Canon software

Shattering light bulbs with a speeding bullet… but without a gun or Photoshop

Canon’s DPP editor + setting up new Canon EOS DSLR

All of these images

were taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark III with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4l IS USM kit lens at around the 70mm setting. Using a tripod and focusing manually with a remote trigger ensured the perfect photograph with the mirror in the camera set to ‘up’.

At first there was camera shake, due to moving on the floorboards while taking the shot in the attic. I’ve since moved house and set up a studio in the new garage using a concrete floor. This is much better for macro shots as the Mark III has the x5 and x10 magnification, which requires fine adjustment and a pair of steady hands while focusing.

I learned these tips when I joined the local camera club as a ‘novice’, and also picked up a few tips while reading

Photoplus. I quickly moved into the club’s ‘advanced’ section, as I wanted to do more than just standard landscapes and seascapes.

I liked the concept of how the eye can be deceived; for instance, there are no moving parts in these shots. The bulbs are lit by 230 volts and their brightness is controlled by a dimmer switch. I do all the wiring myself, but only after passing the 16th Edition electrical test.

I worked as a computer engineer for over 30 years, which helped, and have a degree in electronic engineering as well as a degree in electrical engineering. Do not try this at home without being qualified!

The other bulbs were already blown so I put them in a plastic bag and dropped them on the floor. After removing one of the ‘good’

I liked the concept of how the eye can be deceived; for instance, there are no moving parts in these images

bulbs I replaced it with a broken/blown one and lit the filament with a few coloured neon ones, powered by a 3-volt battery using very fine black wire to blend into the background.

The glass bits were suspended by black threads using superglue. This was continued with all three bulbs. Okay, it took hours, but Photoshop was not used! The piece of lead used as a ‘bullet’ was hung in place by two lengths of black thread – an idea my brother-in-law came up with while on holiday, because using one piece of thread made the bullet rotate.

I noticed that if you blew on the suspended pieces of glass and then took the shot you could capture movement as if the pieces were flying across the room, but only used once. A bullet trail was added to ensure the bullet was noticed.