Let There Be White Light!

You know when you have a yarn in your stash that you bought just because you loved it and then it sits there, wallowing away, because 1) if you knit it you won't have it any more and b) (heh) you are worried that you will knit the wrong thing with it and it will be gone forever?   Maybe you should have left it on the shelf until you find the perfect project, then it won't be sitting there taunting you with its prettiness, but sometimes it is a yarn that is either hard to come by or isn't readily replaceable, not a mass produced brand or color.  (Even still, maybe I should be stocking up on those yarns, too.  Remember Rowan Magpie?  Everybody loved it and yet POOF!  Gone!  And I never did get all the colors I wanted.  Anyway-back to this yarn.)  Well, as you probably have guessed, I have some of that yarn and a few months ago I found a sweater that might be worthy of it.  The yarn is Koigu KPPPM in two colors.  The sweater is Tempest (ravelry link).  After mulling it over for a while I pulled the Koigu out and decided to photgraph it and write a blog post about how thinking it all over.  That was back in October or something.  I took the photos and was so disappointed in them that the post never happened and while I kept thinking about it (every day) I let other things take precedence.  See, the thing about Koigu is the color and the depth of colors in one colorway and the thing about blogging them is the photography and how it never shows it well.  At least not when I take the pics.

Can you see the difference in these colorways?  Can you see the green in the blue or the blues in the greens or the subtle periwinkley purple in each of them?  How could you in that picture?  And I tried all over my house to find a spot that would reflect enough white light to capture the prettiness of this combination.

When the opportunity came up to take a short workshop on photographing for the internet I jumped on it.  While I still do not get most of photography, like depth of field, aperture, or ISO adjustments, I did get to try a white box.  How cool!  You see, not only does the amount of light matter, but the quality of the color of the light.  White light reflects colors so much better, so when you take a picture in a room with green walls the light reflected is green and has an effect on the color of the photo.  Now, most of our cameras have adjustments for that, but they aren't perfect.  In a white box with white lights you have less to fight.  It provides a light that simulates a bright, overcast day, which is preferred.  So I learned.   So I came home and made one!   I got the instructions to make one just like the one we used in the class.  With a box, box cutter, white tracing paper, tape, and a piece of poster board I came up with a passable box.  My tracing paper has a bit of a yellow tinge to it so I want to replace it with white vellum and I am using OttLites, but I would like to get some inexpensive spot lights.  I think as long as you use day-white light bulbs you can use any lamp.  While I can't claim a miraculous change in my photos, I'll give you a little idea of the difference.

   

So, can you see it?  That the blue has greens in there and the green has some purply blues in there?  Can you see how I think they would stripe well together and how I wanted to buy them and knit them together and why I didn't wait to buy them, because it is Koigu and may never show up again?  It is time to see what I learn from the swatching......

Seven.  You can make a white box, too!  Here is a bit of a better one, I might try this one as well.  Where will I store all of this stuff?

Comments

[Margene]

They ARE perfect together. Susan said Tempest was the best sweater she'd ever knit. That's high praise. Can't wait to hear more!

[Cookie!]

Like night and day. It really is amazing how much a difference a light box can make. Thanks for the links! Now I want to make one, too.

And, yes, I can totally see why those yarns need to be knit into a sweater together.

[jill]

Oh man! What a difference. Thanks for the link to the instructions. I have an industrious daughter who I will have make one this weekend. I have a stack of FOs to photograph for ravelry, but just haven't liked ANY of my shots. This will make a difference.

Enjoy those colors!

[Harper]

I've been thinking about setting up a light box as well. My problem is lack of space. Have you seen this tutorial for a boz you can easily disassemble after use? http://www.instructables.com/id/Collapsible_Light_Box_For_Those_Short_On_Space_And/

[Renee]

The yarn is gorgeous! I use white poster board the kids do projects on from the dollar store infront or a south facing window. Colours on my monitor are pert near identical to the skeins I hold up beside them. Love white!!

[Dianna]

Aren't light boxes amazing? There is a folding one similar to the laundry hampers that collapse down in to a small flat package I am coveting. Perhaps for my birthday I can get the kids to get me one!

[The Attic]

I've been thinking about making or buying a light box for ages. I make do with a big sheet of white mat board leaning up against a cabinet near my kitchen window. With almost white counters, it's okay and storage isn't much of an issue. Light box is better, though!
Thanks for that link.

[Tracy J.]

Thanks for that! It's so hard to get the right lighting in winter especially, and this never occurred to me. The yarns are beautiful, too, and will clearly go well together.

[Kim]

Wow what a difference! In the first picture they look almost the same, but in the other pictures I can see just how nice they would be together for Tempest.

Koigu will make such a nice weight and soft sweater.

[claudia]

I made a light box a couple of years ago with PVC tubing that comes apart for storage and a white sheet for the drape. I should pull that out again....

[Nora]

Holy crap, that's amazing!

Great yarn.

[AuntieAnn]

Craft Magazine's blog just had this cool tute on how to build a collapsible light box:

http://drawingsinmotion.blogspot.com/2009/01/making-of-light-box.html

It uses reflected rather than diffused light, but I imagine the idea could be adapted for either.

Now I want one, too.

[AuntieAnn]

Doh! My link is the same one that Harper posted above, I think.