the sun was rising, I had to increase my shutter speed to avoid overexposing the photo. I wanted a slower exposure to capture the motion of the waves so I'm not exactly happy with it and also because it was rushed but then again I'll be going to the beach again many times to redo it.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- Cokin graduated neutral density filter 8

- Cokin neutral density filter 8

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Kitchen Levitation

exposure: 1/160sec f/stop: 7.1 iso: 100

Hi everyone! I originally had a different idea planned for this shot but I had to change to a different idea because I needed more time to prepare the other shot and time was something that I was short on. I then went onto planning my other idea in the kitchen but my lens wasn't wide enough (I wish I kept my 17-50mm lens). So here I am in the kitchen checking up on something that I am baking. 

My camera was set up on a tripod attached to a remote cable. There were two flashes used where one was in my oven with an orange gel and the other behind me, where both were triggered wirelessly. The shot is two photos in one where the first was just the kitchen background and the second was myself and then merged in photoshop.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- two flashes (HVL-F58AM & HVL-F43AM)

- remote cable

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Smokey water

exposure: 1/4000sec f/stop: 8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! This is my first post of a double self-portrait for this week since I missed the previous week. The name of  this title says it all. I'm blowing what looks to be smoke out of my mouth. In fact, it is milk that I'm using to substitute for smoke and I must say it looks pretty cool. I got this idea from another photographer who did pretty much the same thing and I thought it was interesting to try out. All credits go to Patrick Taschler who originally did this. You can check it out here.

The photo was achieved by filling a fish tank with water. I set the camera on a tripod attached to a remote cable that I triggered and I had one flash used wirelessly to my right. I dunked my head in water with a mouth full of milk and I blew it out making the smokey effect. I also cleaned the image up in photoshop to get rid of some of the bubbles.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Tamron 90mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- tripod

- remote cable

{Self-Portrait Project} Falling

exposure: 1/160sec f/stop: 8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! I'm going for something different in this week's self-portrait and after looking at some inspirational images and sites, I came up with this photo of me falling on my bed. These sort of photos are called levitation photography and they're pretty fun to do and set up. Don't be surprised if I do more photos like this in the future.

I took this photo with five shots merged together in photoshop. The first was just the background. The second was of me on a chair lying down on top. The third and fourth was of my two pillows and the fifth shot was a shot of a random running shoe. The camera was set up on a tripod with a remote cable to trigger and set on a two second delay. I was using an off camera flash with an orange gel attached sitting on one of my stands. 

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash with orange gel (HVL-F58AM)

- remote cable

- light stand with Manfrotto 026

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} Picasso face

exposure: 1/5sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 800

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to do another close up photo but to make it different I took a couple of photos and printed it out to hold against my face. It is slightly Picasso inspired but in a photographic way.

I took a couple of photos beforehand and used a polaroid printer to print out the photos that I was holding. The camera was prefocused and set on self timer with Marione directing me on where to hold the photos. This small shoot was pretty fun because of all the weird faces and expressions that we came up.

Gear used: 

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8 lens attached

- tripod