Thread: It's here! LGK PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE #1

These are inspired by FBJ's glass pieces on the light table. My wife has these glass chips and marbles she puts in flower vases to dress them up. I thought they might be kind of interesting to work with. I don't have a light table at home so a laid a computer LCD screen down so it was flat and put the glass pieces on top of it. I then used PowerPoint to create color backgrounds. The following are shot with a Nikon D300 with the 18-200VR lens on a tripod. Exposures varied depending on the color.


This is with irregular glass chips on a white background. The chips magnify the lines of the LCD monitor creating rainbow patterns.



Same image as above only desaturated and little contrast added in Photoshop.


Same shot with a green background.


Same shot with a magenta background.



These are clear glass marbles on blue. It forms a much more uniform pattern. Larger images are available in my LGK gallery.

I have no business being in this thread with all you talented people. But, since I wanna be able to give up props to those who deserve, I need to follow the rules.

Taken with a ghetto $99 point and shoot, please enjoy:

My living room lamp


... and my dining room chandelier.


now that that is complete...
ValleyFan, FBJ, PM you guys are killer. Keep up teh good works!

PuckMonkey,

You win! Screw you and the natural creative ability you rode in on! :P

The three newest in your photo post are freakin' unreal! The penny with the focal plane being right on the word "Liberty" is just outstanding.

KernCoKingFan,

Great ideas! I'd suggest getting a small table-top tripod and using the camera's timer for indoor images like that. That makes them way easier to shoot!

Imamonsta,

Love the image! It reminds me of old magazine adverts! Only thing would be to square the image up so the bottles are all vertical (they all seem to lean left).

HeShootsNScores,

NICE work! The first one is great, composition-wise, but leaves a little to be desired in terms of focus. It seems soft, especially when you consider the f/# you used and the long exposure time. More than likely camera shake gave you that, I'd imagine.

The second one is another great composition! Maybe a crop would help to get rid of a background that is a bit distracting would make it a perfect image. Again, a little soft on the focus, I think. With those two things looked after, that could easily be a stock-image kind of picture!

No. 3-6 are sheer compositional brilliance!! #4 especially stand out to me! Those images are truly a GREAT use of resources and are examples of outstanding creativity! Again, though, I'd say there's some soft focus. Are you using a tripod? With ambient light like that, I imagine you are. Can you tell me what lens that is that you're using? The reason I ask is because most lenses are sharpest around f/8 to f/10.

All-in-all, great stuff! Love the ideas! Here's some things I'd suggest for sharper images in low-light situations:

1) Tripod (though I'm pretty certain you're using something already)
2) Increase the ISO (perhaps to 400 or so...higher would be too noisy at longer exposures and low light) slightly to get a faster shutter speed.
3) Does the D40 have a "mirror up" function that allows you to press the shutter-release once to move the mirror up, wait a second or two for the mirror-related vibrations to dampen, and press the shutter-release again to take the capture? Try that if it does. (Don't get confused with "mirror lock-up" which is used for sensor cleaning.)

\_==o IxxI,

KILLER!! Great ideas!

DeaderFan,

Using an LCD monitor for a light table was a stroke of brilliance similar to HeShootsNScore's use of laptop monitors. Great idea! Those could be stock images! What about taking pictures of them from a more oblique angle? Jack the f-stop up to 16 or so for deep DOF and shoot off a tripod from a 45 or even 20 degree angle and then crop the extra stuff out of the image? I imagine the marbles would look kick ass that way!

At any rate, I might end up having to try my hand at LCD monitor lighting!

Originally Posted by Unruely35

I have no business being in this thread with all you talented people.

Bullcrap! You're as welcome in here as anyone else!

Thanks for the props!

Originally Posted by FlyBoeingJets

PuckMonkey,

DeaderFan,

Using an LCD monitor for a light table was a stroke of brilliance similar to HeShootsNScore's use of laptop monitors. Great idea! Those could be stock images! What about taking pictures of them from a more oblique angle? Jack the f-stop up to 16 or so for deep DOF and shoot off a tripod from a 45 or even 20 degree angle and then crop the extra stuff out of the image? I imagine the marbles would look kick ass that way!

At any rate, I might end up having to try my hand at LCD monitor lighting!

I thought of shooting at an angle, and I might still try it. I just didn't have enough pieces of glass to fill the field of view so I would have to buy more. I think it would look cooler though. Perspective always makes things more interesting. I also thought about bouncing some white light off a white poster board suspended above so that I could get a nice uniform highlight reflection on the marbles.

Originally Posted by FlyBoeingJets

HeShootsNScores,

NICE work! The first one is great, composition-wise, but leaves a little to be desired in terms of focus. It seems soft, especially when you consider the f/# you used and the long exposure time. More than likely camera shake gave you that, I'd imagine.

The second one is another great composition! Maybe a crop would help to get rid of a background that is a bit distracting would make it a perfect image. Again, a little soft on the focus, I think. With those two things looked after, that could easily be a stock-image kind of picture!

No. 3-6 are sheer compositional brilliance!! #4 especially stand out to me! Those images are truly a GREAT use of resources and are examples of outstanding creativity! Again, though, I'd say there's some soft focus. Are you using a tripod? With ambient light like that, I imagine you are. Can you tell me what lens that is that you're using? The reason I ask is because most lenses are sharpest around f/8 to f/10.

All-in-all, great stuff! Love the ideas! Here's some things I'd suggest for sharper images in low-light situations:

1) Tripod (though I'm pretty certain you're using something already)
2) Increase the ISO (perhaps to 400 or so...higher would be too noisy at longer exposures and low light) slightly to get a faster shutter speed.
3) Does the D40 have a "mirror up" function that allows you to press the shutter-release once to move the mirror up, wait a second or two for the mirror-related vibrations to dampen, and press the shutter-release again to take the capture? Try that if it does. (Don't get confused with "mirror lock-up" which is used for sensor cleaning.)

I got the camera for christmas, so I haven't fiddled around too much with it. I'm a newbie when it comes to SLR photography, although my father and uncle were in it for years...

All to say, I don't know if the 40x has a "mirror up" function... but its definately worth a shot. I was shooting with a tripod, but unfortunately, on somewhat plush carpet. I think that attributes for the soft focus on the pictures...

the lens is something that YOU suggested to me, actually... 'cause you said it was a great lens somewhere in teh DSLR thread... the Nikkor 18-55mm.

I got the idea from a bunch of different sources. Valleyfan's pics where he talked about the umbrella's reflecting off the glass kinda gave me the idea... and then I remembered an article a long time ago on the strobist about LCD ambient lighting. Although he was showcasing a bikini-clad model... me... some wine glasses... haha.

I'm going to see if I can re-shoot a little with some of the ideas you gave me. Maybe put a hard surface under the tripod to minimize the shake.... also... you think a higher f stop will produce a sharper image?

All to say... thanks! In all honesty, your DSLR thread and this challenge stuff has inspired me. I'm glad, and flattered at your compliment... sheer compositional brilliance... hahaha.

I don't want to play anymore.

Originally Posted by Unfiltered

I don't want to play anymore.

added a couple