I shot another art show for an the online version of the reality. It also serves as an archive of all the artwork that’s been shown since the beginning.
One of the pieces in the most recent show was this neon piece that’s close to 5 feet in width and height. Here is the final image I ended up with after doing three separate masking layers. It was the most challenging piece in this show.
During the presentation Kevin Kubota gave on CreativeLive.com several months back, he mentioned DIY scrims he had built that were sized to fitPhotoflex Litepanel covers. He even made a video detailing the construction.
So, how could I help myself? I had to make some, but with some enhancements of my own…
Not having any Photoflex panels, I was not constrained to a certain size so kept things simple. I maximized the material usage by cutting all the 3/4″ PVC pipe to 39″ in length. I also used electrical PVC conduit because it was slightly cheaper than the same size plumbing PVC pipe. Instead of using a hack saw like Kevin Kubota, I used a PVC pipe cutter. They are much simpler to use and so much less messy than sawing – I highly recommend getting one. It’s definitely worth the money.
Seven lengths of pipe are required for each panel. Instead of running bungie cord through them, I opted to leave them separate. I just glued the elbows and Tees to all the horizontal pipes. This lets me know which joints come apart without having to mark anything. It also prevents the loss of any of the fittings while in transit or during storage. Additionally, no bungie means the panel pieces can be configured into a light tent using four end pieces (elbows) and four plain lengths of pipe, similar to the one detailed in this blog post.
One panel breaks down into these pieces:
Recently, I came across a nifty light modifier for small battery flashes called the Saberstrip. It’s a tube with a mount for the flash at one end, and a mirror at the other end, and a long window covered with diffusion fabric. The long linear light source makes a diffuse shadow in one direction. They can be doubled up and oriented as an “L” to give a look closer to an umbrella or soft. One big advantage of the Saberstrip is that it’s not a big sail that’ll catch the wind out on location. At US$135 plus another 15 for shipping, though, it’s rather expensive for the hobbyist.
This is was a draft post for the longest time. Finally getting around to finishing and publishing it…
Jacci made a baby shower invitation for our daughter, Tricia using some stuffed animals and other items. Jacci also tried her hand at stop motion animation while taking the still photo for the invite. Here’s one of the photos she took in the series:
The movie can be seen here: elephant and monkey stop motion-desktop
It was early on a Sunday morning when Jacci started trying to set up the shot. She was having some difficulty in getting some white foam core to stand up and stay where she wanted it. I went out into the garage and rounded up some 1/2″ PVC and fittings from an old project. I cut the PVC pipe into 8 equal lengths. Then using 8 90-degree elbows, the structure below was assembled. [I'd recently seen a PVC box design like this somewhere, but owing to the long time sitting as a draft, I no longer remember where so I can't give credit for it.]
A sheet of white foam core makes the white floor. A piece of white Tyvek hangs from the top back and slopes down to meet the foam core floor makes the continuous white background. Translucent white material hangs down on the left and right sides and over the top. Two SB-600s were placed on the left and right sides and an SB-900 was suspended over the top of the cage.
All told, creating the box and taking the series of photos took no more than about 2.5 hours total.
A local photographer made a public request for interesting locations to use in and around Austin, TX. I compiled a short list with links to galleries showing photos we took at each location. I had not thought to share it here until now. So without further delay, here they are…
Aquarena Springs in San Marcos – This may not be so good anymore since they removed the big mushroom coverings
A park on the Blanco in San Marcos off Comal St – This has a very large wood playscape, also train tracks nearby
Historic Stagecoach Park, Buda – This park has several rustic locations to use as a background
Auditorium Shores, Austin – There is a hill that allows using downtown Austin as a background and a fountain area where water shoots out of the ground
S. 1st St, 2nd St, and the Big Guitar, Austin – These three spots were used during a night time photo walkabout with a model.
Brackenridge Hospital parking garage – This is a good site for night time portraits with city lights and the Texas State Capital)
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