Shot Notes
I apologize to my follower for letting these last few weeks pass without some new photography. Since starting this website 10 years ago I have added something every week. The construction of this kit 3D printer was the cause of my distraction. It was an unexpected 40th birthday gift from my parents. At first I thought it was a mistake. It was addressed to my dad and I would certainly recommend the RapRap Ormerod 2 to any retired person with infinite patience and a lot of time on their hands. No special skills needed to build. The kit has hundreds of parts neatly labelled in bags with step by step instructions online. The bags are worth holding on to for the piles of scrap plastic you are about to produce. Anyone who tells you 3D printing is a waste free manufacturing process has never owned a kit 3D printer. Once you start making stuff the process becomes quite addictive. I found myself tweaking designs before each print had finished. This was more often to minimize print problems as well as improving function. It is currently producing blades for our grass strimmer. Karen tests each one to destruction so I can develop a tougher design.
This year I received media accreditation to shoot the Byron Bay Bluesfest for Benz World Blog and will be posting music shots from New South Wales next week.
That looks a serious bit of kit. How easy was it to input the design? Is there any webcam image to control file converter? Was the plastic easy to obtain?
There is a lot of free software out there. I started with SketchUp but it did not produce usable files so I switched to tinker CAD which is easy to use. I then use Slic3r to covert the shapes to printer gCode, Pronterface to control the printer and a web interface to run the gCode. No webcam. I got the plastic filament from colorFabb in the Netherlands.
Does having accreditation mean you are officially a photojournalist now? Do you get to hang around back stage and in the VIP areas?
No VIP area but I can get backstage and more importantly I can shoot around the foot of the stage. Last year as a festival goer with a camera I could get to the front rail but was then stuck with one angle to shoot from. I can also use the images for Stock Photography. Agencies will not accept images without accreditation.