Photography: lesson #5 - Flashing on my own

While looking for silverware in the attic of the garage at my parents' house I got a little side tracked.  Really, I was looking for the silverware but just had to see what was in the big leather case with "POLAROID" stamped in gold.  I slung the strap across my shoulder so I could have the use of both hands to climb back down the slightly unstable ladder.  I gently set it down on the work bench and popped the lock open.  Inside was a solid case and inside that was this old camera.  It opened accordion-style with adjustments for "zoom" and light.  Steps 1-4 were labeled right on the camera.  Too bad we didn't have any film.  

So, instead it became the subject of my photo-shoot.  I set up two off-camera flashes - one with a shot through umbrella and the other with a reflective umbrella.  And then (with only a little trial and error) I found the exposure that gave me what I was looking for.  Not under exposed, aperture to give me the depth of field I wanted, flash power to make up for what I needed in light and to creatively light the camera.  So many things to change and think about.  And as I took different shots and adjusted each to get the look I was going for I found myself counting "stops".  I still got a little confused when I went down to f/4 and thought I'd just cut my light by a stop when really I'd just opened the aperture.  Flash exposures can get so creative.  I'm not even touching the tip of what you could do with flash.

*More pictures and a couple of the dogs because they happened to be laying close to the lighting set up.