As a prolific photographer, it is a wonder why a Light Box hasn’t been added to my kit yet. For some reason they seemed mystical to me and a bit intimidating. But honestly, I don’t know what I was so worried about. It’s a light that enhances studio work and is essential in particular with macro photography.

I’ve been working on creating a new flower series and slowly I’ve been adding to my arsenal for the task. In a recent post I began discussing this floral art project and the masters that create incredible work in this realm.

This is project I started working on back in 2013 and got frustrated with it and dropped it until this month. Mostly because I just couldn’t seem to get the light right. I even captured a few images last week that were trashed as they just didn’t pass the test. Finally I overcame my stubbornness and purchased the LimoStudio Softbox Lighting kit from Amazon for a measly $40.00. And voila ! Magic!!

Stopping along the side of the road I picked a few wildflowers and brought them home. Assembling them on the lightpad, I used both the new Softbox and hand held the Shop Lamp to highlight other shadows on the flower. The articulating screen on the Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II really made the job easier as well as the Manfrotto tripod with articulating arm.

The camera setting were f/22, ISO 800, 1/40 sec with a 10 second timer set on the camera to avoid camera shake. With some minor edits in Lightroom each image was edited in Topaz Impressions to add a painterly effect.

Now that I’m getting the hang of it, it’s time to delve into the Focus Stacking mode the Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II has. Hope this helps to inspire you.