05-25-11 – Puddytats 2: I Did! I Did See a Puddytat!
-
I probably shouldn’t even mention this since it took me so long to verify it…. but andyofne’s 2011-05-26 12:12:18 AM post is a Scarlet R from the first go ’round of this contest.
And, of course, voting is closing in what, 4 minutes? 😛
I wouldn’t even have noticed, but I made a lolcat out of it back in the day. 😉 
I feel so dumb. I had eye surgery on Tuesday and was wearing a patch Wednesday when I selected my pix. I made an effort to check to see if I used any of them before but I missed it.
I need an “I haz a sad cat.” pic.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see it surpass 3000 votes by contest end.
Did I say 3000? How about 4000?!
That puts this contest at #3 ever in terms of total votes, bested only by the original and “Look to the Skies”.
Two things-
A) I’m really glad to see that U-man‘s photo on the white background got into third as well-I agree with Rav that it was my favorite from this contest. Not to say that I didn’t like the others in the top three, but I liked that one best. Composition, lighting, exposure, and DoF were all great, but what I most appreciate about it is the ability to capture the subject so well. After struggling all week with my kitty (okay, only sort of my kitty), I really appreciate how difficult animal photography can be.
B) Also happy to see that this contest got a ton of votes and we had so many people participating. It almost makes me think that we should make this an annual event. Have a big super caturday weekend once a year. Could be fun.
🙂 Thanks.
The paper is cheaper than I expected – http://www.pictureline.com/superior-arctic-white-107-x12-yds-seamless-background-paper-93.html?___store=default
The lights…aren’t cheap. I tried using lamps with different bulbs without success. Everything was yellow-ish and it didn’t play nice with a white flash for fill. Maybe somebody knows how to do it without much $. But I don’t.
You can gel your flashes (Speedlites anyway..it’s harder to gel big flash units, but it can be done) to match ambient light, then white balance for said ambient light. A gray card can help for that, too.
🙂 Thanks.
The paper is cheaper than I expected – http://www.pictureline.com/superior-arctic-white-107-x12-yds-seamless-background-paper-93.html?___store=default
The lights…aren’t cheap. I tried using lamps with different bulbs without success. Everything was yellow-ish and it didn’t play nice with a white flash for fill. Maybe somebody knows how to do it without much $. But I don’t.
You can gel your flashes (Speedlites anyway..it’s harder to gel big flash units, but it can be done) to match ambient light, then white balance for said ambient light. A gray card can help for that, too.
$10 Halogen lamps from Home depot aren’t true white. But if you’re not using fill flash, they do just fine. I want to say that you can order xenon bulbs (a lot closer to white) that will fit in a standard halogen mount, but haven’t looked.
For backdrop, you might also look into fabric. Yes, it can wrinkle, but not as bad as paper can, particularly when the kids are shuffling around on it. I’ve actually had pretty good success with using regular flat sheets – particularly for non-white backgrounds. My next purchase is going to be vinyl though.
http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Matte-Finish-Infinity-Background/dp/B001AARFBQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1306772941&sr=8-3-spell
$180 is kind steep this month, unfortunately =/
I haven’t played with halogen statics – I haven’t noticed any WB issues with my strobes though – I get a fair amount of ambient daylight in the garage from the door windows. I suspect it’ll be different when I try them outside, but I’m saving for a gel kit too. I’ll have to play around with the shop light and see how that does for a static (particularly when coupled with the strobes). Not a lot of light control, but one could probably do something with it – I bet my hand-held diffuser/reflector would work fine.
If you’re playing with Tungsten bulbs, though, not even the kelvin rated bulbs are going to work mixed with anything else. I’ve pretty much parked mine on a shelf permanently. I’d give them away, but I robbed the stands and umbrellas for my strobe rig, and there’s really not much left.
For backdrop, you might also look into fabric. Yes, it can wrinkle, but not as bad as paper can, particularly when the kids are shuffling around on it. I’ve actually had pretty good success with using regular flat sheets – particularly for non-white backgrounds.
I use this idea often. Wal*Mart has cheap 200 thread count pillow cases that fit snuggly over a canvas board I got at Michael’s, in a slew of colors. Yes, I have to iron, and yes, I have to use those tape-like things to get rid of the ever-present Blerticus fur, but they work great. With a low f/setting, you don’t even notice the threads. I’ve got black and white, red, and taupe. I also have a mottled green (see my entries for “Just Desserts”) and mottled ochre (same as in my 4th place finish for this contest). Great for the budget-minded farktographer.
For backdrop, you might also look into fabric. Yes, it can wrinkle, but not as bad as paper can, particularly when the kids are shuffling around on it. I’ve actually had pretty good success with using regular flat sheets – particularly for non-white backgrounds.
I use this idea often. Wal*Mart has cheap 200 thread count pillow cases that fit snuggly over a canvas board I got at Michael’s, in a slew of colors. Yes, I have to iron, and yes, I have to use those tape-like things to get rid of the ever-present Blerticus fur, but they work great. With a low f/setting, you don’t even notice the threads. I’ve got black and white, red, and taupe. I also have a mottled green (see my entries for “Just Desserts”) and mottled ochre (same as in my 4th place finish for this contest). Great for the budget-minded farktographer.
Plus, walmart has 200 count twin flat sheets for $2.00. We use these a lot.
the fabric store here isn’t too bad dollar wise and will get you to 36″ at least for width. plus you can get denim and other stuff if that’s what you need.
We use the Wal-Mart sheets too for most things. I’ve got a white and a blue one right now, and I keep meaning to pick up some others- like a few shades of green and a lighter blue.
Curious the problem there is that they’re not wide enough. We usually buy queens for the backdrop. For the light box we’ve acquired a number of remnants from the fabric store though. If you sew the 36″ strips together, the seams always seem to be visible. And in the most awkward places…
I’ve also got a roll of neutral (tan) paper, but I never seem to use it.
- The topic ‘05-25-11 – Puddytats 2: I Did! I Did See a Puddytat!’ is closed to new replies.
.
