Weekly Assignment #74: Catching the Rainbow

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited May 9, 2008 in Assignments
Ever feel lucky? Wanted to catch the rainbow? Well, that's what we gonna do this time. :wink
No I'm not crazy. We're not gonna wait for God's beautiful swatches set to arrive with the Rain Parcel Service. We're gonna create our own and capture the results.
You can create a spectrum in a variety of ways, one of the easiest being a glass of water and a low sun. I'm not gonna dictate any particular method usage cause I want to see different results. Remember: Internet is your friend.
The result should be a nice, solid capture of the said spectrum filling a larges part of your frame, not a tiny blimp in the corner/center. Use a macro lens if you have it.
As always, fresh pictures only, moderate PS (but you most likely need some, 'cause home-made spectrums tend to look dim on a big screen, so feel free to use some curves).
Let's capture the rainbow!
"May the f/stop be with you!"

Comments

  • OffTopicOffTopic Registered Users Posts: 521 Major grins
    edited April 11, 2008
    I've been having so much fun playing around with this one creating all different types of rainbows. I just love the way these exercises get me thinking about things. And I finally broke down and bought a macro lens because these weekly assignments had me wanting to shoot all kinds of stuff...

    Sharing two just because they're so completely different (please don't yell at me Nikolai mwink.gif) even though they both were created with the same object. One is the rainbow on the surface, the second is reflected onto another surface.

    Hope you're in an abstract mood, 'cos I sure am. :D

    278053053_8XS6A-M.jpg

    EXIF


    278065672_sRMuh-M.jpg

    EXIF

    I would clean up some of that flare on that second one, but I wasn't sure how much pp is allowed beyond a cruves adjustment and sharpening.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Major grins Bournemouth, UKPosts: 0 Major grins
    edited April 11, 2008
    Looks like the rainbow gone back in...............I see no pictures??

    Tim
  • OffTopicOffTopic Registered Users Posts: 521 Major grins
    edited April 11, 2008
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2008
    OffTopic wrote:
    I've been having so much fun playing around with this one creating all different types of rainbows. I just love the way these exercises get me thinking about things. And I finally broke down and bought a macro lens because these weekly assignments had me wanting to shoot all kinds of stuff...

    Sharing two just because they're so completely different (please don't yell at me Nikolai mwink.gif) even though they both were created with the same object. One is the rainbow on the surface, the second is reflected onto another surface.

    Hope you're in an abstract mood, 'cos I sure am. :D

    I would clean up some of that flare on that second one, but I wasn't sure how much pp is allowed beyond a cruves adjustment and sharpening.

    Nice entries, thank you, Lori! thumb.gif
    Can you describe the setup? headscratch.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • OffTopicOffTopic Registered Users Posts: 521 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2008
    Thanks Nikolai! :D

    I used a blank CD. For the first shot I just laid it on a flat surface with the sun high overhead and just moved all around it at different levels and angles capturing the diffferent rainbow patterns. Lots of great ray patterns this way. I love my new macro lens!
    ISO 100, f/7.1 @ 1/60. I'll edit to add EXIF above.

    The second setup was a bit more complicated. In order to create the reflection I created a sort of "shadow box" if you will for a sheet of white glossy printer paper. In hindsight the glossy paper may not have been the best choice - I knew it would give me an intense reflection, but I think it contributed to the flare. With the CD facing the sun and tilted to reflect on the paper, I found I could vary the intensity and shape of the reflected rainbow as I moved the scrim that was keeping the paper in shadow and as I changed the angle of the CD. Got a lot of really cool shapes, including a perfect rainbow arch and one that looked like a flame. The shot I posted had the CD almost completely upright and right up against the edge of the white paper. Exposing for the reflection made the paper a muddy gray, which I darkened with a curves adjustment. ISO 100, f/22.0 @ 1/60
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2008
    OffTopic wrote:
    Thanks Nikolai! :D

    I used a blank CD. For the first shot I just laid it on a flat surface with the sun high overhead and just moved all around it at different levels and angles capturing the diffferent rainbow patterns. Lots of great ray patterns this way. I love my new macro lens!
    ISO 100, f/7.1 @ 1/60. I'll edit to add EXIF above.

    The second setup was a bit more complicated. In order to create the reflection I created a sort of "shadow box" if you will for a sheet of white glossy printer paper. In hindsight the glossy paper may not have been the best choice - I knew it would give me an intense reflection, but I think it contributed to the flare. With the CD facing the sun and tilted to reflect on the paper, I found I could vary the intensity and shape of the reflected rainbow as I moved the scrim that was keeping the paper in shadow and as I changed the angle of the CD. Got a lot of really cool shapes, including a perfect rainbow arch and one that looked like a flame. The shot I posted had the CD almost completely upright and right up against the edge of the white paper. Exposing for the reflection made the paper a muddy gray, which I darkened with a curves adjustment. ISO 100, f/22.0 @ 1/60
    Lori, great description, thank you very much for sharing!thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    278767147_iSkKy-M.jpg
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    Antonio, I can see the hints of the spectrum here and there, but I think you can do better than that...
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    Antonio, I can see the hints of the spectrum here and there, but I think you can do better than that...

    I agree with you Nikolai.

    I'll try something better tomorrow.
    :Dthumb.gif
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • broby6broby6 Registered Users Posts: 47 Big grins
    edited April 23, 2008
    Here's my spectra
    I've been meaning to take part in these classes for some time so here are my tries. Not art or even very good pics but certainly fun. These were made like Newton did it - with a prism.

    Bob Roby

    One

    284055389_wUvmb-M.jpg



    Two

    284055524_b47hB-M.jpg



    Three Projected on an egg dish for grins. Strange optical illusion there.

    284055463_UMqUm-M.jpg



    Four Texture fun and games

    284056247_hyjNJ-M.jpg
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2008
    broby6 wrote:
    I've been meaning to take part in these classes for some time so here are my tries. Not art or even very good pics but certainly fun. These were made like Newton did it - with a prism.
    Bob Roby
    Bob,
    very nice entries, thank you! thumb.gif
    Care to post your setup pics?mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • broby6broby6 Registered Users Posts: 47 Big grins
    edited April 23, 2008
    Nikolai, I always jump at the chance to show off my world class optical lab. The setup consists of a) light source - Sol, (not shown) through dirty window (shown in photo 1), b) light defractor - old tank periscope prism, mounted on precision alignment device - notepad with
    cardboard shims, also shown in photo 1, and finally the spectra display device - usually referred to as "basement stairs wall", shown in photo 2.

    I put a 6 inch scale in front of the prism to give you some scale. The wall is about 20 feet from the prism so the prism is a pretty good chunk of glass. The spectrum appeared about where the green rectangle is.

    My wife just held the egg plate up against the wall at the spectrum. In the texture shot we just put a collapsible clothes hamper in the path of the spectrum about ten feet from the prism. The right hand spectrum is on the front of the hamper and the left one is on the back of the hamper (two inches behind) from the light shining through the front. This was a fun assignment.

    Photo 1

    284218864_hsw7S-M.jpg

    Photo 2

    284215686_GSYfh-M.jpg
  • jdmphotojdmphoto Registered Users Posts: 159 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2008
    Silicon rainbow
    I thought I'd give it a try just for fun.

    284268072_rLexi-M.jpg
    See my photo's athttp://jdmphoto.smugmug.com/

    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2008
    broby6 wrote:
    Nikolai, I always jump at the chance to show off my world class optical lab. The setup consists of a) light source - Sol, (not shown) through dirty window (shown in photo 1), b) light defractor - old tank periscope prism, mounted on precision alignment device - notepad with
    cardboard shims, also shown in photo 1, and finally the spectra display device - usually referred to as "basement stairs wall", shown in photo 2.

    I put a 6 inch scale in front of the prism to give you some scale. The wall is about 20 feet from the prism so the prism is a pretty good chunk of glass. The spectrum appeared about where the green rectangle is.

    My wife just held the egg plate up against the wall at the spectrum. In the texture shot we just put a collapsible clothes hamper in the path of the spectrum about ten feet from the prism. The right hand spectrum is on the front of the hamper and the left one is on the back of the hamper (two inches behind) from the light shining through the front. This was a fun assignment.
    Thank you very much, nice setup and solid writeup! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • sanakasanaka Registered Users Posts: 108 Major grins
    edited April 28, 2008
    Otherwise boring DVD spectrum
    I also played with capturing an optical disc's light spreading properties. It makes nice rainbows alright, but I wasn't happy with the result as a photograph. So, sorry Nikolai, I confess exceeding the 'moderate' rule trying to make it interesting with Photoshop. At some point I'll try for a better rainbow capture. For now I hope this attempt at a silk purse from a sow's ear is not just a waste of bandwidth.

    Here's what I did: radically jacked levels which made everything grainy and revealed stuff reflected in the disc: the rim of the camera's lenshood, the knuckles of my camera-holding hand, and some random background of the room. Then I duotoned the whole image with a drab greenish-gray except for the colorful rainbow. The concentric line in the middle is the transition from the burned to unburned portion of the DVD.

    C&C most welcome. Is it kinda interesting, or just really stanky now? eek7.gif

    286319865_BhMYN-XL.jpg

    Peace,
    Sanaka
    WooHooo! New dSLR!:barb : Canon XSi / 450D
    Kit lens for now: 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 28, 2008
    sanaka wrote:
    I also played with capturing an optical disc's light spreading properties. It makes nice rainbows alright, but I wasn't happy with the result as a photograph. So, sorry Nikolai, I confess exceeding the 'moderate' rule trying to make it interesting with Photoshop. At some point I'll try for a better rainbow capture. For now I hope this attempt at a silk purse from a sow's ear is not just a waste of bandwidth.

    Here's what I did: radically jacked levels which made everything grainy and revealed stuff reflected in the disc: the rim of the camera's lenshood, the knuckles of my camera-holding hand, and some random background of the room. Then I duotoned the whole image with a drab greenish-gray except for the colorful rainbow. The concentric line in the middle is the transition from the burned to unburned portion of the DVD.

    C&C most welcome. Is it kinda interesting, or just really stanky now? eek7.gif

    Peace,
    Sanaka
    Interesting...
    Before we proceed with C&C, can we see the "original", please? mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • sanakasanaka Registered Users Posts: 108 Major grins
    edited April 28, 2008
    Sure!

    286319926_4kxCx-L.jpg

    exif

    Peace,
    Sanaka
    WooHooo! New dSLR!:barb : Canon XSi / 450D
    Kit lens for now: 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 28, 2008
    sanaka wrote:
    Sure!
    exif
    Peace,
    Sanaka
    Thank you!
    You know what - I like the unprocessed better! mwink.gif So - great entry! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • spb13spb13 Registered Users Posts: 133 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2008
    Optical media seemed like the easiest way to make a rainbow and since I couldn't find a mirror small enough to fit in a glass I decided to see what I could do with a DVD.

    287246666_jJcNK-L.jpg
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2008
    spb13 wrote:
    Optical media seemed like the easiest way to make a rainbow and since I couldn't find a mirror small enough to fit in a glass I decided to see what I could do with a DVD.
    I agree, it's probably the easiest way to get one. Nice bold spectrum, Sean! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • PexiPexi Registered Users Posts: 85 Big grins
    edited May 1, 2008
    Natural rainbow
    Nature's own rainbow is bland compared to these beautiful, artificial ones shown in this thread.

    287878258_uZ4La-L.jpg

    Exif
    Life is pretty straight without motorcycling
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited May 1, 2008
    Pexi wrote:
    Nature's own rainbow is bland compared to these beautiful, artificial ones shown in this thread.
    Exif
    That's pretty neat!thumb.gif
    Was it enhanced in post (which is totally fine) or was it that bright IRL?
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • PexiPexi Registered Users Posts: 85 Big grins
    edited May 1, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    Was it enhanced in post (which is totally fine) or was it that bright IRL?

    Thanks Nikolai! The original RAW image was really gray, so I enhanced it in post with Lightroom, adjusting white balance, tone curve and vibrance/saturation.
    Life is pretty straight without motorcycling
  • ChrisJChrisJ Registered Users Posts: 2,164 Major grins
    edited May 6, 2008
    Not a fantastic shot, but I thought it was cool... post-it note/figurine for scale.

    290952898_sQGfR-L.jpg

    This spectrum is from an old diffraction grating in our lab.
    Chris
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited May 6, 2008
    ChrisJ wrote:
    Not a fantastic shot, but I thought it was cool... post-it note/figurine for scale.

    This spectrum is from an old diffraction grating in our lab.
    Score! clap.gif Thank you! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • redleashredleash Registered Users Posts: 3,840 Major grins
    edited May 9, 2008
    Sprinkler Prism
    Here's mine--just happened to notice it the other day when the sprinklers came on in the morning. I did a bit of PSing to try to bring out some of the red. Lauren

    292432939_jWWqv-S-1.jpg
    "But ask the animals, and they will teach you." (Job 12:7)

    Lauren Blackwell
    www.redleashphoto.com
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited May 9, 2008
    redleash wrote:
    Here's mine--just happened to notice it the other day when the sprinklers came on in the morning. I did a bit of PSing to try to bring out some of the red. Lauren
    Lauren, thank you! thumb.gif
    As Pexi mentioned, natural rainbows look very weak compared to their man-created siblings. You need a lot of PS tweaking or start with a much more developed actual one to be on par with the artificial ones...ne_nau.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • redleashredleash Registered Users Posts: 3,840 Major grins
    edited May 9, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    Lauren, thank you! thumb.gif
    As Pexi mentioned, natural rainbows look very weak compared to their man-created siblings. You need a lot of PS tweaking or start with a much more developed actual one to be on par with the artificial ones...ne_nau.gif
    So true....but it is still hard to argue with being able to enjoy a scene like this one below. This is the original image, which I took on a trip to Scotland in 2005. I've tweaked this one for some notecards I designed, but this is pretty nice unedited. It was an incredible site in person! (Note: This was taken with a Fuji Finepix on a rainy day; it was the version before the S5200.)


    292498205_2xqTv-S.jpg
    "But ask the animals, and they will teach you." (Job 12:7)

    Lauren Blackwell
    www.redleashphoto.com
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited May 9, 2008
    redleash wrote:
    So true....but it is still hard to argue with being able to enjoy a scene like this one below. This is the original image, which I took on a trip to Scotland in 2005. I've tweaked this one for some notecards I designed, but this is pretty nice unedited. It was an incredible site in person! (Note: This was taken with a Fuji Finepix on a rainy day; it was the version before the S5200.)
    Scotland, eh! I guess they get a lot of them, considering amount of rain they getting.. Nice shot, must be majestic view.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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