DIY Lightbox

Ice Cube Time Lapse

Decided this week I'd try my hand at some time-lapse photography. The first thing I had to do was find out how long it would take an ice cube to melt at room temperature. Turned out to be roughly an hour and a half. Then, I had to do some math. I knew I wanted a 30 second duration at 10 frames per second. So, this gives me how many images I would need (30 seconds x 10 frames per second = 300 images). Next, I figured the total melting time in seconds (1.5 hours = 90 minutes x 60 seconds = 5,400 seconds). Then, I divided the time in seconds by the required number of images (5,400 / 300 = 18 seconds). This tells me I need the camera to take a shot every 18 seconds. So, I set the camera on a tripod, used my remote shutter release to set up the timer, and went to edit some photos from a family shoot for the next hour and a half. When it came close to the time being over, I noticed that the ice cube hadn't completely melted. So, I quickly reset the timer and let it continue to shoot until the cube was gone. This is why the video ended up being 40 seconds instead of the 30 I had originally planned on.

Refraction

Christmas Bokeh

Oil & Water

This is a project I like to revisit every summer. I visited the local consignment stores and picked up a nice clear glass bowl and the brightest patterned shirt I could find. If you decide to try this project, here's a few tips:

1. Put your camera on manual focus and try to stay in one spot. (I used my tripod for this shoot) Let the patterns come to you.

2. Use a shallow depth of field. You don't want the patterns in the background detracting from the oil patterns.

3. Shoot fast! The oil will start to come together fairly quickly. Eventually, it will all come together as one sheet of oil on top of the water.