Strange Night at Dillon's



"I was enjoying my slider when out of nowhere this big dog, a Scoobidoo look-alike, walked past our table.  He was in a jolly mood, shaking hands with the pirates and the women.  I shouted a big yelp to draw my parents’ attention.  Then the dog’s head fell off and out came the man’s head.  My mom, laughed.  She thought that was funny."  

Excerpt from Travels with Mimi
Halloween Night at Dillon's

This was shot outdoor at night so the lights have something to do with the colors.  They were not altered.  

The photo also reminds me of a comic strip.  There are at least three stories going on if one uses their imagination:  the lady on the chair must be talking to somebody, the waiter is obviously in a hurry, and Scoobidoo is hanging out with his hipster friends.

Photo Tip of the Day:  One neat trick I do when taking candid pictures of people is to position the camera on a stable place, pre-focus and just click when things happen.  No one knows I'm taking their pictures because the camera is not on its usual position, i.e., in front of my face.  

For this photo, I set the camera on the table.  I wanted to take a picture of Scoobidoo so I focused on him.  But I also wanted to take a picture of his surroundings so after I shot him I panned the camera to the left and shot the waiter walking towards me.  In post production, I stitched the two images and there -- a surreal composite.  Since the waiter and the lady on the chair were closer to the camera, the result is more depth to the overall image.  The blurry characters not only add surrealistic feel but also adds a 3-dimensional effect.  Sometimes a blurry element can help improve your pictures.

Hope your day is going well.

 © 2012 Rob Castro

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