Best of February 2025

'Blue'

OM System OM-1 OLYMPUS M.12-100mm F4.0 @ 21mm, 1/125s @ f/11, ISO 400, RAW

(developed in ACDSee Ultimate 2025)

This was taken in my new studio space using a softbox with off-camera flash, a reflector and an off-camera flash with blue gel to the rear to create the coloured gradient background. It was produced for week six of the 52 Frames challenge, whose theme was 'Blue'. I have chosen this because the afternoon spent creating it and a couple of other images was joyous: the box room where I had been doing my studio work was cramped and, being south-facing, very hot. My new studio is north-facing, is much cooler and has blackout curtains. It is a larger room, so I have the space to set things up properly and to move around my set and props without knocking anything. I have created a mobile laptop and monitor stand for myself by adding lockable castors to an old bookshelf, and this means that I can set up my tripod and camera anywhere I need it and have the camera tethered to the laptop. This allows me to use the monitor to help with composition and focus (really useful in a darkened room) and I can download images on the fly to check how they look. This has been a big step forward for me and I am looking forward to getting a lot of use out of what was an unused guest bedroom.