tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65090152961179025702024-03-14T01:54:13.882+11:00moles Obscura:photographyLight + time + machine + human = artmoleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-32906760678633006172016-05-28T11:19:00.002+10:002016-05-28T11:26:50.203+10:00Worshipping the blueberry pancakeOver the past few years I've been working on videoing and photographing food for Rie's Kitchen.<br />
My general rule is to be authentic, that is we eat the food after the shoot. There is no hair spray or any other weird food tricks going on here.<br />
<br />
So this is the hero shot:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PA7kGX3VN-0/V0jwFJu-maI/AAAAAAAAQNU/9Yj14EXi_-clt1oTbKNSU0SU7GGRVQO-ACK4B/s1600/RK_BlueberryPancakes-6755.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PA7kGX3VN-0/V0jwFJu-maI/AAAAAAAAQNU/9Yj14EXi_-clt1oTbKNSU0SU7GGRVQO-ACK4B/s320/RK_BlueberryPancakes-6755.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This is what it looks like behind the camera.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wyXY4_VK1Do/V0jvEA5YPYI/AAAAAAAAQNI/x2eUAq4SpvMV3ZnEg-t8wG7yJ-ocXmCygCK4B/s1600/RK_BlueberryPancakes-0000.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wyXY4_VK1Do/V0jvEA5YPYI/AAAAAAAAQNI/x2eUAq4SpvMV3ZnEg-t8wG7yJ-ocXmCygCK4B/s320/RK_BlueberryPancakes-0000.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
You'll notice the camera is atteched to a glide, this is because every shoot we do these days we do three things:<br />
1. Video pan - for the YouTube hero shot.<br />
2. Landscape - for the YouTube thumbnail, and social media.<br />
3. Portrait - for the book (yes we now have a Rie's Kitchen book).<br />
<br />
The light is coming from the skylight above - natural light is king (use it whenever you can).<br />
Then there are three bounce cards (one is just a folded card - awesome trick that, it stands all by itself).<br />
Then there is professional reflector, on the left - just to help out with the key lighting.<br />
The rear card is actually to block out some of the light falling on the back of the "set", helps darken the bench top.<br />
<br />
The configuration of this scene is really just experimentation, with a basic idea in mind.<br />
The set up is generally done with a stand in - because food flattens real quick, and so you generally want to just swap in the hero food at the last minute and shoot. If done right, you can be eating still warm pancakes!<br />
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Blog : <a href="http://rieskitchen.blogspot.com.au/">rieskitchen</a><br />
YouTube channel : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/RiesKitchen">RiesKitchen</a>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-71482592963124350922013-02-04T20:14:00.001+11:002013-02-04T20:14:59.325+11:00Long time painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GIpO3TAVzqs/UQ938SlDinI/AAAAAAAAOp8/O5gdwwLHSnQ/s1600/NewYear2013-0757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GIpO3TAVzqs/UQ938SlDinI/AAAAAAAAOp8/O5gdwwLHSnQ/s1600/NewYear2013-0757.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been distracted by Instagram for last year or so, you can check me out here.<br />
<a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/molescat/">http://web.stagram.com/n/molescat/</a><br />
<br />
The above shot is a classic long exposure and light painting, taken at the start of this year.<br />
The camera is set to manual focus (mostly because the auto-focus struggles in low light).<br />
Time priority of say 30 seconds, a manual flash is triggered to exposure the subject, then you paint in the "art". The beauty of this technique, over say just doing it in Photoshop, is you actually get the correct radiosity off the painted light for free. I think that's what makes these kinds of photos look so compelling.<br />
<br />
I realized when describing this technique to a friend, that I have been experimenting with Light Painting for over twenty years now - which was a scary thought. When I started, it was all on film of course, and we had no idea whether it was working how we wanted it or not. You would think I'd have mastered it by now.<br />
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Old school, taken on film:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLhtuWPnVz8/UQ952cRazfI/AAAAAAAAOqM/9mcRVWzwsaM/s1600/photo1_40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLhtuWPnVz8/UQ952cRazfI/AAAAAAAAOqM/9mcRVWzwsaM/s1600/photo1_40.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-83709802599862203192011-04-03T19:26:00.000+10:002011-04-03T19:26:12.095+10:00Tron Legocy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1W2_Adf0xxg/TZg7bfsCPVI/AAAAAAAAJXs/jG_cb6Fbvn8/s1600/IMG_9549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1W2_Adf0xxg/TZg7bfsCPVI/AAAAAAAAJXs/jG_cb6Fbvn8/s320/IMG_9549.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Inspired by<br />
<a href="http://gizmodo.com/#!5787259/shooting-challenge-lego">http://gizmodo.com/#!5787259/shooting-challenge-lego</a><br />
<br />
I've kind of done this thing before - back in 1990, some twenty one years ago - ouch.<br />
But back then I didn't have Lightroom or an iPad to help with the cool effects.<br />
I really need to get myself a macro lens, shooting this on 300mm, 2m away is really fiddly - you need to take great care not bump the frame, or even have the frame droop, with a heavy lens you need to lock in a quarter frame higher to compensate for the droop. You also need to turn off the image stabilizer, and auto focus, as they are just going to mess things up with a time lapse shot.<br />
I was going to try some extra effects to get a lego light-cycle in there, but the set up was already a 30sec shot.<br />
And a double exposure was just going to make everything really complicated.moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-7283068227126391842011-02-13T19:24:00.000+11:002011-02-13T19:24:38.806+11:00Wingardium Leviosa<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0AlMWy0JQ1U/TVeVRvJd2gI/AAAAAAAAJWI/gkFChjp5180/s1600/AirBike.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0AlMWy0JQ1U/TVeVRvJd2gI/AAAAAAAAJWI/gkFChjp5180/s320/AirBike.jpg" /></a> </div><br />This turned out to be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">simpler</span> than I imagined. Two shots, one with a stand to hold the bike, and one without.<br />A little GIMP (poor mans <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">photoshop</span>), to airbrush out the stand and voila.<br />(And a little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lightroom</span> to tweak the color palette)<br /><br />Inspire by (and too late for)<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ShootingChallenge">http://www.facebook.com/ShootingChallenge</a><br /><br />Or<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44149&id=114955518535358">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44149&id=114955518535358</a><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-62577375380912505522011-01-31T19:13:00.000+11:002011-01-31T19:14:00.088+11:00Bokeh<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TUZvR4O8vyI/AAAAAAAAJMw/Sbi4R2e5lK8/s1600/IMG_8911.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TUZvR4O8vyI/AAAAAAAAJMw/Sbi4R2e5lK8/s320/IMG_8911.jpg" /></a> </div>Some fairy lights, shot with the 50mm, f1.8.<br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5743842/shooting-challenge-bokeh">http://gizmodo.com/5743842/shooting-challenge-bokeh</a><br /><br />I'm not sure if this is working for me.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-35479349381274650882011-01-13T16:27:00.000+11:002011-01-13T16:27:17.049+11:00Check Mate<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TS6NNOHjVTI/AAAAAAAAJLc/-_2-yy1tbIQ/s1600/CheckMate.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TS6NNOHjVTI/AAAAAAAAJLc/-_2-yy1tbIQ/s320/CheckMate.jpg" /></a><br />In the cult film Blade Runner, it has been noted that Dr <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Tyrell</span> and Sebastian are playing out the last moves of the famous "The Immortal Game". I have this lovely old chess board, which was my father's, and I'd always liked the translucent nature of the pieces.<br />I've also been tinkering with borders in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">LightRoom</span> - which is not it's forte, but it works. It seemed fitting to use an old school <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Polaroid</span> for this shot. <br />Footnote - it's <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">damn</span> hard to get all the pieces readable in a shot, and have it look half decent - so I gave up.<br />The pieces of note are the two knights, bishop and queen attacking the black king.</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-30509068585501089452010-12-31T14:11:00.000+11:002010-12-31T14:11:59.402+11:00Who goes there?<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TR1J_sTJoDI/AAAAAAAAIxE/nW2ejUM7GNU/s1600/IMG_7675.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TR1J_sTJoDI/AAAAAAAAIxE/nW2ejUM7GNU/s320/IMG_7675.jpg" /></a><br /><br />How many <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">SciFi</span> movies have you seen where they've used this cheap effect - Predator, and Beast Master spring to mind. I've always wanted to try my hand at this - but a word of warning, although the chemicals are non-toxic they will stain (they maybe a little corrosive, like vinegar or something mild). The setup is pretty straight forward, and the result has had minimal LightRoom treatment. My tip to shooting in low light, is to auto-focus whilst the lights are on, and then switch to manual focus for the rest of the shoot. (Just remember to switch back to auto when you're done, or you will be scratching your head next time you get the camera out).</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-50358464177213587452010-12-27T16:39:00.001+11:002010-12-27T16:44:03.109+11:00Brain cells<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRgmhKo7-nI/AAAAAAAAIwM/0wYnv-ZdLeQ/s1600/IMG_7620.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRgmhKo7-nI/AAAAAAAAIwM/0wYnv-ZdLeQ/s320/IMG_7620.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">After the recent trouble with inky water challenge, I was going all out to capture some smoke.</div><div style="text-align: left;">When they say you need a lot of light - they are not kidding, this is lit with 1500W of halogen, and a bounce card one foot to the left. In case you haven't spotted it, this photo was shot upside down - as smoke rises. The shot glass is suspended from above, dangling by a simple bit of string and gaffer.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Black drop cloth, and a microphone stand to hold the stinky incense stick, and you're away (well about 50 photos later). Then it's just a little <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LightRoom</span> to flip and color grade.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In case you're wondering, the "IQ Zero" shot glass is my dig at Alcohol and Tobacco.</div><br />
Inspired by <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5662030/82-striking-photos-of-smoke">http://gizmodo.com/5662030/82-striking-photos-of-smoke</a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 50% transparent; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-36062027992393542132010-12-26T19:23:00.000+11:002010-12-26T19:23:51.831+11:00Dark moment<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRb7li0uxLI/AAAAAAAAIv4/9OkeKOwsxBU/s1600/GunBlast-2.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRb7li0uxLI/AAAAAAAAIv4/9OkeKOwsxBU/s320/GunBlast-2.jpg" /></a> </div>This is a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Photoshop</span> (Gimp actually) composition of two photos - #1 for the basic setup, and #2 for the gun blast, which is actually light (close proximity torch light), which is then subtracted from the image. And then a little bit of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">LightRoom</span> for the color grade.<br /><br />Inspired from <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5504469/shooting-challenge-shadows-part-1">http://gizmodo.com/5504469/shooting-challenge-shadows-part-1</a><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-45713773607679232522010-12-25T18:58:00.000+11:002010-12-25T18:58:34.823+11:00Blood Simple<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRWkKjaGrUI/AAAAAAAAIvw/5LEGBNxVTl4/s1600/IMG_7550.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRWkKjaGrUI/AAAAAAAAIvw/5LEGBNxVTl4/s320/IMG_7550.jpg" /></a> </div><br />This shot looks pretty straight forward, unfortunately it wasn't, and needed some pretty heavy handed lightroom to save it. Now it may have been easier if I had red dye, but this actually Soy Sauce - and through the wonders of digital technology, it's now red. But that is really the least of your worries - the real problem here is pulling the clean white back ground out, without losing the detail of the dye. Overall I'm still not happy with the end results - and ideally would shoot it again, but I'm done with it, and want to move on.<br /><br />I got the idea from here.<br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5661918/shooting-challenge-smoke-gallery-1">http://gizmodo.com/5661918/shooting-challenge-smoke-gallery-1</a><br /><br />I'm now tempted to try some smoke.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-21689766833647872792010-12-23T15:27:00.000+11:002010-12-23T15:27:48.115+11:00Freelensing<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRLPw5m-I6I/AAAAAAAAIvY/NbEbdsMto1o/s1600/IMG_7528.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TRLPw5m-I6I/AAAAAAAAIvY/NbEbdsMto1o/s320/IMG_7528.jpg" /></a><br />I don't know if I would recommend this style of photography for the faint hearted. Grab your 50mm lens, unscrew it, and turn it around - that's right back to front, and hold it in front of the camera - and you've got yourself a poor-mans macro. This "technique", also known as <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">freelensing</span>. I set everything to manual, after checking the speed, ISO etc, manually focused by moving the camera forwards and back, and click - it works.<br /><br />Truth be known I actually tested this out with my old film based <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ricoh</span>, with its lens, so I knew how to hold everything together, before trying this with the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">DSLR</span> (didn't actually take any shots - as I have no film in the house).<br />I'm <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">surprised</span> this even works - I thought light leakage alone would ruin the shot.<br /><br />I got the idea from here<br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5679403/101-photos-taken-with-the-lens-detached">http://gizmodo.com/5679403/101-photos-taken-with-the-lens-detached</a><br /></div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-13036933453991577202010-12-15T18:45:00.001+11:002010-12-15T18:47:37.157+11:00Food for thought<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TQhyFkwOz8I/AAAAAAAAImo/ey6ut9bfhqk/s1600/IMG_7276.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TQhyFkwOz8I/AAAAAAAAImo/ey6ut9bfhqk/s320/IMG_7276.jpg" /></a><br />
I've done a series of photos for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Rie's</span> blog (<a href="http://rieskitchen.blogspot.com/">http://rieskitchen.blogspot.com/</a>), and this is the latest.<br />
Now for food I prefer to shot with natural light - as lighting with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">artificial</span> light, and making it look natural is a skill that still <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">alludes</span> me. This is shot in the dying light of an overcast afternoon - I was actually against the clock with the light really fading. These little gluten free treats were straight out of the oven - and the scene is completely fake - a table has been dragged to the window to get what little light there is left, and then dressed the table with whatever festive decor I had at hand - pronto. The shot is taken with a 50mm lens, with a moderate <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">aperture</span> - because I wanted the closest mince pie to be mostly in focus - so 3.2 felt right - 1.8 was too much BOKEH (did I just say that).<br />
<br />
(PS - A professional food photographer contact of Rie's commented that the photo was maybe a little busy, not enough white for some particular magazines, but other than that, said it was pretty good - I must be doing something right)</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 50% transparent; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-28487584056822623552010-12-09T14:12:00.000+11:002010-12-09T14:12:48.949+11:00Bug in the machine<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TQBJMF1Vl4I/AAAAAAAAIh4/oLVYUdI4H50/s1600/IMG_7268.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TQBJMF1Vl4I/AAAAAAAAIh4/oLVYUdI4H50/s320/IMG_7268.jpg" /></a><br />Birthday surprise.<br />Taken with the 50mm lens & tripod, with up-lighting under/behind the circuit boards, and a little side lighting for key lighting.<br />Not much light makes it through the boards - hence the need for the tripod (0.3s f7.1)</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-43257226036370452232010-12-01T19:27:00.000+11:002010-12-01T19:27:23.354+11:00Spflash<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TPYG6gkpfQI/AAAAAAAAIeQ/z8P3XuhluWU/s1600/IMG_7088.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TPYG6gkpfQI/AAAAAAAAIeQ/z8P3XuhluWU/s320/IMG_7088.jpg" /></a><br />I'd always wanted to have a go at this kind of photography - all you really need is a flash and some patience, as it's going to take more than one attempt to get it right. The flash will generally only want to go to about 1/250, and this is shot on a 50mm, so you can get plenty of light. Tweaked up in Lightroom to look more pumped. If I was to have another attempt, I might try manual focus, on where the fruit is going to be</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-66658724431650785172010-11-20T17:29:00.000+11:002010-11-20T17:29:57.200+11:00Golden Orb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TGYsDhlLz8I/AAAAAAAAFcY/J_NM4k0qugw/s1600/IMG_6349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/TGYsDhlLz8I/AAAAAAAAFcY/J_NM4k0qugw/s320/IMG_6349.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's much easier to shoot a spider when they are fricken huge.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the wild these critters, are generally under the jungle canopy, which is generally low light.<br />
But a tripod, and long exposure will not really help you out here - as the slightest breeze and the whole lot moves.moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-24693133113602793182010-03-21T18:44:00.000+11:002010-03-21T18:44:06.759+11:00The red hourglass<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/S6XORPK1LMI/AAAAAAAAE54/drnSl4BzXjw/s1600-h/HouseMarch+025.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/S6XORPK1LMI/AAAAAAAAE54/drnSl4BzXjw/s320/HouseMarch+025.JPG" /></a><br />It's harder than you think to photograph such a small subject.<br />This is a juvenile female <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">red back</span> spider.<br />The lens is less than one inch away, and focusing it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">extremely</span> tight.<br />Thankfully there is a glass jar between me and her.</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-30349136076211238962009-06-14T19:32:00.000+10:002009-06-14T19:33:00.229+10:00Flame<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SjTDy-ZoOlI/AAAAAAAADWY/RYUuxCcbpqw/s1600-h/LSBake+(1+of+1)-5.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SjTDy-ZoOlI/AAAAAAAADWY/RYUuxCcbpqw/s320/LSBake+(1+of+1)-5.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />One candle (and one LED - I cheated, to give it a specular high light)<br />I'm not sure, if I'm done with the candle experiment, as I like the self illumination of the wax of the candle.<br />This is shot with the 50mm, and I experimented with the various aperture settings to get the right depth of field.<br />1.8 was way to shallow and basically nothing was in focus. Too much Bokeh can be a bad thing.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-7682272800861698272009-06-09T22:19:00.000+10:002009-06-09T22:19:51.648+10:00Caustic<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/Si5TZh3USYI/AAAAAAAADVI/pInTzFl6rBU/s1600-h/LSBake+(1+of+1)-4.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/Si5TZh3USYI/AAAAAAAADVI/pInTzFl6rBU/s320/LSBake+(1+of+1)-4.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />This was the hardest, and least satifying Mr Wooden so far.<br />I wanted to capture light bouncing off rippling water - how hard can that be (don't answer).<br />Well instead of being your friends, time and light are your enemies here.<br />You'll need a long exposure if you don't have a ton of light, and that of course will mess up the caustics, as time smears them all over the place. If you have a ton of light, you need to control it, otherwise it blows out the caustics, on the backdrop.<br />In the end, I should've brought out the 1500W light, but I was lazy.<br />I opened it up as much as the 50mm prime would go, dialed up the ISO, and 80 shots later, only had this to show for it :(<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-31520591491253872662009-05-30T15:23:00.000+10:002009-05-30T15:23:18.654+10:00Fly<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SiDCxZV5MgI/AAAAAAAADUQ/bdfIlWFu-wE/s1600-h/LSBake+(1+of+1)-3.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SiDCxZV5MgI/AAAAAAAADUQ/bdfIlWFu-wE/s320/LSBake+(1+of+1)-3.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />The speed blur in this shot is all done in camera.<br />I wanted the lighting to be natural, dropping a fake background on the shot will not match the lighting on Mr Wooden.<br />To get this effect I attached Mr Wooden to the camera, and moved the camera, with a slowish shutter speed.<br />I think this shot could be made better with a neutral density filter to make the shot even slower.<br />There is a fair bit of light outside, and even with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">aperture</span> closed right down, and the slowest ISO, it was still faster than I wanted.<br />To finish up a little bit of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lightroom</span> to tweak the contrast, and vignetted the frame.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-37163531680096148552009-05-18T19:24:00.000+10:002009-05-18T19:24:23.166+10:00Fall<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/ShEpRtFypmI/AAAAAAAADUI/ZNX8jFf_bt8/s1600-h/LSBake+(1+of+1)-2.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/ShEpRtFypmI/AAAAAAAADUI/ZNX8jFf_bt8/s320/LSBake+(1+of+1)-2.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />In this piece, I'm playing with several themes. I like the light being an abstract, but motivated source.<br />I like the Depth Of Field giving a sense of movement - whereas in reality it's dead still (1/2 sec).<br />This is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">actually</span> a lamp I own, which has autumn leaves embedded into the paper surface of the lamp - given really cool <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">translucency.</span> (IMHO). This is shot with a 50mm prime lens, which enabled me to get the fat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">bokeh</span>, which simulates the depth of field you might get if these were 6 foot tall people, compared to their actual size of 1 foot. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">contrast</span> has been tweaked slightly in PS <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">LightRoom</span>.<br />The lamp is a 8Watt Compact <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">flouro</span> with 2700K color temperature - and this is pretty much the color the camera delivered.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-50897173645153461482009-05-12T22:13:00.000+10:002009-05-12T22:14:00.937+10:00Don't open it<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SgloCIQqTHI/AAAAAAAADTQ/FzthlOsHlxQ/s1600-h/LSBake+(1+of+1).jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SgloCIQqTHI/AAAAAAAADTQ/FzthlOsHlxQ/s320/LSBake+(1+of+1).jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />I'm trialing Adobe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LightRoom</span> here. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CraigD</span> recently gave me a hands on demo, and it looks like I should take the leap, as this software is the business. You can download a free trial from Adobe.com.<br /><br />Light and smoke - I've always been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">fascinated</span> by the way light passes through smoke, but in trying to tame the light source, and get the camera in a position to see these light beams is quite a trick.<br /><br />Obviously I'm working with a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">miniature</span> set here, with Mr Woodman - and so you need to work with small lights. Here I'm using a small can with a halogen bulb, and the light you see is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">actually</span> escaping from the rear of the housing. I had gelled the light at the base with red, but it came out very monochrome, so using LightRoom, I tweaked the highlights towards green, and backed off the overall saturation.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-81047343127974287572009-04-26T18:50:00.000+10:002009-04-26T18:50:43.917+10:00Get out<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SfQgY_W3NYI/AAAAAAAADRo/tlcsrNgAg7k/s1600-h/LightingMannequin+047.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SfQgY_W3NYI/AAAAAAAADRo/tlcsrNgAg7k/s320/LightingMannequin+047.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />I've always liked the way a shadow play can imply much more than is actually there.<br />For this shot I've used a frame with a large sheet a tracing paper, and placed the figures as close to it as I can.<br />Getting the lighting right here is very tricky, as I didn't want to confuse the image, with the figures and their shadows.<br />In hindsight I think the tracing paper screen used here is actually not translucent enough - maybe a plastic screen, or a lightly frosted glass would be easier to set up.<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-88067620454054819142009-04-26T18:36:00.000+10:002009-04-26T18:36:49.037+10:00Behind you<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SfQdICbAmwI/AAAAAAAADRg/RA4yRdGRdwY/s1600-h/LightingMannequin+054.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SfQdICbAmwI/AAAAAAAADRg/RA4yRdGRdwY/s320/LightingMannequin+054.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />A single Halogen bulb is lighting this set, with a red color gel over half of it, which gives the two color tones.<br />Also the small bulb works well with these small models.<br />The point of this test was to work with some color lighting, which as you can see I've chosen to use the "over the top" technique.<br />I tried this shot with a black background, but it was too hard to read the figures - which are already hard to read, being wood, so it actually a white card, about 15cms behind the figures..<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-49372203208258249642009-04-13T18:51:00.000+10:002009-04-13T18:51:43.908+10:00Stop with the light<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SeL9HzHMacI/AAAAAAAADJs/hwpoejXF3kk/s1600-h/LightingMannequin+033.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SeL9HzHMacI/AAAAAAAADJs/hwpoejXF3kk/s320/LightingMannequin+033.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />It's amazing what you can do, with one light, and a black backdrop.<br />This is taken with a wide aperture F5.7, exposure 1sec, quite close.<br />The other thing to play with is the "dutch tilt".<br />The wooden Mannequin is always standing vertically, so tilting the camera gives a more dynamic shot - dare I say, less wooden!<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509015296117902570.post-52209375986431916742009-02-22T19:36:00.002+11:002009-02-22T19:41:58.740+11:00Heavy Landing<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SaEOfVZqNuI/AAAAAAAADG8/4LikvOWeVNQ/s1600-h/Zoo+131.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUAintvADkk/SaEOfVZqNuI/AAAAAAAADG8/4LikvOWeVNQ/s320/Zoo+131.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />There's only one way to get a great photo like this, visit a butterfly house at a zoo - in this case Melbourne Zoo.<br />You may want to swap lenses, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">because</span> sometimes the butterflies are up real close, and other times you may want 300mm. This was taken with my wide angle zoom, at 85mm.<br />I had wanted to photograph the Tarantulas next door, but I think I'd need a tripod (as it's dark in there), and pick at time when there are no <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">squealing </span>kids.<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>moleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17967805159015453996noreply@blogger.com0