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June 11, 2015

Personal, Photography, Technology | 0 comment

Throwback Thursday – TV

“Don’t kill the messenger!”

The form of the “messenger” is ever changing especially in the information age. Although it is usually not a person that you meet face to face, it is usually a screen. For a long time now, our messenger has been behemoth of screen not in terms of size, but in weight and girth – an old Sony XBR CRT TV. This thing was state of the art in Y2K! It had a “flat” screen not that it’s enclosure was small, but that the glass screen in front was no longer bulbous. Thus, giving the picture a much truer perspective for viewers.

This was our first major purchase after we moved into our new house. Emphatically, it became a focal point for our living room. We painted the room a dark red color, we installed black-out shades. Its 4:3 aspect ratio picture was BEAUTIFUL! We paired it with speakers to fill the room with all the chirps, beeps, and booms from the best DVDs. We hosted movie nights, and enjoyed using the technology to bring friends together. Moreover we see films more closely as they were intended by creators.

Original Setting

From other broadcast programming, we were able to witness many important events – presidential elections, inspiring musical performances, 9/11/2001, amazing athletic wins by our college football team, crushing losses by our professional team, and even some of our own creations – old home movies updated to be shared before they are lost.

But technology marches on, and it is finally time to upgrade. The front of the TV has many scars from the few times we have moved it – only once did we change its room, and that was only when the house was changed too. The power button barely has any coating left from all of its use! We were going to wait until the TV would no longer work. All the new movies and TV shows were wide screen, and all the new connections for streaming content from the internet could not be connected due to technical reasons. But we held on to it for almost 15 years. We only hope the new messenger does the job half as well as its predecessor.

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January 3, 2014

Photography, Technology | 0 comment

Ice Sphere – Product Photography

This was a nice gift my wife received this Christmas. From the moment I saw this, I knew it would be a nice subject for a product photography shoot, but it would be a challenge. This was my first attempt at it while the tree is still up. I think it is a good attempt, but looking at the images on the computer now, there are a few things that I will try next time. Here is my first exposure using no flash, and using the Aperture Priority metering in camera using a 105mm macro lens:

Product Photography

Because of the automatic metering, the camera makes the background lights the basis for the exposure. The lights are about right, but the glass with the ice is underexposed. With this result, I knew that I needed to add flash from a speedlight to bring a little life and sparkle to the subject. This should also darken the background, and make the lights separated, and a little more saturated.

This is a little closer to what I was going for, but what I noticed first was the bokeh. In the blurred background of the tree lights, there was such a distance between the subject and the background, that the lights are no longer circular, and are taking on a strange oblong shape. To make them a little rounder, I moved the camera away from the subject, so lessen the difference between the subject and the background with respect to the lens:

Now the lights are back to being round, and you can see more of their colors. On the plus side, the flash is not too overpowering on the subject. I decided that I still want to have the lights a little larger, so I moved halfway between my previous position and this one.

This was the best that I could get with this setup – the macro lens and one flash with the diffuser as the only modifier. Looking at the images now, I think I have one more idea to try. I think the background could be even darker. I’ll give it a try and post my results. Let me know if you have any ideas as to how to make this image any better.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

June 30, 2013

Personal, Photography, Technology | 0 comment

Rapid Box Flash on Car

After experimenting with my own car, I took my Rapid Box to photograph another, more exciting model, a Dodge Viper GTS. This would be another chance to try the Westcott Rapid Box as my new flash modifier. Photographing car details with this setup is very easy! The portability of the Rapid Box as well a small speedlight means that you can put the flash in a small space and still use some sort of light modifier to make the light softer. This allows for lighter area to fall into shadow nicely which helps to block out distracting elements in garage from being seen in the photo. Combine that with a macro or short lens, and you can really focus in on details.

Details

In this first photo, the flash allows you to control the light and give it a little shape. The light fades slightly from the top right to the bottom left, framing the letters. The addition of flash instead of using available light means I can hand hold the camera and adjust quickly than if stuck on a tripod. The ISO is also at the lowest setting on the camera meaning the color is still vivid and true compared to higher ISOs.

Again using a small softbox, you can get soft light in a tight spaces. The light still shapes the area under the flared out lid at the rear above the tail light. This is something that is very difficult to do without a light shaper in front of your flash. All of these photos of the car details can be put into a compilation poster to give an overall picture of the car. You may have seen it in a previous post. Try it with your car and let me know how it goes!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Posts Tagged ‘product’

“Don’t kill the messenger!”

Original Setting

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