Saturday Cam

In my typical slapdash fashion, I made a rudimentary light box. I spent about 90 seconds on this, as you can see.  [ed: You guys are laughing at me.  Of course I love it when you laugh at me, but I want you to know I was not smart/stupid enough to come up with this on my own.  I got the outline of the idea here.  Of course I unvented it by about five essential steps, and I therefore did not get the effect I wanted, but it's a start.  Go ahead.  Laugh away.]

It helped a little with the photos, but not as much as I'd hoped.  Of course, all I did was put it in the bay window in the morning light, and I didn't use a tripod for my camera to hold it very still.  And I really can't figure out how to turn off the flash.  Of course it turns off when I accidentally do something, but I don't know how to turn it off purposely. And Cara, don't scream at me about reading the bloody manual.  The manual is USELESS.  It tells me nothing, except a bunch of mumbo-jumbo that assumes I know WTF it's saying. Apparently I need a photography for dummies book. I know I'm not alone in this assessment.  Someone else wrote me an email a little while ago, saying essentially the same thing.  The manual tells us nothing.  It says things like, "To change the aperture, do blah blah blah..."  Well, that tells me nothing!  Nothing!  I don't know what practical effect changing the aperture has. And then the domino effect of changing the aperture, so then what else do I have to change, and for what effect?  For example.  These are rhetorical questions; no need to answer.  Just send chocolate.

Other than that, it (the light box) was really great. 

It did help somewhat with color accuracy of the yarns of my sweaters.  It was not accurate at all for the new skein of Rowanspun that arrived yesterday.  It showed tweedy bits of pink and purple when there are orange and blue; and the red, which is a true brick red, showed almost cherry red up close.  This is not accurate: 

By the by, I adore this yarn and can hardly wait to knit it up. Someone outbid me on the lovely Baltic Blue Rowanspun Chunky I was bidding on on eBay.  Was that you?  I'm mad at you, if it was.  (kidding!)

So, on a day when I care more, I will work on the light box some more.  Or not. Meanwhile, I can't stop knitting on that Jo Sharp Silkroad Ribby Cardi.  It is pure loveliness.  I have not forsaken my Peace Fleece Central Park hoodie, though (that's the left front in the third photo).  Perhaps I'll be finishing two sweaters, not just one, relatively soon. 

Comments

[hiredhands]

I love that 4th photo. Very surreal the way it appears to float there.

Oh yah... the knitting is nice too.

[sandy]

I see you lined your light box very professionally with paper towels. Cool! :) And if you check my blog entry for today, we seem to have been on similar tracks today. Scary stuff. I couldn't manage words though. Maybe next week!
Yeah, what IS that 4th photo anyway? :)

[Cara]

Yeah. You're right. The manual will tell you how to change the aperture, but it won't tell you WHAT aperture is. So go get yourself a book that tells you what aperture is and then you'll be good as gold because you will have already read the manual telling you how to change it. :)

LIGHT IS GOD.

[Cookie]

You have a smart husband. Get him to figure it out.

What's the floating fuzzy thing? And what kind of chocolate do you want?

[Marcia]

What kind of camera? Maybe I can help. Lightbox is a great idea! I was thinking Ott Light, but maybe this is better!

[Anne]

Dang, girl! Rock on - you are making stellar progress!!

[Sil]

I think your pix are lovely. Aperture shmapeture. How about this: http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Dummies/dp/0764598023/sr=8-1/qid=1171736293/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5558117-6118362?ie=UTF8&s=books

Looks like you can get a used one cheap... :)

[MommyknitsJen]

I found this link about a year ago to make a light box at home. I havn't done it but it looks easy enough.

http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

[Margaret]

As a longtime lurker, I needed to say I am LMAO at the paper towel in a plastic bin. It seems to work just fine. The mother of invention indeed.

[Elizabeth]

My old crap camera was frustrating because I couldn't turn off the flash, either. For the new one, that's the first thing I checked in the manual. It WAS actually in there, although not easy to find.
Now stop waving the making-me-jealous Red Rowan around , would ya?
And sorry but I've eaten all the chocolate.

[AmyP]

I used a sheet held over the back of chair at one end and my head at the other for a light box. I, too, didn't get the results I wanted!

[Ann]

Happy Anniversary! And slow down on the CPH. I can;t have you finish yours before me!!!!!!!!I have been working on it forever, wha wha wha!
SO did YOU get enough snow. Haven't seen this much since I was about 8 or 10.
ann

[margene]

Fabulous! I will NOT be lending you my book any time soon. I want to see the two sweaters you have on the needles finished first;-0
You are too smart for words...really. I might make a light box this weekend, too.

[margene]

But, I'm not going to the gym;-)

[Vicki]

Huh, that texture looks like paper toweling. Huh, what do you know... it IS paper toweling!

I don't know why, but that has me grinning ear-to-ear. ; )

[Mel]

How funny. David & I shall be fashioning a light box tomorrow to do some shots of some of this year's line. Thank you for that link. It's one I'd seen before (thanks to Sarah Bradberry, if memory serves) but it didn't come up when I was looking for links to show David DIY methods to put one together.

[Sue]

Thanks for the tip on the "light box". I've bookmarked the page for future use. I know exactly what you mean about understanding about camera's. There is no way I could ever use a camera that has to be focused, aperture set (what the hell is that) or anythng else manually. Several folk have tried to teach me, but I'm sure they were talking Martian when they were doing so.......all these bloody Martians in my life. lol

[Anne]

I love my camera... you can put it on a setting where you can mess with the aperture, but otherwise you just pick the right environment and it does it all by itself. I've only taken one picture with it that wasn't the right color without me adjusting it. And there's one little button with a lightning bolt that turns the flash on and off. So nice and obvious. Did I mention I love it? ;-)

Did you kill a baby cactus for that 4th picture?

[Kristen]

I love the cactus bit in the 4th picture. I hope he got a new home after having his portrait taken. And, I'm not even going to bother telling you about aperture and f-stops and...

[AnnP]

I'm not laughing at all. I usually end up draping a pale blue bedspread and shoot fast before the dogs decide to lie down on it for a nap.

[Lee Ann]

I put my stuff on my kid's kitchen chair. You're WAY ahead of me, dude.

[kmkat]

That floating cactus picture is pretty cool. Thanks for the link to the light box how-to. I have Rubbermaid boxes around here that would be just the thing. I may have to go buy some plain paper towels, though; the flowered ones just wouldn't be right.

[Sue]

I think your light box is great, Norma -- thanks for the link! Of course, I don't get many opportunities to take pictures in the daylight, but I think I'm going to have to fashion one of these for myself.

The ribby cardi looks excellent. I can see why you are having difficulty putting it down.

[Roxie]

Oh, I solved the unwanted flash thing in a very low tech way. I hold my finger over the flash. The light is somewhat pink, but at least it doesn't leave a big white blotch in the middle of the picture.

[ann]

this is a great idea --- I am going to try making a lightbox too. Even if you did skip some steps, your pictures look good!

[claudia]

My lightbox has cheap muslin from the fabric store, and a construction paper colored background. Maybe I'll even use it today....

[Laura]

My dad showed me some of his cool camera tricks. He made a neat little flash filter to put on his camera from something like a piece of plastic cut from a milk jug. Now all his flash pictures don't look all FLASHY! heh I'm sure he probably has a cool light box too. I need to make one of those for taking pictures of yarn. But I've been okay with the table by the window too. You do all the cool stuff first N. :)

[jillz]

I knew you would like the Rowanspun Aran!

[maryse]

two books that have taught me more about my camera than the manual ever will (although you do still have to read the manual)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817463003/ref=pd_ys_iyr1/105-4264098-0208408
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032147404X/ref=pd_ys_iyr6/105-4264098-0208408 (this one is especially easy to use and understand)