The New Photo Cube, SRAJD, Copper Clay in Bronze Clay

THE NEW PHOTO CUBE

And as promised (even using a dog for size reference), here is my new photo cube.



Now, if you look at what I purchased (see next paragraph), you will note that I set my cube up sideways. I will correct that during my next shoot. :-P

Anyway, this is what I ordered (including the person I purchased it from… tell 'em Laura Bracken sent ya!).

Things I like about this set up over my previous set up…



The new lights are fluorescent, not incandescent, so I can get them right up onto the sides of the photo cube. With the old ones, they were so freakin' hot I could only leave them on for about 30 seconds at a time and don’t even THINK about getting near the photocube (what you see in the above photo was arranged just to get everything into one shot… normally, the lights would be about 12 inches from the cube… and there wouldn't be a cat sitting in the middle of the cube).

Now, although I didn't realize I was ordering a monstrously huge photo cube, it turns out (as things often do) to be precisely what works for me. When I tried to shoot on shiny black background previously (and no, this isn't a random and unaltered shot… this was the best shot I could get and it IS edited in Photoshop to the best of my ability)…



... not only does the piece of jewelry get washed out, but you can clearly see the outline of the photo cube reflected in the black surface.

Here's the same layout, but shot with the new cube…



... better photo even WITH my photo cube being sideways. Ha! Not a stellar photo, but definitely better than the old set-up.

See how some of the beads are still washed out? I bet I could just adjust something on the camera to fix that some. I (ashamedly) don't do anything special with my camera controls. I say ashamedly because I actually USED to be a photographer. Won awards even. This was back in the day before digital cameras. We were all into SLRs and controlling everything about the exposure.

Ah well… for now, I'm happy with the new set-up. I still haven't tried out my macro light thing. Need to get on that. It'd be way cool if it works the way I imagine it to.

Also, on backorder, I have the riser that Amber Ballard and Shari Sislonski (and others) use… but I hear it scratches really easily (not a good thing with me).

Update: just got an email saying my backorder was shipped today. Yay!



COPPER CLAY IN BRONZE CLAY

Didn't realize I hadn't yet shown you the bronze rocks…





Thanks for all the nice comments (in FaceBook) about the patina on these pieces. Yeah, I know… I have to decide:
A) Keep the rocks "as is" and wait to see how long until the patina fades (which also means not putting it up for sale).
B) Polish them up and use them as bronze rocks in a necklace that I put up for sale

Oh, there is one other thing… doesn't help the current dilemma, but would help future ones… I can do some testing. Wow, now there's a concept.

BTW, my fingernails are disgusting! They are all black under the nail… and my nails are SHORT! Ick… I have to find something to fix this. It's from the patinas and stuff. So that's next on my list of things to hunt for… a system to keep my nails from being black. I did, however, pick up two things this weekend that I'd been wanting. One was a mug warmer (the key was to look for a "candle warmer", not a "mug warmer"… same darn thing but thanks to the Friday Night Ladies I knew where to go this time), the other was a tiny vacuum for cleaning out the ash after a firing. Hadar said hers is meant for picking up seed beads. And sure enough, that's where I found it at Michael's… in the seed bead section. Yay! No more terrifying the dog every time I have to clean out the kiln ash.

Oh, but it gets better (although I feel I already mentioned this)… I just happened across a stainless steel pan that is larger than my current one AND has a flat lid. Yeah, I'm definitely sure I mentioned that.

Now, back to patinas… Barbara Fernald mentions trying to regain some patina via a torch after polishing the bronze. It'll be fun keeping up with her clay experiments. BTW, she also uses Hadar's powders.


SRAJD

I do my data cleaning for the SRAJD organization on Mondays generally. I don't like out-dated info posted on the site so I make sure emails and websites are still working… when I can.

Anyway, I find it sad, in a way, when I have to cross another one off the list. No, they are not removed from the group, but I will remove hyperlinks that don't work. Ew… irks me to go to a website and have too many links not work.

I wonder about each and every one of these people. Did they just change their email address and forget to give me the new one? Do they have a new store and forgot to update that info with me? Did they move? Did they stop making jewelry? And if so, why?


MISC

Kindle sounded kind of cool until I saw the price. The neatest feature (as far as I'm concerned) is being read to… but I can have my MP3 player and my car do that for me.

The latest thing I love and can't get enough of? Ice water. That’s unusual for me. I spent many years liking only room temperature water. Must be the hot flashes. Heh

What a cutie patottie! And is that a black circle right in the middle of his tummy?


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