[Leica] Ok - How do I fake Northern light window box?

[mstoesz at wyoming.com (Mike Stoesz)]

Good evening from Wyoming;

I did something similar with my newly designed studio.
I mounted two rails with a total of twentyfour  22 watt 3000 degree Kelvin 
compact flourescent bulbs in clamp on holders about 12 inches from a wall 
painted with Ace Hardware Ceiling white semi-gloss paint.  The lights are 
controlled from power strips-- 6 lights to the strip, and can be moved 
closer together at one end or spread out.  The top bank of lights is located 
8 feet from the floor and the lower bank of lights about 5 feet from the 
floor.  I can reflect some of this light back from the left with a 4x8 white 
foam core.  This was simple, versatile and cheap.  Color balance can be 
adjusted either in camera or in PS or both.  I usually make a test exposure 
with a my test model (a teddy bear holding a white/grey/black disk).  Then 
adjust for exposure via histogram in camera and color balance via test 
exposures loaded into PS.

Mike Stoesz
Laramie Digital Photo Center
Laramie, Wyoming

s


Message: 28
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:29:01 -0500
From: Mike Durling <durling@cox.net>
Subject: Re: [Leica] Ok - How do I fake Northern light window box?
To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
Message-ID: <4765DEED.4080407@cox.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Try building a really big frame, like the size of a window, and cover it 
with diffusion material.  Punch some light through it.  This makes for a 
really big soft box.  You can also try bouncing off of something like a 
4x8' piece of foamcore.  The idea is that you want to make a BIG light 
source.

Mike D

Eric Korenman wrote:
> I was on indoor shoot today with some super kids but really bad light.
> Broke out the quantum flash and shoot through umbrella - something just
> wasn't right and I hated the light I was creating.
> We wandered around the house until I found it - the bay window facing 
> north,
> looking out over a snow covered field.
> The light it produced was glorious. Shoot saved!
> 
> So - it got me to thinking again.
> I have tried again and again to 'fake' that kind of be-yoo-tiful soft 
> light,
> but I never get it right.
> I've tried shoot thru / shoot into umbrellas, shoot against white walls,
> scrims, soft boxes (closest look yet)
> but nothing is 'right'.
> 
> How do you fake it?
> That is - soft north window light?
> 
> Eric
> 
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> Leica Users Group.