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Holy smokes...who still smoking....
Posted By: Pentax Mainer, 12-22-2015, 11:25 AM

When I get bored I go back and do the classic smoke closeup and some macro. Started this when I read a blurb on it 6 years ago. But I don't see mcuh anymore...kind of like droplets..was a big thing especially when controllers like the Camera Axe came out etc.

Anyway..this is with the K-3II and my Adaptall 23A in macro mode. I wanted to see how this lens worked compared to my Adaptall 01A.

Now the only photoshop altering was just a simple gradient layer since, to me, after a while the same old blue color gets boring.

Fun thing with smoke is the different abstract shapes you get. Yah I have plenty of of the typical rolling smoke but I have found there are far more interesting features if you pop off enough shots...things I don't see in the live view or even the preview. I only see it while editing.

I shoot it in RAW and have been trying DXO Pro 10 but trial just ran out so processing RAW in the stock DCU5 until I get some money to buy DXO 10. I'm no post processing genius so DCU or DXO works fine then off to PSE13.

I was at minimum macro which on the 23A is 1:4. Use a cheap rail to focus. Always have a low success rate as smoke wavers in and out of focus too much. End up with a lot of...oh man thats killer accept...its slightly out of focus...again!!

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12-22-2015, 12:10 PM   #2
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Nice image! I guess part of the reason we don't see smoke images as much as we used to is because fewer people smoke these days, so the means of generating smoke is more complex than it used to be, for some. But you're probably correct, in that it's hard to do well, and photographers have moved on to other things.
12-22-2015, 12:59 PM - 1 Like   #3
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Like the water collisions....had its moments. By the way..I don't use cigs...just incense. Which on one hand doesn't stink up the house as much but..does become a bit too much after 2 hours.

I suppose it isn't as much hard as it is a lot of.... close but no cigar... shots.

This one I lost the original file of. I know exactly how I did it but have never been able to nail it again...ever...not even close. Sadly this is just a low res file from my facebook. Lesson in frequently backing up your drive. Mine crashed hard before I put a bunch of stuff on my thumb drive.

Oh well...maybe one day it will come back in style...for a short time.
12-22-2015, 02:49 PM   #4
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Very cool (Kool?) well done!

12-22-2015, 03:26 PM   #5
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Yes, really nice images.
12-22-2015, 04:39 PM - 1 Like   #6
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Holy smokes, but I can not resist!

12-22-2015, 09:54 PM   #7
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those smoke pics are great!

12-23-2015, 09:45 AM   #8
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nice smoke pics - next on my list when I get the chance. Thanks for sharing.
12-23-2015, 11:03 AM - 1 Like   #9
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I am appreciative of the compliments. I enjoy this quite a bit now. When I first did it maybe 6 years ago I just looked at them as smoke pics until a few years later I started to see other abstract images within the smoke. Kind of a lot like looking at clouds and saying hey..that one looks like face..or a wabbit...( thats right...wabbit). Then by simply using a gradient layer and using a hue or color blend mode I found you can highlight certain features better.
Kind of turned into an abstract art thing although I dod not alter the photo's much other than hue...no trickery.
So...can you see the womens figured that looks like it is seated slightly in this one...kind of like she is behind a flowing veil or a ghostly image. Or......I am just staring at my screen WAY too much today.
Either way thank you for the kind words.
12-23-2015, 02:33 PM   #10
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Absolutely breath taking.


Sorry I could not resist the pun but the compliment is real.
12-23-2015, 11:23 PM   #11
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Very good shots, love the second one. I played with this for a while last year, this now reminds me to have another crack at it.
12-29-2015, 10:48 AM   #12
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Was hoping to do some snowflake macro today but....the snow is mostly freezing crystals so...did a few more incense smoke figures. My wife calls em jellyfish and aliens...I guess I see that too.

Hopefully some people might look at this venue and try it again. There so much more to see than the typical plumes.




---------- Post added 12-29-15 at 10:55 AM ----------

12-29-2015, 11:23 AM   #13
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Those are absolutely stunning!

May we ask, what lens, settings, etc., was used? I'd love to give this a try!
12-29-2015, 03:02 PM   #14
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Absolutely beautiful! What a great idea revisited! Im always looking for photo ideas for those dreary winter days. Thanks for the idea and congrats on a great set of shots!
AL

Last edited by brewmaster15; 12-29-2015 at 03:27 PM.
12-29-2015, 04:01 PM - 2 Likes   #15
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Oh sure...nothing really secret about it for sure. I started it after reading on line tutorial on it years back...wish I still had the link.

Basic setup really.
K3II with normally a Tamron Adaptal 01a 35-80 lens although I will sometimes swap in the Adaptall 90mm or 60-300mm. These are all the 35-80. I will sometimes go into the lowest macro range but DOF is thin and keepers are low. SO usually I am right around 70-80mm.
Shutter is usually set to sync speed (180). I dont want the background getting exposed so I try and keep it at 160-180 and an aperature of 11 or smaller

Aperature around 11 as a general rule. Wider than 8 it starts to get soft and I saw no gains in sharpness beyond 11 or so. But again it is a little bit of experimenting to find the sweet spot.

Shot in RAW then sent to PS as a TIFF

Flash is Yongnou 560IV using off camera either 90 degrees left or right..does not matter.

I have a Yongnou wireless transmitter and the flash is able to receive the signal so I don't need a wireless receiver.

I cut two cardboard barn doors to put on either side of the flash to keep flash from flaring the lens or lighting the backdrop.

Flash setting vary for effect but generally are power 1/8 and zoom 70mm. Flash is obviously in M mode. I do fiddle around with these depending on how much smoke I want lit and how bright....its a bit of fiddling to find the settings...and obviously depends on focal length also.

Backdrop in this case is just a cheap trifold cardboard black display board from wally world.

Like I said flash is set 90 to the camera and is just a few inches from the incense. Generally I like to light it from slightly underneath...but straight on sideways works as well.

Last is some type of modeling light...I am not a pro sand so I use what I have. In this case I use a wand type LED flashlight but originally I used one of those small halogen goosneck desk lamp...actually worked the best. You need to see the smoke clearly to focus and see when to release the shutter. The light shines from the opposite side as the flash.

I use incense sticks or incense cones just depends...cones have a thicker smoke.

When I first did this I just set the incense stick in a lump of playdoh...my grandaughter has a bunch around and it works great to hold the stick at various angles. Angles affect the plume shape...I like it an angle verses straight up.

Banging on the table with your hand or lightly waving the hand will cause the plume to waver so you get different shapes...otherwise it just gets boring real fast. Usually the plume gets turbulent about 10" or so above the stick and this is where you get the typical whorls, rolls etc.

However that got boring real quick. Then one day I was playing with the incense stick, moving it around....bobbing it up and down and I realized there was a lot more interesting shapes then there were just leaving it in a stand. The jellyfish shapes are done by lightly bobbing the incense stick as I move it across the focal plane. This creates little puffs and then the tentacle trails. See example...this is the jpeg but not edited or cropped.


Sometimes I just move the stick from camera left to right and create ribbons. such as this one...




Now the trick is getting the smoke in focus...and oh yah I am using a remote but I have done it with one hand on the incense and one on the shutter. If you are fairly close I find the IR remote won't always trigger because...well I don't know why... but it does fail for some reason and so I use a wired. I think too close and the IR beam is too narrow and you have to really aim it directly at the sensor verses further away.

Anyway focus...here is the pig. The smoke moves with minute air currents so it goes in and out and if you move the stick to get shapes then your moving and so keepers are about 10%.

If you are just leaving it in a stand then its more like 50% and really i mean those in focus. I do mark a line with some tape that represents the focal line so I know where to move the stick but that assumes the smoke trail doesn't wander...and it will so you can see how you have low percent of dead nuts focus...and those are really rare...in this case real close is fine IMHO.

Obviously you can see how you can play with focal length and aperture to try and get as much wiggle room as possible. I have used my 60-300mm Adaptal and this has worked well. I am going to play with it more tomorrow but I like the 35-80 the best so I defer to it.

So you can see there is much left up to the individual to find what works. I have hand held using true macro...that works great....I use a tripod for the ones I move the stick by hand obviously..and this works just as good. I just like to have a hand free to create slight changes in the smoke so usually its a tripod.

I use live view about 50% of the times but it has just a touch of lag so unless its needed I don;t use it. I do use a 1.3-1.8 magnifier because without my glasses I can't see diddly and this has helped with macro and this application.

I check the first few shots for effect and then when happy zip off about 20-30. Then make a few adjustments in flash power and go for another 2-30 or so. Why change power well.....there is a different effect between higher flash output and slightly lower.

Lower power or lower exposures actually gives a different look then higher exposures. There is no real correct exposure setting since it varies on what your after. The only bad thing is way underexposed and way over exposed IMO and everything in between is just different looks.

When you get the more exposed shots the edges of the smoke are more defined and white while the veil ( I call it the veil..the more solid or fabric looking portions) will be soft and translucent. This helps define features and if you post process with gradients. Like this...


Slightly lower exposures create a softer edge and more dreamlike image. like this..



In the higher exposures the edges are defined and white but the veil is almost see through whereas in the lower exposures the edges are not lit bright but the veil is more cloth like and soft. Just depends on what you want and such.

Last..post processing is pretty straight forward and I think your choice. I shoot RAW as everyone does and process it in the OEM Pentax utility mainly for noise reduction and any exposure correction. Then saved as a tiif and sent to PSE10. I will add gradients on a top layer and use the layer mode Hue or color. Or you can just adjust hue straight up if you want a look other than the straight blue.

You will have to spot heal little white dots from what I guess is dust but not sure...this is normal and was even mentioned in the original article. But not sure what these spots are..maybe small smoke particles..?

Thats the quick version. It's a lot of play and see...but it comes real quick.

Hope that helps...and thanks guys.

Last edited by Pentax Mainer; 12-29-2015 at 04:58 PM.
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