Scott Long

This image is a favorite for me because I took it about a year ago and it was a real learning experience with lighting.  I had never really experimented with controlling light before this.  All I had to work with was an ugly pink and purple table lamp a roommate left behind.  I took the shade off and squeezed it between my desk and guitar amp so I could wedge black matting board between the wall and the desk, stuffing my black guitar bag in as well to keep the flimsy board elevated and in place.  It was a real challenge for me to get the right glow in the bottle, the highlight on the label AND backlight the smoke.  I must have gone through 3 cigarettes before I got the right shot.  Shooting smoke was an experience in itself.  I had to crouch and wait. The bottle was on my 16-inch-tall guitar amp and i needed to be at a low angle to hit the bottle square to keep the label in focus right, catch the smoke as it passed the light I had cut down to prevent glare on the poster and  still provide back/sidelight from the limitedly manipulable cast resin table lamp, and with a bare bulb the light went everywhere.  I fiddled, cursed, crouched, smoked, and shot from every angle i could without getting my jerry-rigged gear in the frame, but i finally came out with an image that closely matched the one in my head from a few days ago, at least close enough to satisfy me; I'm sure my mental picture changed as I worked with the setup...maybe.  In any event, I learned a good deal about lighting by forcing myself to recreate an idea instead of just seeing what might pop out if I grabbed a camera and some liquor.  The magnificent selection of equipment I had helped a little to.