If I Had A Hammer...

[magicmonkey]

tell you what I'd do...

That's right, take pictures!! I really am addicted to photography now

C&C very much appreciated as always

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[Digital Matt]

I love the 1st one Tell us what you did to get that look on the hammer.

[Corry]

I love the 1st one Tell us what you did to get that look on the hammer.

Looks to me like it was wet and then stuck in the freezer. That's my guess. :P Do I get a prize if I'm right?

[magicmonkey]

the hammer was in the freezer for about an hour then sprayed with water from one of those kitchen cleaner sprays (I mean the bottle, not the bleach), it frosts up really quickly and stays there for a long time, even on muggy days like today, the idea was courtesy of Mysteryscribe though so I can't claim the credit for that

[mysteryscribe]

I like the effect of the frozen water of course ... you should wait till it starts thawing and shoot it again as well. It should If my guess is right go through great stages of change.

You might have done that but the color hides it a little. I like the next one you posted even better. Try number two in pure black and white with lots of contrast..

[mysteryscribe]

I couldn't help myself sorry

[magicmonkey]

Nice edit, thanks! There's another thread with the frozen one in sepia somewhere in the general gallery...

I took quite a few shots while the water was thawing but the two that stood out for me were these ones right at the begining and end of the cycle, the others looked a bit flat for some reason.

[mysteryscribe]

try side lighting if they look flat. with the light at a low angle to the object. It will increase the off side shadow of the water drops and make them pop out at you. It will however case a side shadow of the hammer which might be interesting as well.

[magicmonkey]

I was having a few problems with lighting as the hammer is very reflective so needs a diffused light source, thing is that I have neither the equipment or the money to make it work with side light. One day, when I can justify it, I'll but myself some studio lights etc. but it's a long way off at the moment

[mysteryscribe]

You and I have a lot in common i fear, so let me give you a tip. Go to the home depot and buy a piece of masonite 2' x 4' (or if your ride is small 2x 2'x4') when you get home cut it in half. Then duck tape one long end to the other. This will make a book that you can open to use as a background for shooting small tabletop items.

Now you can sit this on a chair, using the chair back to support the back of you holder. Then sit the chair in a doorway to the outside or a window on one side. This will give you side lighting. You can use a trouble light with a light bult for your indoor lighting.

Masonite about three bucks or so... a couple of pieces of construction paper to make it black about another two bucks. this is portable enough that you move the background not the light source. I nice little use of window light. You can control the tilt of the back to control how much back light you have. If you use it with the light dead on. Won't make much difference but you can get different colors of construction board to make a different colored bookboard.

For flat overhead light use the trouble light and do your color corrections or go black and white. I often take my book background onto the front porch on nice days and change the angle till I like it.

[midget patrol]

Nicely done. I'm glad this shot ended up working out for you. It looks great, keep shooting.

[magicmonkey]

Sorry I haven't replied earlier, I lost track of this thread somewhat...

Mysterscribe, I'm not too sure what you mean by masonite I'm afraid so that doesn't make much sense to me, one of those 'over the pond' problems...

Thanks for all the help getting there Midget Patrol!