Rolling My Own.

I got the paper for my DIY light tent in this afternoon, finally, and after dinner I started assembling the frame. The roll of paper I got is 48″ wide, plenty big for shooting large objects, and I built a cage out of inexpensive lumber that measures 48″ wide by 36″ high by 48″ deep. There’s a plywood platform for the objects to sit on, and the paper hangs on a roll that’s part of the framework, so when it gets dirty, I just cut the bottom off and unroll some more. The diffusers are white bedsheets.

It took some time to set up the lights satisfactorally, and I’ll probably upgrade to something brighter than 60-watt bulbs, but in about 15 minutes I had decent shots lined up with Canon’s Remote Capture application.

My first subjects are the members of my tube radio collection, a hobby of mine that dates back to my first lean years out of college. I’ll start with one of my favorites, a Philco that dates to 1942. It’s smaller and more compact than the rest (although not the smallest) and the lines are beautiful and sleek. I’ll post more of a history of this set later (it’s 12:30 and I’m tired) but here’s a sneak peek:

I shot about 50 photos this evening. With some practice, and better lighting, this is going to work out well.

Update: WHOA.

great! thanks for sharing, the shots are very good!

The photos have come out really well, did you have to adjust the white in photoshop afterwards?

It’s great and the photos have come out really well. Did you have to adjust the background of your images in photoshop afterwards?

I’d be lying if I said no; I typically have to play with the levels on the highlights to knock back some of the blue in the corners. It also seems to depend on the color balance of the subject, too, as well as the distance from the lens. If I move the subject back and use some zoom to reduce distortion, the light meter tends to darken the whole frame. I think some higher-intensity bulbs (I’m using 60-watt) and possibly a scatter flash would help things out.