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Welcome, dear reader, to another thrilling episode of “Halumin Real World Tests”! Today, we’re taking a look into photography of sand casting with our friend, Ray. Now, Ray isn’t your average Raymond. He’s a retired dentist by day, a polymath by night, and a lover of metal casting at all hours. Imagine India Jones but as a retired dentist. His passion for casting has led him to create a variety of unique items, from metal fruit and nuts to bugs and working cannons. And if you’re wondering how to get into photography lighting of such eclectic subjects, you’re in the right place.
Enter Halumin, the single device that simplifies your product photography lighting game. Designed for artists, craftspeople, archaeologists, and anyone who’s ever thought, “I wish I could take professional studio-quality images of small items without needing a truckload of equipment,” Halumin is here to save the day.
Ray is well equipped for many kinds of metal casting adventures. His backyard foundry can transform scraps of brass into extraordinary creations. For smaller pieces, he uses an oven to melt the wax out of his molds, then places them in a vacuum caster. The vacuum sucks the metal in, creating intricate designs like his first casting of a lizard in silver.
Ray’s curiosity is as boundless as his creativity. From flowers to succulents, he’s always on the lookout for interesting shapes and textures to cast. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well that’s not exactly true with Dr. Ray’s 5 lb brass apple. There is probably nothing but more dentistry work for Ray if you try and eat that. He even made a banana for scale, because who doesn’t love a good internet meme reference?
We set up a Halumin freestyle set in Ray’s basement to capture his collection of curiosities. The device’s open cylindrical design keeps the light tight around the subject area, limiting light spillage. By setting our camera to its max shutter sync speed and dialing down the ISO, we cut out the room light. The result? A black background with a beautifully lit subject, even though the walls behind the scene were actually tan with intermittent furnishings.
With Halumin, we achieved a dramatic look with beautiful lighting. Even Ray is impressed and immediately notes the cellular structure of his plant castings under the Halumin light. From his collection of cast curiosities to his tank toy photography and his intricate dental skull model, Halumin captured it all with ease.
And let’s not forget about Ray’s coehorn cannons! These functional replicas can fire a 12-pound ball, though Ray prefers to shoot paper wadding. He even has a larger cannon that he fired in his front yard one Fourth of July, much to his neighbor’s surprise!
So, whether you’re asking yourself “how do I get into photography” or you’re an artist wanting to showcase your work better with photography lighting, Halumin is the tool for you. It’s easy to set up, versatile, and delivers professional-quality results. Join us on this journey of creativity and discovery with Halumin. And remember, always have a banana for scale.
