I'm always on the lookout for items to be used as props in watch photos, and they needn't be serious! Just recently I was waiting in the queue at the checkout of my local supermarket. I noticed some small Simpsons figurines on offer in those displays that are supposed to wring the last dollar out of you as you leave the shop. Well, it worked on me! Most were a bit large for my purposes but one particular Bart figurine was suitable and I immediately pictured him sitting on a watch.
Here are the main ingredients to make this idea a reality. I decided to use the Seiko Orange Monster divers watch as it was large enough for Bart to sit on without being hidden, and the dial is nice and colourful. Also, as I intended to use water in the image I required a waterproof watch. The bag contains white decorator pebbles. These are available in a wide range of sizes and colours and can come in handy as props. And, of course, we have Bart himself.
My aim was to portray Bart sitting on the watch and dangling his feet in the water around the rocks.
Below is a shot of the setup prior to the addition of water. The container is a metal oven pan, chosen and it was of suitable size and depth to contain the pebbles and water and the black colour would not show. I poured in water until it reached the level of the mesh strap. I found that the water was practically invisible until I stirred it to create some foam. Lighting was from an overhead diffused fluorescent lamp with a white reflector card to the front of the setup to fill in shadows.
Below is the result. Very little processing was done to the final image apart from applying a touch of the Photoshop 'Diffuse Glow' filter to the white stones to lift them a little.
Copyright 2005 Paul Delury