Surf's Up

[Loose Canon]

A two shot composite. I built the wave tank and lighting. The mission was to get the composite with room for the copy.

Permission granted for use of the copy (they like the exposure!).

I had no idea I would ever end up shooting product!

[Steve S]

Excellent work, terry

[Brownbear]

Amazing... and excellent

[kaneohebud]

Great creativity! Well done.

[Loose Canon]

Hey thanks guys!

It was a lot of fun trying to put this together. The thing about the wave tank is that no two shots will ever be the same!

But sometimes I think I would rather be out shooting Hummers with Steve!

[chapin333]

Wow what a great shot , start , crisp and tells a story, well in my imagination

[Mike Buckley]

Somehow I missed this. Yikes! Very well done!

[wlou]

Great creation Terry. The composition is captivating the imagination. Just how, mayI ask, do you build a wave pool? I am so intrigue.

[Loose Canon]

Thank you guys!

Louise it’s incredibly complicated but I’ll try to explain! I’ll double check the schematics to make sure I get all the details correct!

I got a 10 gal. aquarium with optically clear glass. I took a piece of plywood just larger than the aquarium and put casters (wheels) on it. You need to get either a thick piece of plywood or add braces so it will not bend under the weight of the aquarium when it has water in it. I did a little more but that will work nicely. Filled the aquarium about 1/3 full and put it on the piece of plywood with wheels on a table top. Voila! Custom built wave tank!

Operation of this complicated piece of machinery is equally involved!

I put it against a white backdrop. In this case I used a large softbox for a BG. Set my lighting for the BG. Set the lighting for the tank. Its always about the lighting and it makes a difference how you light it.

Put my camera on a tripod with a remote release. Gently moved the tank on it’s wheeled base from side to side to cause the wave (“rocked”) it. Fired when I thought I had a nice looking wave! Had a mop at the ready just in case things took a horrible turn for the worse!

A couple of things? You have to wipe the inside of the tank between every “rocking” otherwise you will get water drops on the tank that will show. Also wait until the water completely settles between “rocks”.

[wlou]

Thank you guys!

Louise it’s incredibly complicated but I’ll try to explain! I’ll double check the schematics to make sure I get all the details correct!

I got a 10 gal. aquarium with optically clear glass. I took a piece of plywood just larger than the aquarium and put casters (wheels) on it. You need to get either a thick piece of plywood or add braces so it will not bend under the weight of the aquarium when it has water in it. I did a little more but that will work nicely. Filled the aquarium about 1/3 full and put it on the piece of plywood with wheels on a table top. Voila! Custom built wave tank!

Operation of this complicated piece of machinery is equally involved!

I put it against a white backdrop. In this case I used a large softbox for a BG. Set my lighting for the BG. Set the lighting for the tank. Its always about the lighting and it makes a difference how you light it.

Put my camera on a tripod with a remote release. Gently moved the tank on it’s wheeled base from side to side to cause the wave (“rocked”) it. Fired when I thought I had a nice looking wave! Had a mop at the ready just in case things took a horrible turn for the worse!

A couple of things? You have to wipe the inside of the tank between every “rocking” otherwise you will get water drops on the tank that will show. Also wait until the water completely settles between “rocks”.

As simple as that hum? Great pictures always require great ideas and execution. Excellent.

[Loose Canon]

Yeah that's pretty much the shape of it Louise!

A word of caution though! It is extremely possible to get lost in the surf for hours!