Colorize a Pinhole Image

Assignment

Take your Pinhole Self Portrait or Pinhole Close-up and duplicate it. Using the same technique we used on our digital restoration, add color to your image. Post it to your blog. 

You will need this image for the next project!

Here is one of my pinhole images. Another art teacher had a bag of old toy baby parts which I used as my subject. Creepy!

Colorized Pinhole Photo

More Smartphone Macro Photography

Here is a photo of the rig I've built (3) to help you take your smartphone close-ups. Your phone sits on the top piece of Plexiglas and you position your camera lens over the disposable camera lens. The object you want to photograph sits on the bottom layer of Plexiglas.

The thickness of the plexiglass will cause some vignetting.

Use the zoom on your smartphone camera app to crop out the rough edges. Here is the same image "zoomed in". I used a backpacking headlamp to light the objects from below.

I switched to a red light for this image....

Make sure you bring items in to photograph!! I know you won't forget your phone. :)

There are a whole world of small objects just waiting for you to explore.

I used an app (free) called Snapseed to give this image it's rough look.

This is of the circuit board that was inside the disposable camera I "borrowed" the lens from.

In this image I placed the lenes between my Otterbox and my camera. I used Snapseed to saturate the colors in the image.

2/26/15 - I added this image today. I found that I eliminated the vignetting when I took my Otterbox off my Iphone. I placed a cheap ($1.00) LED light under the paper clips. I placed two sheets of blue tissue paper over the light to get the color in the background. (and diffuse the light). 

Smartphone Macro Photography

There are several ways to add macro capacity to your smartphone. Often, the native application is limited in it's ability to adjust exposure or get in close to an object. For the photo of the knife blades, I used an app called Camera+. It's macro feature allows you to get quite close to the image.  I used a headlamp as my light source. The image was edited using the "Ansel" filter.

The image below was created using the lens of a disposable camera. The lens fit comfortably between my Otter Box and Iphone 5c. I placed the camera on a tripod and used the timer feature in Camera+ to limit camera shake. The composition is made up of some key rings, paperclips and a metal pencil sharpener.

This image was taken hand held. I rested the bottom of the camera on the table and used the headlamp to illuminate the dollar. I used the zoom to get even closer.

Your assignment is to create 3 different closeup images with your Smartphone.

Snow and Ice

Sprout Creek, Lagrangeville

If you haven't noticed, it's cold outside! Snow, ice and cold are the subject of our next digital assignment. Here are a couple of tips for taking snow photos. Take lots of images and post your most interesting "three" to your blog.

1. Control Exposure - Even though smartphone cameras take great photos, it is wise to consider controlling your exposure manually. Light meters in cameras try to expose the large snow areas as 18 percent gray, leaving you with a dark image. With film, photographers will often "overexpose" 2 stops to make the snow appear white. The latest Iphone operating system allows for some control of exposure. If the snow in your digital images appears to dark, you can adjust it in Photoshop using the Brightness/Contrast controls. 
2. Make Sure you have a Subject - What exactly are you photographing? Name it in your mind. Remember the subject is the first thing the human eye will see when looking at your image.
3. Create Depth - Large areas of white can create a flat and lifeless image. Is there a distinct foreground, midground and background in your image?
4. Keep the Sun behind your back. (Bud don't get your shadow in the image.)
5. Best to shoot after a new fallen snow...nice and clean!
6. Branches heavily laden with snow make interesting images. (Contrast with dark pine trees works well too.)
7. Watch where your footprints are, they can ruin a great shot.
8. Capture action shots. (Kids playing, sledding, snowball fights)
9. Try getting a portrait. (See After the Crash below.)
10. Consider using black and white, it will bring out the starkness of a winter scene. 
11. If you use color, add contrast to make the color "pop". Red works really well in snow scenes.
12. Add people to your scene for reference. (In a landscape)
13. Stay warm! Dress appropriately for the conditions.
14. Keep your camera cold, if you keep it warm it will fog your lens!

After the Crash, Holga Photograph

St. Francis Statue

Never Dies