Celebrating the 4th of July in Sydney
But, after 3 years in Australia, and 3 years of being with an Aussie guy, I don’t really flinch when people ask me, “How ya going?” Even the stress on “mass” in massage is starting to seem normal. I’ve taken to signing off emails with “cheers” and constantly responding to problems with “no worries” even when that might not be completely true.
I’m in a weird place, and that’s kind of what I wanted to portray in the LAST ROUND of the Canon Island Blogger Competition.
Round 5 Theme: MyLand
I look silly, but you have no idea how hard this was!
Note: This photo does not involve Photoshop, but you are in fact seeing double!
I called the photo “An American in Australia” because I will always be American, but Australia is now my land.
To take the shot, we went through a long, long process in the dark bedroom. So long. Each shot was taken with the Powershot on a slow shutter speed (10 seconds was the winner). I would be wearing my Australian cork hat and Wallabies scarf in the first few seconds, change the next few seconds, and pop up a step to the side with my American money bandana and red cowboy hat for the last 3 seconds.
I learned the technique for this photo from the Moonwalk tour I took in January. In the dark, only things that are illuminated with flashlights or flashes will show up in the photo.
My shortlist after first photo shoot. 1) Using flashlights. 2) Using external camera flash. Chose to do 2nd photo shoot because door frame runs through my American side.
So, we tried two things: 1) using another camera’s flash once on the first outfit and then again on the second outfit, 2) standing super still as Pat shined a flashlight (or two) on me for 3 seconds on each side.
This all occurred as the camera was taking one long shot of 10 to 15 seconds.
The main issue was getting both sides to come in clearly. One would either be brighter than the other, or I would be blurry.
It took ages to get the right shot, and it didn’t happen until the very last shot before the battery went dead and we decided it was time to pick our favorite. How cool is it that our winning shot is the very last one in the shoot?!
For this we used two flashlights at the same time. It provided the right amount of light to make it clear.
If you like my creative genius, please spend 1 minute of your time to hop over and vote! Leave a comment, too, if you do. Thanks!
I wish there was a “behind the scenes” video so we could watch you frantically trying to change outfits before the shutter closed!
Haha, the only thing is it was pitch black in the room when I was changing, so it wouldn’t have helped!
Yes you should def have filmed this too for your avid readers! Anyway, I’ve voted
See comment above
I know the feeling. I use phrases like cheers, no worries, and look at the queue. It seems normal after awhile. But I still miss places being open until 2 or 3 in the morning and other little things…I’m an American that has adapted I guess.
Thanks for another good blog, always enjoy them.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Sam! Hope all is well in your neck of the wood
Wow, Brooke! I think you deserve to win just because of the creativity behind this shot alone! I had NO idea you could do something like this without photoshop!
Haha, thanks Amanda! I hope I win! It was a lot of work for sure
This is a very cool photo technique! Good luck
Cheers, Laura!
Tricky!! Cool that you figured it out!
Thank you, and thanks for the vote
Forget the whole American vs Australian identity crisis, the concept and the photos are pretty awesome!
Thanks Jeremy! I loved the idea and was determined to make it happen
Thanks for the vote, too (I hope)!
Too cute! And dedication!!
Cheers, Jade! Loved making this happen… let’s hope it gets enough votes to get me to Canon Island!
I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. Although I’ve been Asia for years I’ll never stop enjoying that
It’s so good and reliable! Thanks for sharing, and please don’t forget to vote if you haven’t on the FB page!
Wow. I wish I knew technology. This is quite innovative! I’m just happy I know how to turn my camera on.
Oh no! Did I miss the voting?
Yes my dear, but thanks for caring
Sorry I was a little late on this one!