Photograph small items like a Professional

Sometimes you may want to photograph small objects without showing distracting backgrounds, glaring highlights or harsh shadows. Now with the aid of "instant" backgrounds made quickly from common home office items, you can easily produce high quality pictures without the expense of special studio equipment.

For demonstration purposes, this wireless mouse was photographed on an instant background using natural lighting from a single window. An even better image could have been produced had the camera been set on a tripod and adjusted using a variety of advanced capture settings.

The instant infinity background was constructed using six sheets (for stability) of standard white copy paper and four paper clips. All sheets are clipped together with two clips attached about one third up from the bottom. Another two clips are attached near the top of the sheets. By carefully sliding the top clips together with the rear three sheets down towards the bottom, a self supporting curvature is formed as illustrated.

Simply by positioning this or a coloured background with consideration to the light source and camera aspect, an infinite variety of subtle highlights or shadows can be achieved.

An even simpler 3D background can be made using just 1 sheet of paper, and 1 paper-clip. In portrait view, from a spot (about 20 minutes past the hour) tear to the centre of the sheet. Next, overlap the torn edges anything up to 90 degrees and use a paper-clip to hold. The over-lapped section now forms the base of your instant self supporting corner background. This provides even greater scope for extending your mastery of small item photography.

While lighting is beyond the scope of this article, I must mention having successfully photographed many small items outdoors by shooting within fully shaded areas while using these simple backgrounds. As always, the naturally diffused light from early morning and late afternoon sun normally produce the best results.

John Lucke

Digital Photography SIG Report - June 2008

Introduction & Administration

• The Room Rules - please remember tables in the centre, chairs at the side, do NOT touch the folding doors, tea box in the cupboard not the kitchen.
• Next meeting 25 July.
• Reports will be sent as HTML attachments to be more readable.
• August - You will probably need a stand-in leader, as on 30th July I go for knee surgery.

Updated software this month:
The Gimp 2.4.6
Open Office 2.4.1 (3.0 still Beta)

• What topics are you interested in presenting or learning about in future meetings ? Suggestions are -
• Archival storage of images given that CDs probably last only 10 years. See Q&A below.
• Making enlargements (economically) for framing.
• Portraits - how-to and general discussion. (I can start this in July but would welcome more input from you).
• Perspective. (who knows about this?)
• Photoshop Tutorial Video (Colin).
• I would like to know about sunsets and rainbows, they never come out well.
• MS PhotoStory 3 - Bill, maybe in August.

Photography Exercise

• Moving subjects - critical discussion. Some people went to considerable effort - well done. The techniques discussed last month DO work, but need patience and the right lighting, especially if your camera doesn't have a wide aperture range - dull light for the long exposure techniques.
• ASCCA Competition : the entry form with the conditions is at http://www.ascca.org.au/ And also look at last year's winners. Roger will e-mail to confirm our belief that changing from RAW to JPEG is not enhancement. But cropping and rotation ARE, so frame your un-enhanced pictures carefully. Enhancements can be decorative as well as the more usual crop-rotate-colour adjustments.
• Topic for July : entries for the ASCCA competition (can be taken any time since last October). Later we may have "Night Photos" and photos based on John's technique. (see below). Please send your entries to Roger at spcugsigs(at)hotmail.com .
• It is suggested that you go out and take photos specially rather than get some from your archives when we introduce a new technique.

Questions, Answers and Tips

• Some answers on Archival storage :-
• Wanda Sloan of the Bangkok Post says use HDD http://www.bangkokpost.com/180608_Database/18Jun2008_data018.php
• http://www.spectrumdata.com.au/content.aspx?cid=191lifespan & how best to keep CDs.
• http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/section_6/section6_11.htm recommends Mitsui Gold Archival CD.
• http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/storage.htmlStoring and Archiving Digital Photos by a professional.
• http://www.bress.net/blog/archives/114-How-Long-Does-a-Flash-Drive-Last.html How-Long-Does-a-Flash-Drive-Last 100000 writes, or 50+ years once written.
• USB Drives : use good quality.
• Kodak gold CD with 300 yr life from Woolworths $6 each, but you could probably find cheaper in bulk.
• Commercial data archiving : Rewrite each 5 yr so losses can be recovered from annual archives. Write to newest technology so it can be read in 5 yr time. If your CD lasts 300 years will there be a machine to read it ?
• The general idea seems to be : Use the best quality media (CD, USB flash drive, removable (USB) Hard Disk - up to you). Make 2 copies and store separately, writing only once (slowest speed for CDs). Store well (dry, dark, in cases, fireproof). And update each 5 years to the latest technology. You can stretch some of these recommendations depending on the value you put on your data.
• Bill showed us what can be done with MS PhotoStory 3 slideshow maker available free from Microsoft at Photo Story (validity check needed, but can be downloaded elsewhere). He will give a presentation when we have loaded it on the machine. (I'll bring it next time).
• Leo mentioned a firmware upgrade (temporary hack) for Canon cameras to allow RAW mode. It is not supported, but probably doesn't void your warranty and kill whales on sight. I found it available here "How to give your low-end Canon digital camera RAW support " http://www.linux.com/feature/118946. And at the Wiki http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK. It is non-permaent and resides on the SD card, but it can be made 'bootable'. The BASIC script language allows things like time-lapse and extended bracketing. For my camera (if I had two) I could link and synchronise them to make stereo images !!!
• John showed us a "PhotoBook" that can be created and ordered through http://www.getdigital.com.au/. You need to start the ordering process to download the software, create and upload the book, then it is delivered to pharmacy near you. Similar offers from other on-line digital printing services and IT stores.

John - Small objects against plain backgrounds.

John showed us the infinity background and techniques to photograph small objects without distracting shadow and background effects. He suggests this may be used to photograph jewellery or small handicrafts for advertising, perhaps on eBay. He has a detailed description on his website at http://members.optusnet.com.au/~johnlucke/digital_photography.html . Briefly, make a gently curved background out of A4 paper (white or coloured) and place the subject on it. Adjust the angle of the background to get the lighting and highlights as you want. Then adjust the camera to get the picture you want. Macro mode is probably the only deviation from automatic needed.

A variation is to make a wide cone from a sheet of paper and sit the object in this. The way these techniques work is that the curved infinity background does not make sharp reflections or shadows to distract from the subject.

Coincidentally,John also used PhotoStory in his presentation. His site has some useful links on the right side as well as some past DP SIG reports.

The next meeting main topic is "Portraits". I will start the discussion with some of Flashman's tips and open the floor for your thoughts. I hope to see you all again on 25^th July 2008. ... Peter

PS At Bill's Friday Seniors SIG on 11 July I have been invited to show how to Instal and Use Picasa and IrfanView. Come along if you are interested.

PPS I have generated a page of free software sources. A version is on the Web Design SIG page http://www.fotopagedesign.com.au/websig/html/links.html . It may soon also be on the SPCUG main site.

PPPS I have loaded the Canon Hack - wonderful, thanks Leo. Show&Tell next month if anyone has a Canon and is interested.

Report of 2008-02-22

Administration - I will be here for the March meetings. In April I will be in Thailand, and it's ANZAC day, so no meeting. Urgent Q's requiring A's could be taken to the Seniors SIG or the Main Meeting.
I seem to be on the list for knee replacement in late May or June, so I will need a stand-in until I can stand on my own.

Updated software this month with web-links for those who neglected to bring their USB drives to the meeting -

XnView v1.92.1 http://www.xnview.com/
The Gimp 2.4.4 http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

Remember to bring your thumb drives to meetings, as I will try to keep mine up-to-date with the latest install files. If downloading yourself I recommend you use a "download manager" - look on
www.filehippo.com, I use Free Download Manager.

As nobody has any better idea, in March be prepared for battery. Things like "care and feeding", "memory effect", and which sort is better for bunnies - and you are a bunny if you believe the advertising. Tell us what sort you use, and your opinion of them.

A suggestion for the future is "Buying (photographic accessories) on e-bay". If you or your family/friends have had good/bad experience on e-bay please let us know. Is it easy to find things, are sellers reliable, what range of things can you find, how low are the prices ?
Also in future (when I know better how to) I will introduce you to the world available with the AUTO setting turned off !!

Photography Exercise:
The "fixing" of one of Sylvia's pictures from last month was the topic. The photo was taken with a strong side/back light source. The interpretation of "fixing" was left to the fixer. Solutions varied in time and effort - from a "one touch fix" in Photoshop to area selection and modification with Gimp, Photoshop or Paint.net (maybe with some judicious cropping).

It was considered that "whole picture" modification (eg one touch, brightness/contrast, curves) was not ideal but even this could give significant improvement in the picture. With more time available area selection tools give a better result.

During the discussion of modifications it was noted that the reason for the photo may have some bearing on what can be done (ie removed from the image by cropping or distortion of the light levels). Is it a record of an event (been there, done that, here's the pic), an evidence record (forensic enhancement?) or an artistic endeavour. You should have the purpose in mind when taking the picture and enhancing it.

For next month ... see below.
Q & A

1.Q ) How to open .NCD images ?
A) IrfanView can open most things but not these. They are a proprietary format for Nero disk labels. You must use Nero 6.6 or above.

2.Q) What are the advantages / disadvantages of digital over film ?
A) Film handles over-exposure / high brightness areas better. Otherwise digital seems to win. You can see your result (al least in miniature) immediately rather than shooting a whole roll of film and waiting for duds. You can do things like multi-exposures (to miss people blinking) and exposure bracketing. You can take MANY more images at no extra cost so you can get at least one good shot. You can be adventurous in trying different techniques or angles to get a pleasant composition, and see how well you did before you take the next photo.

Main Discussion -  Harry Flashman's photography column in a Thai newspaper. Here are the links to the two columns I discussed (the SnapShots section) - http://www.pattayamail.com/417/columns.htm
http://www.pattayamail.com/740/columns.shtml
The first has two suggestions: 1 "Stick People In It" - People give a sense of scale to the scene. Is it a magnificent temple or a small elaborate shrine? A geologist always puts a hammer in a photo of a rock formation for the same reason - is the fossil a lizard or dinosaur?

2 "Don't bung it in the centre" - This is the 'rule of thirds' that we have discussed before. A more pleasant composition has the main subject about 1/3 from an edge rather than in the middle. Similarly the horizon should not bisect the picture.

Discussion brought out the observation that the eye views from left to right, so it is better to have the subject on the right side. It was also thought that the image of the palace in the lake should have had less "greenery" in the foreground - cropping could fix this and give more prominence to the palace. Unfortunately the King built the palace the wrong way round so the pavilion in the lake could not be on the right, but mirroring the image would fix this while sacrificing historical accuracy.

The second article introduced the topic of "framing". Photograph your subject in a frame. The two examples given were a stairway framing a building and a pagoda doorway framing another pagoda. This latter one seemed to be extremely contrived and would have taken some time to set up. We discussed what else could be used as a frame - natural objects like trees and foliage, buildings and doorways,  just about any thing in the foreground could be used to frame the subject - find an angle to use these to highlight, rather than detract from the subject.

We also decided that an out-of-focus frame was not out of the question. So ... the exercise topic for March is "Framing". Take some pictures with your subject artistically framed. Shopping malls, parks and some of the buildings in the CBD would seem to offer possibilities.

Please send to Roger spcugsigs@hotmail.com several days before our meeting so he can compile them.

Our next meeting is Friday 28th March. I look forward to seeing you there.

Peter Collard

• About the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)
• The way TRS works
• What you need to do when buying goods
• How you make a claim
• Where you make a claim
• Goods/purchases that do not attract refunds under the TRS
• How long it will take you to make a claim
• Bringing the goods back into Australia
• More Information

About the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)

The TRS enables you to claim a refund, subject to certain conditions, of the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) that you pay on goods you buy in Australia.

To claim a refund you must:

• Spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in the one store and get a single tax invoice
• Buy goods no more than 30 days before departure
• Wear or carry the goods on board the aircraft or ship and present them along with your original tax invoice, passport and international boarding pass to a Customs Officer at a TRS facility
• Claims at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.
• Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

The refund only applies to goods you take with you as hand luggage or wear onto the aircraft or ship when you leave Australia. However, unlike other tourist shopping schemes, most goods, such as cameras, can be used in Australia before departure. The GST refund is calculated by dividing the total amount of the purchase by 11.

The way TRS works

The refund will be paid on goods totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more, bought from the same store, no more than 30 days before you leave Australia.

You may purchase several lower-priced items from the one store, either at the one time or over several occasions within the 30-day period, provided the total purchase amounts to $300 (GST inclusive) or more. You will have to ask the retailer to consolidate these lower-priced purchases onto a single tax invoice. Be sure the retailer will do this before buying the goods.

You may buy goods from several stores, provided each store's tax invoice totals at least $300 (GST inclusive).

You can collect your refund through one of the following methods:

• cheque
• credit to an Australian bank account
• payment to a credit card

Customs will aim to post cheque refunds within 15 business days. Bank and credit card refunds will be issued by Customs within 5 business days, however, payment will be subject to processing by your bank or card issuer.

What you need to do when buying goods

If you wish to claim a refund, you must get an original tax invoice from the store where you buy the goods. All stores registered for GST will be able to give you a tax invoice. A refund cannot be given without it.

A tax invoice prominently states the words 'tax invoice' and the Australian Business Number (ABN) of the retailer, the purchase price including the GST paid, a description of the goods, the name of the retailer and the date the purchase was made.

Tax invoices for purchases of $1000 or more must contain additional information, such as the name and address of the purchaser.

More information on tax invoices is available by contacting the Australian Taxation Office.

How you make a claim

You will need to present the following at the Customs TRS facility when you depart Australia:

• your goods (unless aviation security measures, effective from 31 March 2007, in regard to liquids, aerosols and gels prevent you from doing so) to prove you are taking them out of the country
• the original tax invoice totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more from the retailer (to provide information for Customs officers)
• your passport
• your international boarding pass or other proof of travel

Goods that cannot be taken on board as hand luggage due to liquid, aerosol and gel restrictions should be packed in your hold luggage. However,if those goods are oversized, for example a case of wine, they must be sighted prior to check-in at the Customs Client Services counter.

You should note that it is a legal requirement that the person who purchases the goods must be the person who makes the claim for a refund of GST.

Claims at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.

Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

TRS facility location

Claims can be made after you have passed through Customs and Immigration outward processing.

The TRS facilities are located past Customs and Immigration outwards processing at international airports at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin and Gold Coast.

They are also available at cruise liner terminals at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour in Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Fremantle and Hobart.

If you are leaving Australia from the above seaports or any other seaport you should contact Customs to find out if and where you can make a claim.

How long it will take you to make a claim

For passengers departing from international airports, the process will only take a few minutes. However, you should allow time to complete check-in, security and outwards clearance formalities and also allow for queues at the TRS facility.

Claims at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.

Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

Bringing the goods back into Australia

If the goods are to be brought back into Australia, please be aware that they may be subject to GST. Normal passenger concessions apply and include any items for which a TRS claim has been approved (excluding most personal items such as new clothing, footwear and articles for personal hygiene and grooming). If the value of those goods together with overseas purchases exceeds the passenger concession, the goods must be declared to Customs on your return to Australia. Penalties apply to undeclared taxable goods.

If in doubt you should declare the goods to Customs on your return.

More information is contained in the brochure 'Know Before You Go' which is available from Customs.

More Information

Further information can be obtained from Customs on:

Phone: Within Australia - 1300 363 263 for the cost of a local call
Outside Australia - 61 2 6275 6666
Internet: http://www.customs.gov.au/
Email: information@customs.gov.au

Customs Complaints and Compliments

Phone: Within Australia - 1800 228 227 freecall
Outside Australia - 61 2 6275 6666
Email: comments@customs.gov.au