Photos, other than electronics

[(*steve*)]

I thought I'd open a new thread here because the "hobbies other than electronics" thread probably gets polluted by slow loading photographs

And to different subjects...

I took most of these while visiting my mother Sunday morning as it was still too early to start my project of the day (You really don't want to wake the neighbours at 7 am with a drop saw).

My wife was pleased (It took me about 8 hours to make, but she was doing a 12 hour shift, so I had time).

It's an old bookcase made from solid timber (that matches our piano) we picked up for $50, some pine, and 90mm water pipe. There is a lot of hidden woodwork in there. It locks together like one of those wooden puzzles. There's room on the lower shelf to hold another 26 bottles this way, but SHMBO wants to use it as a bookshelf.

I probably should stain the pine to match the rest of the bookcase, but do you think it will ever get disassembled again?

edit: I should add that 4 of the 6 poppy shots were taken at home with a cut flower (between chopping up water pipe).

 

[Ian]

Those are some cracking pics! What camera did you use for those?

You've done a smart job on the wine rack - and it's one of those projects that you'll be able to benefit from for many years to come! I hear that a glass of red wine per day is good for you

 

[(*steve*)]

The camera is a Rebel T1i, known as an EOS 500D outside the US. The most important part is the 100mm IS f/2.8 "L" series macro lens.

I am extremely pleased with the lens. I bought it earlier this year when I was in Hong Kong but I was so busy up to a few weeks ago that I really didn't get the chance to use it much.

What impresses me most is the amount that the image stabilisation works. All the text books you'll ever read will tell you that you can't do macro photography hand held -- a tripod is a must. Well, this lens makes a tripod redundant for many shots. I think you still need a modicum of skill, but the days of lugging around tripods to take pictures of ants are over!

Oddly enough, motion blur becomes a real issue. Some of the poppy shots (using a tripod) were 4 second exposures or so. If I had the edges of the petals in view on those shots, their movement in 4 seconds (the flower was opening) was enough to show visible blur.

Incidentally we used the same camera and lens combination yesterday to get a good look at the pixel level of a screen to see how well our anti-aliasing and colour blending was working. It prompted my colleague to jokingly suggest that I could now claim my camera as a work expense

I'm not a wine drinker, but my wife is. Maybe I should start now... The design of the wooden end pieces on the wine rack was based on three objectives:

1) had to look OK or better
2) no screws, nails, glue etc into the bookshelf
3) no risk of end pieces shifting and destroying integrity of stacked pipe

Its design was also limited by my lack of tools -- drop saw, drill, screwdriver, and hacksaw(!)

A big hint for anyone making a wine rack like this:

1) make sure your bookshelf does NOT have recessed shelves
2) make sure the horizontal dimension is a multiple of the pipe outer diameter
3) make sure your drop saw can cut through the pipe in a single cut.

I had the dubious pleasure of not meeting any of these conditions.

 

[nbw]

pretty handy work with the camera! Wouldn't get pix like that out of our cruddy, beaten-by-children digital camera

 

[davelectronic]

Photography

Yes there smart pictures, i learnt on film SLR's many years ago now, owning and using a few top end cameras, i still am a film fan, ive yet to invest in a serious digital camera, ive done B+W processing, thats was great fun. My main subject interest is portrait and the sea, boats life on the water, i must embrace the digital tech despite in addition to my film interests. ive a friend that does wine, he got me into it for a while, made a fare few bottles myself, cracking good stuff. Smart rack. Dave.

 

[lapistola]

Some good work there. Im a hobby (semi-pro in terms of: I have done a wedding and christening, paid) photographer currently using a Cannon EOS 50D. Ill post some of my work unless a facebook link is allowed?

Being a carpenter, I can say nice work on the wine rack!

 

[(*steve*)]

I can now bill myself as a "International Wedding Photographer".

I have done weddings in 3 countries. Australia, the Cook Islands, and India.

But I'm really glad I don't do it professionally or even regularly.

Sure, post your images here.

My father was a carpenter, so I've had some exposure to working with wood. But the workmanship of the wine rack is such that it's reasonably OK looking in the parts you can see, but the parts you can't wouldn't fill anyone with pride

My wife does report that the wine rack performs very well. I think that has something to do with the contents though...

 

[(*steve*)]

Is it time to resurrect a really old thread?

This time with mobile phone photos.

 

[davenn]

Is it time to resurrect a really old thread?

This time with mobile phone photos.

wave rock ... cool ... haven't been there yet