The Moore Pen

[Cryptos]

Okay, I was reading elsewhere about how people use a lightbox to take their lovely pictures or their equally lovely pens, and I found a thread that showed how it was done on the cheap. Now, as many of you would probably attest, I have the photography skills of brain-damaged baboon. Anyway, this morning I wandered into my workshop, grabbed a cardboard box, cut a great big hole in one side and covered that with a piece of old white T-shirt. I stuck a flooring tile inside the box and used a placemat as the backdrop.

 

My camera is a Nikon coolpix 4000 or something. It's about 11 years old and as basic as anything - quite apart from the aforementioned lack of skills. Oh, and I couldn't find a suitable lamp to suspend over the box, so I used a Fenix flashlight! Right. The box is set up with the hole on the top for the light source, and the open end of the box is where I stick the camera - propped up on a minidisc case. It's all looking a bit Heath Robinson at this stage.

 

I grab a pen and chuck it on the floor tile (not literally, of course!), set the camera to macro and timer, switch on the flashlight (which I am holding in my hand, a bracket would have helped) and this is what I got:

 

 

This all took about 30 minutes from start to finish and I took just one photo. Obviously I have heaps to learn, but I hope this gives others a little encouragement in trying the lightbox idea. If I can do this, just think what you can do with your greater skills and resources!

Edited January 10, 2015 by Cryptos

[jdllizard]

You can play with different bulbs too. I see a lot of yellow in you pic, a whiter or bluer light will give you even better images.

 

But nice job on the DIY project!

[Cryptos]

Hehe! The Fenix flashlight is very white. I think the tile was a kind of greyish/yellow and the placemat was a dark brown colour - black may be a better choice.

 

Anyway it gives me some idea of how the system works. And short of buying an light tent it gives me something to play with.

 

I'll try a plain white flooring next time as this pen is more silvery than this.

 

 

EDIT: I just had a quick look on eBay and small light tent kits are not very expensive at all .Still it's fun to cobble something together mad scientist style!

Edited January 10, 2015 by Cryptos

[jdllizard]

I've seen guys even make them out of a cardboard box and a can of flat white spray paint.

 

And I am a HUGE Fenix fan, I have 2 of the PD35's. They put out 950 Lumens.

[Cryptos]

Nice!

 

I used an LD22 for this experiment. There was an old table lamp with a clamp lying around but I couldn't find a bulb so I improvised with the flashlight.

 

Edit: I re-uploaded the photo. Reason: I stuffed it onto Paint.net and used autobalance - I'm cheap like that. Slightly less yellow now.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Cryptos

[sd10521]

Very nice. Thank you for sharing your results.

Very motivational, especially for cost / time involved.

I'm going to have to work up something like this so I can sell some junk on everyone's favorite auction site so I can buy more pens and ink.

[mike.jane]

Also with this kind of good lighting you';; be able to see every speck of dust. Wiping everything down thoroughly (maybe with a microcloth, or using a vacuum would help heaps. (,--inspired to use the Aussie/Kiwi 'heaps' for a bit).

[linearM]

Thanks for your post. It has inspired me to try it myself. I keep an inventory of my pens with a written description and a photo page. I'm not always happy with my photos and this may help.

 

One thing I often notice in the classifieds here on FPN is that people don't seem aware of color balance in their photographs. Usually it is a matter of not knowing to adjust their camera for daylight, incandescent, or florescent or whatever their light source is.

 

I enjoy collecting and using Moore pens so enjoyed seeing your photo.

[Cryptos]

Thank you linearM. The colour is not quite right, though this is a difficult pattern to capture anyway I guess. It's more green and silvery. Hard to describe. Anyway the point was to say that even a fool like me can get an attractive picture (albeit a bit inaccurate). It's amazingly pretty in the hand. All my previous attempts to capture it in natural direct light were terrible, truly terrible.

 

That Moore Pen cost me $25 and is the only one I have. Nib says maniflex, is a medium (I think) and has bit f flex to it. It's the smoothest pen I have ever used, though a bit to thick for my type of writing.

[Stu L]

Cryptos- good effort!

I always saw shots like that and presumed pen collection must have appealed to professional photographers.

Guess I'll go find a box

[jdllizard]

Cryptos- good effort!

I always saw shots like that and presumed pen collection must have appealed to professional photographers.

Guess I'll go find a box

Use the whitest flat white spray paint you can find for the inside of the box, and the whitest light source to illuminate it for the most accurate color rendering.

 

(I'm not a photographer but I do know a bit about the properties of light, hazards of my old job)

[Cryptos]

That may be why it has got a lot of yellow in the picture. I didn't even think of covering the inside of the box with white paint (or anything white). Perhaps I am seeing the results of light reflected off the beige of the cardboard?

'

There's some nice little kits around in the US for about $50 or so. Of course, shipping, yadda yadda... I may have a go at making one from removable parts, or maybe a wireframe. I'd forgotten that it is actually fun to tinker with stuff. Too long working behind a desk these last 7 years, alas.

[Stu L]

Let us know how you get on.

I was thinking along similar lines; that something collapsible would be good for storage...

[linearM]

I've seen some photos that come close to describing the beauty of a pen. But, a pen in the hand is often far more beautiful...it is hard to get the depth and play of light that one sees in a pen in a photograph but we can keep trying. I'm looking for a box.

 

I took a couple of workshops from Craig Blacklock the Minnesota nature photographer. We used a diffusion tent (a sheet plastic cover that had been abraded to give it a frosted appearance laid over a framework). It softened the light, wonder how that would work over the top of the box.

[Cryptos]

I'm no photographer so I am trying to keep it all as simple as possible. When we look at different opacity and colours of the diffusion material, different types of light source, how many lights and on and on... well, that's all a bit much for me. So, box, pen, camera, light, thin white fabric, and we're good to go. For the time being I am happy to stay within some very tiny limits. I am surprised Karl (KBeezie) hasn't popped in for a comment. His photos are always superb.

[jdllizard]

That may be why it has got a lot of yellow in the picture. I didn't even think of covering the inside of the box with white paint (or anything white). Perhaps I am seeing the results of light reflected off the beige of the cardboard?

'

There's some nice little kits around in the US for about $50 or so. Of course, shipping, yadda yadda... I may have a go at making one from removable parts, or maybe a wireframe. I'd forgotten that it is actually fun to tinker with stuff. Too long working behind a desk these last 7 years, alas.

You're exactly right about the yellow. You need the flat white paint to cut down on reflections and colors of light you don't want, from bouncing around inside the box and distorting the coloring of your image (pen). You can also make a second box using flat black for capturing images of white or light colored pens to give a good contrast, maybe even white bottom, black background. Whichever you use, you still want as white a light as you can find for illumination.

[Tojusi]

One way to go would be to fix the white balance on camera ( if possible) or later when processing the picture. Using a gray card might help.

[Cryptos]

I have no idea what that means. I just point the camera and press the button. Camera dial is set to 'A' , whatever that is, and choose the close-up thing and the timer. Remember I am only one step up from knowing which end to point at the subject.

[Stu L]

A is usually auto, and these days cameras do a fairly decent job set to auto.

Like you Cryptos, I'm no photographer, but I was once told to do whatever you can in the real world to get the picture right, then use processing as a last resort to fix things.

[Stu L]

Sorry, double post

Edited January 11, 2015 by Stu L