Computer Friends in Sign Language (read on)

This shot was made for a contest on another web site, with a “Signs” theme.

I wanted to do something different, out of the box.

The idea of making signs to someone crossed my mind, and I searched for a few words on ASLPro , a visual dictionary for the American Sign Language. You can look for the words friend and computer to see what this is all about.

I thought that it would be nice to illustrate what makes a community like this one so great: Computer Friends!

This is a SINGLE SHOT, not a composite of multiple images.

I set the camera on a tripod with the settings described below and a 10-second timer. I used a brooder lamp on one side (45° angle) with three sheets of white paper to diffuse the light. I then stepped in front of a dark background, all dressed in black, and made the signs slowly, stopping from 3 to 6 seconds every now and then to allow the image to expose enough and imprint as clearly as possible.

I converted to B&W in Photoshop and tweaked levels, curves and contrast a bit.

It’s not a sharp image, and I don’t think that this could have been possible because it’s very hard to remain utterly still for 6 seconds. This one is the best of the 25 shots I made.

Focal length 35 mm
ISO-100
Aperture f/18
Shutter 20 sec.

Shot in manual mode with a 10-sec. timer
Nikon D60
AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR