Jamie Donaldson visits Central Ohio Woodturners

Jamie Donaldson was our guest speaker for the December 2006 meeting of the Central Ohio Woodturners. We also had a beginner's corner on the basics of equipment for woodturning.




There's always a lot of milling about prior to the start of a club meeting. It's the time when people catch up on news and bragging about wood, equipment, and whatever.










It's also the time to ogle the turnings on the show and tell table. We had a limited number of turnings on the table, but several offerings were of candlesticks for the president's challenge.














We were in a smaller room for the business meeting this evening. The main shop was pretty messy from the end of the quarter at OSU, so we took over two classrooms for our separate sessions.







Barbara showed the candlesticks from her president's challenge. There were some interesting ones here, including a section of a very large turning that Blair Davis brought in.






Ron Damon led the beginner's corner in the other room. He covered the basics of equipment and supplies needed for turning.
















We do have quite a few beginners in our club and so this breakout session is pretty useful to those turners just starting the hobby.






Meanwhile, in the other room, we had a session with Jamie Donaldson (from Kentucky) on "Phrugal Photography." Jamie brought his set-up to illustrate the basics of craft photography on a budget. This light box is constructed from PVC pipe and poster boards. The light source is a halogen worklamp and the lighting is manipulated by reflecting the light off of the white surfaces. The backdrop is a window shade. The entire set-up can be made for less than $50.




Jamie explained how manipulating the lighting makes or breaks a photo of a woodturning.










An alternative to the above set-up is a simple tent made from two pieces of poster board. This is for smaller turnings.









To brighten the light box, you can add panels and reflecting surfaces to the interior space.










Jamie provided a detailed handout that covers the basics of digital photography and his phrugal set-up. He also handled questions from the audience quite well and kept the flow of information going at a steady clip.








The entire lecture was illustrated in real time via a computer projection.









This made it possible to see the real-time effects of manipulating the lighting on the shiny surface of a woodturning.

Thanks, Jamie, for a great demo for our club.