Ships in bottles:::

[old dog]

These two ships were given to me years ago by a next door neighbour. He made them and each one took him 50 hours. They are in White heather scotch bottles.

What I`d really like to know is how to light them to get a better shot. Light tent? That`s all I can think of. These two pics were taken with natural lighting.

[Derek-C]

They look great as they are to me Graeme .

Derek

[old dog]

thanks derek.....I would love to do them justice. When i downloaded I noticed that I hadn`t reset the iso (duh) so they are at 400. It`s the lighting thing I would like to conquor with these. The bending glass and reflections I can`t beat. Any suggestions anyone???

[I @ M]

The second one in particular is showing clear signs of concentrated lighting ( window? ) and the glare / hot spots are forming.
A more even form of light such as a couple of constant lights on stands carefully arranged to allow the light to fall less directly onto the bottles might help. That set up may require longish ( 1/4 second ) exposures on a low ISO so a tripod is a must. Other than that, careful placement in a light tent would seem to be the best answer to me.
It isn't going to be the easiest project to get perfect but plenty of set up time and careful examination of the light source and fall out area should result in acceptable images.

[old dog]

thanks for that Andrew. It`s what I was after.....a bit of confident knowledge. I don`t have stands etc but I am going to make/but a light tent.

[R.E.Nielsen]

I wonder if it was Jutland, Denmark, where I am from that the Olivebanks was sunk. Funny to see a Danish name there

[old dog]

you are probably right Ruth.

[41jas]

I'd like to know how he got the ships in there?

[Fantasyphoto]

I'd like to know how he got the ships in there?

They sometimes use very tiny ship builders but more often the ship is designed so that the masts lay flat along the deck and are raised by pulling a string out of the neck of the bottle.

[jev]

I'd like to know how he got the ships in there?

That's easy... masts down and they fit in the opening. Than raise the masts using smallish wires. My father used to make them a long time ago.

Anyway, a lighttent might help but probably the best thing is using black paper to cut out the reflections.

[old dog]

thanks JA....fantasy and Joost are right. I`ve seen him do it. There are maybe 20 thin cotton cords that pull everything into position and then he uses a scalpel blade glued to a kebab stick to cut them after he has glued them. Very fine, intricate work. The water/waves are made from putty that he dyes and then shapes into wave patterns and then paints the white caps etc. As I said he takes approx 50 hours to make one. When he gave me the first one, it was number 250 something, all of which he had GIVEN away. What a man.

[Whisky_Mac]

My son works in the TV industry on lighting, was with All Saints before it shut down. He gave me a frame. Frames are what they use in the industry to make a small hot (constant) light large by spreading the light. It is a 610cm square frame with what looks like a film taped to it, bathroom curtain would do the same. He tells me that it is worth half a stop on the light value. The only trouble they have with the frames is when it is held to close to the hot light and it goes up in smoke. Would not cost much to make and if your shooting alone use a clamp to a stand in front of the light.

[old dog]

thanks Jim....sounds a lot like a light tent.

[ships in bottles]

Your neighbour is very talented. I wonder how can he learn about making a ship in bottle method? His ships in bottles is very professional and beautiful

I often wonder why English speakers often call: "ships in bottles" not "ship in bottle". Why do they ( and do you) say that? I am from Vietnam and sorry for my English, thanks.

[old dog]

Hi there in vietnam.......could not say whay we say that. Plural? don`t know why. He certainly was talented and dedicated. He was always making them. My first one that he gave me was about the 250/60th he had made and given ALL away. So he certainly knew what he was doing......and how generous was he?

[ships in bottles]

Hi there in vietnam.......could not say whay we say that. Plural? don`t know why. He certainly was talented and dedicated. He was always making them. My first one that he gave me was about the 250/60th he had made and given ALL away. So he certainly knew what he was doing......and how generous was he?

thanks. Some month ago i think it should be "ship in bottle", not plural form. Because I search on ebay for ships in bottles item, I find many seller use the word "ship in bottle" or "ship in a bottle", not many use "ships in bottles",They often come from USA. But, i see in most website which sell ships in bottles, they always use "ships in bottles". Hic

[old dog]

I suppose that I said ships in bottles because I was showing two different ships...in bottles....lol

[ships in bottles]

I suppose that I said ships in bottles because I was showing two different ships...in bottles....lol

Thank you... And i see google agree with you . Now me too. . Yes, for example i see many website about shipsinbottles such as www.shipsinbottles dot com, net, org... but only one website named www.shipinbottle.net.

Maybe, when the first people discover ships in bottles, he can put 2-3 ships in a bottle? ... Then He put 2-3 bottles in a bigger bottle . That is very hard to understand. hic

[old dog]

hmmmmmm.......I`ll have to give this a lot of thought....