My very first hologram (Pictures, yay!)

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:46 pm

OK so here is the very first hologram i made. I think the preparations were not too bad because i think it came out quite clear. I thought my first few plates would be all dud or so due to bad table stability, over/under exposure and so on. However - everything worked fine and the first plate was directly a success. Well i did the typical "coins" object as suggested in the manual.

Afterwards i ruined the sides a bit by touching the (still quite wet) emulsion side a bit. Also photographing it is not really easy. I will try to make a video as well. Its a set of japanese coins, the 500 yen coin in the middle is easy to recognize if you have seen it before.

This really gives appetite for more...

Sorry for the bad pictures, i found it hard to photograph a hologram. With flash it was totally useless as it reflected in the plate, so i had to try without flash...

29 plates to go (Plus 6 large) so expect more like this in the near future. =)

Edit:

The first 2 photos are when it is still wet.

Video of the wet hologram:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTl47uEPicU

DRIED hologram:

And...Last but not least - VIDEO of the dried hologram in its full glory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUdncm-B6SE

Arturo · Post by **Arturo** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:59 am

Congrats!

Did you set-up some kind of table, inner tube, or something...? What was your exposure time?

holomaker · Post by **holomaker** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:17 am

Good work kyodai ! Most newbees tend to not have the beam expanded enought, and you get a hot spot in the center of the pate. Try a wider beam and longer exposuer time/ Can you take a picture of your set-up ?

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:04 am

I will take a picture of my setup later tonight. The "table" is just from bottom to top: Carpet -->Mousepad-->Heavy Glass Plate--->Salt--->dish-->Object

I had many ideas for a mockup table but that table (It is barely 1 inch high so not sure if it can be called table) seemed to be the most practical solution. I decided i would take salt instead of sand or sugar as it dissolves with water and isn't a sticky mass after, so if any accidents happen i thought salt would be easiest to clean up (Gotta have priorities after all!). Luckily no accidents, so i will probably make my second hologram tonight. Exposure time was just 12 seconds. Didn't think that crappy 4 mw didode without optics would shell out enough light, but it sure did.

BobH · Post by **BobH** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:38 am

Excellent first hologram!!!! Save it properly to enjoy 30 years from now.

Using a heavy piece of glass was a good idea for your base, and the mousepad probably made a good interface with an uneven surface, but the rest of your "table" construction was not necessary. The dish plate makes a good background. I'd recommend sticking three pieces of metal to it (such as nuts or small bolts) with 5 minute epoxy to act as plate supports. Also, I'd recommend black paper based masking tape (also called photographer's tape) instead of electrical tape, which is plastic based. the plastic tape keeps moving after being stretched, and the glue is a mess. Black paper based tape is much easier to control in small pieces, and a roll will last you a lifetime.

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:22 am

Thanks for the tip with the photographers tape.

Last night i made a hologram for my sweetheart and it came out so clear and without any distortion!
I sealed it by putting the emulsion between 2 glass plates with superglue on the edges. Then i put more superglue for sealing over the joint surface edges and covered it with the photographers tape so it wont have any sharp edges. Looks super professional!

Jem · Post by **Jem** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 12:42 pm

Nice work Kyodai

I clearly remember the excitement at getting my very first hologram, well done.

Jem

Tom B. · Post by **Tom B.** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:19 am

Congratulations! What were you using for plates, chemistry and laser?