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May 23, 2007
23. Like My New Earrings
Posted on May 23, 2007 05:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 22, 2007
22. Absolut Explanation
Well, as promised here is a second shot of the Absolut Bottle I posted yesterday with an explanation as to how I lit this photo.
I used three small flashed for this. My Canon 580 EX provided side lighting, a Vivitar 385HV illuminated the backdrop and a small Olympus flash for the top lighting. The Canon and Vivitar flashes were triggered with a wireless remote system I bought off Ebay which so far is working beautifully and the Olympus with an optical slave.
The base for the photo was the black lid for my slide light box. On top of the is I place a piece of glass to capture the reflection of the bottle. My background was a piece of black velvetine and was about 5 back from the bottle.
I had the Vivitar flash on a short lightstand behind and below the bottle pointed up at the background. The Canon flash was on a lightstand to the side pointed toward the bottle. And I had my lovely assistant Leanne holding the Olympus flash above the bottle.
The bottle was surround by a very expensive light box. This was constructed from an old printer box that I cut the bottom and two ends off, and cut a hole out of most of one side. I place a piece of drafting vellum over this whole to provide a softer, larger light source. The Canon flash was fired through this hole.
I also cut a small hole in the top of the box and outfitted it with another very expensive piece of photo equipment. This was in the form of two paper towels laid upon eachother and then folded over onto each other for a total of 8 plys (I purchase 2 ply for extra absorbancy!) I also used a one stop scrim on the Olympus flash to cut the amount of light, though I could have either moved the light further away or used more paper towels. Had I used another flash with adjustable settings (too lazy to go upstairs to get one) I would have just powered the flash down.
Finally, to add a little bit of definition on the bottle, I place a piece of black foam core to the left of the bottle, inside the light box I built.
Below are two setup diagams, one a top down view and the other a view from the camera angle.
This shot is a little different from the first in that I used a lower camera angle to get a straight on shot but less reflection. Lighting does not need to be expensive. I could have easily used three desk lamps and in the past, I have. I have the flash units so used those instead.
Other than the stobes which could have been substitued with household lamps, the most expensive thing in this setup was the bottle of Vodka itself. Everything else are just household items. What, you don't have drafting vellum? Substitute a piece of typing or tracing paper...or another paper towel.
Posted on May 22, 2007 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 21, 2007
21. Absolut
Studio shot of an Absolut Vodka bottle. I will put the details of the shot up with another from the shoot tomorrow.
Posted on May 21, 2007 06:43 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 20, 2007
20. Wake Robin
Posted on May 20, 2007 06:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 19, 2007
19. White Wake Robin
This was shot at the Niagara Falls Botanical Gardens last weekend on an outing with the Niagara Falls Camera Club. Up until then I didn't know Wake Robins came in white.
Posted on May 19, 2007 10:25 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 18, 2007
18. Whatcha Staring At?
I shot this toad in my back yard. Poor little guy almost got bisected with my shovel!
Posted on May 18, 2007 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 17, 2007
17. Bridge
Queentson-Lewiston Bridge that spans the Niagara River north of Niagara Falls, connecting Canada with the United States.
Posted on May 17, 2007 12:26 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
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May 16, 2007
16. Soft Water
Posted on May 16, 2007 02:04 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 15, 2007
15. Nikita #3
This is the third portrait of Nikita I am posting.
Posted on May 15, 2007 11:12 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 14, 2007
14. Nikita #2
The second of three portaits of Nikita.
Posted on May 14, 2007 11:56 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 13, 2007
13. Nikita #1
Posted on May 13, 2007 04:04 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 12, 2007
12. Trillium Pair
A pair of white Trillium's.
Posted on May 12, 2007 03:54 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
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May 11, 2007
11. Early Trillium
Posted on May 11, 2007 03:48 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 10, 2007
10. Dutchman's Breeches
Posted on May 10, 2007 03:43 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 9, 2007
09. Falling Water
Posted on May 9, 2007 03:42 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
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May 8, 2007
08. Looking Up
Posted on May 8, 2007 07:19 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
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May 7, 2007
07. Bridging the Gap
What else are bridges used for but spanning a gap? This one is used for a boardwalk at a local conservation area.
For the weekly photo hunt.
Posted on May 7, 2007 06:23 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 6, 2007
06. Dave
This portrait of Dave was shot last week. While practicing my multi light setup on a rock, Dave was gracious enough to offer himself as a model and let me get a bunch of practice shots of him. we were at the Upper Niagara River where this photo of the Niagara Falls skyline was taken as the light was going down.
Previous photos of Dave on this photo blog:
Nov 10, 2006
Aug 26, 2006
April 2, 2006
Jan 7, 2006
Posted on May 6, 2007 02:36 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
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May 5, 2007
05. Cars on the Niagara Parkway
A foggy evening last week gave me the opportunity to capture some car taillights in the fog as they travelled down the Niagara Parkway.
Because of it's proximity to Niagara Falls, these types of shots can be pretty hard to get during the summer when tourists flock to Niagara Falls to view the falls, visit the casino's and take in the some of the attractions like Marineland, Clifton Hill and some of the numerous wax museums.
Posted on May 5, 2007 01:12 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 4, 2007
04. Niagara Falls Skyline
Niagara Falls skyline photographed from the upper Niagara River.
Posted on May 4, 2007 04:44 PM | Permalink
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May 3, 2007
03. NIagara At Night
Niagara Falls skyline at night. Visible in this photo is the Skylon Tower, Fallsview Casino and some of the other Niagara Falls hotels.
Posted on May 3, 2007 07:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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May 2, 2007
02. Maid of the Mist Plaza
The Maid of the Mist Plaza at Night.
On a recent shoot with the Niagara Falls Camera Club, I took this photo of the Maid of the Mist Plaza. In the photo you can see the bottom of Clifton Hill, the Rainbow Bridge and the Niagara Parkway including light trails of passing cars.
Posted on May 2, 2007 06:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
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May 1, 2007
01. A Perilous View
This photo shows the only remaining covered lookout along the Niagara Parkway in Niagara Falls, Canada. I don't know how many there were, but I believe that at one point in time there were more of them.
Fog fills the Niagara Gorge obscuring the view of Niagara Falls that is normally available from this vantage point of the Maid of the Mist plaze.
Posted on May 1, 2007 12:44 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
