ProofGrade Projects and Pre-Release Glowforge :glowforge: Living Hinge Photo Holder

WooHoo!!! GF :glowforge: videos in overdrive production!!

Congrats on your gift and tip of the hat to your colleagues :beers:

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I congratulated them on the spatula gift as a clever way to test focus, or as a handy snap chat filter stand in.

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Congrats! That’s quite a gift!

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Wow
those are incredible! Thanks for sharing them.

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What a very generous and truly thoughtful gift. Man
it just keeps getting better and better for you
all these ‘toys’ to play with. And WE, your audience also reap the benefits.

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That’s delightful, @marmak3261!

@jrnelson, lovely. I’m stealing that acrylic trick.

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Very thoughtful coworkers indeed :hugs:

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Thanks, and by all means! In those pictures, we had a white cloth attached at the top back of the light tent, gently curving toward the bottom front. The acrylic just sat on the fabric, which keeps it from moving around, and provides a nice white backdrop beneath the plastic.

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I purchased several different shades of posterboard and got the tissue. I have a few LED strands, including one that I can mix any color I want. Looking forward to seeing if I can improve the shots. Thanks for the inspirations.

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I would really recommend an upgrade to a photography strobe when you get a little extra money, it’s so worth the investment if you plan to keep photographing, and makes life much easier.

I have Alien Bees strobes from Paul Buff, $225. http://www.paulcbuff.com/b400.php

You dont have to worry about shutting out light from windows or even ambient room lighting because these strobes are so bright, and the flash duration is so short, it completely replaces any ambient light present in the scene and you wont have color balance issues because of different lighting sources. In fact the strobe head has an incandescent lamp in it for help setting up the shot and even that does not interfere.

For small studio work you only need one strobe. The Alien Bee is bright enough that you can just use foam core boards or mirrors as reflectors to help light the scene.

Need to shoot something a little larger and dont want to build a new light box to accommodate the size? No problem. Set up your photo table in the corner of the room and fire that strobe into the corner of the walls and ceiling. You will get light from every direction, it works great!

The acrylic base works well too. I shot this one using a piece of dark smoked transparent acrylic, I placed it on top of a black surface to kill reflections, which then allowed me to use smaller white cards to literally sculpt highlights onto the ring where I wanted them. My dad is a jeweler and retired police officer from the St Louis City force, this is a piece he designed and handmade.

Also a tip for photographing things with textures or fine details, like food, or say engraved wood grain. Try backlighting them to cast the shadows toward the camera, this enhances that texture. You can then use reflectors to bounce some of that light back onto the front surface so it’s not completely in shadow if you’re using a single light source.


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Thanks for the great tips. These are some essential skills and knowledge to have.

Dad’s ring is amazing! Thanks for his service to the community.

And what high school did you go to?:policeman:t3::walking_man:t2:

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Like @jrnelson 's work, gorgeous photography!

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:smiley: I never realized the depth of this running joke until I moved away from the St Louis area to Arizona, where people may think it an odd question! LOL. I was a suburban kid, went to Eureka High School. Mom went to Cleveland and Dad went to Afton, both agree they did not want to raise their kids in the City. Yourself? :slight_smile:

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Looks great. I wonder if you could add another U shaped layer of wood (or even chipboard) on top of the base frame to hold the picture instead of the engraved pocket. Would probably print faster and leave less charring :slight_smile:

They say this in Cincinnati, too. Always confuses outsiders.

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I’ll say. No idea what’s going on. Chuckle! :wink:

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Seeing those fresh juicy limes makes me want a margarita!!

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Oh. My. Gosh @mpipes! I went to Eureka High School as well!!!

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I do make a good marg :wink:

maybe we need a summer in january party


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Thanks for the pro tips, you and @mpipes!

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