gadget post
So, yes, I've been a bit disconnected recently - mostly because I've been having MSc problems. These are about as sorted as I can make them at the moment, while I await word from supervisor. This frees me mentally, which is good.
In the meantime, I've been playing with a sound-activated trigger for a flash: loud noises trigger the flash, you leave your camera on a long exposure in dark place and make some cool looking and noisy happen :)
It's a very easy circuit, there are lots of variations out there. I'm still playing with it; mostly it needs adjustable time delay, so you can get the right amount of bounce or breakage in your subject. It's much easier than manually triggering the flash in the dark though!
Not produced using glue.
Not genuine flying saucers.
As you can plainly see, I am not trying too hard for good composition or scene, *and* the exposure is dodgy. Fine art these are not :) I think getting exposure is always going to be tricky - you can't use shutter speed at all, you can light-meter based on the scene, and the flash is very close to the subject. The auto-trigger does make it easy to repeat shots, and you can get the right exposure with a dry run, so it's not a big problem, just something different to work with.
Now I'm off to get a time-delay working. When I've moved it off breadboard I'll probably post schematics and pics - it's a really easy circuit and anyone with any experience with soldering could make it. Alternatively, any camera freaks out there want one, I'll probably make and post them for cost (and pics from you!) if I don't get too many requests. Cost is something less than £10 / USD 20 - with the notable addition of whatever connector you need for your flash unit... If you're lucky enough to have jack, that's about 20 pence. PC cord or hotshoe, about £5 - £10. Rip-off bastards. If someone knows where I can get cheap PC cord plugs or cables, that'd be nice.
In the meantime, I've been playing with a sound-activated trigger for a flash: loud noises trigger the flash, you leave your camera on a long exposure in dark place and make some cool looking and noisy happen :)
It's a very easy circuit, there are lots of variations out there. I'm still playing with it; mostly it needs adjustable time delay, so you can get the right amount of bounce or breakage in your subject. It's much easier than manually triggering the flash in the dark though!
Not produced using glue.
Not genuine flying saucers.
As you can plainly see, I am not trying too hard for good composition or scene, *and* the exposure is dodgy. Fine art these are not :) I think getting exposure is always going to be tricky - you can't use shutter speed at all, you can light-meter based on the scene, and the flash is very close to the subject. The auto-trigger does make it easy to repeat shots, and you can get the right exposure with a dry run, so it's not a big problem, just something different to work with.
Now I'm off to get a time-delay working. When I've moved it off breadboard I'll probably post schematics and pics - it's a really easy circuit and anyone with any experience with soldering could make it. Alternatively, any camera freaks out there want one, I'll probably make and post them for cost (and pics from you!) if I don't get too many requests. Cost is something less than £10 / USD 20 - with the notable addition of whatever connector you need for your flash unit... If you're lucky enough to have jack, that's about 20 pence. PC cord or hotshoe, about £5 - £10. Rip-off bastards. If someone knows where I can get cheap PC cord plugs or cables, that'd be nice.