PaulMasonImagesBlog

Busy busy busy

2010-03-19T10:35:00.003Z

I've spent the last few evenings working on my website (www.paulmasonimages.com)

I'm pleased to say that it's now live, showcasing my latest photos. I've gone for a cleaner look this time with a new gallery interface courtesy of Simple Viewer.

I've also finally got round to setting up a facebook Fan Page, and a Twitter feed.

Now all I've got to do is fill it with content...

"O-Flash" - first thoughts

2010-01-12T20:41:00.002Z

I just received my O-Flash (which is a cheap e-bay knock-off, similar in design to the RayFlash adapter). I ran a few comparison tests, but they're not ideal (my O-flash is the 179 model, for SB-900 and D300s - which is what I want, but Mr Postman hasn't yet delivered my SB-900, so I had to run the tests with my SB-600 which is physically smaller, so the O-flash didn't fit correctly...)

First impressions are mixed. The black section is very robust feeling, as are the clear light-channelling moulds. However, the clear cover that sits over this is *very* flimsy - similar to the packaging plastic you often get moulded around small items like USB drives or SD cards... Not sure that this will stand up to much abuse, but even if this breaks it shouldn't actually effect the quality of light. Which is the next problem...

I made some test shots to see how much light was lost in the adapter, and the results are below - read it and weep...

First, a 'reference' shot. For ALL of these shots, the camera was in Manual, as was the flash for consistency of exposure. None of these shots have been edited - these are JPGs straight from the camera with no levels/curves or other exposure tweaks in post. I was about 3-feet from Bob The Builder for these shots

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/64 - SB600 on bare on camera

Next, I took the same shot, but this time with the O-Flash adaptor added

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/64 - O-Flash adaptor

Wow - the O-Flash is *really* eating the light! Just to be clear, these two shots (above) were taken with the *same* camera settings and the *same* manual flash settings.

So I adjusted the flash output, keeping the camera exposure consistent:

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/8 - O-Flash adaptor

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/2 - O-Flash adaptor (still under-exposed compared with the bare SB-600 @ 1.64!)

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/1 - O-Flash adaptor (FULL POWER!)

So by my eyes (and nothing more scientific) the O-Flash exposure is slightly under the reference shot at 1/2 flash power, and slightly over the reference shot at 1/1 (full) flash power. Bear in mind that the reference was at 1/64 flash power, that means the O-Flash has lost about 5 1/2 stops of light. Wow. That's gonna cost me in batteries.

But, one thing I noticed when I dismantled the O-Flash (hey, I'm curious - gotta take things apart!) was that the 'reflector' to channel the light from the flash-gun around the ring was plain, matt, textured CARDBOARD! Which, according to my eyes, is NOT reflective. So I figured I'd replace it with my own cardboard copy, but I'd stick aluminium foil to the back to give the light a chance. The original cardboard is on the right, and my homemade copy is on the left.

Lets see if that improves the illumination

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/4 - Modified O-Flash adaptor

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/2 - Modified O-Flash adaptor

ƒ6.3 | 1/100s | ISO400 | Flash @ 1/1 - Modified O-Flash adaptor

This is *slightly* better with the foil added, but still losing a LOT of power...

I'll need to run some more comparison tests, but so far I'm slightly un-impressed...

RIP Howard Goff

2009-08-13T19:26:00.002+01:00

It's with great sadness that I just heard of the untimely passing of Howard Goff (http://www.360360.co.uk/)

Howie was a great guy, and gave me lots of excellent advice when I started learning photography. He will be missed...

Tilt/Shift effect in Photoshop

2009-06-21T18:12:00.001+01:00

I recently took a trip to London, and had the chance to take some shots from the iconic BT Tower. It struck me that some of these images were the ideal candidate for a fake Tilt/Shift effect – basically, a photoshop trip to make an image look like it was a close-up shot of a model, rather than a real life image.

So, this is the image I started with

It’s been opened in Adobe Camera Raw, and had the following settings applied:

- Contrast: +59

- Saturation: +37

This is the starting point – boosting the contrast and saturation adds to the ‘false’ effect, and makes the final image look more model-like.

Next, I duplicated the image into a second layer. (Layer –> duplicate layer –> As background copy). I then applied a strong Gaussian Blur to the new layer (Filter –> Blur –> Gaussian Blur –> 15). The resulting image is nicely blurred. You’ll need to tweak this value, based on the strength of effect you need and the original size of the image (larger image needs a larger value, a small image needs smaller value…)

Next, you need to add a layer mask – there is a button at the bottom of the layer palette called ‘Add layer mask’. You need to fill this layer mask with a ‘reflected gradient’ from the gradient tool. I find it works best if you don’t make the gradient perfectly horizontal, but instead angle it to one side slightly. Your layer palette will now look something like this:

The resulting image should, with some luck, look something like this:

You’ll be able to alter the strength of the effect by changing the opacity of the top (blurred) layer.

Enjoy…

Windows 7 test

2009-06-17T12:28:00.001+01:00

So, I finally gave in on my Ubuntu build – WiFi failures were just too much effort, so I’ve gone for Windows 7… this is a test post from the Live Writer app on Win7. Must say, so far I’m very impressed…

Aspire one

2009-04-24T20:13:00.001+01:00

Test post from my new gadget - an Acer Aspire One netbook... had it for a few hours, and already I'm in love - it's great! ;-)

Air duct ringlight - the experiment continues

2009-02-23T21:08:00.005Z

Inspired by this post in the Strobist discussion group by Moyen Format, I tried making my own ring flash from a piece of flexible ducting - Picked up the ducting from Screwfix (Item number 17297) and also picked up a connector that's meant to be used to link the tubular ducting to rectangular duct (Item number 12049). (click thru for bigger pics on Flickr)

It's as simple (and ridiculous!) as it looks - length of ducting, with a flash stuck in the end. I've added a CD in the other end as a reflector to try to even the light out a little.

And here it is 'in action' - the bottom half of the frame is the same image, but with the exposure dropped -4 stops in ACR to show the hot spots a little better. You can see how uneven the light is, with 12 o clock to about 4 o clock being lit, but a lot of falloff after that

On this shot, I added a second (hand held) slave flash - you can see that this even things up a lot (same idea as above - bottom half is dropped 4 stops in ACR). This looked pretty good, so I thought I'd see out some willing 'models'... Cue Eeyore and Elmo:

Eeyore looks OK - very 'flat' lighting, but he doesn't have any reflective eyes (aaw, poor Eeyore!) so you can't see the trademark ring catch light, and he's quite a big guy, and was a fair distance off the wall, so you can't really see the ring shadow/halo against the wall...

Elmo, however, is lucky enough to have real (plastic) eyes, and looks a lot better with the ringlight - you can see in the catchlight that the light still isn't even, but it's a lot better. Still need to try to mask off some of the ring around the flashes to try and even things out, and maybe figure a way to mount the 2nd flash (or better, get the reflection working well enough that the 2nd flash isn't needed)

That's gonna be tomorrows problem... or next weeks. Sometime.

No pain, no gain

2009-02-11T21:20:00.001Z

Day33 - No pain, no gain
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

Reluctantly started training for my pending trial that I foolishly agreed to do with my boss and a couple of colleagues. (Sponsor requests will follow once we figure out who we're doing this for)

Distance covered: 3km
Time: 12.17
Tension: 10 (Yes, the highest - I realised this after I'd finished!)

And for the record, I'm bloody exhausted. And given that the 3 peaks challenge is 24 miles, or 39km, that means I've only done 1/13th of the distance. Wah!

Day33 - Tyneside afternoon

2009-02-11T09:01:00.001Z

Day33 - Tyneside afternoon
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

Well, 33 days into my 'project365', and I'm pleased to say that I'm on track and haven't missed a day (and I haven't resorted to too many pictures of my house/dog/dinner etc to act as 'fillers'!)

Some have been 'record shots' of the day in question that summarise what I was doing, where others (like this shot of the Tyne) were images that I'm really pleased with and are more than just a grab shot.

So - 33 gone, 332 to go....

It's all over...

2009-02-11T08:46:00.000Z

My first exhibition has now closed - many thanks to all that came along and viewed my work, and particular thanks to those that bought some of the framed images.

It was great to talk with people about the images, to hear their views/criticisms/complements. It was a real honour for me to be given such an exhibition, and I am really pleased with how it all went.

Special thanks also to the staff at the English Martyrs Art Gallery for their assistance in setting up the space and in arranging the event.

The day after the night before

2009-01-20T22:57:00.001Z

Gallery 1
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

Well, after a nervous weekend, my opening night has been and gone - thanks to all that attended, thanks for the comments, criticisms and praise. Thanks to those that bought prints. Thanks, even, to my friends who pointed out when things weren't level, or when my subject wasn't in the middle of the frame - I'm sure Da Vinci's mates told him "That woman has a funny expression on her face" ;-)

(and no, I'm not comparing myself to Da Vinci...)

1 day to go...

2009-01-18T23:26:00.001Z

Gallery 2
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

My exhibition opens tomorrow night, and the final preparations for the opening night are (hopefully) completed. The nerves are rattling nicely, and food & wine is sorted... Will report back tomorrow with the result!

Empty gallery

2009-01-12T17:22:00.001Z

Empty gallery
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

Quick shot of the empty gallery as I started to lay out my images for next weeks exhibition. It's a really nice space - I'm looking forward to seeing it ready to go, with everything hung. Hanging should be on Wednesday - watch this space for an update and 'early view' of the exhibition!

Paul

Day1 - Framing

2009-01-09T22:28:00.001Z

Day1 - Framing
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

This was intended to be simply the first picture in my attempt to take 1 picture every day for a year (inspired by Project365)

I suspected that frames may be a big part of today... well I was bloody right. After work, and getting Ellie to bed, and tidying up, I started to frame some pics in preparation for my Exhibition and now, at 22:30, I've framed 5. Yes, FIVE. And I need 39 for the space. FIVE!!!! The first thing I do if I win the lotto tomorrow night is hire a framer. (and buy a D3... but the framer needs to come first, 'cos the need to be done by Monday for hanging - I suspect this may be a late night...)

Exhibition

2009-01-07T08:34:00.001Z

Invite
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

The English Martyrs Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition of some of my work, starting from 19th January through to 6th February.

The gallery is open from 9am-4pm, Monday to Friday. The opening evening is 19th January, 18:30-20:00 - if you're in the area, feel free to pop along and take a look.

Thanks

Paul

Seaton dawn

2009-01-03T16:19:00.001Z

Seaton dawn
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

First shot taken with my new tripod (Thanks Santa). Giottos MTL9251 with MH5001 head. First impressions - it's great. Very solid, very adjustable. But by far, the biggest benefit when standing on the beach at 8am in -2 degres... the padded legs. Being able to pick it up without my fingers welding to the metal is quite a benefit.

Driftwood

2008-12-19T14:26:00.001Z

Driftwood [1200x800]
Originally uploaded by NosamLuap

This is a test post, from Flickr, to confirm that I can actually blog images directly from Flickr, and to see what the resulting template looks like on Blogger...

Flickr

2008-12-19T14:23:00.001Z

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

First off camera experiments

2008-09-08T21:45:00.003+01:00

After sucessfully bodging together a couple of Strobist inspired flash modifiers, and having now found my off camera cord, I thought I'd make a couple of test shots to see the effect on a real world glamour model in exotic surroundings.

Or, more realistically, a picture of one of my daughters toys on my coffee table. Glamour models and exotic locations to follow when Camelot call with my winning numbers.

First shot, the 'model' with bare, off camera light (Click thru for a larger version of each pic).

Puppy is nicely exposed, but there is a lot of uncontrolled spill on the background.

So next, with my Pringles snoot:

Much tighter, but still a little spill. This is probably useful for many shots where I need to focus on a subject without completely excluding all background, but I was hoping for a tighter, more controlled light... enter the Grid:

This is much better - light where I wanted it, but not where I didn't.

And just for balance, here's a shot that's not gridded - this one's taken with a diy 'beauty dish'. It's dark - very dark, as the dish eats flash power, but I kept exposure constant throughout as I wanted to see how the light was changed. Ignoring the poor exposure, the actual light is pretty good - even and softer than the bare flash:

I think we need a little more work on this one, but it's showing potential. More to follow when I have some spare time to fiddle... which hopefully will be soon, when my Wireless triggers, umbrellas and stands arrive....

Strobist Gear

2008-09-08T21:27:00.003+01:00

After reading strobist.com (a fantastic source of info/inspiration for all things to do with off-camera flash), I was inspired to create some light modifiers.

The easiest to create are snoots/grids, so that's what I did. By a lucky coincidence, the easiest framework in which to create these bits of kit happen to be empty pringles tubes, so for the sake of research, I found myself having to consume two tubes. :-)

A full size tube was used as a Snoot, and a small tube, with the addition of some black drinking straws, for a Grid.

So, first have a look at a reference image (i.e. a pic of my wall) with the bare flash, with apologies for commiting the sin of using the flash on the hotshoe...

Nothing very interesting about it, but it shows the wide coverage of the flash without modifiers.

Next, the same shot, but with the Snoot added:

Notice the much tighter light pattern - the exposure of the candle is unchanged (and thankfully, has picked up no colour cast, as far as I can see). This is all about controlling spill onto the background.

Finally - with the Grid:

This is a FAR tighter beam, with far more defined edges and no spill. This was shot from about 6 feet from the wall (the candle stick is about 12" from top to bottom, so the beam is pretty much 1 foot @ 6 feet distance).

Great stuff - now if I could only find the off camera cord, I could try this without the horrid shadows....

First exhibition... update

2008-08-16T13:15:00.003+01:00

Well, the big day is here... after some very last minute panics, we made it to my first exhibition. It's been a bit disappointing to be honest. Made a few sales, including a 'dedication' to someone's mother, and had some good comments & chatted to some people about photography and cameras, but all in all it's been very quiet. Maybe it will pick up soon...

Edit: yes it has! I've had some interesting chats with some people, from the inevitable 'how many megapixels' to a guy who shoots with a leica 35mm and does his own developing. It's been an interesting day so far. First stop, Thornton Dale, next stop the Tate modern!

Mobile blogging

2008-08-13T18:27:00.000+01:00

so, it seems i can post whilst on a train... cool

First Exhibition!

2008-08-04T22:00:00.002+01:00

Well, worrying as it may be, my first public exhibition is now less than 2 weeks away... yes, it's a small, local event, and I don't think it's an event that will make or break my career, but the nerves have kicked in.

If you're in the North Yorkshire area on Sat 16th August, and you're passing Thornton-Le-Dale, pop in to the Hill Institute on Maltongate and say 'Hello'.

Welcome

2008-07-30T09:38:00.002+01:00

Well, my first post, and I thought I'd make it really interesting. That's what I thought.

Never mind