Exercise 42 Shiny Surfaces

What: The main brief of this exercise was to make a covering for the camera lens so that I could photograph something shiny without reflecting the camera lens or reflecting the light back from the subject into the lens creating an overexposed image.
Where: Inside the house with the outside light blocked by blackout curtains.
When: During the evening.
How: I first of all I cut up some large sheets of tracing paper and made them into a cone, I then fitted the cone round the camera lens and mounted the whole lot onto a tripod, so that I could point the camera down at the shiny metal cup. I then moved the light around the cone and also move it towards and away from the cone to see what would happen when there was a lot of light or not enough light.

Shiny Surface 1

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 2

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 3

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 4

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 5

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 6

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 7

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 8

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens



Shiny Surface 9

D80,Aperture f/9.5, Shutter Speed 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 55mm (35mm equivalent 82mm),Pattern Weight Metering Mode, Flash White Balance, Tripod Mounted, 18-55mm lens




I can see that by moving the light around the cone that I can produce differing levels of contrast and that when the light is near to the cone that it overpowers the diffusing effect of the cone and it lights up everything including the background.

I can see that the cone is acting like an improvised light tent and that the cone is diffusing the light and not allowing it to concentrate in one area. Off all the images I produced on this exercise I prefer the lighting in the very first image as I feel that the image is neither over nor under exposed and that the amount of contrast is perfect for defining the cup.