Connie was very happy with the experience, so she kindly offered to share my contacts to lots of her friends and colleagues.
I was contacted but at least a dozen new models, and Ana was the first I set up a session with.
She also suggested a location for that: René Lüdke Photography Studio in Hamburg.
This is a large, well equipped photo studio that you can rent by the hour. As I already explained I have little experience with photos, so I must confess that I was more than a bit overwhelmed and made a lot of mistakes (in the photography part, but - alas - not only in that).
I was contacted but at least a dozen new models, and Ana was the first I set up a session with.
She also suggested a location for that: René Lüdke Photography Studio in Hamburg.
This is a large, well equipped photo studio that you can rent by the hour. As I already explained I have little experience with photos, so I must confess that I was more than a bit overwhelmed and made a lot of mistakes (in the photography part, but - alas - not only in that).
Ana opted for Peony as a theme, therefore I selected
牡丹蘂
ふかく分出る
蜂の名残哉
From deep in the peony’s stamens
a bee crawls out —
a reluctant parting.
松尾芭蕉 (Matsuo Bashō, 1644–1694)
牡丹蘂
ふかく分出る
蜂の名残哉
From deep in the peony’s stamens
a bee crawls out —
a reluctant parting.
松尾芭蕉 (Matsuo Bashō, 1644–1694)
On the front, just:
牡丹 (Peony)
Original I thought to draw a Peony as a Sumi-e, but in the end I abandoned the idea because it was too ambitious.
But I decided that the word would be written in Red, at least…
牡丹 (Peony)
Original I thought to draw a Peony as a Sumi-e, but in the end I abandoned the idea because it was too ambitious.
But I decided that the word would be written in Red, at least…
Preparation Phase
Here is what I proposed to Ana.
In retrospect, I am glad I did not try to actually draw a peony: it would need more time than just the Kanji, of course, but it would also be much more error-prone and I might have to cancel and restart at least once, which is not very comfortable for the model.
In retrospect, I am glad I did not try to actually draw a peony: it would need more time than just the Kanji, of course, but it would also be much more error-prone and I might have to cancel and restart at least once, which is not very comfortable for the model.
We started on the front, as usual
and then proceeded on the back, with just a little red for the "signature".
The various characters are fine, I guess, but the haiku on the back does not look very good to me: the column on the right is too far from the other too. :(
I would like to chalk it up to me being frustrated with my inability to use the studio lights. But no matter what the actual cause was… I am dissatisfied with the calligraphy, too.
I would like to chalk it up to me being frustrated with my inability to use the studio lights. But no matter what the actual cause was… I am dissatisfied with the calligraphy, too.
Posing
This was, alas, the only photo I took using the professional light set provided by the study.
I was frustrated by my lack of skill and when I checked it on the camera itslelf it looked to bright… so I decided to just use ambient light for the rest of the photos…
I was frustrated by my lack of skill and when I checked it on the camera itslelf it looked to bright… so I decided to just use ambient light for the rest of the photos…
End result: the rest was a bit too dark, and despite my efforts to squeeze every detail from the RAW files… the photos are far from crisp.
