Got a new Moffatt style Lamp

[Bill Boehme]

Drying kiln? Or maybe just keep the nice gouges in there. But I'd put some hardware cloth over that glass for safety's sake.

What would I do without all the great help and advice that I receive here! It seems so obvious now, but I just wasn't opening up my mind to think outside the box.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I'm hardly an expert in photography. Its way harder than turning! I bought the Snap On LED shop work lights at Costco. My pictures seem decent enough... I got a new Nikon D5600. It has custom white balance... Since I'm the worst kind of colorblind, I just hope for the best... Is anybody using the Snap On LES lights? What should I use for white balance, I'm using a white paper in the back... Aloha

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I found that the LED lamp also works well for photography. Here are some pictures showing the set up that I used.


The light and umbrella are sort of cobbled together, but it worked.
View attachment 21548


The graduated background. I have a sheet of Formica and 1/8" Baltic Birch plywood to create a curved sweep. I use white and black pieces of foamboard to modify the light.

View attachment 21549


I have my camera about ten feet away on a gimbal mount. I'm using a 70 - 200 mm lens which covers most things without needing to move the camera position. The two targets ae a WhiBal white balance card and an X-rite Passport for creating custom color profiles.

View attachment 21551


What the camera sees.

View attachment 21552

Anyway, I really like the LED for photography. It beats the heck out of the 500 watt photo floodlights that I have been using. My latest piece in the gallery, Celebration Basket, was shot with this set up.

Bill, how much is that gradient paper? Is it durable? That looks the size of my light box. I can't find the right size on Amazon, and they are expensive... Aloha

 

[Bill Boehme]

The backkground is about $40 from B&H. It is made of PVC so it is more durable than paper, but it can be scuffed or scratched so it needs to be treated gently.

You can create a custom white balance in your camera by shooting a piece of ordinary cheap copy pape as long as it isn't the bright white ink jet paper. Your camera instruction manual should tell you how to do it.

I don't like light tents because they wash out contrast and cause images to look flat. Also, white backgrounds are tough to deal with for the same reason as well as getting proper exposure of darker objects.

It looks like you read my post on WoW.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

@Emiliano Achaval If you want vinyl you might take a look at this http://www.phototechinc.com/graduate.htm . This page is vinyl gradient which I prefer. A caution though on vinyl is that it does tend to keep the curl and will have to clamp down.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Flotone and Varitone are exactly the same thing as far as I can tell, but I assume that Flotone is just the B&H house brand. Originally, I would put the background back in the tube when through using it, but got tired of trying to tape it down before it would curl up like a clock spring. So now I leave it lying flat and after about two or three years of being forced to stay flat, it no longer curls up.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

@Emiliano Achaval If you want vinyl you might take a look at this http://www.phototechinc.com/graduate.htm . This page is vinyl gradient which I prefer. A caution though on vinyl is that it does tend to keep the curl and will have to clamp down.

Thank You Gerald. I will look into it.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

The backkground is about $40 from B&H. It is made of PVC so it is more durable than paper, but it can be scuffed or scratched so it needs to be treated gently.

You can create a custom white balance in your camera by shooting a piece of ordinary cheap copy pape as long as it isn't the bright white ink jet paper. Your camera instruction manual should tell you how to do it.

I don't like light tents because they wash out contrast and cause images to look flat. Also, white backgrounds are tough to deal with for the same reason as well as getting proper exposure of darker objects.

It looks like you read my post on WoW.

I was just at WOW, and I wasn't sure where I had posted my question. Looks like almost the same thread about lights etc... I was scratching my head for a while...

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

The backkground is about $40 from B&H. It is made of PVC so it is more durable than paper, but it can be scuffed or scratched so it needs to be treated gently.

You can create a custom white balance in your camera by shooting a piece of ordinary cheap copy pape as long as it isn't the bright white ink jet paper. Your camera instruction manual should tell you how to do it.

I don't like light tents because they wash out contrast and cause images to look flat. Also, white backgrounds are tough to deal with for the same reason as well as getting proper exposure of darker objects.

It looks like you read my post on WoW.

I made a big light box with the plastic sheet from Home Depot that they sell to cover shop lights. Diffuses light semi acceptable. Have to look into the white balance....

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

@Emiliano Achaval If you want vinyl you might take a look at this http://www.phototechinc.com/graduate.htm . This page is vinyl gradient which I prefer. A caution though on vinyl is that it does tend to keep the curl and will have to clamp down.

Very good option! Thank you, I will measure my box and buy one. ow I have to decide what color.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I was just at WOW, and I wasn't sure where I had posted my question. Looks like almost the same thread about lights etc... I was scratching my head for a while...

Very good option! Thank you, I will measure my box and buy one. ow I have to decide what color.

Always go with gray because it won't distort the color of the wood. A colored background will reflect the color onto the wood the same as if shining a colored light on the wood. I would also recommend using a lighting set up like the one that John Lucas has described where he uses a single light source and a background and cards to either bounce or block the lighting ... and no tent or box. The trouble with a tent is that it kills contrast and makes an image look flat.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Always go with gray because it won't distort the color of the wood. A colored background will reflect the color onto the wood the same as if shining a colored light on the wood. I would also recommend using a lighting set up like the one that John Lucas has described where he uses a single light source and a background and cards to either bounce or block the lighting ... and no tent or box. The trouble with a tent is that it kills contrast and makes an image look flat.

Thank you Bill. I'm looking for someone to give our club a Live remote demo on photographing your work. Do you know anybody? Hmmmm....

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thank you Bill. I'm looking for someone to give our club a Live remote demo on photographing your work. Do you know anybody? Hmmmm....

That sounds interesting. I'm sort of in a mess right now. My right arm is immobilized in a sling. I had the second round of rotator cuff surgery last week and as soon as I can use my arm in a few weeks, I will be having back surgery. I don't know what the recovery will be like for that, but it was terrible about ten years ago. I tell you this getting old stuff isn't for wimps, but I can't let any of these surgeries interfere with SWAT in late August.

How many hours difference from Texas to Hawaii?

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

That sounds interesting. I'm sort of in a mess right now. My right arm is immobilized in a sling. I had the second round of rotator cuff surgery last week and as soon as I can use my arm in a few weeks, I will be having back surgery. I don't know what the recovery will be like for that, but it was terrible about ten years ago. I tell you this getting old stuff isn't for wimps, but I can't let any of these surgeries interfere with SWAT in late August.

How many hours difference from Texas to Hawaii?

About 5 hours difference... We are in no rush... It's something overlooked but very important, how to photograph your work... Hope your recovery time is short and that you feel great for the SWAT!! Aloha and thank you!

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Don this post is years old, I don't think you need to worry about @Bill Boehme going off topic LOL

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Don this post is years old, I don't think you need to worry about @Bill Boehme going off topic LOL

I am the one that got off topic or screwed up then discovered it and deleted it within 5 minutes.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I decided to close the thread to any further replies because there was another post earlier in the day when another person lost track of which thread he was reading.