LPS-18 behind the scenes

Dalantech

I'll kick this thread off because a few people sent me PMs asking me to explain my entry. Please feel free to add your own behind the scenes info

Before LPS-18 started I was ordering the necessary hardware for doing stop motion photography. So when I saw the theme I was excited and disappointed at the same time: For a macro shooter this one was a no brainer. But the hardware to make it practical didn't arrive until the last week of the cycle and not all of it showed up. It was last Friday before I got the timing delay circuit built and I didn't have the cable I needed to connect it to my camera. I have an off camera cable for my flash, but I needed it for another project and I wondered if I'd even have an entry for LPS-18...

While doing some research on timing devices I stumbled on this pdf file from Make that explains how to hack a disposable camera so you can use the flash in it. The delay circuit I built uses an SCR as an electronic switch that's rated to handle 400 volts, so I figured the worst that could happen is a lot of sparks and the smell of burnt ceramics so I went to the local print shop and they gave me a Fuji disposable camera that they were going to throw away. After about an hour of cutting and hot gluing I came up with this contraption:



At the top is an infra red detector and a photo diode. When the IR beam is broken it sets off a timing delay circuit (sitting at the left hand corner of the table) that triggers the flash in the disposable camera. I had my main camera (a Canon Xti) set to manual mode for a two second exposure and turned out the lights in the room so that the flash is the only light source exposing the image. What surprised me was being able to shoot at ISO 100 and F22.

I chose Styrofoam not just because it's water resistant but also because all that white acts as an excellent reflector. The downside to the design is that it was too small for me to shoot just the drop and not get part of what the liquid was hitting in the frame. This was one of my first attempts:



I initially entered it just to have something in the running, but I wasn't happy with it. Even after doing a lot of editing you can still see areas in the background that were hit by the splash of the water. So I made two changes. The first was to use an espresso saucer thinking that I could use it as another reflector for the flash and the center area where the cup goes would add another element to the image. I also chose a dark background and I got it wet before I put it into the "studio" knowing that the splashes wouldn't show. Here are a couple of shots from that session:





I love the lighting, but it's still too small. I didn't like these shots simply because I couldn't get all of the reflection in the image without getting the saucer as well. Since those shots were taken I've built two other studios that were much larger. Here are a few sample shots (taken after the cycle was over). Some with water and some with milk:











If you're interested in building your own timing circuit (or in getting something pre-built) then check out my blog.

For the lens I used a 70-200 F4 L IS with a 500D closeup filter (almost 1/2 life size at 200mm).

Nikolai

Very educational! Thanks for sharing!

BradfordBenn

Very nice Thanks for sharing.

Dalantech

Nikolai wrote:

Very educational! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Nik!

Dalantech

BradfordBenn wrote:

Very nice Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Brad!

Tessa HD

neat! my favorite was your green one at the end! very cool

Dalantech

Tessa HD wrote:

neat! my favorite was your green one at the end! very cool

Thanks!

If you like high speed photography then you must see Franz! He is an electrical engineer who designs and builds his own timing circuits and he thinks so far outside the box it's not even funny...

sherstone

I love this stuff!

Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes info.

(I think my favorite is the magenta splash)

DoctorIt

Bloody brilliant - that's my kind of stuff! And it makes me miss my old lab where I got to do more of this kind of work - macro, homebuilt light sources and studio. These days, all my work is in a microscope and exposure is by pre-built pulsed lasers (boring ).

the circuit and recycling of a disposable camera are awesome - really good work!

kp-pix

My goodness - water drop heaven for me!! Beautiful Dalantech, really beautiful and clever too!

Thanks for sharing and you also have a fascinating blog. I read through there once, the technical brushes my hair but interesting stuff

The Curious Camel

Very informative and really cool. Thanks for sharing.

Peace, gail

Dalantech

sherstone wrote:

I love this stuff!

Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes info.

(I think my favorite is the magenta splash)

Thanks!

Dalantech

DoctorIt wrote:

Bloody brilliant - that's my kind of stuff! And it makes me miss my old lab where I got to do more of this kind of work - macro, homebuilt light sources and studio. These days, all my work is in a microscope and exposure is by pre-built pulsed lasers (boring ).

the circuit and recycling of a disposable camera are awesome - really good work!

Thanks for the props Erik! :cool

I think I can add desperation as a mother of invention I really thought I was out of this round cause I didn't want to start a constant drip in the sink and then use trial and error to get a shot that was more luck than skill...

I use to have an entire micro / miniature repair lab -could repair burnt printed circuit boards or even etch new ones. I miss it... :cry

Dalantech

kp-pix wrote:

My goodness - water drop heaven for me!! Beautiful Dalantech, really beautiful and clever too!

Thanks for sharing and you also have a fascinating blog. I read through there once, the technical brushes my hair but interesting stuff

Thanks! I try not to get too technical on the blog, but some of this stuff is difficult to talk about in a way than everyone will understand.

Dalantech

The Curious Camel wrote:

Very informative and really cool. Thanks for sharing.

Peace, gail

Thanks Gail!