Day 116 - Just A Splash Of Lemon, Please... I thought I'd try simulating a lemon dropped into water. Not something to try in the winter, well with the heat on maybe. I learned you need lots of towels for bigger splashes - mostly to wipe your face off from the back splash. After a few good soakers, I managed to get a few decent splashes. Next on the my shopping list is a small fish tank to do drops in. I set this up with only the on-camera flash, dropping the flash ev to -1.5. I used the white foam board over the splash angled forward and a black backdrop behind. I also disabled AF, since AF always causes you to either miss the shot leaving you lots of infocus photos of water in a bowl with a lemon floating, or focus in on some odd water droplet in closest to the lens. Focus manually works 99% of the time - I judge where to drop in the water - focus on that spot, either with a pen tip or the lemon itself. Then drop away, hoping not to get too soaked. :) Timing for the lemon was MUCH easier than water droplets. Although I did catch a few lemons just about to splash or in mid air. Which was cool too. :) Maybe a neat sequence shot. June 11 2008

My attempt at a photo a day. :) Will giver my best.

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banjon > Day 118 - Twilight

You can tell the equinox is upon us.
This was taken around 9:30, and the twilight continued until 10:15.
That still amazes me to see it.

Sad note, there were several forest fires (I think 5 along the eastern shore) that started yesterday. Some small, and one huge one - about 5 miles long and a mile wide. So far its out of control because the steady high winds upwards of 45-60mph. They've evacuated homes in the area and closed off a major highway because the smoke was so thick. Thankfully today the winds died down and 3 water copters are coming in from New Brunswick to help out. Hopefully, they will get it under control.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9007212.html

I wonder if the extra reds in the sky are from the fires.

June 13 2008

banjon > Day 117 - Hot Coffee Beans

I love the aroma of fresh coffee. I did not mind spending a few hours, trying different approaches.

This is the Jungle Blend Fair Trade Coffee - great stuff! 100% Arabica beans. :)

I used an LED to paint the scene and adding the simulated smoke using the LED.

A little more detailed explanation for those interested:
The LED I mention is a Flexible LED (Light Emitting Diode) Reading Flashlight - goes for about $13 at Chapters/Borders or other book stores. It shines a white light, that has a hint of blue - like those blue headlights, possible true color of light.

I used the foam board as my base and black backdrop way in the distance (about 6 feet away). The camera is about 2.5-3 feet from the cup. For 3 second exposures I use f/11, 6 f/16, 8 f/19. Try a few samples to see if there any hot spots from leaving the LED stationary for more than 2 seconds.

I start by planning the steps of the light painting by keeping track of the seconds in my head as I pace through dabbing light here and there. If you want an area brighter, keep the light stationary a bit longer, then move on to the next area.

This shot I start in the lower right about a foot above the cup - thats my focus, hold that for 2 seconds, then move onto the base. I spend about a second in each corner in the front, then 1/2 second in the back, then I pull upward which casts the light outward. Then I quickly zoom into the coffee, slightly turning the flashlight so only a smidgen of light is shown, and I move upward like smoke would. This causes the light trail or simulated smoke. Sort of like writing in the dark with the laser lights.
All this in 8 seconds. :)

It goes pretty quick once you get the feel of the flow - sort of like a conductor at a symphony, but with light.

Also, an almost dark room should be used. You really only want the LED to be the main source of light.

I've also added a shot of the coffee beans using the same technique - if interested:
http://banjon.smugmug.com/gallery/5078470_zjcXu#312486068_L5oVi

June 12 2008

banjon > Day 116 - Just A Splash Of Lemon, Please...

I thought I'd try simulating a lemon dropped into water. Not something to try in the winter, well with the heat on maybe. I learned you need lots of towels for bigger splashes - mostly to wipe your face off from the back splash. After a few good soakers, I managed to get a few decent splashes.

Next on the my shopping list is a small fish tank to do drops in.

I set this up with only the on-camera flash, dropping the flash ev to -1.5. I used the white foam board over the splash angled forward and a black backdrop behind. I also disabled AF, since AF always causes you to either miss the shot leaving you lots of infocus photos of water in a bowl with a lemon floating, or focus in on some odd water droplet in closest to the lens. Focus manually works 99% of the time - I judge where to drop in the water - focus on that spot, either with a pen tip or the lemon itself. Then drop away, hoping not to get too soaked. :)

Timing for the lemon was MUCH easier than water droplets. Although I did catch a few lemons just about to splash or in mid air. Which was cool too. :) Maybe a neat sequence shot.

June 11 2008

banjon > Day 115 - Buzy Queen

Found a queen yellow jacket wasp making a nest in Patches bench. It was amazing to watch, in about 2 days the hive is near complete.

After reading this will become a major nest in a short month of close to 3,000 yellow jackets. I waited til the wee hours of the morning and had to remove the nest. Hopefully, the queen will move to another location. I would have enjoyed watching this, but thinking of Patches and us BBQ'ing fighting a horde of bees. Just avoiding future issues. I hope she won't mind.

Edit: I was looking inside and found a dead brown leaf with bits here and there. She must have used the leaf to construct the nest. Can bees carry leaves? They say they can carry stuff with their strong jaws. Never seen a bee do that.

June 10 2008

banjon > Day 114 - Ocean of Clouds

The clouds were moving very fast. I've never seen clouds in the form of ocean waves. I was happy to take a few dozen shots before going inside for a moment. Upon my return, the sky had changed to thick dark clouds and all the lovely waves were gone.

I was hoping they would stick around for a nice sunset. Oh well.. I did enjoy watching these clouds change formations and the sun trying to break through.

Many of the cloud formations look like paintings. I love when the sky does that. :)

Some other cloud shots, if interested: http://banjon.smugmug.com/gallery/5078470_zjcXu/2/310483983_T8rAf#310483983_T8rAf

June 09 2008

banjon > Day 113 - Pink Lady Slipper Orchid

After battling some nasty black flies and muggy weather at the Mt Uniacke Estate, I headed back home to check out what the beavers were up to at the beaver dam. Thought maybe they might be scurrying about.

After I was taking photos of buttercups and a damsel fly, I headed over to see some nice reflections on the water. Thats when I noticed these pretty pink wild orchids. I didn't know the name at the time, but I remember seeing them in a book on wild flowers.

They give off a very fragrant scent and beautiful when lit by the sun. It's my first encounter with them, so I'm not sure how they normally grow. There was a cluster of about 20 of them in the area the beavers clear cut.. well eliminated the underbrush. By doing so, I think it helped the soil, because all I saw was new flowers, ferns, and trees.

After doing some reading, I don't know how rare these are on the eastern coast of Nova Scotia - they are more common on the western shore. I've let the local Orchid society know there is a bloom nearby, since these only bloom for a few weeks. The article states "consider yourself lucky if you come across one". :) I must be really lucky to see 20 or so! Also, it notes if you see it - DO NOT PICK IT - they will not regenerate itself if not allowed to blossom.

As I was leaving, I noticed some of the stumps that the beaver gnawed had sprouted new growth. Leave it to the beavers to engineer a recycling program for trees they use. I noticed all the stumps seem to be the same height and the odd thing, most of them had new growth. :)

June 08 2008

banjon > Day 112 - Crab For Dinner

This Greater Black-backed Gull swooped this crab out of the water as I was watching a Blue Heron hunt for fish. First time I caught a bird with a meal - especially a crab. One of these gulls flew by the car, man their wingspan is huge. I was reading about them, they can have over a 6ft wing span - I think they need to remeasure these birds, there were a few that looked more like an 8 feet span! :)

June 07 2008

banjon > Day 110.2 - Video Arcade

The way the light illuminated the glass reminds me of video arcades back in the 70's where I spent tons of quarters playing a lot of the coin-op games. Qix was one of my favorites. Another I played all the time and actually beat was "The Return of the Jedi" game. I've logged thousands upon thousands of hours playing games - it all started with Telstar (the knockoff pong game that had 4, thats right 4 games - tennis,handball, hockey, and jai-lai).

Where I grew up, it was Aladdin's Castle and Top Dog. I still like playing the ROM games every now and then. They still get your adrenaline going with their blocky graphics. :)

This is the same beer glass, but sideways.

June 05 2008

Day 116 - Just A Splash Of Lemon, Please...

I thought I'd try simulating a lemon dropped into water. Not something to try in the winter, well with the heat on maybe. I learned you need lots of towels for bigger splashes - mostly to wipe your face off from the back splash. After a few good soakers, I managed to get a few decent splashes.

Next on the my shopping list is a small fish tank to do drops in.

I set this up with only the on-camera flash, dropping the flash ev to -1.5. I used the white foam board over the splash angled forward and a black backdrop behind. I also disabled AF, since AF always causes you to either miss the shot leaving you lots of infocus photos of water in a bowl with a lemon floating, or focus in on some odd water droplet in closest to the lens. Focus manually works 99% of the time - I judge where to drop in the water - focus on that spot, either with a pen tip or the lemon itself. Then drop away, hoping not to get too soaked. :)

Timing for the lemon was MUCH easier than water droplets. Although I did catch a few lemons just about to splash or in mid air. Which was cool too. :) Maybe a neat sequence shot.

June 11 2008