Lighting 102 - 7.3: Time in a Bottle Discussion
Here we are, on the very last of the Lighting 102 assignments. This series has been more than a year in the making, and it is almost time to put this one in the books.But first, we take a look at your "Time in a Bottle" assignment shots from earlier this month. As I recall, you were to shoot a photo using flash and some kind of time-controlled variable. There was also a set of DVDs in play, just to make it interesting.
Your photos, inside.
Leading off is this shot of a tunnel, by Noah Bennett. It was lit during a time exposure by "~270 flash pops," which not only showed up in the frame but also lit the length of the tunnel. Not sure how he controlled the flare in this one, but apparently he figured that problem out.
Next is Michael Foy's shot of a scratching post, which was done over time with lots and lots of flash pops from just about everywhere. The final effect is sort of a subtle, surreal ring light look -- except for Molly the ghost cat, who apparently caught one of the pops.
This foosball table's starting lineup was shot by thatmushroom, using a single, tightly snooted 285HV. He lit the players individually during a series of exposures and combined them in Photoshop using the lighten mode in layers.Picking one shot for the DVDs was not easy. All the more so because the first winning photo I picked turned out to have been shot over a week before the assignment was made. (Grrr... had the whole post written, too.) Sorry, but no brownie points for being psychic.
And The DVDs Go To:
I am not sure exactly what message Cesar T. Sanchez (aka The Light Whisperer) was trying to send with this photo. Was it, "Don't drink and drive?"
Or maybe, "If you are going to drink and drive, drive a Ford?"
Who knows. But that focus-shift effect is pretty cool. He used the time component to allow himself to shift focus from the macro, flash-lit keys to the booze three feet away for the ambient burn-in period. He details the process further, here.
Congrats, Cesar. If you will Flickrmail me your snail-mail address, I will get the DVDs out ASAP. Just follow the link on my comment under your photo.
_____________
In addition to Cesar, congrats also to all of the people who contributed such good stuff throughout all of the Lighting 102 assignments. You all put a lot of work into them, and it shows. The entire Lighting 102 series has been archived with internal link chains. You can take a look at the entire long and winding road by starting here.
Thus closes Lighting 102. This may be the last post in this series, but there is more participatory stuff coming. Stay tuned for more on that soon.
__________
New to Strobist, or lighting? Start here.
Now shipping, in DVD box set or download: Lighting in Layers
Connect: Discussion Threads | Reader Photos | Twitter
Posted at 12:00 AM.
12 Comments:
david,
thanks for a great site. i just discovered it in the last week or so, but i can assure that off-camera lighting has been a quest of mine for about 5 years. i can remember using hot work lights form sears when i first searched for better light. i even did the "sheet in front of the light" thing you mentioned in the bike shot. from there, i took a step back (technologically speaking) and lit a few shots with candles. (12 tea lights will put off a surprising amount of light.)
since i am a relative new comer here, i am sad that the lighting 102 challenges have come and gone, and for this to end now is just as bad. but i will do my best for whatever your next interactive may be.
again, thank you!
-bobby
I knew it! Congratulations. I was speaking with Cesar about his work, and that I thought that the one he presented before and retired was even more impressive!
Anyway, he deserves it.
Thank you all, and thank you David, from a Spanish Strobist.
David,
I need some tips and lighting diagrams from people who know how to photograph artwork.
I live in Galveston, TX and we are trying to help people restore their flood damaged photos. Step one in the process is making a "picture of the picture" i.e. a copy stand.
Any lighting tips from you would be great. See this link for details.
www.operationphotorescue.org
After the hurricane there are hundreds of prints with flood damage. I'm working with Operation Photo Rescue to help restore these family memories.
We'll be setting up a "copy center" in a local church so we can take a picture of your picture, upload it to the PhotoRescue folks who then photoshop and send you the repaired digital image.
Here are some details if you're interested. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
After Hurricane Katrina there were several new charities that were set up. One of these was Operation Photo Rescue - a world wide group of photoshop professionals who volunteer to repair flood damaged family photo's. http://www.operationphotorescue.org/
Please let me know if CCCC might be willing to host this process for one Saturday in November or December.
Here's how the process works.
1. Local photographers (that's me and my photoclub friends) find a location, pick a date, and set up several copy stands in a local church, library, or other building. A copy stand is an easel to hold the photo, a tripod to hold the camera, and a couple of flashes to provide consistent light. We take a photo of the photo (and eventually upload it to the internet) - much faster than a scanner.
2. Operation photorescue.org will send a media press release telling people where they can bring their damaged photos, and how many photo's per family are allowed.
3. Clients show up - we take a picture of their picture, burn the images to DVD, and mail the DVD to the photorescue people.
4. The world wide photoshop experts fix the photo's and email the repaired digital image back to the owner who can then reprint it.
QUESTION for Chad - can you help me find a location and suggest a good day? My suggestion would be the CCCC student loft area some weekend in November so we have time to prepare.
I can find the photographers.
The PhotoRescue people have the release forms for people to fill out so we can track the process and get the photos back to the proper owners (with liability releases so they can't sue if something goes wrong).
THANKS - Jim Coffey
DETAILS
1. We will limit this service to X photo's per family. In Biloxi the limit was 20 photos. In Katrina the limit was 5 photos ... it depends on how many photographer and other volunteers we can obtain.
2. We do not take possession of the pictures. People stand in line with their photos, fill out the forms, we make the copies, and they go home with their originals.
3. We need administrative volunteers with laptops connected to the internet to help people fill out the online forms.
4. The photo's may have mold on them. We'll tell the people to clean the pics with a dry cloth before they enter the building. Our volunteers, the people with pictures, and everyone who enters the building will sign a medical release that they may come into contact with mold or other contaminants on the photos.
5. The founder of PhotoRescue is Dave Ellis - a newspaper photographer in Virginia. I talked to him on the phone this afternoon and he explained the process to me. He is sending me more details via email (forms, paperwork, legal liability details, suggestions on how to manage the flow of images so they can keep track and get the repaired version back to the owner, etc).
COPY STAND DETAILS (technical notes for photographers)
1. take a photo of the printed form people fill out (name, email, # of photo's in their batch)
2. For small photo's include the owner's email on a post-it in the frame with the photo.
3. For large photo's take two pictures - one with the email and one without so we have enough megapixels for the retouchers to work with.
4. Prefer DSLR camera's with pro lenses and 14 megapixels if possible
5. Houston Photo.org and strobist have plenty of photographers with good cameras.
6. Setting up a copy stand takes about 20 minutes to get the camera and the easel alligned and the lights adjusted.
7. I can take about 40-80 pictures per hour using my copy stand at home. Working with other people will slow the process somewhat. However, talking to them and hearing their story is the most rewarding part of the deal for the photographer.
8. As part of the release form I want people to promise to send a thank you email to the retouchers (Dave said they they only get about 7% thank you notes from people).
9. I'm going to suggest to Dave that the retoucher send an email to the photo owner when he starts working on the photo's. This way we can create a person to person contact - much more humane.
10. Each copy stand requires a floor space of approximately 15x15 feet if you're shooting strobist style with small flashes.
11. We'll probably try to set up 3-5 copy stands ... depending on how much floor space we have.
12. It's very handy for each copy stand to have a small TV or display screen so the photographer and the clients can see the results as we copy the photo's.
Was that a Ford Focus shift?
David,
just wanted to add my thanks and congrats on the occasion of the final 102 exercise. Strobist has taken my photography to a new level, increased my understanding of light and its manipulation, given me a whole new ethic towards photography kit, taken me to inspiring places in cyberspace and had a whole lotta laughs in the process.
Heartfelt thanks.
Pat
Good choice. I would guess this is Cesar's take on the Ford advertising campaign "shift_expectations", or in this case "shift_focus"...
Good one.
I guess I'm dense. The winning photo is just too "high concept" for me.
Guess I have a lot too learn.
Wow, great images! Tunnel and shift Cuervo take the cake for me. Really cool.
Wow, what can one say. It is more than an honor.
We are all grateful to be able to tap into the experience of someone willing to share a knowledge we would not otherwise have access to.
I actually wasn’t thinking of a message. I wanted to see if this technique would work. The subjects kinda had to have some connection with each other. I was going to do a black widow spider on the rug and one of my kids playing some feet away (at a safe safe distance). My wife didn’t want a spider loose in the house , I had the spider and sticky paper for it to. “Shift your Focus” was for the technique, and I guess if your are obfuscated (as the technique illustrates), focus. But drive a Ford works.
Cesar T Sanchez
Great series! I only wish that there was an index to access the different chapters individually like lighting 101 (or perhaps there is and I didn't see it?)
Sad day, Dave,
I've followed along, largely in the background right from almost the start of L101, even printed out all of 101, then realised what the archive bit was for! Well, I've learnt one heck of a lot thanks mostly to you, but kudos to the rest of the knowledgeable shooters that congregated on your site. They,ve all been brilliant. I don,t, honestly, see how you're gonna follow L102!! I know I'll miss it, but also I'm already looking forward to your next 'thing'. Any clues?
Thank you Dave, et al, Tough journey at times, but well, well worth it!
Hi David,
Not sure where to post this concept/tip, but I discovered an impromptu way to snoot using an off-camera lens here:
http://www.glaringnotebook.com/Default.asp?id=1158
Post a Comment
<< Home