Harrytheheid
Banned
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 4,672
RE: Shadow boxes/display cases
I've transferred my responses to Scott, Brad and Mike over here cos my questions don't really belong in the K&C Section of the forum.
Yup, My Fine Germanic Aristocrat. Thanks for the response and I’ve saved it to a Word document so’s I can read it in depth later today.
Nope, My Fine Agricultural Expert, the link doesn’t work for me. When I click on it, I just get the Internet “Screen of Death” – but I’ll try a Google on it later today – Thanks.
Well, that’s some very kind comments Mike, but I tend to think you’re being somewhat overly generous.
It’s not the display cases or shelves that’s the problem. I took these photo’s at night, in the homestead, and without the flash so please ignore the awful quality. They’re for illustration only.
As you can see, the cases and shelves are fine apart from being in a darkish room – and not helped due to the fact they’re a darkish red colour. But I’ve hit on a good way to brighten them up a bit. I’ve found a place in town that sells miniature “Chinese Lanterns”. They’re around ½ inch in diameter and not only will they light up the dark interiors of those display cases, they’ll also enhance the Oriental subject matter.
I do need to track down a larger display “insert” for this one below cos the present insert is too small.
Quite apart from the fact that I’m still getting used to the new Canon G10 camera I’m now, umm - using, which has literally countless options, and I’m definitely having problems getting the focus and depth of field correct with it, it has a different lens system from my old G9 model with a longer lens travel; which means I’m limited when I try and use my sooper-dooper Macro and Wide Angle lens accessories, otherwise I could easily damage the camera lens system – which would be a bit of a drag. I should have checked my lens adapter when I bought the thing – but stupidity is always a factor that needs to be taken into account where I’m concerned. No worries, I’ll get a longer adapter in Beijing, Bangkok or Hong Kong, which are my next ports of call, in that order.
Having a read of the manual would probably be a good idea as well.
Naaah, the real problem is that I’m really limited to three locations in our present “Condo” (ha-ha) for taking photo’s of figurine vignettes and all three get hit with really strong direct sunlight all day.
Check these photos that I’ve taken the past few days;
In the one above, the detail of the “Chinese Temple” I’m using as a backdrop is lost.
In the one below, the detail is almost entirely lost even though the curtains are drawn.
I suppose I could get Missus Heid to go out and buy thicker curtains – but there’s no telling what she might come home with. Nuthin’ surprises me these days cos by now her English is almost as bad as mine – ever heard a Chinese woman speak with a Scottish accent? Well I have. She could just as easily go buy some (admittedly gorgeous) lacquered screen, so expensive it would foul up my figurine purchasing plan for the rest of this year. When we lived in Dubai, I sent her out to buy a bedside reading lamp – she came home with an Arabic silk carpet (??).
I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to start up the engine so’s I could sit her on it and fly her back home to China on the cheap.
Mind you, a screen might be a good idea and we do have a couple of those folding wooden ones presently in storage. Hmmm, I’ll have a think about that one.
Anyway, the only other location in the house where I can take photos is the small cupboard where we have some basic diorama bases stuck up on the wall. But as you can see below, it also gets hit by the sunlight all day and it drowns out the figures at the left hand side.
Sure, I could crop out the left hand side of the photo, but that means I loose the overall composition. Bummer.
That’s why I was asking the friend I met last week in HK about buying a proper light box for taking photo’s of vignettes and small-ish dioramas. He reckons you can buy them in a few photography shops he knows. So I’ll check them out when I hit HK in July. I’m willing to bet they cost a Kings Ransom though. And getting the thing home undamaged on a flight offers endless opportunities for a comedy of errors as well, when I think about it.
Making one myself would probably be easy enough – it’s trying to explain what I want that’s the drawback. Halogen lights? I could just as easy end up coming home with a combine harvester. I’ve been trying to buy one of those rotary glass tables you get in Chinese restaurants for months now, so’s I can set up dios on it and take photo’s at infinite angles. I’ve even dragged people into restaurants and pointed out exactly what I want – and ended up buying them lunch.
It’s not easy being a TS collector in China you know....
Thanks for putting up with my moanin’ and groanin’. If anyone has any more suggestions then I’m all ears. But going back to live in the UK where I can generally buy what I want isn’t an option I'm all that interested in. I’m reliably informed that Her Majesties Inspector of Taxes would dearly like to have a quiet word with me.
Cheers
H
I've transferred my responses to Scott, Brad and Mike over here cos my questions don't really belong in the K&C Section of the forum.
Yup, My Fine Germanic Aristocrat. Thanks for the response and I’ve saved it to a Word document so’s I can read it in depth later today.
Nope, My Fine Agricultural Expert, the link doesn’t work for me. When I click on it, I just get the Internet “Screen of Death” – but I’ll try a Google on it later today – Thanks.
Well, that’s some very kind comments Mike, but I tend to think you’re being somewhat overly generous.
It’s not the display cases or shelves that’s the problem. I took these photo’s at night, in the homestead, and without the flash so please ignore the awful quality. They’re for illustration only.
As you can see, the cases and shelves are fine apart from being in a darkish room – and not helped due to the fact they’re a darkish red colour. But I’ve hit on a good way to brighten them up a bit. I’ve found a place in town that sells miniature “Chinese Lanterns”. They’re around ½ inch in diameter and not only will they light up the dark interiors of those display cases, they’ll also enhance the Oriental subject matter.
I do need to track down a larger display “insert” for this one below cos the present insert is too small.
Quite apart from the fact that I’m still getting used to the new Canon G10 camera I’m now, umm - using, which has literally countless options, and I’m definitely having problems getting the focus and depth of field correct with it, it has a different lens system from my old G9 model with a longer lens travel; which means I’m limited when I try and use my sooper-dooper Macro and Wide Angle lens accessories, otherwise I could easily damage the camera lens system – which would be a bit of a drag. I should have checked my lens adapter when I bought the thing – but stupidity is always a factor that needs to be taken into account where I’m concerned. No worries, I’ll get a longer adapter in Beijing, Bangkok or Hong Kong, which are my next ports of call, in that order.
Having a read of the manual would probably be a good idea as well.
Naaah, the real problem is that I’m really limited to three locations in our present “Condo” (ha-ha) for taking photo’s of figurine vignettes and all three get hit with really strong direct sunlight all day.
Check these photos that I’ve taken the past few days;
In the one above, the detail of the “Chinese Temple” I’m using as a backdrop is lost.
In the one below, the detail is almost entirely lost even though the curtains are drawn.
I suppose I could get Missus Heid to go out and buy thicker curtains – but there’s no telling what she might come home with. Nuthin’ surprises me these days cos by now her English is almost as bad as mine – ever heard a Chinese woman speak with a Scottish accent? Well I have. She could just as easily go buy some (admittedly gorgeous) lacquered screen, so expensive it would foul up my figurine purchasing plan for the rest of this year. When we lived in Dubai, I sent her out to buy a bedside reading lamp – she came home with an Arabic silk carpet (??).
I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to start up the engine so’s I could sit her on it and fly her back home to China on the cheap.
Mind you, a screen might be a good idea and we do have a couple of those folding wooden ones presently in storage. Hmmm, I’ll have a think about that one.
Anyway, the only other location in the house where I can take photos is the small cupboard where we have some basic diorama bases stuck up on the wall. But as you can see below, it also gets hit by the sunlight all day and it drowns out the figures at the left hand side.
Sure, I could crop out the left hand side of the photo, but that means I loose the overall composition. Bummer.
That’s why I was asking the friend I met last week in HK about buying a proper light box for taking photo’s of vignettes and small-ish dioramas. He reckons you can buy them in a few photography shops he knows. So I’ll check them out when I hit HK in July. I’m willing to bet they cost a Kings Ransom though. And getting the thing home undamaged on a flight offers endless opportunities for a comedy of errors as well, when I think about it.
Making one myself would probably be easy enough – it’s trying to explain what I want that’s the drawback. Halogen lights? I could just as easy end up coming home with a combine harvester. I’ve been trying to buy one of those rotary glass tables you get in Chinese restaurants for months now, so’s I can set up dios on it and take photo’s at infinite angles. I’ve even dragged people into restaurants and pointed out exactly what I want – and ended up buying them lunch.
It’s not easy being a TS collector in China you know....
Thanks for putting up with my moanin’ and groanin’. If anyone has any more suggestions then I’m all ears. But going back to live in the UK where I can generally buy what I want isn’t an option I'm all that interested in. I’m reliably informed that Her Majesties Inspector of Taxes would dearly like to have a quiet word with me.
Cheers
H
