This Friday: Prototyping with Ponoko and Documentation Lighting!

Want to get into computer-aided design but don’t have access to fancy CNC machines of your own?  Join us at HackPittsburgh this Friday, February 26, at 7pm to learn about the Ponoko “making system”.  Member Forest Royse will walk us through an explanation of Ponoko’s services, and will show us how to create Ponoko-ready designs using the free Google SketchUp and the open source Inkscape.

After the Intro to Ponoko, join us for the rescheduled Intro to Documentation Lighting! Members Matt Mets and Bonnie Bogovitch will cover the basics of documentation photography, using the equipment you already have.  They’ll talk about choosing backgrounds, how to set up a simple softbox to take photos, and then demonstrate a few techniques to get you started.

Bring your camera along, as well as a thing or two that you’d like to photograph. We’ll provide one or two backdrops and lighting setups.

As with all Friday events, these introductions to Ponoko and to documentation lighting are open to the public! Doors open at 6pm, and the intro to Ponoko will begin at 7pm, followed by documentation lighting.  HackPittsburgh is located at 1936 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh, PA.  You’ll find the entrance in back, on Watson St., next to the big garage door.