DAVIDEJACKSON // A BLOG » COOKING WITH LIGHT…ERRR…LIGHTING WITH COOKWARE.

COOKING WITH LIGHT…ERRR…LIGHTING WITH COOKWARE.

Posted by: dave at 10:42 pm

Interesting things happen when cabin fever sets in. It’s been a long, cold winter here in Wisconsin with way too much idle time on my hands. Since my wife has returned to teaching full-time, I have found myself with more and more responsibilities around the house aside from taking care of our three little ladies. Take for instance cooking and washing dishes. Although I am no stranger to these seemingly simple household tasks, the frequency of these duties come much more often as of late.

So as I was doing the dishes tonight, with my kids counteracting my attempts to maintain a clean house, I thought about the possibilities of using everyday kitchenware to function as off-camera light modifiers. Seeing as how I was headed to Trevor and Amy’s house to help move a couch (a mint condition black leather sofa from the 70’s nonetheless), I decided I could try out my simple yet dimwitted lighting scheme.

After finding the right lighting set-up for each cooking implement, I was actually surprised at the results. Seeing as how we pulled these right out of the cabinet, we were not afforded the luxury of light stands, booms and gobs of grip gear. It was Amy that filled in as my VAL (Voice-Activated Lightstand). It was definitely cool to see the whole thing unfold. Here’s the recipe..

Ingredients:

12-inch stainless steel mixing bowl
9.5-inch stainless steel colander
8-inch ceramic bowl
stainless steel teapot
11×7 baking pan
standard cheese metal grater
white kitchen size trash can

Mix (gently) with:

Sunpak 383 hotshoe flash
PocketWizard Plus II’s
Canon 1D Mark III
Canon 16-35L f/2.8
mint condition leather couch from the 70’s
a Studio Manager (preferably with a beard)

First up is the 12-inch stainless steel mixing bowl. This was my first choice. It threw off some nicely shaped, focused light.

The 8-inch ceramic bowl. Not the best light.

Ahhhhh, yes…. the colander. This was pretty cool, but hard to predict where the shadows would land. I shot through it.

Next was the cheese grater. We actually had to break the handle off and use it as a snoot, but it worked fairly well.

The baking pan sucked. It threw light into the corners of the frame and was darker towards the center. Not to mention it threw my camera’s white balance to hell. That was, of course, after Amy scrapped the stale a$$ brownies out of the pan and gave it a quick wash.

The teapot was interesting. It was more like a grid spot. The flash head was put inside and the spout was aimed at Trevor.

And finally… the trash can. I could shoot on-location with this thing all day!

What a better thing to do with my Friday night than to play with pots and pans. I felt like my 2 year-old for a while. If you’re into saving money, by all means go for it! But just don’t forget to spend some money on actual light modifiers. It’ll make your life so much easier.

~dave

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55 Comments Leave a comment

Way cool! The colander is giving me some ideas as a background light. Thanks for getting cabin fever and messin’ around w/ this stuff, my friend!

Comment by Melissa — March 28, 2009 @ 12:19 am

This is amazing…I’ll definitely put this in my book of tricks…thanks for sharing man!!!

Comment by diala — March 28, 2009 @ 1:01 am

Amazing ! Very creative … !

Cheer´s
Thomas

Comment by Thomas — March 28, 2009 @ 1:29 am

I like this post, very amusing and it puts a smile on my face. *I think you should really try and get out a little bit more lol* My favorite is the steamer/strainer shot.

Comment by marchand — March 28, 2009 @ 3:32 am

Very cool! I have actually used the trash can idea when I was in a bind without my softbox. Works wonders!!! you’re such an inspiration, Dave!

Comment by Kendra Stoltz — March 28, 2009 @ 3:52 am

Nice … just nice … no two ways about it - Dave Hobby would be proud

Comment by RJS — March 28, 2009 @ 5:11 am

you are insane lol. hope it warms up soon up there for ya. what’s next, living room light stand ideas?

Comment by andy — March 28, 2009 @ 5:26 am

Love the trash can and the colander–brilliant!

Comment by Michael Gowin — March 28, 2009 @ 6:33 am

I thought cooking was going to be your new hobby… not using our “kitchen” in your photography! BTW, the colander is my favorite by far!

Comment by Melanie — March 28, 2009 @ 6:52 am

Colander and trash can light are my favorites. Smaller trash, smaller light source? Wondering about a bathroom-sized can for a smaller light source.

Comment by Dennis Murray — March 28, 2009 @ 7:22 am

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Pingback by Creative kitchenware….lighting — Meandering Passage — March 28, 2009 @ 11:05 am

Love it. What a cool idea. I love the trash can, colander and the metal bowl.

Comment by Macy — March 28, 2009 @ 5:38 pm

Really Nice Work David! I Send you Congratulations from Brasil!
By the way, what camera do you indicate to get professional results?

Comment by Thiago — March 29, 2009 @ 7:59 am

kewl. this is what we call thinking outside the box. there are a lot of possibilities.

Comment by eske — March 29, 2009 @ 8:11 am

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Pingback by Fotografinė virtuvė | Blogas Artioma — March 29, 2009 @ 8:33 am

Great ideas! Will definitely have a go at this in my make-shift studio (in Sweden). Thx!

Comment by PO Cyborg — March 29, 2009 @ 9:53 am

Hey - I LOVE this post. The colander really gave out some interesting light. Thanks for playing around!

Comment by Cat — March 29, 2009 @ 11:16 am

Cool idea! I like the colander one.

Comment by Carlo Mendoza — March 29, 2009 @ 1:28 pm

Awesome. The piercings give a great texture.

Comment by DAVE ID — March 29, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

yeah, superbe le coup de la poubelle.
me voila avec pleins de nouvelles idées.

Comment by glencc — March 30, 2009 @ 1:43 am

Brilliant project, I love the different lighting you’ve come up with, especially the colander!!

Comment by Martin — March 30, 2009 @ 9:07 am

Seriously great tips! I never would have thought to use kitchen utensils on my shoots

Comment by UtahLuxury.com — March 30, 2009 @ 10:51 am

fantastic ideas! thanks for the tips, I will put them to good use…

Comment by wissy — March 30, 2009 @ 4:42 pm

Creative Lighting with Cookware by David Jackson…

David Jackson had a little cabin fever and started taking portraits with everyday kitchen cookware using strobes. The results are interesting. My favorites are the trash can and the cheese grater….

Trackback by photographyVoter.com — March 30, 2009 @ 7:07 pm

you should keep at it and put together a complete book of household items. thanks for the ideas!

Comment by victoria — March 30, 2009 @ 7:17 pm

This is so creative, not to mention funny.

Comment by Adelaide — March 30, 2009 @ 7:27 pm

great post, you must have way too much time on your hands but loved the effects you got using the different bits and bobs.

Comment by david purslow — March 31, 2009 @ 6:58 am

Amazing ideas. Very creative. I really like the trash can and the grater. Can’t wait to try some similar ideas.

Comment by David Cooper — March 31, 2009 @ 10:42 am

Amazing, artists take mundane tasks like washing dishes and find creativity!

Comment by gina — March 31, 2009 @ 11:34 am

This is actually pretty cool. Would never have thought of that.

Comment by Ed — March 31, 2009 @ 5:06 pm

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Pingback by BlogBites. Like sound bites. But without the sound. » Blog Archive » What a better thing to do with my Friday night than to play with pots and pans. — April 2, 2009 @ 8:40 am

You certainly got a lot of attention with that idea! Very cool stuff. My wife just lost her collander. I don’t know where it went?

Comment by Les King — April 2, 2009 @ 4:43 pm

Love it. Can’t believe I’ve never seen anything like this done already. Way to think outside the Camera Shop.

Comment by Eric Booth — April 3, 2009 @ 9:52 am

This is some serious creativity. Cheese grater snoot - love it.

Comment by Craig Ferguson — April 7, 2009 @ 6:53 am

Great job keeping your mind open to all possibilities.Some friends of mine once used all the same
items to create musical instruments.

Comment by Frank Flavin — April 12, 2009 @ 7:40 am

wow. that there is so cool! it’s great to be open for new ways of using light!

keep up.

Comment by thor — April 12, 2009 @ 4:07 pm

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Pingback by Pick of the Week: Link Edition - April 18, 2009 | TZPlanet.com — April 19, 2009 @ 3:10 pm

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Pingback by Jugando con la iluminación | Blog de Fotografía digital — April 20, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

Cool beans. I used a colander in a self-portrait - cool effect. The kitchen is one of my first stops when I’m experimenting.

Comment by Steve — April 29, 2009 @ 10:49 pm

[...] Davide Jackson na swoim blogu umieścił wpis w którym prezentuje efekty wykorzystania różnych akcesoriów kuchennych do oświetlania [...]

Pingback by Spychalski.info » Oświetlenie kuchenne — April 30, 2009 @ 1:52 am

ha, this is such a cool experiment. I love the effects with the collander!

Comment by John Heil — May 1, 2009 @ 9:07 am

A W E S O M E !!!
Loved it, congrats!

Comment by clicio — May 5, 2009 @ 4:55 am

Muito legal e criativo… Como eu não cosinho em casa, vai ser uma boa desculpa começar a se interessar por cosinhar e comprar uns utensílios… Ou quem sabe pegar emprestado na casa da namorada…

Comment by haroldo kennedy — May 5, 2009 @ 6:29 am