Dave C's photos

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

The final 3d print of the macro flash diffuser has now been completed. Printed in PETG plastic. This has a little flexibility so is not as brittle as PLA. First time printing PETG. This was not an easy task and caused quite a bit of frustration. Cleaning up of the parts took quite a while and caused one or two swear words on the way ( I may have even invented a few new swear words when I managed to cut myself during the cleaning process). ;-) Added a hood to bounce a little more light in front of the lens. All that is left to do now is to paint the outside faces black. The diffuser lens is printed with clear PLA and is removable so I have the opportunity to change the level of diffusion if required. The three parts are a friction fit so no glue required. Taken a couple of test shots with this and the results are not looking too bad. The real test will come when I can find a shiny insect to photograph. Finally, the diffuser weighs in at 400g but feels quite good on the camera. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

First attempt at a star trail. Best viewed full screen. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Not had chance to get out with the camera recently. Thought I would try something new. There was a meteor shower last night so I spent a couple of hours trying to capture a photo of one. Had to figure out settings for the camera first. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Dappled sunlight on my wall during the eclipse. Best viewed full screen. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Best viewed full screen. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Wishing you all a great weekend. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Test shot taken with the new macro flash diffuser. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

The next version of this diffuser will be printed in black with a different type of plastic. The current version uses PLA plastic which is very hard and can be brittle. Also PLA is not UV protected so will be weakened with constant exposure to sunlight. The front of the diffuser (white section) is a press fit with a piece of white cotton cloth behind it for diffusion. I plan to make the next version out of translucent plastic with a frosted finish. This will still be a push fit so that I can adjust the textured finish to get the best possible diffusion. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

This is still very much a prototype version. As I had never used a 3D printer before I just used the filament that came with it. This version was printed to verify that my dimensions were correct. The support onto the camera lens is there to align the diffuser and also protects the foot of the godox flash. I have already had to replace one of these in the past as they are made of thin plastic and not very strong.Currently there is a hole and two notches in the support so that a zip tie can be used to hold the diffuser in place. The next version will probably be changed to a velcro strap. The blue section was not intentional, I run out of filament so used what was available to finish the print. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Recently I posted an image of the macro flash diffuser that I had designed for my camera. All insect photos that I have posted since were taken with a prototype diffuser that I had made from cardboard and duct tape. All works well but was never going to last for long. About a week ago I was walking around a car boot sale with my wife when she spotted a 3D printer for sale. A deal was done with the seller and I came home with the printer. It was missing the printer nozzle and had a blockage in the extruder. Sorted out a new nozzle and cleared blockage. After several teething problems, it all runs ok. This photo shows the diffuser during printing. The vertical parts in the foreground are supports for the foot that sits on top of my camera lens. I will post another photo of this when it is finished. If I can find another camera I will post a photo of it fitted to my camera. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Recently I posted an image of the macro flash diffuser that I had designed for my camera. All insect photos that I have posted since were taken with a prototype diffuser that I had made from cardboard and duct tape. All works well but was never going to last for long. About a week ago I was walking around a car boot sale with my wife when she spotted a 3D printer for sale. A deal was done with the seller and I came home with the printer. It was missing the printer nozzle and had a blockage in the extruder. Sorted out a new nozzle and cleared blockage. After several teething problems, it all runs ok. This photo shows the diffuser during printing. The vertical parts in the foreground are supports for the foot that sits on top of my camera lens. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.

This is the final tree sap image. Had to create at least one abstract of these. Thank you for looking and for your kind comments.