Monthly (April) Detroit Report

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Monthly (April) Detroit Report

Another interesting night in Detroit... The program was PSA sequences, some
exciting sequences, some so-and-so... The competition subject was
"Tabletops".  Because this subject most likely requires the use of an SLR
camera and because it is late in the season, the participation was low this
time.  I did well, winning the one first place and one HM.  My main
competitor won the second place and one HM.  I increased our difference to
4 points, but this can be easily covered next month, in the final
competition night, which is Open.

For Tabletops, I used my Minolta X-700 SLR and 50/3.5 macro lens (mostly at
f22) in a slide bar.  The winning picture "Pass the Ball" was a toy from
K-Mart (looks like a mean green wild animal) which I posed holding a
colorful red & white ball using a yellow background, with its snout peaking
out of the window.  It was an effective stereo slide, if I may say so...

The same ball standing on a mirror ("Ball & Mirror") with a red background,
won the HM.  I bought the ball (2 for $1) last Sunday at the dollar store
(a well-established ritual after church, each kid gets a toy, daddy gets
one too) and the mirror in K-Mart (automotive section) for $2.00.  The
backgrounds are from OfficeMax (office supply store).  This goes to show
you that you don't need any fancy props for effective tabletops, just a bit
of imagination.

I was disappointed that my "Spanish Dancer" was rated below average.  This
is a doll that my wife bought while visiting Spain at high school.  She
is dancing a traditional Spanish dance (?) with castanets, wearing a fancy
dress.  I spent a lot of time working on the surroundings, a piece of
furniture for the wooden floor, a dark tablecloth for the background and
some flowers completing the decor.  I took the picture from the doll's eye
level or slightly below.  I took quite a few pictures with different poses,
settings, lightings.  I thought I had a interesting tabletop, but the
judges did not agree...

This time I experimented with different light sources, natural light from
the window, off-camera electronic flash (same that I use with the camera),
tungsten 250W bulbs coated blue (got these from Porter's) on cheap lamp
holders from the hardware store, giving approximately daylight illumination
(towards the warm side).  I got good results with all 3 methods.  The only
thing I wished I had tried is bracketing the stereo base, especially
towards the low end.  The Spanish doll could look more like a real person
if less stereo base was used.  Next time I will certainly experiment with
different stereo bases.

Another exciting year is approaching the end in Detroit.  As always, I
learned a lot.  The system of "assignments" is a great motivation for
exploring new subjects and fresh ideas.

Reporting from Cleveland OH -- George Themelis

PS.  I am running behind replying to messages in my att account... Please
stay calm and you will eventually hear from me...  If you require a quick
and short response, please send your message to this account.  The shorter
the message the more likely to get a reply :)  Thank you for your patience!


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