Tin Can Selfies

I've been trying to get a shot from a Pot Noodle for about a week. It's a whole new ball game because the pot is white translucent plastic and even though it's painted black inside it still leaks a lot of light. Add to that the sloping and stepped sides :banghead:

Anway after 4 complete failures tonight I got something, there's a lot wrong with it but it's at least got an image on the neg.

Untitled (17).jpg
 
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Brilliant project Chris. Been following with interest. It's really starting to develop as a story now. More plz. :)
 
Harlequin565 said:
Brilliant project Chris. Been following with interest. It's really starting to develop as a story now. More plz. :)
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Thanks Ian, I've got some "making of" photos which I'll add when I get the process more or less covered.
 
The Pot Noodle is, I think, the holy grail of this project ;) at least in terms of the effort it is taking to get a photo from it, but I might try and do something better with the Spam can, or do Spam cans in a lot of different settings. As a comment on mass produced selfies as pop art the Spam can really appeals to me
 
Final got something half decent from the Pot Noodle

PotNoodle3 by Chris H, on Flickr

The Pot Noodle pot was the hardest pin hole shot of this series because the pot is white translucent plastic and quite thick relative to the pin hole diameter so it was hard to make light-tight and avoid vignetting.
 
sirch said:
Final got something half decent from the Pot Noodle

PotNoodle3 by Chris H, on Flickr

The Pot Noodle pot was the hardest pin hole shot of this series because the pot is white translucent plastic and quite thick relative to the pin hole diameter so it was hard to make light-tight and avoid vignetting.
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The reversed cans in the background are a bit disconcerting. Not in a bad way.
 
Ed Sutton said:
The reversed cans in the background are a bit disconcerting. Not in a bad way.
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Yeah, up until now I have avoided things with writing in the background because to have the subject the right way around in the mirror I scan the negative reversed but this time I went for it, I think it emphasises the mirror effect
 
Drilling the 0.3mm pinhole
5-Drilling by Chris H, on Flickr

The bits
6-Parts by Chris H, on Flickr

Film cutting arrangement - obviously needs to be done in a dark bag
7-CutFilm by Chris H, on Flickr

Lighting - the pinholes are typically around f140 so quite a lot of light gives a 3 second-ish exposure time
8-Shooting by Chris H, on Flickr
 
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Thanks for the 'how to' pics, Chris. It's far more complicated than I'd imagined. I never thought there'd be a film holding device inside the can/pot for a start.
 
Ed Sutton said:
I never thought there'd be a film holding device inside the can/pot for a start.
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It evolved over time as I tried various things, there are several advantages to a film holder and once I have made one for a particular size of can then I can reuse it on all cans of that size. It also helps with keeping it light-tight which was a real problem at the start of the project, it’s very difficult to make a light tight lid that doesn’t stick up above the top of the can but this top-to-bottom black insert works quite well. The film has to be loaded in the dark bag so it is not possible to see how it is aligned, the film holder also helps with this.
 
I see now how the insert make things easier, and saves messing about too much when using different cans of the same size. Ingenious.

Good to see the velcro strap in use too.
 
Glad to be of help. I guess to some degree the strap will form itself to sloping or irregualr sides of cans/pots etc.
 
Thanks both, I am planning to do more but it was more of a long-winter-evening type project and at the moment I am trying to make the most of the lighter nights to do other things.
 
This always makes me smile. And that is great photography.
 
It's been a while but we are back to long dark evenings in Westmorland and what else is there to do? Also in a fit of over ambition I hinted that I might have a go at doing some on 35mm with the Polypan that Ian, @Harlequin565, has very generously donated and rather than ruin that I thought I's have a practice, didn't turn out too bad for the first ever 35mm attempt, 35mm means the alignment is more critical it seems...

TriX-400-10S-f45meter.jpg
 
Shoot those sprocket holes Chris! Really nice as usual :)
 
I know I’m very late to the party but I think the original light leak shot was amazing. Have a very distinct look to the shot.
 
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