Where there's smoke... - DPChallenge Forums

11/15/2005 01:02:02 PM · #1

I have been playing around with the new lense and was trying out a set-up I have wanted to try for a long time. Problem is, I am just not getting something right.

I would like to photograph smoke...sort of like cigarette smoke as it lazily drifts upward, but my smoke source is slower so there is more a drifty/settled/foggy kind of look. Any suggestions to get the detail in the smoke to stand out more?

Tried:
on camera flash - too harsh and drowns out the smoke no matter what background
black/red/white backgrounds - red seems to work the best so far, white is a wash and black just too dark
shutter speeds - have gone from @1/500 sec to 3 sec. Faster and the smoke always looks too thin and slower it becomes dreamy like water on a slow shutter speed, no detail, just cloudy
f-stop - closed it up at first hoping for better definition, but even all the way open it looks the same. Does not seem to have as much affect as shutter speed does at any f stop
lighting - seems to get best definition with a regular household lamp at @60 watts at an angle (@45 or so) to the smoke

11/15/2005 01:02:59 PM · #2

damn typo in title! I hate when that happens...

EdIT: damn typo in post too...

Message edited by author 2005-11-15 13:03:24.

gurlwithapen

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/15/2005 01:08:36 PM · #3

try a cigar...thicker smoke.

notesinstones

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

11/15/2005 01:14:55 PM · #4

All of the above - and light it from above or a sharp angle with something like a halogen desklamp that is directed - you need light directed as a beam through a small space. Know how you see dust floating in a late afternoon sunbeam? Aim for that - because thats all smoke really is, tiny particles caught on gasses. Looking forward to the results. I've had good luck with a lamp suspended shade down over the smoke from above and two maglights in from the sides.

Message edited by author 2005-11-15 13:18:57.

11/15/2005 01:19:05 PM · #5

Thank you for the title edit!

11/15/2005 01:46:08 PM · #6

Originally posted by gurlwithapen:

try a cigar...thicker smoke.

I actually tried that first, but it reacts a lot like cigarette smoke - it is too hot and moves too fast for what I am after. Maybe I used the wrong kind.

gurlwithapen

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/15/2005 02:02:07 PM · #7

hmm...of all the smoke i have shot, its always been cigars. this is probably something you've already considered, but is there a fan, or air vent in the room you are shooting? if so, i would cut it off...
i'm sure that was just pointing out the obvious, but sometimes you forget the basics in the rush to create... :)

saracat

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

11/15/2005 02:09:37 PM · #8

Maybe try incense as your smoke source rather than tobacco. I've noticed that incense seems to create the prettier swirls you're looking for - maybe due to the higher oil concentration in the incense itself.

Message edited by author 2005-11-15 14:10:00.

modprod

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/15/2005 02:21:04 PM · #9

Back light it perhaps.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

11/15/2005 02:40:21 PM · #10

The more directional your light the better. Your ideal goal is to have a setup where the light and and spillover reflection misses the lens so that if there were no smoke, you'd get a black (or very dark) image. Once the smoke is there, it reflects the light into your lens (like the dust motes mentioned before). That will provide the most contrast. I'd try backlit from below, but block your camera from the light with something like a table or reflector or something.

modprod

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/15/2005 02:47:02 PM · #11

Mmm..Smoke has almost no reflection.Think the element you are looking to capture.

Jammur

Nikon D300

11/15/2005 02:51:09 PM · #12

It could be the weather, as atomospheric pressure and humidity effect the behavior of rising gasses. So, perhaps its just not the right day for your project.

tonyv

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

11/15/2005 03:51:47 PM · #13

Originally posted by saracat:

I've tried incense before. Is this what you want?

Taken outside on a still (for Cape Town) day, with trees in the garden as the backdrop. I was testing a new lens.

Cheers
Tony

Message edited by author 2005-11-15 15:55:49.

spydr

Nikon D850

Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4.0G IF-ED

11/15/2005 04:10:14 PM · #14

I found that side lit worked best for me (90 degrees). I shot in the dark with a black background. Insence provided the best smoke source.

I tried different colored saran wrap over my flash to provide color. To produce a white background, I inverted in PS.

more here

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS

11/17/2005 07:12:15 AM · #15

I have been using incense...weather seems to be the culprit I guess - no rain this morning and on a whim I lit some up to see and it was behaving mroe like I would expect. Now if it can just not rain until tonight...

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Firsty

Fujifilm X-E1

11/17/2005 07:19:07 AM · #16

try quickly dipping the incense in a little vegetable oil or better still spray a little cooking spay on it to get a thicker smoke

merheim