@SeekingFocus...this looks shiney and new, too:

http://www.weeklyshot.org/theme/old/featured/12/

Thanks, Jason & beckn32, for your comments.

Indeed! I gave it a 4 btw.

@SeekingFocus...only one 4? Cheapskate.

Ana, thanks. I'm pleased to say that I shot this this morning especially for this theme.

so if I post a Victrola.....

hee hee

45 RPM records were invented in the late 40's.
The Philips Cassette was invented around 1962.
The CD was invented in the early 80's.
DVD was invented in the early 90's
The next-generation Blue-Ray and HD-DVD are just now being introduced.

I'd say that this image represents pretty old sound recording technology.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Bingo!

@mooch...All together now, let's sing! "Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You..."

@indigo...thank you.

@Lange...thanks for your comments. [In case you don't know me very well yet, the following is intended to be quasi-humorous] Do you think I'm actually going to inconvenience myself to create a photo for a W.S. submission? As it is, I had to turn all the way around from my desk to my record player to shoot this.

This is a photograph about Elvis, "Jailhouse Rock" and 45 RPM records. It's not about Sony or modern turntables. I cleaned everything up (before taking the photo) because, in my opinion, dusty and dirty does not equal old and may simply have been distracting. I wanted the focus to be on the record. I was playing this record on my "Hi-Fi" in 1957.

I knew in my bones, it was you.

@psychodudu...thanks very much.

I tried a variety of crops, but each time I cropped into the record itself, on any edge, it started looking much larger than the 45 RPM of old. At the same time, I wanted to get the record as large as possible so that the label could be read when I sized it tgo 750 pixels.

Your ratings will probably help get this featured. With 15 ratings,

* Relevance: 3.60
* Impact: 3.47
* Composition: 3.93
* Technique: 3.93
* Quality: 3.93
* Overall: 3.772

BAM

Sorry I missed this one King. Nice work.

I disagree with nearly everything Kind says but on this ocassion, a clean, crisp looking record player does not detract from the "Old" theme.

Kin, King... Freudian slip?

Oh and King, that's another $10 dollars you've earned, potentially.

Yay! Congrats, oh gifted, corpulant one!

..."gifted, corpulent one" scans better than "Fat Bastard." If you are a newbie, here's the joke:

http://www.weeklyshot.org/theme/alone/response/98/

Cha-Ching.

Congrats King, I didn't even have the chance to rate this!
Did you blend two photographs together? Since the typo is very good readable and at the same time there's motion blur going on, very well done!

ChriZ, thanks!

The primary photo is with the entire turntable in motion, as you see--spinning at 45 rpm by the way.

A second exposure with turntable turned off provided the unblurred title and record company text that I applied as layers at about 25% opacity, just enough to still be able to read the words.

Other than the lighting, the only tricky part was to catch the blur of the record label at just the right point. My wife's little digital camera has quite a bit of shutter lag, so this was a good guess.

I intended to post this image in color, but finally decided that it looked a little more "pure" as a b/w--it was mainly black, gray and whilte gray anyway.

@King-

Didn't realize this was a composite, but was wondering how you were able to get the nice motion blur while still being able to read the text. Nicely done there! I was imagining you sitting there taking a bunch of shots and waiting to catch it at just the right moment! Takes a bit more technical knowledge the way you've caught it, I imagine.

Also, I didn't realize this was in BW! On my monitor it looks quite blue, and I thought that was just the normal coloration... though I would imagine there wouldn't be a lot of color in the original anyway.

Love the sleek look though, and I wonder how many days and bizzare apparatuses it took to set up the lighting on this one. ;)

Yes, the composite really fooled me too. That is why it looked so shiny and slick. Same with me, it looked like a slightly desaturated colour image. Greater deoth than I first gave credit.

You could also achieve a similar effect by using a flash and slow exposure!
But it wouldn't turn out that clean, so this for sure is the better way to do it!
Nicely done King, and great timing ;)

Folks,

Thanks for your interest. Wasn't aiming to fool anybody.

I choose a slightly blue cast because I had created a bluish highlight that I liked across the lower-right edge of the record and just stuck with that color when converting to b/w.

Here it is in color:

http://www.kingdouglas.com/weeklyshot/jailhouse-rock.jpg

...and here it is without the two static layers, i.e., the "straight" photo.

http://www.kingdouglas.com/weeklyshot/jailhouse-rock-blur.jpg

ChriZ...yes, I know I could do it with flash (and probably would have), but I don't own anything anymore. This was done with desklamps, mirrors, tissue paper, blue gels and white cards. If I had used flash, I wouldn't have used on-camera flash, but the little camera I used doesn't have a flash synch connection, or time exposure, or any manual controls at all.

With flash, however, I'd still probably create a mask and layers because the flash would freeze everything and not just the two areas I wanted to be able to read.

Great choice to go with the BW. It really makes this one kick. Also, I think even with no manual settings, you made the right choice going with the composite here, and if it hadn't been pointed out I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Again, Nice work.

Excellent pic, I wondered about your technique, it was good to see the explanation here. 1957 .. that's nearly an antique.

@tony...thanks very much, and yes, I am.

Nearly! Still waiting for your self-portrait, King! ;)

Jason,
You know, as deadly quiet as it has been on WeeklyShot for the past two weeks, except for a little flurry of activity on Thursdays after the theme is announced, I think I may risk another self-portrait...extreme close-up in harsh light to bring out my wrinkles and the age spots on my pathetic old face; and with my hands against my face to emphasize the thin, parchment quality of the skin on the backs of my hands (I have no vanity).

If only I could be absolutely sure that it would irritate my special friends and fans mooch and psychodudu. Otherwise, at 62, I feel so old and tired I may not have the energy.

...to clarify, I "feel so old and tired" after looking at all the photos of people in this theme who are my age or younger.

Come on guys! How insensitive of you.

King,
My first thought with that RCA Victor label was that its a 78, is it?

nicely done King

@browe...it's a 45 rpm. I thought if I photographed a 78 rpm it would look too much like a 33-1/3 rpm.

The big hole in the middle says 45.

@dunny...thanks!