I'll gently twist Dave W's arm to assist.. he's a master at night photography What a great opportunity... even if you're not into old cars and "Junque".. experience low light photograpy, flash, lighting, and something totally new.
13 posts :: Page 1 of 1
Count me in! I'll help you set up an "official LPA photo trip" I'll gently twist Dave W's arm to assist.. he's a master at night photography What a great opportunity... even if you're not into old cars and "Junque".. experience low light photograpy, flash, lighting, and something totally new.
I'll gently twist Dave W's arm to assist.. he's a master at night photography What a great opportunity... even if you're not into old cars and "Junque".. experience low light photograpy, flash, lighting, and something totally new.
We are both in... let us know when & where!
Jim & Cheryl Ross
Jim & Cheryl Ross
me too... Count me in.
OK, after some discussion at last night's FNDG it's probably a good idea to do this with lots of moonlight to a) keep us from stumbling around so much in the dark a b) to give us more light sources to work with.
Looking at a calendar of full moons and Saturdays this means May 29, June 26 or July 24. May is kind of soon and July is kinda warm so, unless someone has a good arguement otherwise, I'd like to go with Saturday, June 26.
Sunset on that day is 8:11 p.m. In order to have enough daylight to scout around and set up lights I suggest we meet at 7:30 p.m. at the entrance which is on Ave G, just West of Sierra Hwy. We should be done by 9:30 or 10:00.
Moons http://www.screensaver-download.com/full_moon_calendar_dates.html
Sunsets http://www.calendar-updates.com/sun.asp?PostalCode=93560
Between now and then we need to round up some colored lights or white lights with colored filters. They should be at least bright enough to show up on a moonit night. Some practice with them on or around May 29 might be a good idea. My neighbor has a couple of old pickups we can practice on (we live out in the desert).
I'd like to hear some ideas on what kind of lights might work as well as any other props that might be interesting to use.
Let's keep up the chatter.
Looking at a calendar of full moons and Saturdays this means May 29, June 26 or July 24. May is kind of soon and July is kinda warm so, unless someone has a good arguement otherwise, I'd like to go with Saturday, June 26.
Sunset on that day is 8:11 p.m. In order to have enough daylight to scout around and set up lights I suggest we meet at 7:30 p.m. at the entrance which is on Ave G, just West of Sierra Hwy. We should be done by 9:30 or 10:00.
Moons http://www.screensaver-download.com/full_moon_calendar_dates.html
Sunsets http://www.calendar-updates.com/sun.asp?PostalCode=93560
Between now and then we need to round up some colored lights or white lights with colored filters. They should be at least bright enough to show up on a moonit night. Some practice with them on or around May 29 might be a good idea. My neighbor has a couple of old pickups we can practice on (we live out in the desert).
I'd like to hear some ideas on what kind of lights might work as well as any other props that might be interesting to use.
Let's keep up the chatter.
A full moon is upon us.
I went out tonight to check my light sources and was too lazy to go next door so I used my own car. I tried up to six LED flashlights but they couldn't compete with the moon. Then I plugged my 400W Coleman inverter into the cigarette lighter and a $5 shop light into that with a 100 W (equivelant) compact flourescent light (CFL) with colored plastic over it and it looked great. I didn't take any photos but the light inside competed well with the moonlight. I might want to try two to four of these lights with 40W or 60W (equivelant) bulbs but I know I'm in the ballpark.
For the junkyard I have a spare battery, a 1500W inverter, about eight work lights, many extension cords, and a garden wagon to haul them around with. Over the next month, between other projects, I'll be refining my procedures and skills so that I'll be ready for June 26th.
Also, I checked out Ted Dayton's web site and in his "Personal" gallery he has an old truck that looks like he's used High Dynamic Range (HDR) in conjunction with internal lights to create a very interesting photo.
http://teddaytonphotography.com/personal/index.html
I went out tonight to check my light sources and was too lazy to go next door so I used my own car. I tried up to six LED flashlights but they couldn't compete with the moon. Then I plugged my 400W Coleman inverter into the cigarette lighter and a $5 shop light into that with a 100 W (equivelant) compact flourescent light (CFL) with colored plastic over it and it looked great. I didn't take any photos but the light inside competed well with the moonlight. I might want to try two to four of these lights with 40W or 60W (equivelant) bulbs but I know I'm in the ballpark.
For the junkyard I have a spare battery, a 1500W inverter, about eight work lights, many extension cords, and a garden wagon to haul them around with. Over the next month, between other projects, I'll be refining my procedures and skills so that I'll be ready for June 26th.
Also, I checked out Ted Dayton's web site and in his "Personal" gallery he has an old truck that looks like he's used High Dynamic Range (HDR) in conjunction with internal lights to create a very interesting photo.
http://teddaytonphotography.com/personal/index.html
Julia and I went out to check out some equipment and try out her camera. Here's the least blurry of her handheld shots.
For power I used my spare car battery connected to my 1500w inverter, extension cords, and power strips. That worked well and I'm guessing I can get at least a couple hours out of it. I moved it all around with my little garden wagon but I may want to switch to a small trailer.
For lights the cheap work lights seem to do well. I used 60W (equivelant) CFLs. For color we tried some red and blue plastic cake servers that WalMart is selling. Together the red seems to overpower the blue a little but with both in the car you can still see the difference.
Deborah and I went into Michaels yesterday and found a rack with colored transparent wrapping paper in various colors. The downside is they're $3.99 a roll. Tonight we tried the green and, while we had to double it over to match the strength of the red it worked well.
Other things we learned tonight were:
a. Take bug repellant. The lights draw them like flies on honey.
b. Take lots of flashlights for between shots. Hopefully we'll have some moonlight but flashlights are a must.
c. Take other sources of colored lights like glow-sticks, lasers, etc.
d. Take a tripod. As the above shot shows you can get handheld shots but only with difficulty.
e. Bring tape. I like the blue painter's tape because it doesn't leave any residue, but it's more expensive than plain masking tape.
The current plan is for me to go over Monday or Tuesday and make sure we have permission to do this at the junkyard we went to before. If not then I have a backup plan but it may not be quite as good.
I'll keep everyone posted.
For power I used my spare car battery connected to my 1500w inverter, extension cords, and power strips. That worked well and I'm guessing I can get at least a couple hours out of it. I moved it all around with my little garden wagon but I may want to switch to a small trailer.
For lights the cheap work lights seem to do well. I used 60W (equivelant) CFLs. For color we tried some red and blue plastic cake servers that WalMart is selling. Together the red seems to overpower the blue a little but with both in the car you can still see the difference.
Deborah and I went into Michaels yesterday and found a rack with colored transparent wrapping paper in various colors. The downside is they're $3.99 a roll. Tonight we tried the green and, while we had to double it over to match the strength of the red it worked well.
Other things we learned tonight were:
a. Take bug repellant. The lights draw them like flies on honey.
b. Take lots of flashlights for between shots. Hopefully we'll have some moonlight but flashlights are a must.
c. Take other sources of colored lights like glow-sticks, lasers, etc.
d. Take a tripod. As the above shot shows you can get handheld shots but only with difficulty.
e. Bring tape. I like the blue painter's tape because it doesn't leave any residue, but it's more expensive than plain masking tape.
The current plan is for me to go over Monday or Tuesday and make sure we have permission to do this at the junkyard we went to before. If not then I have a backup plan but it may not be quite as good.
I'll keep everyone posted.
In order to make this an official LPA field trip this been delayed to July 24. My apologies. Barring bad weather this will not be delayed further.
That said, I'm soliciting ideas for a practice run/workshop about a week prior. We can do it at my place (outside of Rosamond) or closer to town.
Also, does anyone have a good sized smoke generator they can lend to this effort? Would road flares provide sufficient smoke?
Glenn
That said, I'm soliciting ideas for a practice run/workshop about a week prior. We can do it at my place (outside of Rosamond) or closer to town.
Also, does anyone have a good sized smoke generator they can lend to this effort? Would road flares provide sufficient smoke?
Glenn
Rats, I was all set to go... I won't be able to practice 1 week prior, but 2 weeks would be ok. Just for checking things out, and without a large group, and with lights, the lack of a moon shouldn't be a problem.
The trial run went great. A few sample photos are in the gallery.
Looking forward to next month.
Looking forward to next month.
Lee, good samples here and in your gallery.
Everything went well on the practice run. We kept three work-lights going for about two hours yet the battery took only about 20 minutes to fully recharge. I think we can double or triple the number of lights with no problem. That means that we can light up two or three cars at a time to give more elbow room for the photographers.
The lighting I've seen in the Pearsonville shots were primarily interior where I think we got some pretty good stuff with exterior lights. I plan to do a mix of both but we'll be flexible so each photographer can create their own special effects.
It turns out that one of the people from Pearsonville has been talking to Mike at the Ave G junkyard about putting on a training session, though no details or plans have been made. If I hear of anything I'll let everyone know.
In the LPA announcement for this field trip I left out the exact location because Mike could not guarantee us the night that far in advance. Mike is the caretaker and bends over backward to let photographers do their thing but, unlike the Tropico Gold Mine, the junk yard has no formal provisions for tours or guests. I give it a 98% chance that we'll have the Ave G junk yard to ourselves but I have a couple of backup plans not too far away just in case. I should be able to get Mike to fully commit by about two weeks before we go and I'll update the announcement at that time.
Everything went well on the practice run. We kept three work-lights going for about two hours yet the battery took only about 20 minutes to fully recharge. I think we can double or triple the number of lights with no problem. That means that we can light up two or three cars at a time to give more elbow room for the photographers.
The lighting I've seen in the Pearsonville shots were primarily interior where I think we got some pretty good stuff with exterior lights. I plan to do a mix of both but we'll be flexible so each photographer can create their own special effects.
It turns out that one of the people from Pearsonville has been talking to Mike at the Ave G junkyard about putting on a training session, though no details or plans have been made. If I hear of anything I'll let everyone know.
In the LPA announcement for this field trip I left out the exact location because Mike could not guarantee us the night that far in advance. Mike is the caretaker and bends over backward to let photographers do their thing but, unlike the Tropico Gold Mine, the junk yard has no formal provisions for tours or guests. I give it a 98% chance that we'll have the Ave G junk yard to ourselves but I have a couple of backup plans not too far away just in case. I should be able to get Mike to fully commit by about two weeks before we go and I'll update the announcement at that time.
July 17 was a success. We only lit up one car directly but the four of us had lots of fun with different angles, lighting, adding ghosts, and such. Here is a glimpse of what we came away with.
I hope to see lots of people on the 24th and 31st.
I hope to see lots of people on the 24th and 31st.
Larry has posted some of his photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerainhand/sets/72157624525839984.
13 posts :: Page 1 of 1
Next Competition
Date: 19-May
Venue: AV Senior Center
Theme: Birds
Submission Deadline:
12-May 11:59PM
12-May 11:59PM
http://www.designshed.com/lostamerica/workshop.html
Sue also suggested we think of doing something similar at the junkyard we went to on April 17th. The caretaker at this junk yard said that he already has one photographer who comes in and does this. I took one of my junk yard photos and modified it to show what it might look like at night with lights.
How about a show of hands (or forum comments) on this:
- As a formal LPA field trip?
- As an informal get together?
- The necessity for waiting for a full moon?