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probe for detecting fluid flow in pipes through vibrations

Probe

This was a commercial job I did for the cover of the annual report of an engineering company. This is one of their products, a device which detects vibrations when held against a pipe to confirm that there is liquid flowing through it. The object is about four inches (10 cm) long.

This is a straight photograph, no Photoshop tricks were employed, only careful placement of lights in the studio. In all five lights were used.

I set up the object on a table covered with a black piece of perspex. At the back of the room two colored lights, one red and one blue, point towards a white sheet of background paper. The light you see is a reflection of this in the perspex.

Beside the camera is a heavily diffused main light. Then there are two more lights, one on each side. The one on the right side gives the red stripe down the right hand side and the white light on the left can just be seen giving an accent to the knarling and the tip.

I love fiddling around in the studio like this and have been known to spend many hours or even days setting up one shot.

I think you'll agree that the complex lighting setup gives a bit of sparkle to a rather mundane looking object while still portraying it in a realistic way.

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