This is one of those things where the discourse is just completely broken. Both of these takes are shit and no one is concerned about the actual problem.
Republicans want to bring back incandescents because they just want to trigger the libs and have decided light bulbs are woke.
And the “LEDs are fine” crowd are throwing people with flicker sensitivities under the bus. And, no, you don’t have to be “pretty far on the spectrum” to notice a difference. And even if you did… why in the world is this person so dismissive of the millions of autistic folks?
LEDs, for the most part, are superior to incandescent bulbs. Collectively they save people billions of dollars in energy costs and greatly reduce fossil fuel use. You have more options for color and brightness. You can control them with your phone. LEDs are fantastic.
Unfortunately there is a design flaw that makes LEDs hard to use for certain people. Due to AC power, most LEDs have a 60hz refresh rate. Meaning they turn off and on 60 times per second. With incandescents this didn’t matter because the filament didn’t have time to lose its glow between cycles.
Most people cannot see this flicker in LEDs. But there are millions of people who are sensitive to it and it can cause migraines and discomfort.
The solution is definitely not to go back to incandescents. There are flicker free LEDs and I think with some regulation we could make sure all LEDs are flicker free or at least make sure flicker free bulbs are easy to find and not priced at a premium.
Thankfully there is a group testing bulbs to find the ones that will most likely cause no discomfort. They call themselves the Flicker Alliance and their website has a pretty decent selection of tested and approved bulbs.
So if you feel like your LED bulbs might be causing you distress, that is a good resource to try. I think there is also something you can do to make sure the LED drivers are using DC power, but I haven’t really looked into that.
It’s probably not as important as preventing migraines, but bulbs with bad flicker also cause a lot of problems for photographers and videographers. Photos can have heavy banding and video can have these horizontal lines that just slowly travel down. There are some newer cameras that can detect the flicker and sync your shutter to it. And Sony just released a global shutter camera that also fixes this issue. But it would just be a lot easier if they started manufacturing LEDs without flicker in the first place.
In any case, I just thought this was an important subject that doesn’t get a lot of attention so I’d post it here as well.
Hey Froggie! I need to take better product photos indoors. I have a decent camera, and great success shooting outside, but I really hate being at the whims of the weather when I need pics of new items. Most of what I shoot is small (under 1 foot long, often 6” or less), and I’m setting up small staging areas with little props for them. I have a couple tabletop lights with tracing paper covers to diffuse them a bit, but I struggle getting enough light. If I only have space and budget for one big floor light, is there a model or brand you’d recommend looking at for maximum lighting returns?
I’ve been struggling with some health issues and don’t have a lot of energy. But I did want to give you a few quick suggestions and hopefully if I feel better in the future I can answer more in depth. I’ve been wanting to make a post about this with cheap lights and basic equipment and shooting my own examples, but the energy has eluded me.
Without a budget it’s hard to give a recommendation for new lights, but COB (chip on board) video lights can be found for around $100-150 these days. I would say 2 of those with a “bowens mount” would be able to do just about any product photography with no trouble. The bowens mount allows you to apply photography grade reflectors, diffusors, soft boxes, etc. Neewer is a budget brand that makes surprisingly sturdy equipment. It’s an investment, but you will find working with proper lights will make things a lot easier.
That said, I have used ordinary desk lamps with great success. Better lights are easier to work with and much more convenient, but light is light. I was just playing around with my mom’s red stapler that she liked because it was red and didn’t realize it was from Office Space.
I used desk lamps, diffusion material, and also… a smartphone. And while it was a bit of a pain in the ass compared to my old studio setup, I was really surprised with the results.
I do miss my studio though.
But I’m hoping to rebuild it soon.
My point being… having better lights isn’t always necessary and you may find it does not improve your situation much without changing a few other important things.
First, if you shoot with a tripod you can increase your shutter speed and even if the lights aren’t very bright, they can still work. You just need to be sure you are in a very dark environment and the lights for your photos are the only ones affecting the exposure. You don’t want light from a window or overhead light mucking things up.
But I think your biggest issue is how you are using diffusion. Tracing paper is actually great inexpensive diffusion, especially for gradient lighting. (Savage Translum or Lee Filters 216 white diffusion would be the professional equivalent). But by attaching it directly to the light you are limiting your options greatly. I would create tracing paper panels that you can move closer and farther away from your lights. Just create some kind of DIY frame so you can stand them up vertical and move them around your lights. Or you can just hold the diffusion in front of the light if you need to. Make the panels as big as your space allows.
By seperating the diffusion from the lights you can play with moving things closer and farther apart. Move the light closer for a harder light source. Move the tracing paper panels closer to your subject for a larger light source. The permutations are endless and a lot of fun to experiment with.
Just remember…
Bigger light source = soft light Small light source = hard light Light close to tracing paper = short gradient Light far from tracing paper = long gradient
When using the tracing paper, remember the surface area of the paper is your light source, not your actual light. So the closer you move that surface to your subject, the bigger and softer the light becomes.
So to summarize, make your room really dark, put the camera on a tripod, get the tracing paper off the lights and see what you can come up with.
Also, here is a Karl Taylor video where he uses only desk lamps to do a high end wine bottle photo. His “scrims” or diffusion panels are huge and you can build your own much smaller. They only need to be that big if you start taking photos of bigger stuff.
And this is his video on diffusion material which might be helpful too.
Today I learned that Keanu Reeves developed a “mag flip” technique for reloading a gun that is now being adopted by competition shooters and actual soldiers.
Basically he just kinda twists the gun hard enough that the magazine flies out on its own so he can put a new one in faster.
I just thought it was crazy that an actor developed a viable combat technique.
The director of John Wick confirmed that Keanu came up with this independently and a popular firearms YouTuber said he saw competition shooters and military friends practicing this. So I would say this is accurate with a medium level of confidence.
A few people are disputing this. Which is fine. I did say medium level of confidence and I am not the biggest gun person, so I will leave it to the experts.
I do think it is entirely possible that Keanu discovered the mag flip on his own, even if he was not the first to do this.
And I think it is possible he brought awareness to the technique and inspired people to practice this so they can look cool like John Wick.
People still think Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, so I’m hoping being mistaken about flipping a magazine out of a gun is not a huge deal as far as sins of historical accuracy.
I’m sorry I did not vet the information better. I didn’t think it was a big deal like information about vaccines or climate change, so I posted this from hearsay from two people that seemed like they knew what they were talking about. One being Chad Stahelski who directed John Wick.
This post has gone super viral so I can’t really delete it from the internet or anything.
I do try hard to make sure information is accurate, my intent was not to be dishonest.
People gave me so much shit about this post. I think someone even sent me a death threat and I finally had to turn off anonymous messaging.
At the time I couldn’t find the clip I got the information from.
And a year later it showed up in my YouTube feed.
While I was mistaken in the first post, saying Keanu was patient 0 when it comes to the mag flip, I was accurate with my response.
Keanu figured it out on his own.
People who weren’t aware of the technique saw him do it and decided to learn it.
People used the technique in competitions.
That’s if you believe the director of the John Wick movies. He could be full of shit.
There was a second clip from a gun YouTuber I watched who said some of his military buddies were practicing the technique as well. I don’t know if that meant they were using it in actual combat or just when fucking around on the range. I probably made too much of an assumption when hearing that. When I looked more into it, disposing of magazines is typically frowned upon by the quartermaster.
I have no idea how to find that clip and he may also have been bullshitting I guess.
In any case, I really don’t understand why this inspired so much hate towards me.
I heard a fun thing. I repeated it.
Yes, I should have looked into it further.
But I can’t think of a single person who hasn’t passed along a fun fact without quadruple-checking it from independent sources.
I actually think regular beer is one of the grossest things I’ve ever tasted. In fact, after drinking a half beer I threw up because I hated the taste so much.
I drink non-alcoholic boutique soda pop. I’ve had alcohol maybe 3 or 4 times and one of those was during my First Communion ceremony in second grade. I nearly spit out Jesus’ blood onto Father Jerry.
You know that gene people have where cilantro tastes like soap? I think I have something like that towards alcohol.
I also have the cilantro thing. There was a taco incident I don’t want to talk about.
These are very unserious people though. This was the top-liked reply in this already bonkers thread.
I didn’t realize oversized testicles were anything but a serious medical condition.
Though if he is speaking metaphorically, I’m not sure a draft dodger with bone spurs who seems easily terrified qualifies in the gargantuan gonads department.
I’m trying to pick a shirt for my aunt’s funeral and my choice paralysis is loving that I could only narrow it down to 9 options. I thought I’d see if I can crowdsource a consensus. I’ll probably get 3 of these so I have options in the future for going out on the town.
As I do.
Sometimes.
Almost never.
I went ahead and added my jacket to the ensemble so you can see how the shirts blend. And I started photoshopping the entire outfit with the pants I got, but got tired after doing 4 of them, so I figured you can use your imagination for the rest.
One day I would like to get a suit because I do actually enjoy getting dressed up, but it is so hard to get anything off the rack that fits guys my size. And getting something tailored just to wear it once a year just doesn’t seem economical. Most people are fine as long as I am not wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
Small goof.
People are saying black because it is for a funeral. But I’m only going to the wake and conflated the two events in my mind. I know there is a custom to wear black to funerals in the US, but I don’t think my aunt nor her family would find wearing other colors any kind of insult.
It’s a Catholic funeral which means it is very long and there is going to be a lot of sit, stand, kneel (repeat). I figured my energies would be best used for the less formal wake afterward. I just don’t think I could handle both events and the wake seems like the one where I can offer my condolences and commune with family most effectively.
It seems like the black is a good choice regardless. And people seem to like the red as well. I want to get a third option but there isn’t a clear winner emerging.
I’m trying to pick a shirt for my aunt’s funeral and my choice paralysis is loving that I could only narrow it down to 9 options. I thought I’d see if I can crowdsource a consensus. I’ll probably get 3 of these so I have options in the future for going out on the town.
As I do.
Sometimes.
Almost never.
I went ahead and added my jacket to the ensemble so you can see how the shirts blend. And I started photoshopping the entire outfit with the pants I got, but got tired after doing 4 of them, so I figured you can use your imagination for the rest.
One day I would like to get a suit because I do actually enjoy getting dressed up, but it is so hard to get anything off the rack that fits guys my size. And getting something tailored just to wear it once a year just doesn’t seem economical. Most people are fine as long as I am not wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
I’m trying to decide if I have a lot of emo followers and so the black shirt is getting extra votes because we are all in a dark pit of despair, or if the black shirt is actually one of the more fashionable choices.
In any case, I feel like a consensus is building for at least 3 shirts, so that is really helping sway my decision paralysis. But a larger sample size might help me pull the trigger.
I hate that when I write posts like these I can either do them in a fun, creative way that grabs people’s attention or write them with extreme information density, explaining every varible and citing every example—making sure that I preemptively avoid comments like this.
I like using metaphors and subtext. I don’t think people always want things explained down to every technical detail. And I choose not to insult people’s intelligence.
But when I do that and people miss the subtext or don’t completely understand the metaphorical approach I used, I get comments like these.
No, the shallow depth of field is not the only variable and Mister Rogers is not the only example.
I thought that was fairly clear.
I do not have the time or energy to list every single factor and every possible show, movie, commercial, etc. that helped train people’s brains. That post would be a lot more technical and a lot less fun.
But I really hate getting these comments. Because I feel like people are accusing me of not knowing what I’m talking about or that I’m lying or bullshitting.
I’m giving you a 101 explanation and inviting you to jump into the rabbit hole if you want to gain a deeper understanding.
Can I just ask that people approach this with curiosity instead of skepticism?
Instead of the snarky “that seems like a stretch”, maybe ask a question.
Like, “What if someone never saw Mister Rogers and still sees the photos as miniature?”
And then myself or someone in the replies can give a more detailed explanation. It turns into a fun discussion. And I don’t curl up into a ball of despair.
Just to be clear, I’m saying this is based on an experiential frame of reference.
Mister Rogers is an example but not the only reference point in existence.
I do think Mister Rogers is probably hugely influential due to being on the air and in repeats for half a century. And since it was shown to almost every American child and since this effect was prevalent in the opening song of the show in every episode, I imagine this is the main reference point for many people.
But it could also be from seeing toy photography or toy commercials or diorama photography or stop motion movies or Team America.
You may not even remember what trained your brain.
I also wanted to mention several of the examples were created using a filter in Photoshop. Actually I was afraid one of them was A.I. because of a comment someone left, but I was able to verify it was based on an actual photography.
I don’t know if people feel this effect is less authentic or less special if done using a filter, but I’m afraid most of these photos are created that way and not with the actual lens.
That said, I have verified the following photos were taken with an *actual* tilt-shift lens and were not Photoshopped, just to make sure you have some authentic examples.
Photography rule of thumb… don’t use an 8mm lens to take a close-up of a face. Every book will tell you this. Every tutorial will stress it. Every class will forbid it.
You will end up distorting features and skewing the subject’s proportions.
35mm can work in candid settings.
50mm will roughly match the human eye’s perspective and give a naturalistic feel.
And 85mm is favored by the world’s best portraitists due to adding a small amount of flattering compression.
8mm is no.
8mm is ultra wide and ultra no.
It cannot be overstated how no the 8mm focal length is for a human face.
I’ve been stuck in a physical slump for about 7-ish weeks and it is starting to get to me. It’s like my body is stuck in low power mode and I just don’t have much productive energy. I’ve been trying to work on restoring photos but my willpower has been very inconsistent.
These slumps have happened before. They will happen again. And I always emerge from them eventually. But when they are this long I get very depressed and convince myself I am stuck like this forever. And that I will never be able to accomplish anything again.
But the other complication is the holidays. I mentioned on my Facebook page that my parents always made the holidays special. They went all out and did big decorations and cooked fancy dinners and we had these plates that we only used twice a year and silverware that stayed hidden in a drawer until Christmas Eve. We’d drive around and look at lights and we’d always have presents under the tree even when my parents probably couldn’t afford presents.
And my mom would wrap our presents in plain brown postal paper with green yarn and it was just so much more tasteful than the shiny, garish wrapping paper you get at the store.
I just always loved how classy that was. I loved how she took the time to put a little hand-drawn doodle on each gift. She took something simple and inexpensive and made it so much more personal and memorable than the more expensive thing.
And all of that is gone now.
And I don’t have a new family to build new traditions with.
And I never will because I’m disabled and that isn’t really an option.
And I can’t even be a cool uncle because my brother’s wife decided she hated me and my parents for no reason we could ever decipher. So I will never meet my niece.
And all of that just kind of converges in my brain during the holidays and it is very hard. And it is doubly hard because I can’t get out of bed. And I can’t concentrate.
So I am just bored and sad and frustrated.
Umm… Happy Thanksgiving?
Geez Ben, what do you want for Christmas? I’m sure I’ve got some brown paper around here somewhere.
But wrapping it in brown paper and drawing a cool Christmas doodle is probably not a service Amazon provides. Perhaps I’ll suggest it.
I was just being mopey and nostalgic.
And there was a lot more to it than the brown paper.
My mom made a lot of her own Christmas decorations.
She made these little reindeer out of sticks my dad found in the yard.
Or my parents would make decorations together and give them as gifts at the big extended family Christmas parties. The trees were one of their first attempts. But their wooden Santa Claus was probably their biggest hit.
And I always thought my mom did such a wonderful job decorating our tree. She used the same stringed popcorn for 30 years. A few of our dogs ate several pieces and never got sick.
She also kept this project my brother did in Catholic grade school. He cut out and colored all of these Christmas characters that were contorting themselves into the shapes of letters.
Which looked really cool when backlit by our bay window.
That was MacGyver our Westie. We had him while I was in high school.
And I can’t forget about the once-per-year plates and silverware.
So fancy.
Sprite always tasted better when you drank it out of a red goblet.
I miss all of it.
I miss joking with my dad.
And watching my mom open presents she got herself because she didn’t trust us to screw it up.
And yes the brown packages with the doodles.
They were just amazing parents and I’m so happy I got to spend so many holidays with them.
I just recently downloaded my parent’s data from their email accounts along with 20 years of digital photos and a bunch of old scans.
Check out this cool guy I found among them.
I was a huge baseball fan and they all had these flippy sunglasses. So I really-really-really wanted flippy sunglasses. But before there was Amazon and cheap knockoffs, the cool flippy sunglasses they used for sports were hundreds of dollars.
But these giant ones made for the elderly were tens of dollars.
So I was like…
“Close enough.” *flip*
Going through old photos is always a bit of a gamble for me. I never know if the nostalgia will be a nice reminder or if it will just compound that feeling of what I lost. Often it does both simultaneously. I get whiplash from feeling both positive and negative emotions at the same time.
But I think sharing the photos with others helps keep it positive. Keeping their memory alive in other people can make me feel like they won’t be forgotten.
