Tony Ferguson on fri 15 feb 02
Many of you have covered this topic very well. I am currently writing an
article via the request of CM on the subject of slide vs digital. I am also
currently writing articles on photographing your artwork and building your
own copystand/lightsetup setup for under $125. Like Raphael, I too would
like to write a book on this subject. Anyway, assuming it is still a go, I
think the slide vs film article will come out within the next 3 months. For
now, these are my suggestions:
1. You can use either tungsten or blue daylight bulbs--make sure you use
the corresponding film. I prefer daylight because it is closer to natural
sunlight. See current digital pictures of Ernest Miller's work shot with
blue daylight bulbs on my website:
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com/ErnestMillersworksforsalepg1.html
2. Use a diffusion device such as tissue paper or ROSCO 111 6" to 10"
away from the bulb--your background will have a better gradient transition
and you will not need a black to white background--just a neutral grey--it
is all in how you light and diffuse and where you place your lights.
3. For a background, use the photographic paper forementioned by other clay
arters or formica.
4. You will have to try the various films out there: I suggest nothing
over 100 ASA. I use velvia 50 ASA--Clear as crystal and accurate. Some of
the slide films saturate the color too deeply and therefore are not honest.
Slide film is like a underware--you find what fits best.
5. YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF IF YOU WANT TO if you are do it your selfer and
are on a non-existent budget like me. I will be including detailed pictures
in the hopeful future articles of how to modify flood lamps and build
continuous light boxes.
Richard Jeffery on fri 15 feb 02
so while we are at it - size is important - the bigger the soft box, the
softer the light (assuming you want to avoid hard shadows) will be, within
reason. however, there tends to be a trade off in terms of actual light
output. this is where it starts to get interesting with home made
diffuser/soft boxes (which are very practicable) - if you are using tungsten
as your source inside a soft box, you start to reach a "just how hot is that
diffusing surface getting?" scenario.
sorry - soft box is a diffused light source attachment - basically it's the
diffusing screen over the front of a box which contains the actual light
source. inside of that box probably silver or white to reflect as much
light as possible out the front, through the diffusing material, and the
design (for flash) as close a seal everywhere as possible, to prevent stray
light , and again to get it all out the front where it's useful. Harder to
do with tungsten, because you need ventilation holes to stop it catching
fire...
commercial soft boxes come in various sizes - the one I use is about 1 metre
x 1 metre. It's nylon over a sprung metal frame a bit like an umbrella with
only 4 ribs, silvered on the inside, white nylon front. all hangs together
with Velcro.
You can make things like this, and fit a normal off camera flash rather than
a studio flash - and they can be rigid, which helps. again, trade off is
with efficiency, which may mean low light levels at the sharp end. at the
end of the day, if you make it yourself, it's worth running through several
films with a standard subject just to see how it functions in practice
rather than in theory. if you are going to take that trouble, it is worth
getting some sort of industry standard colour shade card/grey scale card to
include in your test shots. the other trick is to include a card in the
shot which shows the exposure settings for each shot.
some people get caught out by painting the inside of a home made soft box
with white paint - whatever you use will have some colour cast - maybe you
will see it, maybe you won't - there are some ends of the spectrum which are
invisible to us but not to colour film. Commercial white paint often has
fluorescent components to make it seem brighter - these will certainly give
a colour hue. you are better off lining the inside with kitchen foil...
Richard Jeffery
Web Design and Photography
www.theeleventhweb.co.uk
Bournemouth UK
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Tony Ferguson
Sent: 15 February 2002 09:47
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Photography, daylight, tungsten rec.s by ferguson
Many of you have covered this topic very well. I am currently writing an
article via the request of CM on the subject of slide vs digital. I am also
currently writing articles on photographing your artwork and building your
own copystand/lightsetup setup for under $125. Like Raphael, I too would
like to write a book on this subject. Anyway, assuming it is still a go, I
think the slide vs film article will come out within the next 3 months. For
now, these are my suggestions:
1. You can use either tungsten or blue daylight bulbs--make sure you use
the corresponding film. I prefer daylight because it is closer to natural
sunlight. See current digital pictures of Ernest Miller's work shot with
blue daylight bulbs on my website:
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com/ErnestMillersworksforsalepg1.html
2. Use a diffusion device such as tissue paper or ROSCO 111 6" to 10"
away from the bulb--your background will have a better gradient transition
and you will not need a black to white background--just a neutral grey--it
is all in how you light and diffuse and where you place your lights.
3. For a background, use the photographic paper forementioned by other clay
arters or formica.
4. You will have to try the various films out there: I suggest nothing
over 100 ASA. I use velvia 50 ASA--Clear as crystal and accurate. Some of
the slide films saturate the color too deeply and therefore are not honest.
Slide film is like a underware--you find what fits best.
5. YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF IF YOU WANT TO if you are do it your selfer and
are on a non-existent budget like me. I will be including detailed pictures
in the hopeful future articles of how to modify flood lamps and build
continuous light boxes.
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
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Arnold Howard on fri 15 feb 02
You can buy a translucent, thin plastic, by the roll, from photo
stores. Ask for Translume. I have used it for many years in making
light boxes and light panels.
Shine the light through the plastic to create diffused light. This
type of light adds interesting highlights on glazed surfaces. If
you place tape onto a diffusion light panel, you can create
highlights that look like windows.
When I look at photos, part of my mind observes the lighting
technique used. I even do that while watching movies.
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, Inc.
--- Tony Ferguson wrote:
> Many of you have covered this topic very well. I am currently
> writing an
> article via the request of CM on the subject of slide vs digital.
> I am also
> currently writing articles on photographing your artwork and
> building your
> own copystand/lightsetup setup for under $125. Like Raphael, I
> too would
> like to write a book on this subject. Anyway, assuming it is
> still a go, I
> think the slide vs film article will come out within the next 3
> months. For
> now, these are my suggestions:
>
> 1. You can use either tungsten or blue daylight bulbs--make sure
> you use
> the corresponding film. I prefer daylight because it is closer
> to natural
> sunlight. See current digital pictures of Ernest Miller's work
> shot with
> blue daylight bulbs on my website:
>
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com/ErnestMillersworksforsalepg1.html
>
> 2. Use a diffusion device such as tissue paper or ROSCO 111 6"
> to 10"
> away from the bulb--your background will have a better gradient
> transition
> and you will not need a black to white background--just a neutral
> grey--it
> is all in how you light and diffuse and where you place your
> lights.
>
> 3. For a background, use the photographic paper forementioned by
> other clay
> arters or formica.
>
> 4. You will have to try the various films out there: I suggest
> nothing
> over 100 ASA. I use velvia 50 ASA--Clear as crystal and
> accurate. Some of
> the slide films saturate the color too deeply and therefore are
> not honest.
> Slide film is like a underware--you find what fits best.
>
> 5. YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF IF YOU WANT TO if you are do it your
> selfer and
> are on a non-existent budget like me. I will be including
> detailed pictures
> in the hopeful future articles of how to modify flood lamps and
> build
> continuous light boxes.
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
> subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
__________________________________________________
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