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Shooting Star Trails:
Star trails is the topmost in my list of the "things to do before I ____ ". I had tried it couple of times and have got satisfactory results so far. Here I will share the technique for the same. I am in fond of the long exposure night shots now.
Along with the camera you will need shutter release cable (or any other mechanism to lock the shutter button of the camera) and tripod. Few people know my running around for the cable release :-))
Preparation:
Fully charged batteries, google around to locate the polaris star if you want the circulat trails. Study your camera manual well.
Time:
Off course night time, when the moon light is minimum i.e. less than 15% moon phase.
Place:
Sneak out the city chaos and find out the place with the minimum amount of the light pollution. Also please make sure that tripods are allowed at the place. I found real difficulties in using the tripod during my shoot at Raigad.
Frame composition:
Compose the frame in mind. Circular or diagonal trails. The foreground object in the star trails adds another dimension to the image. Consider the strong foreground object. But at the same time be sure that it doesn't overlap with the actual trails you get. Also placing this object in the frame plays important role. For the circular trails, I consider keeping the centre at the third and a foreground object at the centre of the trails.
Actual Shoot:
There are two ways to shoot the star trails. One is the to use the BULB mode of the camera. Place your camera on “bulb” mode and expose for a long enough period of time so that the stars streak through the sky as the Earth rotates. Probably this was the best technique for the films. But exposing the digiSLR sensors for such a long period heatens up the sensor, which is the heart of the camera. Also if there is even slightly illuminated object or a stray light in the frame, there are more chances of the overexposure in the final image. Also if the in-camera noise reduction mechanism is turned on, camera will take the time of equal amount of the exposure time to process the image within itself. And consider the case if in the middle of the exposure time your battery is drained out. Probably this would be the most frustrating case. Most modern digital SLRs have built in long exposure noise reduction by silently taking second “dark frame” for the same length of the first, thus removing the dark current. One of the major problems with the built in noise reduction is that in order to be effective, the camera has to noise reduce under the same ambient temperature as the original exposure(meaning the photographer has to stay on location for twice the amount of time), the other problem is battery life limitations.
The other solution is the one which I followed and almost turned out to be perfect for me, and that too at a maximum ease.So instead of shooting a single long exposure, we can take a large number of short exposures equaling the length of time that our single long exposure would have been and “stack” them together. In this case we turn of the in-camera noise reduction and shoot multiple images. The noise reduction will be done by processing with few black frames manually. Here are the actual steps:
1) Set your quality to .jpg-fine (I know, you want to shoot raw, but trust me, this will save you a lot of batch processing in the future).
2) Turn off any kind of long-exposure noise reduction that is built in to your camera.
3) On a tripod, compose your shot and set your shutter speed to the slowest speed your camera will shoot continuously, most digital SLRs will shoot as slow as 30 seconds, don’t use bulb. Shoot few test shots for the sky, just to check the camera settings for the sky and stars. Within couple of shots you will get the fair idea about the settings.
4) Hold on. You need to shoot a manual dark frame for noise reduction. Keep the camera on the final settings decided. Put your lens cap on, make sure the viewfinder doesn’t have any light shining into it and expose for 30 seconds. In practical around 10 balck frame are enough.
5) Once balck frames are done, remove the lens cap.
6) Shoot a brighter foreground frame for the detail in the foreground. Put your camera on bulb, and make an exposure long enough to get good detail in the foreground, don’t worry about overexposing the sky. Use the same aperture and ISO setting as the 30 second exposures for noise consistency.
7) Now actual go for star trails. Don’t worry about getting too much foreground detail in your exposure right now, just focus on the stars.
8) Set your camera to continuous drive mode.
9) Lock your cable release/remote so that the camera is stuck firing continuously. Now the camera will shoot one 30 second exposure after another until you stop it.
8) Stop after an hour (or however long your predetermined exposure is). The longer you let the camera shoot, the more the earth will rotate and the longer the star streaks. Also, keep an eye on the camera as some cameras do not have the buffer to handle so many shots in a row. You can even continue till your battery is exhausted.
Post Proccessing:
Method-1:
1) Download StarTrails from HERE. We will also be using Adobe Photoshop CS3 (although you can probably use CS2 or even Elements 6).
2) Prerequisite for the startrails application is .NET framework.
Open StarTrails and go to File –> “Open Images” and select all of the frames except for the dark frame and foreground frame.
3) Go to File —> “Open Dark Frames” and select your darkframe
4) Click Build —> Star Trails and give it a few minutes. You can watch as the star streaks grow.
5) Save as a .tiff file and open the .tiff in Photoshop
6) Also open the foreground exposure jpeg and paste it as a new layer on top of your stacked .tiff file in photoshop
7) Create a black mask on the foreground layer and paint in the foreground carefully.
8) Apply curves, noise reduction and other editing adjustments and your done!
Method-2: (I haven't tried this, poor at PS and This is time consuming and tedious).
File —> Scripts —> “Load Files into Stack.” Open all of your exposures except the foreground frame. Change each layer’s blending type to “lighten” and the dark frame’s to “difference.”
Cheers.
Do post the results. And yess, a gala treat due after you get the trails...!!!
Posted 38 months ago.
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wow that was so very comprehensive pankaj...thanks a ton
Posted 38 months ago.
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Thankyou pankaj.. really informative.
Posted 38 months ago.
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You rock Pankaj!!! Extremely valuable info!
Posted 38 months ago.
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Thanks guys... this is all I learned after joining P@P, from the fella members (-:
All yours.
Originally posted 38 months ago.
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Pankaj भटकंती Unlimited (pankajz.com) edited this topic 38 months ago.
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Thank you so much Pankaj :)
That was very informative
Posted 38 months ago.
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Shooting Timed Water Drops/Droplets/Splashes
Equipment:
-Canon 40D body.
-Sigma 70-300 APO DG (Poor man's tele+macro lens).
-In camera flash.
-Shutter release cable.
-Glass (Preferably with some tangy colors, mine was lemon green Luminarc).
-Water :-)
-Dropper (I used empty ballpen, time par dropper gayab ho gaya tha).
-Tripod.
-Light source was CFL bulb in the room + Camera flash.
The camera settings I chose..
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 190mm.
ISO: 400 (low light conditions)
Shoot:
Put the camera on high speed continous shooting mode. Set up the tripod only slightly (approx 6") elevated above the surface of the glass. Fill it with water to the top edge, and get the camera ready on tripod. Switch the camera to manual focus. Compose the frame. Hold the tip of the pen at the centre of the top plane of the glass filled with water just about where you'd be dropping the water drops and focus the camera on it, locking the focus in place. You will need a helping hand to hold the pen, while you are focussing. Now, setup is ready.
Stand near the glass. Make sure that you are not in frame. Hold shutter release cable in one hand (mine is 5mtr long). Now press the shutter release and lock it and quickly start dropping the water using the dropper as close as you can to the place where you had hold the pen tip while focussing. It's takes lots of practice and MANY trials, so don't forget your patience for this. You will end up getting only 5-6 well timed shots after say around 100 clicks. You will eventually get the hang of when to press the shutter in relation to dropping the water, and I'm sure you'll come out with some great shots.
Most of all, experiment! Try different different angles and lighting setups. Good luck P@P!
Cheers.
Do post the results. And yess, a one more gala treat due after you get the shots...!!!
Originally posted 38 months ago.
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Pankaj भटकंती Unlimited (pankajz.com) edited this topic 38 months ago.
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@Pankaj: Amazing posts Pankaj.....both of them..... I have been planning to experiment the droplet shot since long..... and this post is a great tutorial to begin....... Will try it out sometime soon...... Thanks!
Posted 38 months ago.
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I had tried something similar...except that i used an external flash. Flashed right from under the glass :). shot something like 50 images before getting somewhat satisfactory result.
Originally posted 38 months ago.
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Bakya-www.bokilphotography.com edited this topic 38 months ago.
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same here tried one too long back..
nikon d60, 18 55 vr, in camera flash and hand held
Posted 38 months ago.
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something on similar line....
Posted 38 months ago.
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Awesome. Thank you for sharing this folks.
Posted 38 months ago.
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@ Pankaj : Amazing stuff man..i have got all required stuff for the trail thing now have to experiment..:)
@Bakya : nice technique
Keep the gyaan coming :)
Posted 38 months ago.
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Awesome Pics guys... !!!
Posted 38 months ago.
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WOW !! Great going p@pis !!!!
Posted 38 months ago.
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Thx Pankaj for sharing that!
Posted 38 months ago.
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Bakya, You possess speedlights and good sense of external lighting. I want you to try this.
We assign you a task to try this out. Assignment is compulsory :-)
http://www.dpchallenge.com/how.php?HOW_ID=38
Link shared by a_s_h.
Posted 38 months ago.
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@soumitra ...
WOW !! Great going p@pis !!!! [PAPI's] lolzzz
Posted 38 months ago.
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@Marathmola Mawla: I hope u dont take the marathi meaning of the word ;)
Pankaj thanks for sharing the info! And Nice followup pics folks!!
Posted 38 months ago.
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@pankaj: Sure i will try this (without the triggering mechanism tho). It will be damn difficult to get the timming right :(
But, i have something else on my mind, which is not this difficult but definately creative. I am planning to try this first, maybe this weekend.
Posted 38 months ago.
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As I understand your weekend is Thursday... whoa... class... for us visual treat soon.
Posted 38 months ago.
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What thursday?...nothing till saturday night. We dont have a holiday on thursday and friday :(
(...and this thread is now turning into a chatroom :D)
Posted 38 months ago.
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thanks Pankaj for sharing new techniques
Posted 38 months ago.
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Photograph of a spout with water flowing full force.
Shutter: 1/160sec with lens reversed.
ISO 200
Flash used.
Posted 38 months ago.
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Equipment:
-Canon 400D body.
-Lens EF50mm f/1.8.
-Macro ring.
-Clear Glass/Plastic .
-Water :-)
-Dropper
-colourful small object ( can be flower... or anything)
-Light source ambient light from window
-Tripod
The camera settings I chose..
Shutter Speed: 15 sec
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 50mm.
ISO: 100
Shoot:
Put glass/plastic around 4-6 inch high on some support. keep your selected small object below glass/plastic. Make sure it is clear and there arent any dust on it otherwise when you take macro shot it will be visible in shot. Now put waterdrop in desire fashion you want on glass/plastic.
Mount camera on tripod, compose the frame and get the desire focus. According to lens you need to get closer to waterdrop. I was using +4 and +2 macro rings so I was almost at 1 inch type distance. This will work really great with macro lens.
Experiment! Every one wanted to know where drop was... now you know... try and have fun... Good luck P@P!
Cheers.
Do post the results.
Note : One can do the shot with macro lens. I dont have one so this is way I got away by putting marco ring on normal lens. They are rings like UV filter, which acts as a magnifying glass if i say in crude language. so they come in different step like +1,+2, +4, +6.
one more shot..
Originally posted 38 months ago.
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colours2u edited this topic 38 months ago.
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hmmm... now that's homework for me. TFS :-)
Posted 38 months ago.
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great tuts.....
Posted 38 months ago.
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will try this for sure..Thx Dolly
Posted 38 months ago.
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Nice one Dolly.
Can you please elaborate on "macro rings" .. the +4 & +2 seem to greek to me :(
Posted 38 months ago.
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It was Hebrew for me, until Dolly told me.
Posted 38 months ago.
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@Pankaj - Thanks for sharing this information, I will try this soon
Posted 38 months ago.
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@dolly... i gussed part of it :P
@amit : i think she means the close up rings which come in +1,+2,+4 magnification... i bought one at delhi for 450 bucks .. 3 rings+1 58mm adapter ring
Posted 38 months ago.
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This is just awesome!!! P@P is at it's active best again!!! :) Thanks a lot everyone for sharing your experience!
Posted 38 months ago.
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2nd Curtain Flash Problem
hi,
i am having a lil trouble with my camera regarding flash.i use a Canon 450D, and built -in flash.
i was doing a panning shot at night in which i wanted a vehicle(bike) to smear across the frame, but as the shutter is about to close the 2nd curtain...the final impression of the vehicle to be saved.well that was my aim.
but my camera fired flash both the times...starting of the shutter and ending of it.
i initially thought it was probbly becasue the camera wanted to focus, so a preflash was fired.but then i checked it in the morning as well....experimenting witht the camera.it fires twice, even if i have selected 2nd curtain as my option. also i kept it in manual focus, so that maybe camera doesnt fire a preflash, if thats wat it is doing.but then again two flashes came out.one starting of the frame one at the ending.
why is this happening, wat all setting do i have to change just to get the 2nd flash?
Posted 38 months ago.
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1. Camera on tripod.
2. Bulb mode.
3. Manual focussing.
4. Aperture 11 or above.
5. Focus at infinity.
6. Wait for the thud that signals the firing of the firework.
7. Click and wait till the sky is dark again.
8. You got your pic.
Posted 38 months ago.
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Star Trails results from the same technique.
Posted 38 months ago.
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Polar Panoramas :
A panorama captures great width, but a Polar Panorama adds an interesting twist to your photos. Learn how to create these funky-looking panoramas.
What is panorama?
Panorama is a hugely wide-angled photo which is created by joining a number of photographs together. This kind of photograph gives you a view which has a span as wide as that seen by the human eye.
What is a Polar Panorama?
A Polar Panorama can make a panoramic view appear to be a separate planet. The “Polar Panorama Effect” is one of my favorite ways to process photos into unique pieces of art. It takes a panoramic (or landscape) photo and uses the Polar Coordinates filter of Photoshop CS or The Gimp to create a circular image that seems to wrap the panorama around a planet.
How do I create Polar Panoramas?
Step 1: Resize and rotate. The first thing you need to do is prepare the image for the Polar filter. You do this by stretching the height of the image so that the image is a perfect square.
Select Image>Image Size from the menus. Uncheck “Constrain Properties” and set the “height” to the same value as your “width”. Next, rotate the image 180 degrees (Image>Rotate Canvas>180).
Step 2: Apply the polar filter. Choose Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates from the menus and in the resulting dialogue box, select the “Rectangular to Polar” setting. (If you’re using The Gimp the command is Filters > Distorts > Polar Coords.)
Step 3: Rotate and clean up. The rest is just a little digital darkroom work: rotate the planet to your liking, adjust the contrast and colours, and clean up the sky and the edges where the left and right borders of the image came together (the clone stamp and healing brush may be handy here). That’s it, you’re done!
Dos and don’ts
Selecting a source photo for Polar Panorama
When selecting a photo to start with, keep the following things in mind:
- Panoramas or landscapes cropped to have an aspect ratio of at least 2:1 (the width should be at least two times the height) work best. Wider photos are better.
- The bottom area (bottom 25% or so) of your photo should have very little detail (e.g. sand, asphalt, water). This area will become the centre of your planet and will be distorted the most.
- The upper area (upper 25%) of your photo should also be light on detail – preferably just one colour (e.g. blue sky or night sky).
- The left and the right edges of your photo should match, or come close to matching, each other (always the case for a 360 degree panorama).
- The horizon must be exactly horizontal. Since the left and right edges of your photo will be joined, if they are at different heights your planet will have a big crack in the surface. (Again, not an issue for a properly executed 360 degree panorama.)
Enjoy Guys !!!
Originally posted 37 months ago.
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soumitra911 (a group admin) edited this topic 37 months ago.
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Waa Guru..!!!
Posted 37 months ago.
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This is a brilliant thread!! Pankaj and everyone else, thanks a lot for sharing these techniques
Posted 37 months ago.
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Thanks Soumi....i tried it and here is the result
Posted 37 months ago.
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Good one Vaibhav! Great stuff Soumi!
Originally posted 37 months ago.
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amitsgupte edited this topic 37 months ago.
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Thanks a tonne Pankaj.
I used laptop-EOS utility to control the camera, in that you can conveniently put it on a timer so that it will keep on taking shots of 30secs after delay of 10 sec after every shot by using the timing control i guess.
A suggestion would be to use as wide anlge lens as possible as the star trails I have taken are taken at 55mm (by canon55-250mm lens).
Once again thanks a lot Pankaj, possible only because of you.
Posted 37 months ago.
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Man this is getting better.... so many things to dod now that my exams are over!!! Water drops, still life, star trails, fireworks and now panaroma!
Thanks a tonne folks. It feels good to be back here.
Cheers.
Posted 37 months ago.
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This is so technocratic, high funda stuff....but very very exciting ...hope I get 1/10 the road on this thing.
Posted 37 months ago.
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can CANON SX10 IS ? do this job?
Posted 37 months ago.
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as you say """"Along with the camera you will need shutter release cable (or any other mechanism to lock the shutter button of the camera)""" what to do in my case i have canon sx 10 IS.
Posted 37 months ago.
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Ashish Bendale: AFAIK: There is no provision to attach the shutter release cable in Canon sx 10 is
You can also post the query to the group dedicated to Canon sx10 IS model : details: www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershotsx10is/discuss/721576...
Posted 37 months ago.
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soumitra the polar pano is a beautiful technique.thanks for sharing!
Posted 37 months ago.
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@ Ashish : one solution is using Continuous Shooting mode and using duct tape at the click button. this will work fine . that is what i m going to do on 23 may at star trails.
Posted 37 months ago.
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Friends,
One more concern here.
For those who are using non-SLR cameras for the star trails, I request kindly to refer the camera manuals for the continuous shooting mode. Few of these cameras, while shooting on the continuous burst mode the taken shots are kept in buffer as long as shutter button is pressed. And does not write the the images into the memory until the shutter button is released.There is a limitation for these cameras on number of images are held in buffer. And when this writing is being done camera does not shoot any shots.
Just to make you aware. Please search for your manuals now.
Posted 37 months ago.
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PANNING TECHNIQUE REVEALED
This was on top priority for me this week. And tried it on lonely Saswad-Veer dam road with Subhayu.
Equipment: Camera and kit lens (very basic, Hugh!!!) and bike/cycle/scooter/scateboard.
Caution: Wear Helmets while riding. Yes we wear helmets while panning taking panning shots.
Time: Any time of the day except night.
Place: Straight 200m road, preferably lonely so that people don't laugh at you, while rider makes round trips in front of camera.
People: Models for you shoot.
Frame composition: Hard to describe, but make sure that we include bike, rider and a ample background in the frame.
Actual Shoot:
Set
you camera on high speed continuous shooting mode and Shutter Priority.
Also focus should be continuous (Canon term is "AI-SERVO"). Guess the
moving object (bike/scooter) speed, or you can tell your model to stick
to predefined speed. Stick to the basic formula for the choice of
shutter speed. If bike is moving at speed 100kmph chose shuttter
1/100sec, and 1/25sec if its 25kmph. Its tread off situation between
the speed and shutter speed. Faster the shutter speed lower motion blur
will be obtained, and slower the shutter speed you will get good motion
blur, but then its difficult to get bike and rider in focus.
Ask you model to speed the bike from one corner of road and start
focusing on him at the central auto focus point. As he moves
horizontally in the frame start following him. Looking through the
view-finder as soon as person and bike moves at the thirds start
clicking continuously holding the shutter button and keep on following
him until he disappears from the frame. This requires a lot of patience
and practice to follow the moving object and to achieve perfect frame. As you practice few shots and few trips of the bike, you start anticipating the speed of the moving object and relative speed of camera following that.
Let's move on. Happy clicking. Keep posting. Cheers. Go Vrrrooooom....
Posted 37 months ago.
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@Panka ! thanks for sharing this !!
Posted 37 months ago.
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sahi info pankaj....
Posted 37 months ago.
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good re !!!!!!!!!!!
:-))
kahi / koni tari athawale re .
Originally posted 37 months ago.
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plantscape (Ajinkya) edited this topic 37 months ago.
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awesome tutorial for panning shots... waiting to try this .. :)
Posted 37 months ago.
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Its a pleasure to read your tutorials.
Posted 37 months ago.
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hmm slower the shutter speed more the action.. shot at 1/5 sec
and at 1/10 sec
Posted 37 months ago.
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very nice info Pankaj....ek panning photoshoot ho jaye it will be fun and learning as well
Posted 37 months ago.
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DIY (Do It Yourself) Beauty Dish - My First Attempt.
Here is how to create an effective, yet super cheap beauty dish. This was my weekend project.
a) Start with an ordinary tub. It is preferable that it is white, if not a clear one will do.
b) Mark the outline of your flash on the bottom of the tub. Cut away the marked area. This is how I did it. I heated a small poker and burned through the plastic as my starting point. From there on I used a saw blade.
c) File away the rough edges.
d) Drill holes in the bottom of the tub and matching ones on the plate. It is imperative that the holes are aligned properly else it may place undue stress on the bottom of the tub when attaching the plate.
e) Use an abrasive brush (usually a drill attachment). This will help roughen up the surface helping paint to stick better. (I skipped this step and I now wish I hadn't).
f) Coat the inner surface with a paint primer. Let dry. Next apply 2 coats of white enamel paint. Let each coat dry thoroughly before proceeding. (I am a super-impatient person, didn't give enough time between coats to dry).
Edit:
f.5) In order to not scratch your flash or have paint scraped onto it, a good thing to do would be to apply painter's tape (also known as masking tape or ABRO tape) on the edges of the cut/filed opening for the flash.
End Edit
g) Insert the bolts in the 3 holes and secure using the nuts.
h) Take a piece of aluminum foil and wrap the plastic plate. Pierce the holes where the bolts will be inserted.
i) Insert a set of nuts onto the bolts. This set of nuts will help you to adjust the distance between the reflector and the flash.
j) Insert the plate and secure it using a third set of nuts.
Sorry, but I didn't do a good job on documenting the steps as I went along.
As you can see, the result is quite pleasing for something that costs less than Rs. 300. Even with my sloppy hands, it turned out acceptable.
Since this is a small tub, it does not weight a lot and hence it can be flash mounted without putting undue stress on the flash.
Whats next? I might try a slightly larger tub this time. Also the shape of the main dish is important. A more "salad bowl" shape should yield better results.
Feel free to shoot me a flickrMail if you have questions/suggestions/critique.
Posted 37 months ago.
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@KC:Very nicely done.
A convex mirror can be effectively used to create reflections within the dish.
This is how David Tejada made his DIY beauty dish.
davidtejada.blogspot.com/2008/04/beauty-dish-for-sb-800.html
Posted 37 months ago.
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Yes, I improvised my plan to use the plate with the aluminum foil in absence of the mirror. I will be getting the mirror (hopefully) today and will report back with the results. Prior to starting out on this, I have read and studied many many many blogs and DIY articles.
Posted 37 months ago.
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Ok, got the mirror. Unfortunately my mounting plate and the mirror are almost of the same size. Since the holes were drilled considering the plate's size, getting a larger plate will not solve the issue.
Bottom Line: Convex mirror will star in DIY Beauty Dish - Part 2.
Posted 37 months ago.
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no more contributions for last 6 weeks? :-((
Posted 35 months ago.
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This is not a specific technique but very basic thing.
Most of us know this... but surely will help the beginners.
www.canonblogger.com/2009/07/08/the-rule-of-thirds-revisi...
Posted 35 months ago.
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_Shutter Butter_
Found some interesting stuffs with reference to your 2nd Curtain Flash Problem.
photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index2.html#secondcurtain
photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index3.html#enablesecond
And if you have already found a solution please do share.
Cheers
Posted 35 months ago.
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TBW,
intresting article.it gives a detailed explanation of 2nd curtain flash. but,i'll have to try it first before.
no i havnt really found the soultion, just some random expirements...havnt practised flash recently, so will give it shot soon.
Thanks.
Posted 35 months ago.
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yeah... this stuff is still not clear to me, but definitely looks interesting wrt some possible creative results. Will try to do some experiments with it. meanwhile will be waiting for your response..
Posted 35 months ago.
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Second curtain flash is used when one meters camera for the sky (esp. in low light) and also want foreground details.
Once I used second (rear in Canon terms) curtain flash to get the foreground details while shooting in a ultra low light and got the desired results absolute without PP.
![[Explored...!!!] Sunset from Bharadkhol near DiveAgar (by Pankaj - भटकंती Unlimited)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3605905979_2dec4e246e_t.jpg "[Explored...!!!] Sunset from Bharadkhol near DiveAgar (by Pankaj - भटकंती Unlimited)")
Posted 35 months ago.
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Smoke Illusion
First of all I have tried this as a fun and not that much expert in this form.
When you are held in the homes during long weekends, there is no other choice than the indoor shoot. And playing with the smoke and light is fun to do.
Preparation: Firstly you need to get bored inside your homes :-)
open the doors of orthodox mind and be ready for the post processing do create unreal effects and illusions.
Equipment:
Smoke sticks (dhoop kaadi), usually are around 1cm thick and 3-4cm long. Or also can get in the form of crystals to be burnt on charcoal. You will easily get these in Pooja items shops.
Black background: black sheet or cloth.
Your sharpest lens (i preferred 50mm) and camera.
Actual shoot:
Arrange the black sheet along the perpendicular surfaces. Put down window curtains in a day time. Or light a small lamp during night, just to walk around the room. Place smote stick in a plate or bowl in front of the arrangement. Be sure that you safeguard the valuable flooring, table top from the burning stick.
Select camera position and aperture settings so as to get the DoF of 4-5 inches. Light the stick and observe the smoke patterns. Focus manually on the stick or the thickest smoke position. Now open on-camera flash and start clicking. Optionally external flash can be used. Actual frames will have white smoke on a black background. Shoot considerable number of frames. Blow slightly on the smoke to get few interesting patterns.
On computer:
Open the shots and select one with the most interesting patterns. Open copy of this in photo editing software.
Feel free to crop/rotate/mirror images for more interest.
Invert the colors of the image. This will make the actual smoke black or gray and background turns white.
Now play with the exposure, contrast and brightness so that background becomes perfect white and smoke is seen prominently without loosing the details in patterns.
Now play with the color balance of RGB-CMY to the extremities as per your wish such that colors of smoke change dramatically. This way one can almost create the illusion of every single color in the universe. Stretch you imagination to shoot different interesting figures in smoke patterns. Even with more time spent in processing and adjusting color balance for different areas in the frame, one can have all colors in the frame.
Do enjoy such homely shoots and treat me if your family members remain happy for you spending weekend at home.
And yes,Do not forget to share the wonderful pics here at P@P.
Posted 33 months ago.
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Fabulous PBU. TFS.... Task for the weekend :)
Posted 33 months ago.
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Thanks for sharing Pankaj .. it was very detailed info ..
Posted 33 months ago.
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Thank s Pankaj for detailed info !!
Posted 33 months ago.
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Thanks Pankaj. Sounds quite interesting.
Posted 33 months ago.
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Dinesh, I guess now all queries are answered. "Yeh green smoke kaha se? It may not be smoke at all. Some chemical in water maybe." :-D
This is task for all of you this weekend.
Posted 33 months ago.
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thanks for sharing pankaj
Posted 33 months ago.
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awesome PBU thanks for sharing
Posted 33 months ago.
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I tried it :) .. Thanks Again !
Posted 33 months ago.
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superb technique pankaj!
Posted 33 months ago.
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wow. brilliant
Posted 33 months ago.
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Was really tempted to try the planets after reading the super cool techniques above. Here is one of my crude attempts.
Posted 29 months ago.
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@kiran - Can you please explain how to use a duct tape instead of release cable for star trail photogrphy?
Posted 29 months ago.
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@Smile-plz, I am not sure about how to use Continuous mode with Duct tape but I have read about somebody using Duct tape with a small pebble put on the shutter release button on camera. And the mode in this case would be bulb.
I am guessing the way it is done is first you have the cap over the lens with bulb mode set, then you put the pebble over the shutter release button and putting tape over the pebble causing the switch to press and after you are done place the cap back to lens and remove the tape.
Originally posted 29 months ago.
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Tarun Parmar edited this topic 29 months ago.
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@ Pankaj- thank for the tutorials... keep posting...
this is my panning photo..
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/dryash/3971724994/]
Originally posted 28 months ago.
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Y a S h edited this topic 28 months ago.
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Great tips and tricks. Good one.
Posted 28 months ago.
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Thanks Pankaj for Smoke Illusion !
Tried it and liked the results. had not played with the photo software beyond cropping, brightness and sharpness before. I am already learning from the group :-)
Posted 28 months ago.
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smoking illusion put to use for creating an antismoking illustration
Posted 28 months ago.
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Can anyone please explain setup for this
www.betterphoto.com/uploads/processed/0806/0802060216141r...
Posted 24 months ago.
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This is a great thread guys,
keep them coming so that the beginners like me can learn from it :)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Awesome Thread.... Great Learning for me... find this thread in office, i am in office right else would have tried these right away !!!! later today will try this.
Thank you guys for sharing your techniques and knowledge.
Posted 18 months ago.
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I am trying to make it but getting this... tried with 2-3 pics but everytime getting this.... i followed the steps mentioned by but still not getting it proper
Posted 18 months ago.
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The last technique posted was 6 months ago!!!
so I'll **BUMP** this thread with another shooting technique!
This is called the REDSCALE experiment.
What you'll need:
1. regular 35mm colour film
2. film camera
What it's about:
It's about loading your colour film the other way with the emulsion side facing the pressure place instead of towards to shutter opening. To get decent exposure through the back layer of the film, overexpose the shots by a stop or two.
Why?
Just for kicks. And to get some nice red/yellow photos without having to use as filters as the back layer of the film acts as a filter in itself
Some considerations: some cameras might not allow the film canister to be loaded the other way, for which you might have to take an empty canister and then wind the film in the dark in the other one. it's a bit complicated, but if you have any problems with it, flickr mail me.
Some results:
I use an agfa Isoly II camera which takes 120 film (like a holga camera) so I got the sprocket holes part exposed too.
Originally posted 12 months ago.
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DraconianRain edited this topic 12 months ago.
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I found this link for people who want to learn using DSLR... I thought Its a good one... But it would be better if someone who uses a DSLR, gives his opinion [as I don't use one :) ]
Link - camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html
Originally posted 12 months ago.
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Harshad Kanhere edited this topic 12 months ago.
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hi DR,
can you tell how you develop the films?
Posted 12 months ago.
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I usually give it to the studio to develop. I don't know how to develop at home yet, though I have a small developing tank at home.
I scan my own films though. Without a scanner. Tell you what... I'll upload the scanning film technique here
Posted 12 months ago.
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Here's the technique on how to scan film without a scanner.
This was a part of the handout poster I had made for the participants ofr the DIY photography talk I had given for the Bangalore photography club in October last year.
See the large size here
farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/5780405698_3fb701f963_b.jpg
Originally posted 12 months ago.
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DraconianRain edited this topic 12 months ago.
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Hey DR, thanks a lot. will try that with some films.
Also, do you use any BW films? if yes, which ones. Where to get it in Pune and from whom to develop.
I was getting some films in Pune but found no developer who develops BW films and hence dismissed the offer.
Posted 12 months ago.
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Ratanz on Mg road develops bw and slides. But it's expensive
Posted 12 months ago.
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bahot sahee topic pankaj bhai.....Ek no...Thanks for initiating this one...Great
Posted 12 months ago.
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"Water balloon burst photography with external flash"
Equipments - Canon 1000D, 55-250mm IS lens, Tripod stand, YN468 flash (Manual mode, 1/64th- 1/128th power), CTR301P radio trigger, and of course some balloons.
1 Hang the water balloon at a convenient place with a thread.
2 Set the camera on tripod at a safe distance and compose the shot.
3 Cover the External flash in polythene bag (with radio trigger slave attached) and keep it close to the water balloon.
4 set the camera to a 5 sec exposure ( This shoot was done in a dark room)
5 Hold the master unit of radio trigger in your hand ( pressing the test button on MAster will fire the flash)
6 Press the shutter button and camera will start a 5 sec exp period.
7 Prick the water balloon with a sharp needle and simultaneously press the "test fire" button of the master radio trigger.
Pure hand eye coordination required here. I burst some 15- 20 balloons and got 4 shorts worth displaying.
Since this is done in dark room it is the extreme short duration of flash light which freeze the action.
You can Use sound/Laser/IR based triggers available for a more professional work.
sandeep
Posted 8 months ago.
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