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Input Need

Started by Mhayes, September 06, 2007, 01:42:41 PM

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Mhayes

Hi Everyone,

I desperately need some input from either the Biloxi team or any photographers out there. At the end of this month we will be heading out to Coffeyville to collect pictures from the flooded area. Here are some areas I could use some help on:

  1.  Need the form that people filled out with their information for the photos they brought in. I have been sent an attachment in .txt format which I cannot open. If there is any way someone could send this to me as a Word Document or take a shot of the form and send it to me as a .jpeg.
  2.  I will be headed down to Coffeyville within the next week to check out the library and post flyers of our stay. Do you think that it might be beneficial to have some forms already at the library that people could fill out ahead of time?
  3.  Dave, what is to be the limit of photos that people can submit?
  4.  I have enlisted the help of my husband in building a copy stand. Unlike those used by the Biloxi team, mine will consist of a tripod, wooden TV tray stand and attaching lights. My lights will be florescent daylight bulbs. I will also be using a cable release. The tripod is sturdy and will allow me to have the head so that the camera is in a level position looking down. Any comments?
  5.  While researching the Web I came across this article:  http://books.google.com/books?id=YWaOBSjevD0C&pg=PA553&lpg=PA553&dq=copy+stand+using+tripod&source=web&ots=VL66Y9sQo-&sig=B616cv_NtGjSwspuOY-AQdYSa6k#PPA552,M1  (sorry the link is so long) Any thoughts from photographers out there on doing it this way? I am also curious if using a tape that would not harm the damaged pictures is possible?
  6.  When the photos are transferred to a laptop, would either Photoshop or Ligthroom be sufficient to add the metadata to the pictures? Chris said you were using Photo Mechanic, but can we get by without it?

Thanks for any additional information you can provide.

Margie

"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]

Dave

Margie,

Look for an email from me by tomorrow.

Dave
Dave Ellis
OPR Founder
[email protected]

Johnboy

Margie,

I am not sure what your experience is in doing copy work so what I have to say may be common knowledge for you. However for those who don't have such experience I am going to comment on your point number 4.

You will want to be sure that the bottom (your TV tray) is sturdy and will not move during exposure. Tray movement may also cause camera object alignment problems in setting up the object to be copied which could slow down production. It is much easier to only have to be concerned aligning the object under the camera. (I noticed in the pictures from Biloxi that the gang was using an all in one type stand where the lights and camera stand were a single unit. This is the ideal set up. I have done copy work by taping it to the wall, set up the lights and aligned the camera.) You may want to include a large piece of thin plywood to lay large prints on that are larger than the tray may accommodate. It is important to keep the lights at a 45 degree angle to the camera lens axis. Otherwise you may encounter uneven lighting and/or reflections. I know photo lighting has changed over the years but I am not real keen on the florescent daylight bulbs. The technical reason is that florescent bulbs tend to have two color spectrums which causes problems in color photography. You may have noticed a green cast on indoor color photos taken under florescent lights. This is the problem in action. This light looks white but that is your eye and brain correcting the problem. I don't know if they are available any more, but 3200 degree Kelvin tungsten lights in reflectors may be a better choice. Even better would be electronic flash but that gets into some big money. (In my former life the photogs used polarizing material over the electronic flash lights and a polarizing filter on the lens to cut out reflections. They were copying from books and magazines for instructional use.) Try to keep the item being copied as flat as possible. A piece of optically clear glass is great for this but I am not sure that would work with the kind of photos you may encounter. (The afore mentioned photographers used large weights with a hook coming out of one end to help hold the books, etc. flat.)

I am assuming that you are using a single lens camera. Such a camera makes aligning the copy object much easier.

I am sure Dave will set all this straight. But thought some additional technical suggestions on the copy side might be helpful.

Johnboy

Mhayes

Johnboy,

Thanks for all of your information. I came to the conclusion too that the tray was not a good idea. While out in the garage today, I happened to spot some weights lying around. Suddenly I had a hair-brained idea-- why don't I remove the bar and use the weights to stick a PVC pipe in. By now my husband is less thrilled with some of my ideas. However, this time he went along and decided that the diameter hole in the weights would take a 3/4" PVC pipe. To make it have less play, masking tape was wrapped around the end. On each of the pvc pipes is a clamp reflector with florescent daylight bulbs at 6400 degree Kelvin. I don't disagree with what you said about not liking florescent lighting and the color cast, but I think these are totally different than what you see in lighting fixtures. These are corkscrewed and look similar to what you see in Spiderlite strobes. Just to make sure that I was safe, I took a picture and you will see it enclosed. This picture has had nothing done to it other than being rotated and cropped to the correct dimensions. I have compared the result to the actual picture and it looks on the money.

Enclosed you will see a picture of the set up. As you can see I will have the pictures on the floor, which is how it most of the OPR group did with theirs. I used a black particle board because I did not want reflections off of the flooring. I will be using a SLR Canon 20D camera.

I also liked your suggestion of putting the picture on the wall if I should get a truly large photo.

Dave, I got your email and thanks. Please send me the form in a Word Document.

Thanks again,

Margie



"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]

Johnboy

Margie,

Your set up looks like it will work. The 6400 Kelvin lights should be fine. Daylight is some where between 5,000 and 6,000 K. I could be off some on that since it has been years since I even thought about it. The black copy board is a good idea too. You may find it helpful to put black cloth down on the floor towards the back tripod leg since there may be color reflections from the floor. That too can create a color cast in the photos.

Good luck in you adventure. Will there be stories similar to Biloxi?

Johnboy

Mhayes

Johnboy,

Thanks for all of your help. Yes, there will be stories coming out of Coffeyville, but we won't be able to match Glenna and her "Biloxi Beacon."

Margie
"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]

Hannie

Very interesting thread, I learned a lot today about copy work!
Seams like a real challenge!

Hannie
Hannie Scheltema
Distribution Coordinator
[email protected]

John

Quote from: MarCat on September 06, 2007, 09:49:24 PM
Johnboy,

Thanks for all of your information. I came to the conclusion too that the tray was not a good idea. While out in the garage today, I happened to spot some weights lying around. Suddenly I had a hair-brained idea-- why don't I remove the bar and use the weights to stick a PVC pipe in. By now my husband is less thrilled with some of my ideas. However, this time he went along and decided that the diameter hole in the weights would take a 3/4" PVC pipe. To make it have less play, masking tape was wrapped around the end. On each of the pvc pipes is a clamp reflector with florescent daylight bulbs at 6400 degree Kelvin. I don't disagree with what you said about not liking florescent lighting and the color cast, but I think these are totally different than what you see in lighting fixtures. These are corkscrewed and look similar to what you see in Spiderlite strobes. Just to make sure that I was safe, I took a picture and you will see it enclosed. This picture has had nothing done to it other than being rotated and cropped to the correct dimensions. I have compared the result to the actual picture and it looks on the money.

Enclosed you will see a picture of the set up. As you can see I will have the pictures on the floor, which is how it most of the OPR group did with theirs. I used a black particle board because I did not want reflections off of the flooring. I will be using a SLR Canon 20D camera.

I also liked your suggestion of putting the picture on the wall if I should get a truly large photo.

Dave, I got your email and thanks. Please send me the form in a Word Document.

Thanks again,

Margie


Hopping into this converstation a bit late... Is that a Manfrotto tripod?  I believe that tripod has a head that allows you to position the center post horizontally which would get you some additional range and give you a little more room to work.  I am by no means an authority on the topic, but I thought this was worth mentioning.

You get an A+ from me for portability...  :up:

This set up is what I'm referring to:


Mhayes

John,

Unfortunately my tripod is a Silk Pro 4000K and doesn't allow me to do that. That really looks like a great set up in your picture. I will check it out.

Thanks,

Margie
"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]

Dave

John,

What model of Manfrotto is that setup? I was initially thinking of going that route until I bought the portable copystands, but now I'm thinking that this set up looks better.

Dave
Dave Ellis
OPR Founder
[email protected]

John

#10
Quote from: OPRDave on September 12, 2007, 10:48:08 AM
John,

What model of Manfrotto is that setup? I was initially thinking of going that route until I bought the portable copystands, but now I'm thinking that this set up looks better.

Dave

I'm not sure what the exact model is, it appears Manfrotto's renamed their lineup, but this is a similar, if not the same, model from their site:

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/2277?livid=68|69&lsf=69&child=2