SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

Last photo of the year.

5027 views
10 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Last photo of the year.
Posted by Don Stauffer on Sunday, December 3, 2017 11:16 AM

Grabbed a shot of my recently built 1:48 Lindberg JN-4 Jennie yesterday.  My signature photos are done outside in direct sunlight with photo backdrops.  Winter is supposed to come tomorrow night to Minnesota, so I suspect this is the last time I will be able to photograph in my back yard this year.

Even if we get a warm spell, there is one big further problem in Minnesota during winter.  Note the big shadow (of the camera) in the foreground.  This was taken at about noon, with the sun as high in the sky as it gets, but the camera shadow still gets into the frame.  Any later in the year and the camera shadow will fall on the model!

I used to work with space environmental chambers where they had solar simulators- big expensive light sources and optics.  Been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to build an affordable solar simulator, but I think it will be next April until I shoot these kinds of shots again.  At that time I get out and shoot my winter builds!

 

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Sunday, December 3, 2017 1:33 PM

Hello Don!

Nice photo of a real classic. I like the rigging a lot, what did you use?

Wouldn't it be better to photograph on a partially cloudy day? This way you would have almost no shadows at all, so low standing sun wouldn't bother you neither?

Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Monday, December 4, 2017 8:50 AM

Pawel

Hello Don!

Nice photo of a real classic. I like the rigging a lot, what did you use?

Wouldn't it be better to photograph on a partially cloudy day? This way you would have almost no shadows at all, so low standing sun wouldn't bother you neither?

Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

 

Rigging is 10 mil monofilament, the translucent (invisible) stuff.

But I want the shadows.  That is the point.  The shadows and shading emphasize the contours of the plane. I find sunlit photos more realistic than the eBay style shots.

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Monday, December 4, 2017 1:11 PM

Allright, Don - now I get it! So looks like we're waiting for the spring! Have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by PFJN on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 4:37 PM

Wow, that looks great Smile

1st Group BuildSP

  • Member since
    October 2016
  • From: Louisiana Gulf South
Posted by Mrchntmarine on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 4:53 PM

wow, that looks great!  tks for posting.  this is the one you referenced in your other post re: printer decals?

Keep on modeling!

All the best,

William

  • Member since
    April 2016
  • From: Parsons Kansas
Posted by Hodakamax on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 5:31 PM

Looks good Don! I thought the shadow was from a hanger! LOL! Hey, you do good work on both the models and the photography. 

As for a fake Sun, I just use a bright spot at a distance which is what the Sun is.

Max

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 9:48 AM

Yeah, I am going to try a spot one of these days.  The critical thing will be to get the whole scene uniformly illuminated (my backgrounds are about a foot high by two foot wide), while keeping the beam well enough collimated to get sharp shadows, which rules out reflectors, and I can't afford a really big lens.  Also, getting scene bright enough.  When I stop down to f/32, the exposure time is long already, and my camera gets a bit flakey with exposures over about a minute.  Hope those new LED spots may work.

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    April 2016
  • From: Parsons Kansas
Posted by Hodakamax on Thursday, January 11, 2018 7:11 PM

Oops, I forgot that you're near or at the last f stop. A big strobe has lotsa output and can be fired multiple times quickly working down to the desired stop. Wish you were closer, I'd loan you one to try. Something to think about and something I  frequently used in the past on similar set-ups needing DOF.

Max

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Friday, January 12, 2018 3:41 PM

The disadvantages of a Minnesota winter.  The sun was shining right into my dining room window, so I brought up a pair of photo backdrops (backdrop and airport surface).  Not much luck!

 I guess I could say it is shot through the windshield of a larger plane :-)

Sun angle here at this time of year is about 22 degrees above the horizon, so the bottom shadow is the shadow of my camera, and top shadow is the top of bottom sash and bottom of upper sash.  Not enough room between them!  Amazing to me that at such a low camera angle the shadow of camera is so visible and big!  It will be much better later in year, and I can go outside and not shoot with sun coming in a window!

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    March 2020
  • From: South Florida
Posted by Having-fun on Sunday, May 10, 2020 2:02 PM

 

Don:

You need to move to Florida, were you will not have the problems you are encountering in Minnesota. You are welcome to move if you are not a Liberal (Just kidding! We welcome everyone)

Joe

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.