Connecting to the Interweb Tubes
Strobist Information:
I dug this broken hard disk out of my PC junk box when I saw the drive shots from europa70, Bald Monk and ianhayhurst. It seemed to be 'drive week' here on Flickr and so fashionably late to the party, I decided to have a go! :)
The drive platters on a hard disk are about as close as you can get to a perfect mirror so what you see in the camera is pretty much what ever they happen to be reflecting. Using this fact, I thought it would be interesting to try and project dots of data onto the platter using the ends of a fibre optic light. This didn't really work out as the strands of the fibre are just too prominent, however what it did kind of end up looking like is a hole with strands falling away from the surface. As soon as I saw it, I thought "aghhh, that's were the interweb tubes go'! :)
So for this picture, the hard drive is sat on a sheet of shiny silver paper (these shiny sheets of paper were a good find at a local dollar shop) and is lit primarily from the right with a large softbox. There are also a snooted light on the left as well as a bare flash from the front.
The fibre optic strands were taken from a $10 novelty lamp. I bunched them up and made a cardboard snoot to attach them to a SB-28. Keoula kindly volunteered to hold them in place while I took the shot as I was having problems holding them in a super clamp and getting everything lined up. Sometimes a voice activated prop manipulation addition to a setup makes life a whole lot easier! :)
I took the final shot into Paint Shop Pro touched out a lot of dust (even after cleaning everything, that mirrored surface is just a dust magnet).
Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering where 'the interweb tubes' came from, check this article out! :)
Setup shot here: Connecting to the Interweb Tubes Setup
Learn how to light: www.strobist.com
Comments and faves
doigal, jayspec, [Jenn Lee], Puux, and 192 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Baldur Pan (59 months ago | reply)
Excellent idea. Great result. :)
JBolf (59 months ago | reply)
Great shot! Love the idea, too. Nice bit of humor, there! :)
John Adkins II (59 months ago | reply)
Awesome shot!!! Love your techniques!!!
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benderGRAPHY (59 months ago | reply)
very nice
[Jenn Lee] (59 months ago | reply)
Nick, your work is so impressive! I look forward to all your posts ( and your sharing of how the shot was composed)
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Ian Hayhurst (59 months ago | reply)
I imagine he was thinking of a sewer. No muck here though damn good take, thanks for the credit!
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iks.iks.iks (59 months ago | reply)
ohhh shit... you are the fu***ng one...
Radu Sporea (59 months ago | reply)
love it!!
Krist De Poorter (59 months ago | reply)
Instant favorite ! Great shot , as always :-)
>michael (59 months ago | reply)
Very interesting shot - thanks alot.
Lolo_ (59 months ago | reply)
Beautiful !
Greg Cee (59 months ago | reply)
Brilliant shot! The fibre optic stands just make this shot IMO. They are so interesting to look at. They even look like they are deep in a hole, depending on your view. Excellent concept and brilliantly executed.
europa70 (59 months ago | reply)
That's is brilliant nick, it really looks like the fiber optics are INSIDE the drive, stellar shot.
sm-photography (59 months ago | reply)
good idea :)
intothelens4149 (59 months ago | reply)
Amazing as always.
26 Rich (59 months ago | reply)
Great color tones!
kostas_laz (59 months ago | reply)
Great foto!!!
udijw (59 months ago | reply)
This is a great trick, Nick. I love the result : light control, cool colors and creativity.
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Pipall (59 months ago | reply)
Awesome! Great job as usual! particularly like the tone of it...
That Guy Who's Going Places (59 months ago | reply)
stellar work!(as always) I notice that your interweb device appear to be connected to any electron do-mahickey chords, is it solar powered? lol.
nickwheeleroz (59 months ago | reply)
apcbowman (59 months ago | reply)
wicked cool!
tizi :) (59 months ago | reply)
instantly fav, i love this shot!!! very cool, well done!!
DisGuyLa (59 months ago | reply)
very creative.. looks unique!!!
nguy1 (59 months ago | reply)
Awesome idea, great detail in the shot.
Anil Rajah (59 months ago | reply)
Bloody GOOD.. Man...
{HOOK} (59 months ago | reply)
OMG!
KMGuy (59 months ago | reply)
You know Interweb Tubes connect you to the World Mind Hive.
nickwheeleroz (59 months ago | reply)
KMGuy (59 months ago | reply)
Crap! I only had a few left as it was.:D
emptyfoto [deleted] (59 months ago | reply)
Wow, this is so cool! As always, thanks for the great pics and accompanying strobe information.
Blackavar Lion (59 months ago | reply)
That is just tooo sweeet! Nice illusion.
Ian Gethings (59 months ago | reply)
Very cool shot with the usual high level of skill and creativity.
Stargate001 (59 months ago | reply)
Very ingenious image, it has real depth to it, awesome.
Bald Monk (59 months ago | reply)
Nice work mate (I'm in SG at the moment, so not able to monitor my fellow flickrites as often as I'd like!)
espngo (59 months ago | reply)
Wow, this is awesome.
Richard Melanson (58 months ago | reply)
The internet is not something you just, dump something on...
Nice.
KorayGokhan (58 months ago | reply)
impressive idea.
i love it!!!
A. Amer (57 months ago | reply)
Brilliant!
muffyzone (55 months ago | reply)
stunning shot!!
Michael Mba | MIDO Photography (55 months ago | reply)
make that 100favs. totally cool shot. superb lighting to go with that
aviana2 (54 months ago | reply)
Congratulations on Explore #1!
StefanLichtl (54 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called ** exceptional good pictures ** (invited only), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
yannoscope (52 months ago | reply)
Exeptional work. Congrats
FarshadPix (49 months ago | reply)
really amazing and super great shoT
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Icefreez (43 months ago | reply)
Wonderful idea!
angusmcnitt (41 months ago | reply)
Amazing shot! Thank you for the setup info too.
richard.vondiesel (37 months ago | reply)
since i've been on Flickr, you're a genius ! (Award for your entire stream!)
Dustin Cytacki (33 months ago | reply)
This is cool. If only you hadnt shown me how to do the shot, I would have been guessing and guessing! Sometimes the majic is a good secret, but sharing is nice too! Nice work!
AP0100L (8 months ago | reply)
like your setup!!!