Backgrounds

This magnolia was photographed using a lightbox for sidelight. It was taken with my 60mm lens (1/250 sec f11, 15 images focus stacked in-camera). Keep reading to learn more about our OOF backgrounds (OOF = intentionally out of focus)

The backgrounds were OOF (out of focus) images printed by Jesse Thompson of Milford Photo. When I find an image that has pleasing colors I put the lens on manual focus and defocus the image to taster (usually shooting at f2.8 to f4 to keep the bokeh). When your prints arrive, use a few pieces of double sided tape to adhere them to foam core ($1 dollar store) or matboards (or you can take a back off of a store frame since you cannot get out for supplies right now)

You can join our email list to find out about us and tips like this one about backgrounds http://tinyurl.com/cuchara-photolist

#lisatomphotos #getolympus #homewitholympus #magnolia #lightbox #focusstacked PhotographybyLisaandTom Tom Cuchara Get Olympus

Lightbox photography: Part of our "Artist in Residence" pandemic series

Tom and I are making the best of this 'Stay at Home' directive by viewing it as our "Artist in Residence" period https://www.photographybylisaandtom.com/Creative/Spring2020-Artist-in-Residence/

Visit the Olympus Learn Center to get inspiration, tips and articles:   bit.ly/HomeWithOlympus
Tom and I currently have two articles in the #HomeWithOlympus series

Join our email list and get content like this and more sign up here http://tinyurl.com/cuchara-photolist

We are staying inside and doing our part to "flatten the curve" by creating images with humor, creativity and/or beauty. Minimally, we hope that our images caused you to pause and smile or forget about this strange new world for a second. And optimally, we hope that our pandemic images inspire you to get the camera out (at home) and create something. We would love to see what you are creating, tag us on Facebook when you post something that was inspired by our "Artist in Residence" series of images.

The images below were taken on a lightbox. 

FYI, Any lightbox will do, even an old slide slight box, although newer lightboxes and lightpads have better white balance optimized bulbs  

• https://amzn.to/39R7Wvs
• https://amzn.to/3c07j42

Safe

One of the last images Tom and I created before this stay at home/safe at home was, ironically, a SAFE -- that we lightpainted using Live Composite on our Olympus camera. 

We lightpainted and exposed 646 2-second images, stacked in-camera using lighten blend mode.

We both photographed both sides of the safe; Tom lightpainted the inside of the safe door and I lightpainted the outside of the safe door, here. 

Tom and I are currently making the best of this 'Stay at Home' directive by viewing it as our "Artist in Residence" period   https://www.photographybylisaandtom.com/Creative/Spring2020-Artist-in-Residence/

Join our email list and get content like this and more sign up here http://tinyurl.com/cuchara-photolist

In Live Composite mode the camera shoots a series of images continuously with the same exposure time and then the camera combines all the images together into a single composite, however, only the first image is used to record the ambient exposure of the background or foreground. 

After that, only the brighter pixels in any following images are used. This means that while the sky or an illuminated building won’t change, the bright lights from traffic will be written onto the composite image. This is similar to taking a series of images on a dSLR and then stacking them using the Lighten Blend mode in Photoshop (except that the camera does this in camera for you).

With Live Composite, one advantage is that when you are shooting stars or fireworks or light painting you do not need to worry that the sky (ambient light) will get brighter with each shot, only the trails of light will appear as the exposure continues. That same feature (sort of freezing the ambient light) makes Live Composite perfect for light painting inside if you do not have a "darkroom" or want to paint inside during the day or at night where there is ambient light from streetlights, etc.