Thank you Allen. Your humor, knowledge, and down to earth explanations and understanding, are what impresses me. That fact that you give less expensive, and alternative ways to accomplish high quality photo’s, are important to those of us who are on a budget, and can’t afford the most professional gear.
Allan I'm impressed with your dedication, patience, and explanation you have for your photography. Also you share all your knowledge and nothing kept as a secret. Thanks again for sharing.
No matter how complicated, convoluted or configurable the experiment is you have an unbelievable way of presenting the information where the delivery is easy to understand, repeatable and humorous. Great video, great experiment demonstrating a somewhat difficult lighting method and of course we can't forget how well you handled the doghair thingy:!
thank you for creating videos packed with not only lots and lots of info and pro tips but also humour ... I guess it will take me a while to watch all of your videos ;) ... they are helping me a lot to get into tabletop macro photography , thank you again
Dear Allan. I am a recent subscriber and came across your channel when you apologised for complaining about your dead d850. What attracted me first is, we share a Nikon d850. After watching the first 15 seconds of this video I realised that what attracted me to subscribe is your use of photography as a meditation tool. Whether you realise it or not this is the best form of “mindfulness “ exercise when you want to ground yourself in the present and away from feeling down. GREAT
Great video and tutorial, Alan. It is so nice to see the entire process of your workflow of thinking about a project to execution. The photos turned out great. I did not even laugh when you dropped the wrapping paper backdrop (we both know that isn’t true). Seeing the small failures and not just seeing the perfect, edited results is a huge help to us all. So happy to see that your subscribers have more than tripled since I stumbled upon your channel. I look forward to seeing it continue to grow. Congratulations.
Hey Stephen... thanks. These are my favorite videos to make. Great fun. And nobody is as shocked by the increased viewership of the channel than I am. It is deeply gratifying to connect with so many real people!
@@AllanWallsPhotography Don't worry about that Allan. Besides watching your videos I am working on your DIY projects, learning Zerene stacker, practising with my recently bought Takumar bellows and trying to keep up with my formal job 😂. By the way, my VOLPI Flexible Twin Arm Fiber Optic Light Guide is arriving next week.
Another interesting and entertaining Video Alan.Also very impressed with your "Paracord" bracelets. I was surprised to hear someone in the U.S. correctly pronounce Aluminium and refer to Velcro. Keep the vids coming, please. Roger, UK.
Great video Allan. I left a comment on the community page along with a sample image taken on a lap top screen which also gives a lovely reflection. The image is not the greatest but for those who would like to try it on small products or bugs, it works well. If you purchase some gloss laminate /plexiglass sheeting and glue it to a board, you get the same result without having to deal with a piece of 6ft fragile glass and static that glues itself to it like metal filings to a magnet. Oh yes...I'm sorry...I did have a little chuckle at the background paper falling off the stand..At least I admit it, where most will not..lol Greg
Hi Greg. You are absolutely correct about the plexiglass. I frequently use a large 4'x4' sheet of thin, clear acrylic on a matte black base layer, and it gives a very similar result. My problem with acrylic is that the surface scratches so easily and I haven't found a way to remove the scratches without dulling the finish. Acrylic sheets also cost a ton over here. My 1/8" 4x4 sheet was almost $100. But the drawbacks of glass - fragility and static charge - are good reasons to switch, though the acrylic can also build up quite a charge as you polish it. I'll pop over to the Community and check out your image... Thanks for the excellent feedback!
Hello, Good video good setup but next time try with polarisation filter to incrase reflected picture. Have a look to my 0035e vidéo (sorry in French ) near 1h10. Pictures are made with black glass instaed mirror to have no double reflected picture. Thanks J.Ph
How does repeatedly washing your black material only increase the amount of dog hair? The short answer: the previous owner had a dirty dog. Repeated washings of the material with embedded dog hairs don't remove hairs significantly, but you are essentially also washing the dog, whose hairs gradually get cleaner and so more visible. That's my explanation and I'm sticking to it.
Hi Lysander - parchment works well but even the wide rolls are pretty narrow, and relatively expensive. The reason I use architect's tracing paper is because it comes on 4' to 6' wide rolls and ends up saving a bunch of money. One roll will last me 10 years, if I'm careful. Having said that, I do use parchment panels in macro.
Well done Mr. Walls, I enjoyed the open approach (uncut) demonstration. Vinegar and water 50/50 mix in a spray bottle, wipe up with newspaper for a crystal clean shine. Chalk me up as a new subscriber........ I wonder, do you think the dog hair came from your clippers? ;-)
Hi William - That's IT - vinegar and water. I wonder if that will get all the vaseline off the mirror (vaseline definitely wasn't it). Your theory on the dog hair is a sound one, except for the lack of a dog. I compared the offending hairs to a sample taken from my clippers - no match. Must be magic.
The only problem with using any mirror (glass) is that you get the gap between product and surface.. which is why they tend to use highly reflective surfaces such as metal or perspex..
Hi Roy. Thanks for bringing this up. Yes, you are absolutely right and I use a sheet of acrylic on a black base, most of the time. But this video was inspired by finding this dirt-cheap mirror on sale for $4.50. Because it is so cheap, it is wafer thin, and by shooting parallel to the surface, that irritating gap is virtually nonexistent. It isn't the best solution (very breakable and a static electricity generator), but for people on a very tight budget, this may be a worthwhile substitute.
