POTM [05/08] New ideas

This is my months contribution to the POTM.



Probably not the most creative one, but at least it's a start.

So what do you think? OK, or hopeless?

edit: After A second look at it I think I'll have to redo this one... It's too much going on in the reflections, and the reflection is to noisy.

 

here is the second try:



I tried to use a better background, and also made a "box" out of white curtains. It didn't turn out as "clean" as I had hoped for, though. I just learned that taking pictures of shiny objects is a bit hard.

 

Great idea.
So how did you manage to power the light bulb, tape power cable to the bottom and photoshop them out?

 

I didn't even notice of the fact that the bulb was lit and not connected!

Very cool done smilo!

It looks like the glass beneath is giving double reflections. I don't know if completely black glass would solve this or what controls it.
2nd version is a lot better. Though I can't help feeling it is still too disturbed by non relevant reflections... I think perhaps black curtains and a single spotlight would be better?

 

I soldered two very thin wired to the socket and hooked it up to a 30V PSU to get a really dim glow. And you are correct, I edited out the wires in PS.

And yeah, the glass is giving double reflections. One for each side of the glass. To get only one reflection I need something that is reflective in it self, and not transparent. Black glass should work well, I think. Unfortunately I don't have anything like that here.

As for using black curtains, there is two problems with that. First of all I don't have enough of them at the moment (Maybe I'll go out to get some next week). Secondly, the actual glass bulb won't be very visible against the black background (if you look closely at the very top of the bulb you'll see what I mean). I did try white background and black surroundings, but that didn't work either. The best solution would be to make something that is white and very smooth, almost like a white dome of some sort. The Lens of the camera will still be visible, though.

I wonder how the professionals do things like this...?

 

Which is why I suggested you use black in combination with a single spotlight.

I can't say how pros do it but why shouldn't it work?

Edit: Oh and did you consider making a lightbox just with dark surfaces instead?
Edit2: Oh blackbox was up on strobist http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-assignment-shoot-your-shiny-new.html

 

oh. I misunderstood you a bit there.

I built sort of a light box out of curtains, only without the top. I think I'll have to build a "proper" one like in that link. I'll try to make one that can be folded up for storage, though. And a reflective surface of some sort. (painted plexiglass, maybe?)

my box will have to be a bit different than the Strobist's version, though. Since the bulb is reflective the inside of the box will be visible as well.

 

In my 2nd edit I linked to strobist where the guy found a piece of polished granite. I think this might be just the thing to look for

/me is off to find a cardboard box to build a lightbox for a school project.

 

Granite would be pretty damn expensive. (For some reason stone is incredibly expensive in Norway...)

I'll have a look around to see if I can find something. If I get the time, that is. (Stupid exams next couple of weeks!)

 

I did find a black sheet of glass!

I also made a lightbox (Blackbox) out of black paper. (flimsy as hell, and way to small, but it worked ) I also made a small slot for the light to come trough instead of a full white wall. This way I could still get some highlights in the glass without "drowning" the filament in light.



I had to burn the highlights. They were a bit too bright in relation to the filament.

I think it turned out pretty well. The reflection isn't as clear as on the others, though.

So what do you think?

 

Absolutely brilliant! Wow! Very nice job there smilo!

Edit: Your amount of reflection should change depending on where you place the spot and which angle you shoot, but the glass probably eats some of the reflection compared to a polished stone surface.

 

Thanks

You are right about the reflections. Problem is that there is two curved surfaces that reflects, so you will get some highlights anyway. The first shots were horrible in this matter (half the bulb was all white). But after some tweaking this was the best I could get it.

 

Could you try doing a close-up macro shot of the filament and its reflections inside the bulb? I'd just like to see that

 

That is awesome smilodon, really nicely executed shot. Its a perfect example of the birth of an idea, and its progression through trial and error in itself!

 

Aww. I just deconstructed my rig. It won't be today. I'll see what I can do later.

I just took a picture of my lightbox, though:



The top black sheet and the white was just put there to block out some leaking light. The black square piece to the left is to adjust the width of the light-slot. And the hole is where the lens goes trough

And yes, it does look awful!

edit:

Thanks

I didn't think of it like that, but you are absolutely right! Evolving ideas!

 

Hahaha that's an awesome ghetto darkbox

 

Can we get a high res of the last one? It would make a nice desktop.

 

I don't have any hosting that support the full sized one, but I just signed up to flickr and put it up there.

It's a little bit bigger. If anyone know of any good hosting that support large images, please let me know.

 

Just get any free webhost and upload your images there?

 

I think his problem stems from the fact that a lot of webhosts restrict the file size / format

i.e. Photobucket restricts to 10x7 or 1MB file size, and only a few file types (jpg, jpeg, png, gif)

freeimagehosting.net has a 3MB file size limit, but only jpg, bmp, png, gif.

I've had problems using there though, as some images wont show up in forums when linked to.