Stuck In Customs - Too Bad Really

Ah Trey Ratcliff, he was and actually still is a good photographer, tried his hands at something else and published a book that was a decent coffee table book, but fell short of most expectations. Some people (including me) voiced our opinion of the book and what does he do... well I tell you he comes out of the shadows and just disappointed. An artist (or anyone really) should take criticism as a tool, no matter what it is they should build on it and improve. What is truly the point of surrounding yourself with sheep that ooo, and ahhh everything you say. How do you grow if you actually think that what you have done is perfect? How do you better yourself? I do not understand? It is actually either a very insecure person who does this or just some one who's ego is so big that it will be there downfall. Seriously. Just too bad that he had to react that way and just display his immaturity. Well he has lost one "fan" and I am quite sure several more will follow after this last little show. Too bad really...

A Bulb? Really?

Here is a fun little rainy day project you can try. The best thing is that this gives a totally artistic photo and is relatively cheap to do. But please let me warn you that caution should be the main part of this project. You will have to handle broken glass, and electricity, in the dark! So please be careful...

Staging it:

- You will need a camera with a bulb or timer setting on a tripod

- Close up lens of some sorts

- A light

- Several 40w or so Bulbs

- A Zip lock bag

- A room that can be pitch black

- A remote trigger

Click and go! So in the comfort of light you will need to place a bulb in the zip lock bag and break the glass. So before you just start smashing things realise that you need the inside of the bulb to be completely intact. The filament and the glass need to still be functional. So you probably will break a couple of bulbs before you get a good one. The bag's only use is to limit the broken glass from flying every where. Now the light is unplugged and set to "OFF" screw in the "broken" bulb. Set the camera on a tripod and aim it at the filament. Try to keep the top part of the frame clear so that you can catch the "smoke". Plug in the light. The camera should be set either on bulb or say 10seconds or so. The room has to be pitch dark so the duration of the exposure is actually going to be irrelevant. You are only interested in capturing the bulb burning, so if you set the timer to 10 seconds just make sure that you can do it all in 10 seconds.

Now that your camera is ready, your bulb is screwed in, you are ready to go. Sit some where in between the light with the bulb and the camera and the main light switch. You really don't want to be fumbling in the dark to try to find all these things. With one hand on the camera trigger, turn off the room's light, trigger the camera, then turn the broken bulb light on.

You will see a flash and a puff of smoke, once you hear your camera's click turn the room light back on. Check to see framing.

Now you can try something else, you are going to put the camera on these settings: 1/640 - f4.0, iso 160 and continuous firing. This way you will get several shots of the burn/puff. Change the bulb, and do the same routine, this time right before you turn the bulb on depress your camera's trigger and keep taking pictures until the event is over. Now just play around adjusting your settings you will get some really cool shots. JUST BE CAREFULL!

Why not in Black and White?

As you have probably heard by now HDR (High Dynamic Range) is the newest biggest thing in modern photography. In a nutshell the human eye can look at a scene and "see" about 20-22 stops of light, a camera can "see"about 5 stops per exposure. HDR photography you try to mimic the eye and blend 5 different exposures so that you increase the stops from 5 to about 20 depending on how many exposures you blend. This is why when a HDR photo is properly done you can express a more natural looking picture. Too much is one of the biggest drawbacks! The colors are out of wak and you can create a weird looking halo around some objects. Like most new things (even some very useful tools) HDR in moderation and used as a tool can be a very cool addition to your portfolio. One instance it can come into play is when you would traditionally use a ND filter, but the scene seems to complicated. You don't only have a straight line, you have a tree in both areas of the picture. So for complicated or advanced situations yes go for it please. But do remember to not over saturate your colors and even if you can get a "painting look" try to see what it would look when you do a realistic one. You would be amazed by how subtle and eye catching that can be. Then a little trick, take it a step further and desaturate the image. And wow you will see a whole new world of possibilities. Black and White pictures taken in HDR have a new depth, they take on a whole new perspective. Give it a try you won't be disappointed.