Every time I think I’m done with the pendulum, it surprises me with something new. Today, I noted these fine diamonds etched in the sand by the pendulum from another recent session with it, and decided that they might look nice with some low-angle lighting added. I liked the look.
Once I pulled the image into Photoshop CS4E, I used Nik Viveza to nudge the image to black and white, and add the deep blue toning. I’m a big “blue” fan, so this deep blue toning really spoke to me.
Enjoy!
I’m a bit of a lens hound. I love getting new glass, and it seems like I’m always on the watch for a bargain. Tonight, I was able to add a horse to the stable. I found a used Canon 100/2.8 macro lens for about 2/3rds of the retail price that I couldn’t resist pouncing on. I have the MP-E 65/2.8, but it is just a little unwieldy for regular macro work, and of course, cannot be used as a “normal” lens, being an incredibly nearsighted lens.
So I took the new lens, fired up the pendulum, adjusted to touch the sand, and played with some flash shots of the pendulum doing its job. I’m finding that this lens is nice and sharp, and seems to be taking great photos. I can’t wait to get it out into real world, with real sunshine, chasing after some targets outdoors.
After two days in the snow, it was time to come back inside the office and see what I could do with my pendulum. Pretty easy setup — set the pendulum up inside some black cloth, and get it moving. I set my 580EX II to strobe 15 times at 10hz across an exposure of 2 seconds. I had the flash set to 1/128th power, as the flash was only six or so inches away from the pendulum.
I made this image with my Canon 7D and 24-105/4L lens. I sucked it into Photoshop CS4E and applied a blur vignette through Nik Color Efex Pro.
Swinging in Time is available through my online gallery in a variety of sizes.
After two days in the snow, it was time to come back inside the office and see what I could do with my pendulum. Pretty easy setup — set the pendulum up inside some black cloth, and get it moving. I set my 580EX II to strobe 15 times at 10hz across an exposure of 2 seconds. I had the flash set to 1/128th power, as the flash was only six or so inches away from the pendulum.
I made this image with my Canon 7D and 24-105/4L lens. I sucked it into Photoshop CS4E and applied a blur vignette through Nik Color Efex Pro. Easy stuff.
I returned to my pendulum today. This is the very center of the sand affected by the pendulum’s travels. It always makes this nice little box in the center, reminding me of a very, very small stadium, constructed of sand.
I photographed this with my Canon 7D and MP-E 65/2.8 macro lens, edited it in Photoshop CS4E, and used Nik Silver Efex Pro to both convert it to black and white, as well as apply some bluing to the sand.
A few years ago, Becky and I picked up a pendulum on the Turquoise Trail in New Mexico. It swirls about in a very fine sand, leaving behind nice square patterns. I put my desk lamp almost flat with the plane of the sands, creating big shadows, and squeezed off a few shots.
I shot this with my Canon 7D and 24-105/4L, and processed the image with Photoshop CS4E, along with a little black and white conversion through Nik Color Efex Pro.