Isen workshop: adventures in batch production (or not...)

Do what Rob @hoops did and buy a second hand Parlee frame solely to get the front mech band on adaptor? #bicyclefinance

How do you stop the barrel adjusters from winding themselves back in? With no spring and no indents, they have made ~3 full turns back into the stop over the last month. Should they have come with a spring?

Yes, definitely. Did they not come with them? If not message Verity and she will get some shipped to you today.

Ah ok, none in the packet first time round, I'll send a message straight away!

Am quickly discovering how much harder a black background is to sort out in ps than white. Once thats resolved the new website should go live.

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If you have more space, you could move the bike further from the background and compensate with a longer lens from even further back. That way you can move the lights forward and they'll light the background less and it might be a bit more uniform

This was me with my back against the wall, and the backdrop against the other one. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach :(

Nevermind then :) Looks great for a makeshift studio set up

@PhilDAS as you can see, I don't think there is the space for what I wanted...

Plus i'm shit at photoshop.

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As I see you discovered there, never wear shoes on the background roll haha

The eBay special lights electrocuted me every time they fired, through the cable on the camera. Had to wear 'proper ppe' when using them...

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Sounds fun, linky to lights?

Just got Verity's email about final payment and delivery!!

try black cloth for theatre stuff as your backdrop
might even be called blackout cloth
the felty fire retardent (molton?) stuff im more familiar with but im sure the other stuff is just as good. its very black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=palevTnLiec

Ive had numerous emails about building the bikes. I can't, but can highly reccomend Matt and Joel at blue door. They build a lot of my bikes and most of carens. I can arrange to get the finished frame to them and you can ship it takr the parts to them. They're used to di2, hydro, dynamo systems from all the audax talbots so there shouldn't be any issues.

its very black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46kXH6GGtT0

@coldharbour you need to pull the backdrop further out, by this I mean try and make as much of a curve as you could, that'd get rid of the line of light across the bottom of the wall or make it less obvious, and shouldn't require any more space than what you have. You also probably don't need both lights. Try turning the softbox horizontally, make it as high as possible (ish), having it in the middle pointing down at the bike. Imaging how a direct sunlight is pointing at you. If space is tight, put the light behind you above your head to maximise the space. if the front of the softbox (that white bit of fabric) is removable, take it off and you'll get brighter light to compensate for just using 1 light and would give you a bit more contrast than using a soft box. Finally, you can get a big piece of white card (like A1 mounting board could be bought for or a couple of pounds, if that) to use as a reflector, position it on the floor and tilt it up at at slight angle at the bike.

Finally the black fabric is called velvet, but the good ones are expensive, no point in getting the cheap ones are they won't Make much difference, but if you are gonna be doing loads more stuff like this, might be worth investing as black velvet basically suck up all light and give you a much blacker.

Old school people call this lighting technique butterfly light, the oldest trick in the book for fashion and beauty shoots...

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/stage-molton-black-flameproofed-ndfr-300cm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/B1-Stage-Molleton-Fabric-Colour/dp/B002KLZF0W

@coldharbour before I make any mistake with tyres, mudguards etc. any recommendation for tyres + mudguards combo for the 650c frame?

We've bought a load of paselas, so you can grab those from us just email verity. It's what caren has been using. Mudguards, as of yet no there is nothing nice available. We are trying to get some made atm and will update as soon as we have got a good idea. I've put some simple strap on ones on the wife's bike until the others are ready.

I wouldn't take the softbox covers off, its gonna make the reflections worse/more blown out.
If the lights are not pointing directly at the background, you may be able to lose it a bit by using a quicker shutter speed. Try and find the fastest sync speed of the flashes and crank up the shutter speed. Your exposure won't be affected because aperture is your main control with flash.
Faster shutter speed should darken out some ambient light though.

OK great, definitely keen on the mudguards solution when you have a better idea. thanks

strap on ones on the wife

So that's what happens to the milldo out of hours.