320: Confection Racket

I drop the M&Ms and try to trigger the camera at the right: Not easy to do, especially when you consider that all digital cameras have a slight delay between pressing the button and the shutter opening. Okay, DSLRs are pretty damn quick, but the delay is nonetheless there. Out of about fifteen tries, I got two-thirds fairly well timed, but I really could have done with more M&Ms to fill the frame. Like a whole bowl next time!

Set up with a large mirror on a table, black velvet cloth hung over from behind at a slight angle, and a barrier of upended VHS cassettes around the perimeter.

Settings: f/7.1, 1/180, ISO 400, P-FA 50mm, 1/4 flash, mirror, black velvet, tripod. Levels adjustment and crop to vertical 16:9.

112: Real Bullets, Fake Blood

Err...
I wouldn't say that this picture was difficult to shoot, just that it was not easy to look at afterwards. I admit it's a pretty shocking picture, and I did consider not posting it for a while.
But then I thought why not; it's not real blood, nobody got hurt. So get over it. It's more a visual effects concept than anything else.

The recipe for this edible fake blood is mostly made good with red food colouring and cocoa powder. If you like it thicker, then cook it with a little cornflour. Soy sauce and golden syrup are also interesting additives. Though it could really do with having less of a powder-pink tinge when it dries; must work on this.
But man, this stuff really stains the fingertips! (They're still beetroot-pink as I type this.)

Settings: f/8, 1/180, ISO 100, P-FA 50mm, 1/4 flash, mirror, white reflectors, tripod. Some retouching of the white in Photoshop.