Film & lighting for macro shot

[Zach In Israel]

So I want to do some macro shots this week of some pomigranites that I was able to get. They are huge and amazing looking. However so far I have only been doing outdoor photography and working under household lights is kind of a new thing for me. If I use household incandescent lights will it give them a funny color? Would I be better of getting a box of Fuji T64 vs the Provia which is what I was originally planning? Or use a filter, and if so which one

Basic setup: Sinar F1, Household lights (incandescent) 150mm Lens will probably be around 1:1 scale give or take.

[Daniel Geiger]

Tungsten film is adjusted for 3200K, whereas household bulbs are around 2800K, but may vary significantly. In that case you still need an 82B filter for the approximately + 65 mired color temperature shift.
If you are unfamiliar with color temperature, I wrote a quick an dirty intro under http://www.vetigastropoda.com/photo/phofrbasic.html and a mired color shift diagram is found under http://www.vetigastropoda.com/photo/mired.html.
For tungsten light source at 2800K to daylight (5500K) you will need approximately -175 mired. A combination of 80A plus 82B is one option.

I like using a flash for these kinds of shots, as it is daylight callibrated and of very short duration, so no issues with camera shake, vibrations and any of that. To get a balanced look, I use white card-board reflectors, or gold-silver photoflex reflector and also work with relative distances of flash to object and reflector to object (and/or diffusers: such as lens tissue paper over flash) to get the lighting I want. Takes a bit of experimentation and getting used to, but after a while you can predict quite well what the outcome is. Take copious notes when you start out with it. I use a flash that I use with my Contax SLR, TLA 360, a metric guidenumber 36 flash, that is usually strong enough; otherwise I can pop multiple flashes with steady objects. Simply get a PC sync cord (cheaper than most filters), plug it into the suitable shutters (I only have copals) and fire away. Needless to say, you will need a flash meter and use it as an incident light meter. Manually calculating exposure is a big undertaking with close-ups, as relatively small changes in light position can change the exposure quite a bit; from a practical perspective, don't even think about it, but with a flash meter it's pretty easy.

masel tov

[Daniel Geiger]

Oh, forgot, use a hood or compendium shade to cut out stray light. For very close shots I tape the reflector card to the compendium shade (1.5:1 - 1:1.5), and adjust the position of the reflector by moving the compendium (I use a Lee system, still have to modify the AS one).

[Daniel Geiger]

Last but not least, if you want to see some shots done that way see
http://www.vetigastropoda.com/SNAP/LFweb/7454.htm
http://www.vetigastropoda.com/SNAP/LFweb/7445.htm
http://www.vetigastropoda.com/SNAP/LFweb/7452.htm

[Zach In Israel]

The only problem is that I don't have a flash, or a flash meter. I think I will wait until later in the week when I can do it under sunlight.

[lenser]

Hello, Zach.

Another excellent approach is to move your shooting table to where you can do this work by window light. This is how images were made for decades before electric lamps and then flash and strobes were invented.

You retain the ability to use daylight film and needn't worry about filtration. Metering is still extremely important, but at least you do not need to worry about filters or having to acquire a flash meter at this time.

When you work with window light, you can use shades to control the exact direction of the light and add reflectors made of white cards or of gold or silver colored foils to fill areas that are too deeply shadowed.

The one crucial thing is bellows extension factor. At macro ranges you are extending the bellows quite far and that literally subtracts light, so you must compensate with a longer exposure.

Do a search on this forum for just that and you may find what you need, or Google bellows extension factor to see what is out there. I recall seeing someone submit a free down loadable chart on this site, but can't recall exactly how to get there.

If you do a lot of macro work, Calumet and others have a plastic calculator that works brilliantly. It consists of a plastic chip that you set into the image area, and a rule of sorts that you measure the chip with on the ground glass. It then indicates how much exposure increase you need for an accurate shot. This is extremely inexpensive and is absolutely accurate in my experience.

A very long exposure could also involve reciprocity factors for the film that also require additional exposure time on top of that for the bellows extension, so look that up for the type of film you are using.

As has been said by others, an extremely stable tripod is a must and add a cable release or air bulb release to isolate all possible reasons for camera shake. That could even include you waling around the site if you are shooting on a wooden floor as opposed to stable concrete, so be prepared to remain absolutely still yourself during the exposure.

Have fun and good luck.

Tim

[lenser]

Zach,

I forgot to add that using a north window gives the softest light. Using an east or west window can give very harsh light if the sun is coming in directly, so you could shoot those as east/afternoon and west/morning to get a similarly soft effect. South light is almost always very harsh. Using some material over the window like a simple and thin window sheer can also give a beautiful soft light effect on any window. Be sure you by white or a soft ecru color to avoid adding color shifts to the light.

Also, be sure to remove the measuring chip from the area of the photo before you make the exposure if you buy one of the Calumet sets or find the down loadable version.

Tim

[lenser]

Zach,

One more thought. View camera focusing with an extended bellows can be very challenging due to the light fall off. I often use a secondary light source like a halide painter's light on a stand for focusing ONLY. (Any household lamp will help, but these are quite bright.)

When that is done, switch it off for ALL metering and exposure functions. It makes focusing and composition much, much easier.

Good luck.

Tim

[David A. Goldfarb]

Window light sounds like your best option. Indirect window light can often be quite blue, so you may make a few exposures with and without warming filters until you figure out what looks good where you are this time of year.

If you're shooting Provia, take a look at the data sheet to see if there are recommendations regarding reciprocity, particularly filtration. At 1:1 with a small aperture, bellows factor, and window light, you are likely to be in long-exposure territory.

[Zach In Israel]

Provia has almost no reciprocity failure, I also do astrophotography so it is always one of the first things I check in a film. I have Jason Brunner posted a nice little video on bellows extention over on APUG with a gizmo for checking these things, so I will print that out and use it. I think i will wait for later in the week when I can use sunlight.

I'm still getting into photography and my equipment is almost all hand me downs, so I have a few odd holes in what I have. I have a really nice Sinar F1 and a Rolleiflex but no flash unit.