Plasma discharges surrounding a solid 2" diameter sphere of 100% pure unobtainium.
1. Convert RAW file to 16-bit TIFF with Adobe Camera Raw
2. PTLens to correct barrel distortion
3. Crop to 5 x 4
4. Save For Web (640 x 512 pixels, 150KB max)
5. Add border
6. Save For Web (150KB max)
-----------< debrief >-------------
The setup was simple. The unobtainium is actually a 2” diameter chromed steel ball. I buy them online from McMaster-Carr. The background is black seamless paper, laid out on the floor of the studio. To raise the steel ball away from the paper I placed it on a ½” drive socket extension with a ¾” socket as the base. I mounted the camera on a tripod directly above the steel ball, with the tripod riser mounted horizontally. I created the ‘plasma discharges’ with a small keychain L.E.D. light. I used the button lock on a TC-80N3 Timer/Remote Controller to hold the shutter open for the 110 second exposure while I waved the light around randomly between the lens and the steel ball. Wearing pajama pants and a loose t-shirt helped tremendously.
Thanks for the ribbon folks!
BTW, this entry brought my average vote received stat up to 6.0203. WoHoo!
"Unobtainium is a colloquial term, used to describe any material that has properties that are considered unlikely or impossible for any real material and thus thought to be unobtainable."
...and...
"The word unobtainium is an informal one, apparently developed within science fiction fandom, and probably in ironic reaction to invented element names in, for example, Star Trek (see Treknobabble). It may also be a reference to the naming system for the heaviest actual chemical elements. In this system the letters "un" represent the digit 1 in the atomic number; for example, element number 111 was called unununium until roentgenium became the official name."
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 90 Avg (all users): 7.1286 Avg (commenters): 7.5789 Avg (participants): 6.6316 Avg (non-participants): 7.1978 Views since voting: 10403 Views during voting: 532 Votes: 311 Comments: 57 Favorites: 24 (view)
This is an impressive shot - being able to pull off something you have seen in your head is always satisfying, rare though it is (at least it is for me!)
Congratulations on your well deserved ribbon. This is a great photo that has nothing to do with chemistry, but you rec'd a pass from the voters. More power to you. My image, which has a lot more real chemistry, was deemed to be DNMC. The lesson here is to excel with great photography and no one will care whether you actually meet the challenge. I think the voters in this challenge were exceptionally stupid. But, I really do like your entry and I'm very happy it won a ribbon. Just mad at all the low votes I rec'd. (Not your fault!)
Your technique is fascinating - I never would have thought of that. I was sure it was a plasma ball from looking at the thumbnail. Gorgeous image, congrats on the ribbon.
Congrats on the ribbon... you are starting to get a collection of them. This is a dynamite shot! It is one of my personal top 3 picks for this challenge. So is Scalvert's. I picked two out of three.
Unobtainium
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Mick!
