Submitter's name:	Olaf Greve
Title:	Combustion
Gear used:	OM-4Ti + Zuiko 50/3.5 Macro + Bellows + Vari Magnifier + Motor Drive 1 + M. 18V Control Grip 1 + Relay Cord 1.2m + T28 Twin Flash + Manfrotto Tripod + Black Backdrop + 2 Bricks + Table.
Diaphragm:	f16
Shutter speed:	1/60th (flash synchronised)
Film used:	Fuji Provia 100F (RDP III)
Technical information:	Take 1: Initially, I wanted to register the complete combustion process from striking the match until the point where the head of the match would be about half burnt up. In order to do this, I prepared the set-up during the daytime, and shot the first series of results during the night, without a flash in a completely dark room. I found that I had to stop the lens down all the way to f22 (and I even added a circular polarisar in order to consume more light) in order to get enough of the combustion process registered. Upon seeing the results I was dissapointed though, and it seemed to me that the whole result would look much better if I would simply use a flash to "freeze" a single moment of the match's combustion. Take 2: So, now that I had found some clear points for improvement, I did a re-shoot. This time I decided to take the pictures simply during the daytime, using the T28 Twin Flash to illuminate the match. For getting the maximum out of the DOF (while preserving high image quality) at this relatively high magnification ratio, I decided to stop the lens down to f16. The biggest hassle in shooting this picture was to get the set-up correct and stable enough, in the end, I put the match in between two heavy bricks to prevent motion of the match upon striking it as much as possible (as some of the "take 1 shots" clearly show that during long exposures the motion of the match becomes too much of a problem). Furthermore, the matches often required being struck some 3-7 times or so before they would finally combust, causing them at times to shift, such that they were not completely in focus anymore (requiring me to correct their position). The re-shoot only comprised three pictures, and I found out that I could not get both flash heads close enough to the match in such a way that I could still strike the match, so I had to remove one of the flash heads and use the T28 in single head mode (the flash head was put directly above the match). In the first picture of the re-shoot the match was actually struck, but the second one simply would not combust this way, so I decided to make a final optimisation, which was to stop actually striking the match, and to use a small lit match instead to let the match in the picture be combusted by the heat which was transferred to it when I pressed the lit match against it. Fortunately, the bigger matches have a nice (relatively) slow combustion (taking roughly a second or so), so after setting up the match and camera and after stopping down the lens etc., all I had to do was to light the match and then fire the camera in a timely manner. In order to do this, I used the MD 1 which I triggered (in single mode, of course) using the pistol grip and the relay cord. This way, with my left hand I could easily light the "object match" using the small match, then instantly remove the small match, and trigger the camera with my right hand. Upon seeing the results, this time I was glad to see that everything worked out pretty much as I had figured it would, and I would deem this one of my keeper macro shots. You can see some other shots from the both sessions (as well as some other runners up) on the runners up page.
Magnification:	In order to protect the lens, I decided to use relatively big matches so I would not have to get the front of the lens too close to the match in order to get a decently frame filling shot. I tried a few different magnification ratios, and found this ratio to work nicely. The extension of the bellows was some 90 MM, and I set the lens to the close focusing distance, which then effectively adds a further 25 MM to the total extension. Added up, the total extension was then some 115 MM, which means a magnification of roughly 2.3 times (i.e. 1:2.3) with a 50 MM lens.
Digital techniques:	The slide was graciously scanned by Hans van Veluwen. Thanks a lot mate! Somehow the colours of this scan were off, so some digital correction was necessary. After some tweaking (while comparing the scan to the original), the following corrections were necessary to get the digital version to look pretty much like the original (somehow the original has better colours and sharpness still): Gamma correction: Red: 2.0, Green: 1.7, Blue: 1.4 RGB correction: Red: 25, Green: 10, Blue: -25 Funnily enough using only gamma or RGB correction yielded an image which was too dark, but the combination of the two seemed to work better. I am by no means an expert in digital manipulation, so perhaps a better result could have been obtained, but I think this comes close enough.
Subject information:	I wanted to do something different than a "regular" flower or insect macro shot, and shooting a combusting match is an idea I had been playing with for a long time, so I decided to postpone the shooting of this idea until the TOPE 6 event :).
Other work:	This is only my second serious attempt at macro photography, I shot a variety of different subjects to see which ones would work best (with the main attention aimed at the match shots). Some of them can be seen on the runners up page.
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Comment left by: Dave Bulger (david_bulger@austintx.net)

Great shot! The lighting setup was complicated -- good work! It's been my experience that many great photos are made rather than found, and this is a good example. BTW -- the 1st shot on the runners-up page is superb as well.

Comment left by: Scott Gomez (scott@petroglyph.crestline.ca.us)

Great shot! Really subtle colors in the flame. Interesting also how the wood of the matchstick appears almost like some sort of plastic at this magnification.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

I must echo Dave Bulger's remarks. Your technical description and results are proof that excellent photography is made, and that persistence in achieving a mental vision for an image pays off. Uniquely creative and very well executed, especially with all the critical timing and lighting difficulties. Composition is striking (pun intended). Superb critical focus and exposure that maintains detail throughout. The near black background keeps anything from distracting from the subject material. Impressive!

Comment left by: Jim Caldwell (jamesfc@gte.net)

This is an amazing shot and must have taken a lot of time to set up and execute properly. Kudos!!

Comment left by: Michael Virsinger (mikev@virtechsolutions.com)

Simply a great shot. There is so much going on in this photo - the detail in the wood, the event horizon on the match head, the colors in the flame. I find myself drawn to it like a moth to a... uh, well you get it. Well Done!

Comment left by: Alastair Langwell (langwela@tcd.ie)

Now THIS rocks! Much better than some other people with their flowers. Sweet!

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