Camera - Polarising filter - PC - Boredom =

Onslow ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 7:50 AM · edited Fri, 11 October 2024 at 9:43 AM

This is what happens when take pics of clear plastic objects in front of a pc screen with a polarising filter on the camera.

The pc screen is emitting polarised light (white screen) and the camera has a filter so the light gets cross polarised. The screen turns black and lots of coloured patterns appear in the plastic as the light refracts through it.
No postwork other than cropping and putting together for in here.

I don't know what possible use any of this is - but there you are. I had been trying to work out a way of taking pics of refracted light since last months challenge - suppose I'm a bit late now :D

Message edited on: 06/22/2005 07:57

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html

Wivelrod ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 8:56 AM

Looks cool! I assume thats a CRT screen being used not an LCD?

Onslow ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 8:58 AM

Nope LCD screen.

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html

Wivelrod ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 10:29 AM

oh..coool. Might have to try that myself then.

cynlee ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 10:40 AM

wow!!! would never in a million years have thought of that! verrrrrrrrrry cool!!! :]

Onslow ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 11:42 AM · edited Wed, 22 June 2005 at 11:45 AM

Yep- give it a try wivelrod.
I think it wouldn't work so well with a CRT monitor as the curvature of the glass would mean the light was not so polarised, but I havn't tried it.
Turn the polariser until the screen turns black, you have now blocked all straight on light and you are left with only light that has been refracted. I made a white screen in PS (try not to get the tool bar in view as I did with the cd case -lol ) Message edited on: 06/22/2005 11:45

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html

OldFaithful ( ) posted Wed, 22 June 2005 at 12:15 PM

There is a demo of this in the National Museum of Film and Photography in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It's used to find stress patterns in moulded structures. The demo is really neat. A clear moulded model train bridge has polarised light shone at it and as the model train goes across the bridge, the colour and patterns change as the stress in the bridge changes:) Apart from this and some other really neat demos, there are some great photo's and of course the huge IMax cinema...definately worth a visit:)