In the produce department

[AdamW]

Purple radish, sunflower

Comments encouraged!

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[toriaj]

You shot these in the grocery store? Great idea, although that took some guts :D I think I'd feel awkward in front of all those people! The radishes look very real, the sunflower is beautiful, but the mushroom looks blurred to me.

[AdamW]

Well, since I work there, I feel like I can do what I want. Although some guy did ask me what magazine I was shooting for! (I've a been a high school teacher for 12 years, but I'm also a worker/owner at a huge natural food store [think a hippy-ish Whole Foods/Mollie Stone's]. We're a worker-owned cooperative, and I've been there for 22 years. During the school year I work only on Saturday mornings, but I work full time over the summer. Here's our web site. (http://www.rainbow.coop))

Thanks for your comments, Tori! The radishes had just been sprayed. The mushroom is blurry--your're right. It looked better before I resized it--I think I'll remove it and try it again tomorrow.

[AdamW]

So I brought my new external flash and my DIY softbox and tried to get some more DOF.

Lobster mushrooms
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[AdamW]

some flowers

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[AdamW]

Portobellos and morels

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[AdamW]

purple kohlrabi, red okra, and green zebra tomatoes

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[500mL]

AdamW,

I love that Portobello mushroom shot! Very crisp and I like the composition all together. Did you use macro lenses for most of the close up shots? Overall, you're photos are awesome :D

[AdamW]

500mL--thanks! I think the portobellos and the second lobster mushroom are my favorites.

All of these shots were with the Canon 100mm macro lens. The first were with the built-in flash and my DIY ring light. The most recent were with the 430EX Speedlite and a DIY softbox, and at f/10.

[mcenut]

All of these shots were with the Canon 100mm macro lens. The first were with the built-in flash and my DIY ring light. The most recent were with the 430EX Speedlite and a DIY softbox, and at f/10.

More information about your DIY stuff please. I'm intrigued.

[AdamW]

I like the DIY stuff because it's cheap and fun to play with. I try to make it from stuff around the house and the goal is to spend as little as possible.

When I made a light box (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29936&highlight=lightbox&page=2) and a light table (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31849&highlight=light+table) I bought a large sheet of transluscent white plastic for US$5. I still have a bunch left over.

I also made one of these ugly things, (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=223859) but never got it quite right. I might take it apart and re-work it for the Speedlite.

So. For the home-made Gary Fong Lightsphere, I simply cut the top off of an empty 16 oz plastic rubbing alcohol bottle. The opening was a little too big, so I used a couple of layers of cloth tape to make it nice and snug. A slightly bigger bottle might work better, but I didn't have one, and the one I used has a nice semi-transparency to it that works well.

For the softbox, I took a plastic 32 oz yoghurt container and cut a rectangular hole in the bottom. A little duct tape on the edges of the hole for a snug fit (I hadn't yet remembered that we had some cloth tape.) I lined the inside with foil tape. The container started to crack when I cut the hole, so I used some duct tape on the outside. I glued a circular piece of the transluscent plastic onto the top. I used the container I did because the shape was good: it had a top opening that was significantly larger than the head of the flash (for better light softening) and was long/tall enough so that when attached to the flash the front was about parallel to the front of the 100 mm macro lens (so the lens won't cast a shadow.)

I don't like that the softbox is large and takes up a lot of room in my bag. I'd like one that collapses or folds flat. I might make one of these. (http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/cheap-diy-flash-mounted-softbox)

[Lilchilichoco]

Portobellos and morels

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Adam,

WOW!!! Just Wow!! I adore the sunflower just preceding these. Fabulous!! Your shots always bring such exquisite pleasure!


Best Regards

[AdamW]

Thanks, Bella. Nice to have you and your generous and effusive comments back again. And I like those family shots you posted in the "Some More..." thread. You take some very moving pictures of your daughter.