What the F.....?

No I am not swearing, although I will admit to saying some pretty rude words during my extensive session the other day, I was 'fiddling' with the camera.

 

Its the bane of many artists, regardless of medium, unless of course you are a photographer then really you should know this stuff.

 

F is aperture.  So what the F is aperture?

 

Maximum Aperture (Minimum f-number)

The maximum diameter of the lens opening is referred to as its maximum aperture or minimum f-number. The minimum f-number is the smallest f-number that can be selected with the lens. The maximum aperture varies from lens to lens and is included in the lens model name.

 

 

I took that from here, all about Nikon which is my camera, a Nikon D3200 VR...please don't ask what the VR is, I have absolutely no idea!

 

Photographing glass beads to put on the internet can take more time than making the bead itself and considering my love is the flame of the torch and the melting of the glass, taking the photo to show the world in the hope someone else will love it and buy it so I can buy more glass and burn more oxygen and propane, the photograph side of this can be ALOT tedious and can end in swearing and temper tantrums...the swearing I can almost accept, the temper tantrum from a woman in her 40's jumping up and down and threatening obscenities to what is basically an inanimate object is a little childish to say the least.

 

This is the photo in question, well one of the many.  The bead is a dark purple but the light is wrong and the bead looks black and well...rubbish...and its a nice bead.

 

I use a light tent and a couple of daylight bulbs, the light tent just stops the glare of the light bulb...apparently.  Yes the lights are on.

 



So I start fiddling with the camera and end up searching the internet in the hope of finding help in photographing these beads. 

 

I type in Photographing Glass Beads for Dummies.

 

Surprisingly I am not the only one, pages of websites come up in various degrees of big words and complicated sentences, I want one where they treat you like a right dummy and basically tell you which button to press and when to produce a photograph a professional would be proud of.

 



I stumble across this website its the light tent I use. 

 

Now I want a light thing that goes under the bead, but I use what I have and follow the instructions.

 

I drag out my camera manual and figure out my camera properly.

 

I now know how to change the F setting...without swearing!

Wanting light or even white backgrounds is what I am after, I rather like the background on the pictuer above and you can now tell its actually purple, but its all fuzzy and I don't want a soft lens effect - get me with the terminology - I want sharp and clear with white backgrounds.

 

Back to the manual and the website.

 



 

The picture above is better but do you think I can remember what button I pressed?

 

The one below is rubbish and I know what's wrong with it, its over exposed.

 

I am in danger of knowing what I am talking about.

 

Not only do I now know how to adjust the F I can also play around with the button that alters the E V settings.

 

Go me.

 

It took over 2 hours to get these photos, and believe me I took hundreds and fiddled with more buttons and settings than ever before, and do you know what made the most difference?

 

Moving the damn camera tripod back a bit!  Even though the camera is set on automatic focus - I am not professional...yet - the macro setting needs to be a little further back than 'on the top of' that I had the camera at.

 

This picture below is rather nice and its an awkward bead to photograph, its also too far away.

 



Getting there.  I cropped it!

 



Below, on a darker background, but its too fuzzy...too close!

 



There are many buttons on the camera and this one is the max exposure or EV if you want to be technical...I would say this one didn't work, but it was worth knowing how the highest EV setting worked.

 



I don't think this bead is going to have a white background this is as good as I got it, but its better than it was and although its not as clear and sharp as I would have liked it is created with soft colours so maybe I can't make soft colours sharp?

 



 

So we come to today and more beads to photograph - I am getting ready for the big Flame Off event in April so lots of beads being made - the photos are better...I think!

 

Encased beads are incredibly difficult to capture nicely for me, but the sculpture ones seem much better..note to self, don't make encased beads!

 

 



Flowers, photos and housework!

I have a new camera, a Nikon D3200 in black according to the box, a newer - which means more buttons! - camera that gives better light and photos...according to the box.  Last week saw me swearing at the thing, the F scale that which measures light ....I was using the F for other words I can tell you, I almost had it then I lost it, finally I managed to take a decent photo but still it wasn't right, then I realized the ISO metering was off...what ever happened to point and shoot? 

 

 

I have tweaked and pressed a few more buttons over the weekend and the photos did improve but still they lacked that illusive light seemingly only achieved by professionals and nerds!

 

Today I am supposed to be cleaning house.  I started off with all good intentions, the living room is spick and span and shiny right down to the floors being mopped just don't look up I have since found a cobweb!  I still have the bedroom to go - if I don't hubby will not be too impressed to be sleeping on the floor as the bed needs making - and I might as well clean the bathroom whilst I am up there, I have already washed the bath mat and the mountain of towels, roll on summer when I can be in the garden and not notice the dust and cobwebbed ceilings and be too worn out sunkissed and back achey to worry about the bed covers....anyway I was supposed to be cleaning...

 

 

I got side tracked!

 

 

Started off with a cup of tea and some lunch after walking the dogs and ended up doing battle with the camera and by jove I think I have cracked it!!

 



Glass is a devil to photograph, hence the new camera hubby brought for himself and swapped with me as my one was just not performing the task...I have a good hubby :)

 

I made this focal bead a while ago but I am revisiting my flowers and after looking through the bead box I came across this gem and it really is a gem, made from silver glass, a glass I rarely use on account I burn it and its expensive!, this bead was inspired by a bubble bath soak...it was the picture on the bubble bath bottle :)

 



 

Currently up for auction over on eBay if you fancy a look.

This photo was another real devil to take so has been in the bead box for some time too, but just look my new camera really does do what it says on the box!  All of these photos have had nothing more done to them than cropping once I loaded them on the laptop.

 

Chuffed?  you bet I am.

 

Oh and its currently on eBay too!

 

Right I can hear the rubber gloves calling......