Experimental Light Modifier

If like me you have only a small permanent space for studio work, and budget (aka cheap second hand tat) lighting you will know that it can be difficult to control light.  I have only a soft box, and a few brollies to use.  Rather than get all 'woe is me' about it, I occasionally have a go at DIY solutions.  You may have seem my Pot Noodle snoots.  Today I decided to have a go at some micro soft boxes with the view to using them to light a background whilst reducing the spill onto the subject.  The results aren't brilliant, but I had a go.  This is how I did it.

1) Gather the bits

We have a cheap storage basket, some reflective foil, the sort you shove behind radiators to safe energy, a white sheet, some clothes pegs, duct tape, and electrical insulation tape. The tools I used were scissors, a Dremmel, and a sharpie.








2)

 First I used my light as a template, then cut out a hole with the Dremmel (wear goggles, and cut the hole outside kids)

3)
Use the basket to mark out the fold on the back of the foily stuff.  Cut off the corners

4)

Check the foil fits properlyish.  You can score, or fold this stuff which helps.







5)

Use the Duct tape to join the edges of the foil, then shove it in the basket.







6)

  Tape the excess foil over the side of the basket to hold it in place








7)

Carefully cut out a hole for the light to poke through.  Leave some excess to fold over and tape to the back.  This helps hold the whole contraction to the light without having to use tape on that too.






8) 

This is what it looks like in situ.








9)

I added some of the cotton sheet to soften the light a little

Oh No! Not another 365 project?

Oh No! Not another 365 project?, a set on Flickr.

So against all my previous reservations I have decided to do one of those blasted 365 projects. Now let's just say to begin with. I haven't stuck with it. There have been a occasions even at this early stage where I have missed a day. This is usually because, well to be honest and truthful, I've been too tired to fight my laziness, and inertia to do one. I have, in my defence caught up the next day. Why am I doing it? Because it's there! Also I tend to need a goal to aim for, or a framework to adhere to. I want to do more photography. I see this is a way of feeding that hunger. Whilst I have not set a formal theme for this project, I do seem to have fallen into doing selfies. This is a rather dubious term that I always find hints at intimate self indulgence. Well perhaps self portraits fit that description. As with a lot of creative endeavors some days are easier than others for coming up with ideas, and then executing them. Some start with just a germ of an idea that may or not work such as the tequila bottle one, and others turn out pretty much as envisiaged, like the Alice Cooper homage. Some are obviously just straight forward, some reflect a mood for the day. I hope to keep it up for the whole year, although I'm sure people will get fed up with seeing my fizzog by about 31st Jan, I know I will! Here's to a year of exploring what I can do with my image. I welcome comments, critiques, ideas etc here and on my flickr stream. Don't worry, it'll soon be Christmas!

Punktastic

The Brickman Set, a set on Flickr.

It's sunday, and it is raining. It's raining very hard, and showing no signs of stopping. The kids are playing, and my wife is enjoying her Ipad. What's a man to do? Well if you are fortunate to have a spare room to store all those boys toys that need to be kept from the offspring, and their sticky clutches, then you retreat for an hour or so to do some serious man stuff. My room is lovingly called 'The Man Cave' and the serious man stuff in this incident is playing with lego people!

I recently had cause to visit out local Poundworld shop which you can guess from the title is somewhere where all the items are one pound sterling or less. No I should be banned from these shops as I tend to pick up a lot of crap that might come in handy one day. One this recent visit I picked up something that came in very handy on this very rainy day. Two little LED reading lights, designed to clip on to a book to read at night. What better to light a minature model, than to have minature continuous lighting. I really like the results, and hope to have another session, however the little legoman in the picture is getting a bit big for his boots, and won't get out of his toybox for less than 20 pence an hour, so I might have to look for the next big, erm small thing in super or mini models.