Recession

Talk about recessions. Most of the country and world have been in one for a little over a year. This city has been in one for 40 years. Doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon.

I'm talking about Detroit. It's only about an hour drive from my house. The really depressing thing about these photos from Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre is that you can look at their photos from East Germany and they could very easily be mistaken for one another. Capitalism and Communism boiled down to the same pile of rubble.

Wall-o-Wood

It ain't braggin' if it's true.

Bacardi

One for work. Canon 5D/24-105 F4 L, One Alien Bee 800 set at 1/4 power with large softbox high above the camera against white seamless. Thanks to Zack Arias and Strobist.

AMCOR Design Team

Ricardo,Rick,Brad,Richard,Jack,Kim,Cheryl,Greg,Paul,Carlos,Ivan

FUZE

I have finally learned how to take a good photo of a container against a white background, without needing to do a LOT of post production work in Photoshop.
Thanks to strobist.com for everything that I have learned.

Work Photo

OK, so I may in fact be my own toughest critic. I had to set up the work camera to take about 200 employee photos. I wasn't actually supposed to take the photos, just set it up so someone else could take the photos. Here is my photo. I tried to employ everything that I have been able to learn from Strobist.com, and then make it as simple as possible for a very nice lady who is a self declared "point-and-shoot" kind of photog. 580EXII with manual settings at 1/2 power camera left with a shoot through umbrella, and a large window camera right for back fill. I couldn't see myself through the view finder for obvious reasons, so there is noticeable glare on my glasses, plus the funny refraction of the side of my head. Oh well, it's a little better than a mug-shot.

Headspace Calculation

((Overflow capacity- Fill Capacity)/Overflow Capacity) X 100 = % Headspace

((1819ml - 1750ml) / 1819ml) X 100 = 3.79% Headspace

Maximum Hoop Stretch Ratio

Look at your preform. In the "meaty" part of the body of the preform, you need the inside diameter at the top and bottom of this section. Average these two inside diameters. Take a look at the overall diameter of the Container. Divide the Overall diameter of the container by the average inside diameter of the preform. This will give you the maximum hoop stretch ratio.

Before and After Magic

Shot with a Canon 5D and a 24-105mm F4 L, with no touch-up.


Above image inserted into CATIA V5 Photostudio and 3D model of new Smirnoff rendered in place of original stand in. Small amount of clean-up work done in Adobe Photoshop afterwards.

Professional Photography

I went on my first professional shoot today. Professional in the sense that it was for work, and I was "on-the-clock". I was tasked with procuring photos of containers on the store shelves, and given a list of up-scale or trendy stores that I should start with. Ha-ha, no small task. I had a feeling that the managers of these well known national chains would not be real happy to see someone snapping photos inside their stores. I was using the "work" camera so as to provide us with the best possible images in terms of resolution and size. Our work camera is a Canon 5D with a Canon EF 24-105mm F4 L series lens. This thing is huge. Big black camera syndrome. Since I was going to be taking pictures on private property, I was going to have to ask permission first. I went prepared with a stack of my business cards in my pocket, and the camera slung over one shoulder, in a non-threatening manner, and the lens cap visibly covering the lens when I entered each establishment. In each case I walked up to the front desk and asked to speak with a manager, and then proceeded to introduce myself, provide them with my business card, and then describe what I wanted to take pictures of. The first two places that I went to had very well trained assistant managers that could recite directly from the employee handbook. They each told me that they would love to be able to help me out, but it was simply not allowed due to corporate policy. However, the third place that I went to, I got lucky. The assistant manager at this location was clearly not being recognized for his abilities to effectively manage a store and was out to make a name for himself. I approached this one the same as the last two, and this assistant manager didn't see any problems with me taking a few photographs. I tried real hard not to look surprised, and simply thanked him and proceeded down the aisle, powering up the camera, removing the lens cap, and looking for my first subject. Now I had a very specific list of containers that we needed photos of, but I was pretty sure that this opportunity wasn't going to last long, and that I might not get another opportunity any time soon. So I took pictures of every kind of bottle that I could find. I was able to snap 43 pictures in the time it took the assistant manager to interrupt his boss and discuss the situation, and then track me down in the store to let me know that he "Would have to ask me to leave." Less than ten minutes total. I immediately turned off the camera, and left quickly and quietly. I succeeded at accomplishing my task, but I didn't really enjoy doing it. It just goes to show, that the last thing that anyone should ever do, is take a perfectly good hobby, and turn it into work.

Inspiration

My dad and his dad both had Polaroid Land cameras when I was a kid. My dad's aunt had a little Brownie. My mom had a Kodak Insta-matic. I had my picture taken every time that I moved as a kid. When my dad got a Yashica FR-1 35mm film camera, I was hooked. I love gadgets, and a SLR is the grand-daddy of gadgets. I bought a Canon T-60 when I could afford it. I now have a Canon EOS Elan II film and a Canon EOS 10D digital. When I saw the first Photowalk that Robert Scoble filmed with Thomas Hawk, I was inspired to learn more, try harder, and take more photos.

Meetings

Some of our best meetings, happen outside, with food, behind the loading dock, and between the electrical panels and the chiller condensers. The right environment can be everything to improve your concentration and ambition. Haha...we like it.