Crystal Ball Photography

[zombiesniper]

It is... drag your butt down to this end of the Island and we can go shoot some balls!

NnNEEeed ttoo not post sssssomething ttoo get me bbbbbanned!

 

[zombiesniper]

Agree. I actually tried a version where I rotated the ball 180 so that the refracted image was correctly oriented; it looked silly!

The only way I could see this working is with a circular crop.

 

[Ysarex]

Love it!

Joe

 

[tirediron]

Ugh. Now I need to get one of these. They look like a lot of fun.

They are, and fortunately they're cheap; the 3" like I'm using can be had for $20 or less.

It is... drag your butt down to this end of the Island and we can go shoot some balls!

NnNEEeed ttoo not post sssssomething ttoo get me bbbbbanned!

Don't worry.... I'm happy to ban you regardless of what you don't post!

Agree. I actually tried a version where I rotated the ball 180 so that the refracted image was correctly oriented; it looked silly!

The only way I could see this working is with a circular crop.

Hadn't tried that...

Love it!

Joe

Thanks Joe!

 

[crimbfighter]

I really like the image as is! I had one thought, though. I've seen images using the glass or crystal ball that seem to be shot with a wider focal length, thereby incorporating more BG. I personally like those compositions because it almost seems to create two images in one. I think it's neat to be able to see some of the elements in the BG that are sharp in the ball. Just a thought but I look forward to seeing what else you come up with!

 

[petrochemist]

Have to agree about leaving this one as it is.
I've played with a few acrylic balls. The first ones I got where only 1" and so really needed a macro lens to shoot them. I since got a 4" version which is much better, but too heavy to carry around on the off chance of a good setting.

With the mini version I've taken a few with the ball in my hand that worked OK inverted, but where the foreground is part of the scene I don't see inversion looking right.

Sometime I'll have to try making a chain with them & shooting one ball through another. There's no denying they give a bit of fun to photography!

 

[tirediron]

I really like the image as is! I had one thought, though. I've seen images using the glass or crystal ball that seem to be shot with a wider focal length, thereby incorporating more BG. I personally like those compositions because it almost seems to create two images in one. I think it's neat to be able to see some of the elements in the BG that are sharp in the ball. Just a thought but I look forward to seeing what else you come up with!

These were done with my 105 micro. There's actually quite a bit more background in the original image; I deliberately cropped it that way to emphasize the ball image while [hopefully] leaving a suggestion of the background. I will be trying some with a shorter FL to see what that looks like as well.

Have to agree about leaving this one as it is.
I've played with a few acrylic balls. The first ones I got where only 1" and so really needed a macro lens to shoot them. I since got a 4" version which is much better, but too heavy to carry around on the off chance of a good setting.

With the mini version I've taken a few with the ball in my hand that worked OK inverted, but where the foreground is part of the scene I don't see inversion looking right.

Sometime I'll have to try making a chain with them & shooting one ball through another. There's no denying they give a bit of fun to photography!

I've also got a 1" one and I was trying to come up with a way to "stack" them... haven't had a lot of luck yet. Good fun though.

 

[terri]

Another vote for "as is" here! Minor tweaks to the colors wouldn't be bad, but the upside down thing is kind of the point, and it's fun. Nice one!

 

[tirediron]

Thanks Terri - this was pretty much an alpha test. I didn't bring anything with me to flag the hot spots. Stay tuned for further developments!

 

[oldhippy]

Love this John, have a great year. Ed

 

[SquarePeg]

I've also got a 1" one and I was trying to come up with a way to "stack" them... haven't had a lot of luck yet. Good fun though.

Hot glue gun. It won't damage anything and easy to separate after.

 

[MSnowy]

I say leave it as is. The crystal ball thing has been very popular around here for a few years. Kind of heading towards selective color and train track shots in this area.

 

[zulu42]

Fun!

What if you could mount it in a piece of glass with the perfect sized hole, or in a mirror?

There could also be some neat ideas if you could mount it off the ground on a thin rod, then perhaps remove the rod in post.

 

[birdbonkers84]

This is really smart, wouldn't mind seeing it inverted.

 

[JasonC]

Creative indeed!