Phood Photography

Whether it be in the garden or in the kitchen, I've taken my share of food pictures. From now on, in my house, food will take pictures of you :) Almost.

I've been curious about the Pringles macro lens hack for awhile now. Working on my last project with Brad got me enthused about giving it a try. So I got the parts together and went for it.

I was surprised at how quickly it went. I'm pretty experienced with my Dremmel (and a craft vise was key to maintaining finger integrity) so I was able to finish it off in only about 20 minutes while I was working in the kitchen making supper. This is the side that connects to the camera. I originally tried using the super glue, but it couldn't withstand the force that a heavy old lens in the end of tube exerted. Fortunate for me that James had some metal epoxy on hand and we soon made a permanent fix.

To the left you can see the lens. It's mounted backwards on purpose :)

This is how it looks. I choose this flavour of chip because it's my favourite, but I think the can also looks wicked. Beside it you can see my new Metz 58 AF-2 flash. I got it for the last project but forgot to include a picture.


I spent an hour or so setting up tripods, adjusting light and taking my first pics with it. Very difficult to get focus.
Good, good wholewheat Shreddies!
Passion Plant Tendril
Toonie

It was really hard to take pictures this way. I'm not sure I will have the patience. I am planning to try and make the tube adjustable. That should allow me to attempt some handheld stuff outdoors.

Here are all the pictures.

Comments

and then the_doctor said…
Great shot of the plant tendril! Any process that produces salty chips as a waste product gets an A+ in my book.
11:03 am
Anonymous said…
Wicked awesome. Care to explain a little more about what's going on? e.g. Why do you need the pringles container? Would I be correct in guessing that it's hard to focus because you can't adjust the focal length? How on earth do you plan to make an adjustable lens?
12:36 pm
captainorange said…
It's just a really long extension tube(wikipedia). It's like pulling a projector away from the screen. The image gets bigger and only a portion stays on the intended target.

The Pringles container just happens to be a near ubiquitous object of the right size and weight to carry this off.

As for focusing: Light is at a premium in macro photography -- especially using extensions (since much of the original light entering the lens is lost). This necessitates having your lens aperture wide open, creating a shallow depth of field (narrow focal plane). The tube magnifies this effect as you pull away from the CCD
3:51 pm
Greta James said…
That toonie picture is AWESOME!!

...I know, my comment is somewhat less intellectual than Gus's....
9:12 am
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