polarizing technique on a laptop screen - plastic cutlery

[ashcroft]

I thought I'd try this technique as I've been meaning to do it properly for some time. You basically use a laptop screen set to bright white and fit a circular polarizer on your lens. The screen is also a polarizer and so your object, which is sandwiched between the two polarizers shows some unusual stress effects in hard plastic.

You need to turn the laptop upside down, as show in the shot below. Best way to get a white screen is to load Notepad on full-screen. Turn the laptop brightness to highest setting (but remember to adjust it back after shooting). Place hard plastic object on the screen, and when the composition is set just turn the polarizer disc until the white screen goes black. You'll probably find there's just a narrow section that makes it go black, but that should be enough. Your white screen is now black and the stresses in the plastic will show, as below.

In Photoshop RAW I boosted the colours very slightly (didn't need much), a bit of clarity, and slight levels adjustment. It didn't take much at all.

I used some very cheap plastic picnic cutlery. The cheaper the better, I think, as you want more stress in the material. Anyone have any suggestions for other objects to shoot? Soft plastic won't work. If you want to try it yourself, feel free to post here.

[Mike Buckley]

Very clever! You don't use spoons at your picnics?

I assume these are relatively clear, so anything with that characteristic might work.

[ashcroft]

I assume these are relatively clear, so anything with that characteristic might work.

They are translucent - sort of cloudy looking. Spoons are for desserters

[Manfred M]

Nicely done Rob. This technique is not one that I would have thought of but it makes a lot of sense.

Yes, stresses induced by uneven cooling when these pieces are moulded makes sense, but I would have expected the patterns to be more or less the same in the two knives and the two forks, but they are not. I wonder why.

[ashcroft]

Yes, stresses induced by uneven cooling when these pieces are moulded makes sense, but I would have expected the patterns to be more or less the same in the two knives and the two forks, but they are not. I wonder why.

I wasn't quite overhead so the angle might have produced differing results.

[Mike Buckley]

I would have expected the patterns to be more or less the same in the two knives and the two forks, but they are not. I wonder why.

I think that's because the positions relative to the polarizer filter are different. EDIT: Ahhhhh. I see that Rob apparently concurs.

[HaseebM]

I have used the white screen of both my monitor, laptop as well as iPad to capture 'Light frames' but never thought of this, clever.

[xpatUSA]

In my watch days, I took a related shot entirely by accident, i.e., not deliberately trying to show a stress pattern:



You can read about the experiment (oil migration) here:

http://tcktek.blogspot.com/2008/05/o...-vs-mobil.html

More about patterns here:

http://tcktek.blogspot.com/2008/05/m...migration.html
.

[ashcroft]

In my watch days, I took a related shot entirely by accident, i.e., not deliberately trying to show a stress pattern:

Very interesting, Ted. You seem a very technical person. What kind of engineer are you?

[GBO25]

What a really great idea and I love the shot, it looks terrific. Of course now we're all going to try it -at least I am. Thank you

[ashcroft]

What a really great idea and I love the shot, it looks terrific. Of course now we're all going to try it -at least I am. Thank you

You might want to watch this first. His Youtube channel is very interesting https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEs...nuPr8t51OmgMlA

[xpatUSA]

Very interesting, Ted. You seem a very technical person. What kind of engineer are you?

Thanks Rob. From mechanical beginnings (RAF Engine Fitter) I metamorphosed into a Controls and Instrumentation Engineer, ending my career as an Electrical Consultant with Rolls Royce, Inc. in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Been retired 10 years now. I like anything technical, except higher maths.

[ashcroft]

I like anything technical, except higher maths.

Me too, my friend, me too...

[ajohnw]

Similar thing but on a different scale - a sugar crystal or 2.



John
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[ashcroft]

Similar thing but on a different scale - a sugar crystal or 2.



John
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Very impressive! I like the colours. And shot on a Sony T5 as well.

[ajohnw]

There was a microscope in front of the T5's lens. It really is at a smaller scale, taken through a polarising microscope. The camera lens was slightly off centre so the graticule is off too. The size of the view is probably 16/40x mm, around 0.5mm across the view.

Oddly questions were asked about my little Sony cameras recently. Not used etc. I'm keeping the T5 as overall it's better than the more recent T10.

Using a camera against a microscope eyepiece like this is popular. Old swing lens Coolpix's in particular but the zoom has to be used to fill the view and these have odd vignette effects. The T5 doesn't. T10 neither but the T5 seems to have a better dynamic range.

John
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[mknittle]

Nice concept Rob. I like it.