Smoke and lasers

[EW1066]

I had this idea a while back but didn't think a red laser would be bright enough. When I found a green laser I figured it was time to give it a shot. The process is still evolving but I wanted to get some feed back. So, let me know what you think.

1

2

3

4

5

Vince

 

[AUZambo]

Cool shots...exif data is stripped - how'd you do it?

Definitely unique and very creative...I like them! Maybe you can try to mix the red lazer with the green one to add a little more color?

 

[EW1066]

The setup for this is quite primitive. Nikon D80 with a 50mm 1.8 set on ISO 1000 with a 1 second exposure. I had 2 incense burning in a bottle so that the neck acted somewhat like a chimney. I used a simple black sheet for the back drop. Camera was on a tripod of course. From there it was just a matter of pressing the shutter release and passing the laser through the smoke and hoping for something cool. I have learned that I must pass the laser perpendicular to the camera, since this is close range and the DOF is so shallow, in order to get the entire exposure in focus. I think the biggest challenge I face is to find a way to consistently pass the laser through the "in focus" area. Right now I'm doing that by hand which leaves a lot to be desired. Since I took over 200 shots and f the 30 or so that were in focus there were only 10 that were keepers. These are the best of those ten

Vince

 

[icassell]

The setup for this is quite primitive. Nikon D80 with a 50mm 1.8 set on ISO 1000 with a 1 second exposure. I had 2 incense burning in a bottle so that the neck acted somewhat like a chimney. I used a simple black sheet for the back drop. Camera was on a tripod of course. From there it was just a matter of pressing the shutter release and passing the laser through the smoke and hoping for something cool. I have learned that I must pass the laser perpendicular to the camera, since this is close range and the DOF is so shallow, in order to get the entire exposure in focus. I think the biggest challenge I face is to find a way to consistently pass the laser through the "in focus" area. Right now I'm doing that by hand which leaves a lot to be desired. Since I took over 200 shots and f the 30 or so that were in focus there were only 10 that were keepers. These are the best of those ten

Vince

How about shooting on manual with a smaller aperture and increase the exposure time a bit? Wouldn't that help your DOF issue?

 

[EW1066]

I think that would work if it were not for the fact that the exposure is really determined by the laser passing through the smoke, not so much by how long the shutter is opened. It's similar to high speed photography where the shutter is opened and the exposure is determined by the duration of the flash. I can only pass the laser one time through the smoke or the end result is blurred by the movement of the smoke.

My initial attempts with this were done at a higher aperture setting but the laser wasn't bright enough to make a good exposure in a single pass. I need to devise a way to consistently move the laser through an ark at a fixed distance and perpendicular to the camera.

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

cool pics...another idea is doing a long exposure but instead of using smoke fill up a bathtub or sink and make waves and shoot the lasers in the tube. just a thought to try if your bored :chattywith lights off of course)

 

[EW1066]

Anyone else?

 

[512]

not bad, cool shots. you don't need red lasers, post processing is enough to get different colors