TWIP Creating A Solar Filter DIY

I looked on line for solar filters for the upcoming eclipse and they were either top of the line filters that I would probably only use once in my lifetime or super cheap that got horrible reviews.  So, I started looking around at DIY possibilities.  I came across a guy that had built his own using a pair of UV filters and an order of solar paper.  He actually cut the paper and stuck it in between two UV filters, no glue.  (That could work, but I didn't want Vignette, but in hind sight, probably wouldn't have matter as it is going to be crazy dark anyway.)  I looked online and located a sheet of solar paper that was made by the same brand as a lot of the filters out there and decided to give it a go myself with a slightly modified idea.

Here is what you need:

I'll put a link to where I got these at the bottom of the post. If you get the 6x6 should be around $22.

Sheet of solar filter paper - I purchased the 12x12 sheet, however, I am planning on making three of these so I needed extra space.  

Step up filter ring - My lens has a front element of 77mm.  I decided to get the biggest step up I could find to have ample space for miscues.  I haven't been in kindergarten for a while and haven't practiced cutting with scissors in some time.  

Super Glue - preferably one with the little paint brush inside so you can just paint on the glue to the extra space of the ring.  

Now time to spend the 5 minutes and make one.

Do not take your filter paper out of the cardboard.  If you do, it is going to suck.  

The filter paper is neatly placed inside of two pieces of cardboard and you are going to use that to hold the paper in place as you cut.  It will make it easier and you will not fingerprint the heck out of the paper.  Finger prints are really hard to get off solar paper without causing other damage.

How I made mine.  

I took the step up filter and drew a circle around the filter on the cardboard as a cut out guide.  When you cut around the filter, be sure that the papers doesn't sneak out of the cardboard.  You also want to cut inside your circle a little ways as remember, you are putting it inside that circle.  

Next, take you put on some gloves or use a piece of lens cloth to remove the filter from the cardboard.  Place it in the filter to make sure that it is still not too big.  If so, trim accordingly.    Now that you have your paper and filter ready to go, it is time to start the gluing process.

I spaced my glue around the filter and didn't do a continuous path.  Not sure if that was the right route, but it is the one I took.  Now time to place the paper on the filter.  Make sure that the mirror side of the paper is facing out.  It will be the side that faces the sun.  Place the paper into the step up ring and let it dry for 10 or 15 minutes.  Please keep in mind that if you don't get the paper flat and smooth before it drys, you can take if back off and try again.  It comes off pretty easy.  Once dry, screw it onto your camera and go give it a shot.

Short story.  I attempted to wipe off the fingerprints while it was on the filter and it buckled which is why it looks like a bubble on the front of the filter.  Don't do that.  Use the lens cloth as instructed and you should be good.  Also, be careful with the filter as you can move, pop off, or smudge the paper.  The glue doesn't hold super strong.

 

SOLAR FILTER PAPER

77mm to 95mm STEP UP RING

That time at Heron Haven

An adventure to Heron Haven this spring revealed some very interesting little creatures.  I was initially going to view the baby goslings but their mommies were a little more aggressive than I wanted to deal with being with my 4 year old.  We kept our distance and instead investigated snails, frogs, and turtles.  I didn't come very equipped, just my trusty 300mm f/4 so macro photos were very challenging.  I think we had a good adventure and learned a few things as well.

TWIP Steam Trains are COOL!

Having missed the first trip to town for the College World Series by a mere 2 minutes, I made sure I was in my spot in plenty of time to see the famous 844 steam engine of Union Pacific on its way back home.  Scouting spots along the railway turned out to be a good thing instead of the usual fly by the pants approach I tend to make most of the time when shooting things.  I reviewed spots along the line to get the best location, with little to no distractions in the background, and off the beaten path.  The first time around, there were cars lining the roadway and I knew this time wouldn't be any different as this was happening on a weekend instead of late during a work week.  That meant everyone and their dog with a camera were going to be out.  

I grabbed a location where it was a semi straight away just off the main road by a railroad crossing.  This way, as they were approaching the crossing they would have to blow the steam whistle.  This would cause steam to shoot up into the air from the front of the train.  I knew that it was warm, so the steam coming off the engine wouldn't be as dramatic as some of the photos everyone has seen as these are usually in the fall and winter when the weather is very cool.

So, I turned down my road and already there were multiple cars, video cameras, and kids hanging out to see the train. Luckily they were just off the main road and not in the area I wanted to be.  Pulling to my location, a couple other seasoned train photographers were there waiting as well.  Finding my spot, opposite of the others due to the clutter of the background, I set up the tripod, video, and got my telephoto ready to shoot.  Not knowing what to expect as this was my first time trying to shoot this engine, I didn't know of the speed or rate in which I was going to get an opportunity.

You can see from the video, this baby came fast.  I didn't have nearly as much time as I planned for  and the blew the horn a little sooner than I thought as well.  However, I came home with 3 shots that I am really happy with.  I have included those below.  

Fisheye Sunset

I have always been a huge fan of the fisheye lens and since my wife purchased it for a birthday present last year, I have had nothing but fun.  It took a little while to figure out focusing since it is a pure manual lens, but once I mastered that it has been a true gem in the camera bag.  Being down a tripod, I grabbed a piece of driftwood and tipped the camera up while setting the base on the ground to get the largest view of the sky I could.  It was a very colorful and dramatic sunset this evening.  Enjoy!

The Bob

During a recent Nebraska Photographers Network outing, we stopped by the Bob Kerry Pedestrian bridge for a couple photos.  Being from Omaha, it was sad that this was the first time I had ever visited the bridge.  I have seen many photographs of the bridge, but had none of my own.  While many people were on the bridge capturing the sights from above, I was more interested at the belly of the beast.  I decided to stay down and capture the sky above and create some long exposures with the Missouri River traveling underneath.  There wasn't much of a sunset since it was such a clear day and night, but there was a big moon.  Here are a couple shots of The Bob.

Duckings

I've been caught up in so many other things that I have neglected my blog for the last couple of weeks.  A friend of mine said there were some ducklings messing around in a pond that had been drained close to his office, so I had to go have a look.  I'm sure glad I did.  These little guys were really enjoying the safety and freedom the secluded area provided.  There was plenty of grass and moss to feed them for a while.  They were hopping in and out of the water and exploring.  Jumping in the mud and blowing bubbles all under Mom's watchful eye.  One thing I noticed is they sure do like the mud.  View more of the little guys on my website http://www.alderimages.com/wildlifeinnature.  Thanks for looking! Enjoy and share!  Thank you again to Derrald for showing me the little guys and letting me try your bazooka.  You can view his photos at http://www.journeyoflight.com/blog/2015/05/29/photo-friday-ducklings/

Family Sessions

Had the opportunity to photograph a young man recently celebrating a birthday.  All photos were taken in natural light at one of my favorite locations to shoot family photos.  He has one of the best smiles and personality to boot.

Filter Painting

It has been a little while since I had the time to sit down and actually gather my thoughts long enough to write something on my blog.  It is nice to be able to put some thoughts down on paper (or computer if you will).  Something I have been wanting to do for the past couple of months is write a post about something I really enjoy doing.  I have stated in the past that I have always enjoyed photographing sunsets.  Sitting there watching the sun leave the horizon puts thoughts at ease if only for a moment.  Listening to nature, the rustling of leaves, the wind whistling through branches of the leafless trees, birds chirping, provides a calming effect.

One way I make the experience more enjoyable is a technique of using filters to increase the exposure time of your shot.  This way you capture all of the movements associated with the setting sun and clouds as they pass.  Having said that, I usually only come back with a handful of images due to the length of time it takes to capture the photo, but the quiet of sitting and listening is worth it.  I don't know how many of you are old enough or have caught reruns of a show on PBS I use to watch called "The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross".  When I was growing up I use to watch it just before I took a nap and being out during a sunset reminds me of that show.  So quite and peaceful.  Yet, when the day is done you have something beautiful.  This is why I call my long exposure sunsets, "Filter Painting".

Once I am home and have viewed what I captured that day, I then begin the fun part of the picture taking experience, Post Processing.  Most people do not like this portion of the picture taking experience, but I really enjoy it.  In fact, I see many photographers skip this portion all together.  I shoot all of my photos in RAW format.  This means that the file you have contains all of the RAW data from the photo and you can use it as you will.  If you shoot JPEG format, the camera cooks the image for you in the cameras processor and spits out what it thinks your photo should look like.  I like the control I have over my images in RAW.  This way, I can make the photo how I saw it when I was there not the way a computer decided it should look.  I usually take 20 minutes a photo when adjusting landscapes.  You really have to pay attention to the details of the photo.  If you happen to over look something, blowing it up on print will bring out your mistakes and landscapes more than not are going to be printed large.

Enough talk for the day, here are a couple of my recent Filter Paintings.

Winter's Last Chance

I wrote this a couple months ago but for some reason never actually published it.  So here you go.

Winter is winding down and that's a good thing.  I am looking forward to warmer temperatures and color.  One thing that the winter does offer is a chance to see some amazing ice crystals.  You really have to look close to see the intricacies of the little crystals, but if you get down close enough they are beautiful.  Last winter I took tons of snowflake photos and never really got anything that wowed me that much.  I had a backlit snowflake that I thought was pretty cool, but everything else was mediocre in my eyes.  Saturday provided an opportunity to see a couple snowflakes and they were perfect.  It wasn't too cold that they were just frost pellets.  The air wasn't warm enough for rime to form.  So I went outside for a couple shots.  Fifteen minutes is about all I had to get something since the sun was setting and it was getting pretty dark.  It is very hard to see and focus on snowflakes through the lens in the first place, let alone in pitch black light.  Working with millimeters of focus depth makes taking multiple exposures a must.  I usually take between 7 to 20 shots of each flake and then focus stack them in photoshop to get a, hopefully, great looking snowflake.  Another problem I was running into with this little shoot is the plexiglass I was using.  I left it out pretty much all winter in anticipation of being able to shoot snowflakes.  Month after month of not having great snow, I gave up and let it sit.  The ice had formed on the surface an when trying to brush it off, I scratched it.  Now that may not seem like a big deal to the naked eye, but once your get down really close it makes a noticeable difference.  A little touch up was needed to clean that mess.  Anyway, here are a couple of flakes I happened to capture.  Thank you for looking!

Sunset show!

The sun was setting on a lovely Sunday evening.  The skies appeared clear when I left the house and I thought about taking a sunset with pure sun rays.  Approaching the lake I noticed a very cool looking cloud bank was developing in the north.  The bank was moving quickly and I wasn't sure if it was going to get there before the sun set.   I decided to go the rest of the way and take a chance that I would get some great colors.  Glad I did.  The clouds arrived just as the sun moved into the horizon and made for some pretty spectacular colors.  It was a great scene and I am glad I was there to capture it.  Hope everyone is having a great day.  Enjoy!

Ominous Outlook

Dreary days bring out some of the best clouds during daylight hours.  They are very pretty to look at, but are very difficult to photograph.  Many times, I have tried and failed to take a picture and have it look the way I saw it with my own eyes.  I imagine a day in the future where the dynamic range of a digital sensor will be up to par with the range the human eye can see.  I imagine that camera will cost a pretty penny, but it would be a very awesome tool to use.  Having said that, we use the tools we have to make the best of what we see.  I have witnessed many times photos of trees stretching into the shadowy clouds giving a very ominous view of the world.  I haven't really tried anything like this in the past, but with my wife's urging, I ventured out to see what I could capture.

Once I was on location, finding the best trees was a difficult task.  Once I found some strangely fingeresque trees, I placed my camera in position and began snapping away.  I tried all types of angles and determined that vertical photos showed what I was seeing the best, but I had to have the camera very close to the ground.  So I laid down beside the camera and let the magic happen.  I shot a couple with one lens.  Then switched over to the fisheye for a little different effect.  It provided a unique perspective that I feel has been missing in the photos I have seen.  I really enjoyed photographing this scene and will definitely have to go back to see what other interesting things I can find.

LAB Color adjustments

Something I forget to examine when working with sunsets and outdoor photos in general, is whether or not LAB effects will bring out anything to make them better.  The last couple of sunsets, I decided to do a little experiment and see if there was something I could do to make them even better.  LAB adjustments can make the photo pop, but the adjustments have to be done tastefully because they can really over saturate your photo if your not careful.  Here is an example of what LAB can do for a photo.  The photos were taken 20 seconds apart with the one of the left being first.  It also is the one I treated with a light touch of LAB.

This technique is done in photoshop by converting the file to LAB color mode.  Find the image tab in the top menu, select mode, then LAB color.  It will flatten your image if you have layers open so beware.  At this point, I like to duplicate my image layer so I can adjust the opacity of it when I have completed the adjustments.  The next step is to open your curves adjustment window.  I don't use the curves adjustment layer since I have used it this way in the past.  Old habits I guess.  Anyway, the first step is to select the "a" channel and move your curves line like shown.

Next step is to move your "b" channel line as shown.  You can see how your image is saturating and changing contrast as you adjust your curves.

The last adjustment is to your "lightness" channel.  Move the adjustments as this.  The top adjustment will bring down the highlights of your photo while the bottom point will lower your contrast.  I like to play with the bottom point a little depending on my view for the photo I am working on.  

Depending on how you like the color and saturation, you can adjust your opacity to taste.  Lastly, you will want to convert your image back to RGB color to make it readable on web and other services.  To do this, go to your image menu on the top, select mode, and RGB color.  This again will flatten your image if you have made any layers.  

That's it!  You have completed your LAB color adjustment for your photo.  Here is another example of what LAB color can do for a sunset.  Click on any of the photos for a large view.