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Lens-Artists Challenge #351 – Books

My book and hers.

This week, Ritva chose the topic “Books.” She writes, “For Challenge 351, I invite you to embrace your inner book lover and share your most creative photographic interpretation of anything related to books. What significance do books hold for you?” You can read her entire challenge post here.

It is a good thing that Ritva asked for “my most creative photographic interpretation.” I only have one to share. >grin< My wife is the fiction reader in our family. She and our friends and family share personal “exchange libraries” of hardcover books and paperbacks. I’m more into non-fiction, primarily technical books, but I no longer buy physical books; my library is all on my iPad. That leaves me with precious few books of my own to photograph.

About the photo: Five years ago, I wanted to experiment with the low-light performance of my then-new S20U Samsung phone. I set up a still life table with two paperbacks, a spare pair of glasses, and two wine glasses filled with water. The camera was mounted on a tripod, and the only lighting was provided by two low-power LED candles placed to the left and right of the camera.

Using the camera phone’s Pro Mode, I set the exposure to 1 second and the lens to f/1.8. Auto-ISO calculated the exposure at ISO-1000. The shutter was set to activate with the word “shoot,” so I wouldn’t shake the tripod or phone by pressing the on-screen shutter button. At f/1.8, the depth of field was narrow, the focus was sharp at the lower corner of the book bindings, and the water glasses were not entirely in focus. One effect I hadn’t envisioned was that the water glasses created a shimmering effect on the background. I cropped the image to 1:1 in post. Click on the photo to view it in 2K HD on my Flickr site.

About the books: The books I selected for the shot were our current chosen reads. “UnderCover: Operation Julie – The Inside Story,” by Steven Bentley, is a “true-detective” style accounting of his participation in one of the largest drug busts in Great Britain. “Operation Julie” was a landmark police investigation in the United Kingdom during the mid-1970s, specifically targeting large-scale LSD production and distribution.

My wife was reading Nordic Noir, a crime novel, “The Lost Boy” (original Swedish title: Fyrvaktaren, meaning “The Lighthouse Keeper“), the seventh novel in Camilla Läckberg’s Fjällbacka series, featuring detective Patrik Hedström and his wife, crime writer Erica Falck. In “The Lost Boy,” Detective Hedström investigates the murder of Mats Sverin, Fjällbacka’s well-liked but secretive financial director. The case becomes entangled with the return of Mats’s high school sweetheart, Nathalie, who is hiding a dark secret on the isolated “Ghost Isle” with her young son.

Thanks to Ritva for this week’s literary challenge. Last week, Anne had us “zooming around” with her experiment for the ICM challenge using the zoom lens. Next week, Sofia hosts her challenge, going live at noon Eastern Time. Be sure to follow her here so you don’t miss her post. If you’re new to the challenge and wondering how to participate, please check here for more information.

John Steiner

35 comments

  2. John, I was hoping people would maybe take new photos of books, like yours. It is a great low light shot. Also you can take from it that we often do read in low light in the evening…. Glad you joined, even with all the hassle of getting settled home after your trip.

    Reply

  6. Dear John
    Moody, but a bit dark for reading 😉
    We collect Scandinavian books and have read Camilla Läckberg’s crime stories. Most Scandinavian noir is too cruel for our taste.
    Thanks for sharing
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply

  7. John, I really love your image this week. I was drawn to the tones and the mood of it. I love detective mysteries and haven’t heard of Lackberg. Must give it a try!

    Reply

  11. I like the photo, John. I used to read fiction almost exclusively, but I read a fair amount of non-fiction these days as well. I have many, many books as well as many e-books and make copious and continuous use of the library for title in either form. 🙂

    Reply

  13. I love the shot, John! The warm colors convey such a cozy atmosphere. Perfect for a relaxing reading session!

    Reply

  15. Love the low-light setup—paperbacks, glasses, and wine glasses doubling as art props. “shoot” as a shutter trigger, interesting.
    Book choices are perfect: true-crime meets Nordic Noir. murder and LSD busts, keeping things interesting.
    Cheers to all kinds of libraries! 📚✨

    Reply

    • Thanks, Philo!
      I like the verbal shutter release. It’s also good for selfies… It accepts “Shoot”, “cheese”, “Capture”, and “Smile” as triggers.

      Reply

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