Photo Journal

Date:     05/02/2007

We set up the laser and camera in the position to take photos and hit a few balls. The net and mat will work for the project very well. However, we could not get the laser and sensor to work so that the flash went off when the laser was interrupted. We do not know why we could not get it to work, seeing as how it was working yesterday in class. Also, when we arrived in the PEC there were two people shooting basketball. Today we did not make them leave because we were not yet ready to take photos. This may cause a problem if we have some unruly basketball shooters on some days. We will not need any more equipment as of yet.

Date:       05/03/2007

             Since we had difficulties yesterday getting the photo gate and the laser to work, we used the idea of the former student who did this project, Chris Sepich, and built a platform to hold the laser and sensor in place. This will save us the trouble of setting up the tripods everyday and hopefully making the flash work more predictably. Even after we stabilized the laser and sensor, we were still having trouble getting the flash to discharge when an object broke the laser. We will need the breadboard and parts to build our own photo gate trigger.

Golf Ball "Laser Beam" Contraption

Date:       05/04/2007

Dr. Winters brought Tate a photo gate trigger using a breadboard that had already been assembled which made his job a lot easier. Tate tested the photo gate, which worked perfectly, and taped it down to the platform that we built yesterday. We also tested using an immediate flash or a delay using the breadboard. Everything is now ready for taking pictures. Dr. Winters touched a resistor that was way too hot on the breadboard because it was not large enough. We removed it and got a bigger one. Also, even though Tate taped down the laser, when we pushed the button it moved a little. So we thought we might need to find something to slide on the laser to hold the button down but it was not a big problem so we left it.

Breadboard

Date:       05/09/2007

We got the photo gate to work and figured out how we can set up the contraption each day. We only got "ghost balls" in the photos because there was too much light coming into the camera before the flash, despite having turned off the gym lights. Also, we realized that the flash was on a delay so that is why we did not get the ball or club in the photo. We later found out that our resistor on the breadboard was too big and did not discharge fast enough. We thought to try to go into the wrestling room the next day so we could have complete darkness. We needed a flashlight from Dr. Winters.

Date:       05/10/2007

We got great photos of the ball being smashed by the club. The photo gate worked correctly again. We were not able to use the wrestling room today due to a class but we did get a dark sheet to hang and block some light in the upstairs PEC. We also fixed the net behind Tate so that he would not hit it with the club; that was giving him problems before. By then we were ready for a higher resolution camera. Also, we needed another flash for a double exposure.

Tate Hanging Sheet

Date:       05/11/2007

We connected a second flash, tested it, and set it on a delay. We tried to get a single exposure but failed to get a good picture. We got a lot of over exposures and could not get good timing with the ball making contact with the club. We thought we should have to set both flashes on a delay or make sure the paperclips are making good contact with the flashes. If not we would move the flashes back.

Flash Testing

Date:       05/17/2007 

We got the best indentation yet. We are still having trouble getting a good double exposure. We would like Dr. Winters to come and supervise us soon to help. We also wanted him to bring the MotionScope 8000s.

Date:       05/18/2007

             This day we were in the wrestling room with complete darkness. Our friend Dorian Perry from our hall helped us by turning on and off the lights which saved time. The delay on the flashes was outstanding. However, we were afraid of over-exposing the images so we had the flashes too far back. The photos seemed bright enough on the camera’s display but they were dark on the computer. We were able to brighten them up though so that is okay. We will continue to try for double and single exposures.

Double Exposure (Notice the underexposure of the picture.)

Date:       05/22/2007

             This day we met early with Dr. Winters and the MotionScope 8000s to get a high speed video. We attained three good clips but found that the speed of the club was still too fast for the MotionScope 8000s to capture the full indentation. Only once did we see a sign of indentation in a clip. Still, we now have two ways, still photos and video, to find the speed of the ball.

See Appendix for videos

Date:       05/24/2007

             This day we were in the top of the PEC and got some more double exposures. This time there was more light so we caught more of the club head in the picture. That is okay because it gave perspective to the speed of the ball. After we got a few doubles, we tried to get some good close ups of the club in contact with the ball. These photos were excellent. Since today was our last photo shoot, Drew, who is a novice golfer at best, attempted to hit the ball and have Tate take the photos. Drew got a couple good indentations, one of which is on the heel of the club, a horrible golf shot, but a great indentation.

Drew's Best Contact