PHASEFIVE

This is a photographic genre I’ve not really explored up to now, but the recent acquisition of a light box has led to a number of thoughts about producing images that are more creative, artistic, or just weird.  The Lightbox I’m using is a commercial model; Puluz 30cm, which has built in LED lighting, and is supplied with a number of coloured PVC sheets, which can serve as backdrops.  My initial experiments have been undertaken using available subject materials (a small piece of coral has been putting in a serious shift!) and some cheap LED light sources which can provide a wide range of colours.  The inbuilt LED lighting in the light box is white light only.

I’m using a Nikon Z6iii camera and a Nikkor Z mount 105/2.8S macro lens for my photography

This genre of photography is all about creating something unique and interesting, rather than just taking a perfect picture of the subject. It’s a lot of fun, but it can also be a bit tricky. You have to be careful with exposure and focus.  With regard to exposure, it’s the classic balance between aperture, shutter speed and ISO.  Despite the extensive auto-focus capabilities of the Z6iii, considerable care is necessary, and in some instances, manual focus may be the better option, depending on the subject and how much faith I’ve got in my eyesight.  This became quite apparent in taking shots of the piece of coral and coping with a limited depth of field, but this is where focus shift and focus stacking come to the rescue.

Here are some early examples:

Photo 1 1/200 at f5.6  (auto ISO at 45600) edited in Lightroom, using denoise.

Photo 2 1/200 at f32  (auto ISO at 18000) edited in Lightroom, using denoise.

Photo 3 1/200 at f5.6  (auto ISO at 32000) using DVDs as a reflective background; edited in Lightroom, using denoise.

Photo 4 1/200 at f5.6  (auto ISO at 1100) photo stick, 30 images edited in Photoshop and Lightroom.