A while ago I posted a video of Tiltshift stopmotion photography called Bathtub. There has since been several others made but this one recaptured some of the charm of the first one. Enjoy.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
New Lambo - SuperVeloce
Drool... Another stunning car from the workshops of Lamborghini.Source: Wired
Lamborghini has unveiled the quickest Murcielago yet, a 670-horsepower toro lidiado that charges from zero to 60 in just 3.2 seconds and hits a top speed of 212 mph.
The LP 670-4 SuperVeloce shown at the Geneva Motor Show sports a 6.5-liter V-12 cranking out 30 horsepower more than the LP 640. A healthier dose of carbon fiber and other mods cut 220 pounds from the LP 640, bringing the SuperVeloce to 3,450 pounds. Suspension and aerodynamic tweaks — note that big freakin' wing — contribute to the stunning velocity. It's almost as impressive as the hyperbole in the press release:
From the rumble of a stormy night through the trumpeting of mighty elephants to the roar of a raging lion, the SuperVeloce performs the grand opera for 12 cylinders, 48 valves and 8,000 revs.
Yeah, Lamborghini should stick to engineering and leave the writing to others.
Want one? Better move quick. Sant'Agata plans to build just 350, and they'll go for somewhere north of $300,000. More pics ...
Thursday, 26 February 2009
New Dell laptop range - Adamo
I don't usually get interested in laptops or computers in an aesthetic way unless they're Apples because I think they tend to take the prize for the best looking bits of kit (even if they're horrendously pretentious and overpriced). Once in a while there comes along a really decent looking piece of hardware that shows someone has taken the Apple approach to design, that being that form need not be sacrificed for function.
Dell has started what can only be described as a pretentious and overbearing - it smacks of the nasty perfume ads that seem to grace the TV around the festive season. However in this case there seems to be some substance behind all the fluff.
The Adamo range is their new 'designer' range of laptops and netbooks the first of which that has been popping up all over the technology sites and blogs. The one pictured below is in my opinion quite stunning and has a sveltness to rival that of the MacBook Air. There is no word yet on its stats other than this model has a 13 inch monitor that has the same gloss finish that seems to be popping up all over the place with recent laptops. Unfortunately the end result of this is that they're a massive fingerprint magnet and in bright light they reflect more than your bathroom mirror. Still it's one very good looking piece of kit. They are currently set for release sometime in the second half of this year.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Flying Vid
Every now and then I come across a video on Youtube that I watch over and over. This is one of those - Watch this in high quality with some decent sound. It's wonderfully uplifting (pun intended). This is a video made by Loewe but some clever chap replaced the boring music (Coldplay I think) with Soniques - Fly So High (Touch the Sky). It fits perfectly in my opinion.
Friday, 20 February 2009
LOMO! - part 2
Following on from my previous post - I had to produce something to fulfill my own theme criteria. Being something of a stickler for composition and taking the time to examine the scene that I was photographing the Lomo philosophy was quite difficult to embrace. What is the lomo philosophy? Lomo has 10 rules that are the accepted as guidelines for Lomographers. These are those rules:
In all honesty I did actually stick to the "Don't think, just shoot" ideal, at least initially, but then my desire for an interesting photo kind of took over. Ironically tho it ended up being two of the shots that really were shot from the hip that I decided I liked the most.
These are those two shots - both of the Centre Point building in London
So the processing involved in these two shots is the following:
In Adobe lightroom:
- Up the 'temperature' or warmpth of the photo
- Boost the saturation
- Up the contrast and blacks
- Tweek the yellow and green channels
In Adobe Photoshop
- A very slight sharpen pass (this is a legacy of the D80 - I don't use any camera processing and only shoot in raw)
- Tweek the exposure a little more as with the contrast and saturation to suit.
- A tiny little bit of false vignetting.
I have entered the first of the two into the competition so we'll see how we go - I don't expect to win this one as some of the other entries are far superior to mine. However it has been a brilliant learning experience and I personally think it was broadened my options a little when it comes to styles. I will post the result on here.
The forum and the entries can be found here: OCuK Photography Forum
1. Take your Lomo everywhere you go
This I always do along with an extra roll of film.
2. Use it anytime - day and night
3. Lomography is not an interference with your life but a part of it
It will soon feel natural to take Lomographs of everything.
4. Get as close as possible to the objects of you lomographic desire
I still don't get this right half the time.
5. Don't think
Once you start thinking about composition, the unexpected qualities start to go.
6. Be fast
As fast as you can take you camera from your pocket. For instant reaction, use the supplied wrist strap.
7. You don't have to know beforehand what is on your film
8. Nor afterwards
You will figure it out eventually.
9. Try the shot from the hip
Or from the ground.
10. Don't worry about (golden) rules
Be unique and find your own way.
In all honesty I did actually stick to the "Don't think, just shoot" ideal, at least initially, but then my desire for an interesting photo kind of took over. Ironically tho it ended up being two of the shots that really were shot from the hip that I decided I liked the most.
These are those two shots - both of the Centre Point building in London
So the processing involved in these two shots is the following:In Adobe lightroom:
- Up the 'temperature' or warmpth of the photo
- Boost the saturation
- Up the contrast and blacks
- Tweek the yellow and green channels
In Adobe Photoshop
- A very slight sharpen pass (this is a legacy of the D80 - I don't use any camera processing and only shoot in raw)
- Tweek the exposure a little more as with the contrast and saturation to suit.
- A tiny little bit of false vignetting.
I have entered the first of the two into the competition so we'll see how we go - I don't expect to win this one as some of the other entries are far superior to mine. However it has been a brilliant learning experience and I personally think it was broadened my options a little when it comes to styles. I will post the result on here.
The forum and the entries can be found here: OCuK Photography Forum
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
LOMO!
Having won the last comp on OCuK where the theme was "Only the camera can capture" I got the opportunity to chose the next. For my theme choice I went with Lomo. "What is Lomo?" you might ask. I shall endeavor to explain because over the years Lomo or Lomography has gained itself something of a cult following.
History: From http://www.lomography.com/about/
1982
In the genteel streets of St. Petersburg, Russia, the whole Lomographic phenomenon begins!
General Igor Petrowitsch Kornitzky, right-hand man to the USSR Minister of Defense and Industry, slammed a little Japanese mini-camera onto the ornate desk of his comrade Michail Panfilowitsch Panfiloff. Mr Panfiloff, Director of the powerful LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory, examined the camera closely, noting its sharp glass lens, extremely high light sensitivity and robust casing. The two gentlemen, realizing the superior nature and extreme potential of this strange little item, gave immediate orders to copy and improve the design - with the ultimate goal of producing the largest quantity possible for the pleasure and glory of the Soviet population. It was decided - every respectable Communist should have a LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT of their own.
The LOMO LC-A was born, and millions of cameras were promptly produced and sold. The Soviets and their Socialist playmates in Vietnam, Cuba and East Germany snapped happily away throughout the nineteen eighties, fully documenting the last gasps of Communism, and the occasional beach vacation on the Black Sea.
Jump forward to 1991
A handful of restless Viennese students are cruising though the capital in great early summer spirits, enjoying the new-found Czech democracy. By this year, the LC-A's time in the sunshine was coming to a close.
Weakened by dirt cheap, battery-powered imports from Asia, the LC-A's popularity was waning, and it was available only at quirky, old-school camera shops. It was at an establishment such as this, where the Viennese students happened upon the adorable camera, and bought a couple for fun. Back on the resplendent streets of Prague, they zipped through the first few rolls of film: shooting from above and through their legs, shooting from the hip, and even sometimes looking through the viewfinder.
Back in Vienna they soon had the whole bag of film developed at the trusty corner supermarket (super cheapo!) and received a real surprise: Thousands of small, amusing, sad, garish shots of their little tour, wonderful focused and unfocussed images fresh from life in the Czech Republic. The images were amazing, dazzling all those present with a crushing sense of excitement - the likes of which they had never felt before.
And so we come to today where Lomo has reached some thing of a cult status and is a style of not only photography but also of post processing (i.e. the editing done once you take the photo off the camera) that garners quite a bit of interest and respect. There are of course the purists that say that it's not a Lomo if it's not been taken with a Lomo LC-A camera but I'm not one of them - mostly because I don't have one!
So what does Lomo look like? Well in all honesty it can look like anything but there is a specific sub group of imagery that has become somewhat synonomous with Lomography and this is the one that I personally have the most interest in.
I've grabbed a couple of images that I personally feel are representitive of the style but are also interesting to me. These are from the Flickr Lomo group.
V-for Vendetta - By Keiron
magic mushrooms from lomo by poppie smiles
To me the things that typify the Lomo style (just the style mind you not the philosophy behind it) are the bold colours, the vignetting (shadows around the edges) and the quirkiness of the images, odd focuses and not necessarily adhering to the rules of photography (which reminds me I should put a bit up here on the rules themselves - they're always good things to remember).
History: From http://www.lomography.com/about/
1982
In the genteel streets of St. Petersburg, Russia, the whole Lomographic phenomenon begins!
General Igor Petrowitsch Kornitzky, right-hand man to the USSR Minister of Defense and Industry, slammed a little Japanese mini-camera onto the ornate desk of his comrade Michail Panfilowitsch Panfiloff. Mr Panfiloff, Director of the powerful LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory, examined the camera closely, noting its sharp glass lens, extremely high light sensitivity and robust casing. The two gentlemen, realizing the superior nature and extreme potential of this strange little item, gave immediate orders to copy and improve the design - with the ultimate goal of producing the largest quantity possible for the pleasure and glory of the Soviet population. It was decided - every respectable Communist should have a LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT of their own.
The LOMO LC-A was born, and millions of cameras were promptly produced and sold. The Soviets and their Socialist playmates in Vietnam, Cuba and East Germany snapped happily away throughout the nineteen eighties, fully documenting the last gasps of Communism, and the occasional beach vacation on the Black Sea.
Jump forward to 1991
A handful of restless Viennese students are cruising though the capital in great early summer spirits, enjoying the new-found Czech democracy. By this year, the LC-A's time in the sunshine was coming to a close.
Weakened by dirt cheap, battery-powered imports from Asia, the LC-A's popularity was waning, and it was available only at quirky, old-school camera shops. It was at an establishment such as this, where the Viennese students happened upon the adorable camera, and bought a couple for fun. Back on the resplendent streets of Prague, they zipped through the first few rolls of film: shooting from above and through their legs, shooting from the hip, and even sometimes looking through the viewfinder.
Back in Vienna they soon had the whole bag of film developed at the trusty corner supermarket (super cheapo!) and received a real surprise: Thousands of small, amusing, sad, garish shots of their little tour, wonderful focused and unfocussed images fresh from life in the Czech Republic. The images were amazing, dazzling all those present with a crushing sense of excitement - the likes of which they had never felt before.
And so we come to today where Lomo has reached some thing of a cult status and is a style of not only photography but also of post processing (i.e. the editing done once you take the photo off the camera) that garners quite a bit of interest and respect. There are of course the purists that say that it's not a Lomo if it's not been taken with a Lomo LC-A camera but I'm not one of them - mostly because I don't have one!
So what does Lomo look like? Well in all honesty it can look like anything but there is a specific sub group of imagery that has become somewhat synonomous with Lomography and this is the one that I personally have the most interest in.
I've grabbed a couple of images that I personally feel are representitive of the style but are also interesting to me. These are from the Flickr Lomo group.
V-for Vendetta - By Keiron
magic mushrooms from lomo by poppie smiles
To me the things that typify the Lomo style (just the style mind you not the philosophy behind it) are the bold colours, the vignetting (shadows around the edges) and the quirkiness of the images, odd focuses and not necessarily adhering to the rules of photography (which reminds me I should put a bit up here on the rules themselves - they're always good things to remember).
Monday, 2 February 2009
Photography jiggery pokery
Inspired by my recent win with the TNT I decided to challenge myself a little. On one of the photography forums I regularly visit run a little monthly photo comp with the aim of pushing you to develop your skills. The month just gone theme was "Only the Camera Can Capture". As always these are open to interpretation and so I decided to take a different lean that everyone else was. The general idea was that it would be things like macro shots or long exposures. My take was a little more elaborate.
I had recently seen the website of a guy who had a thing for chucking things in the air and then taking photos of them. The end result was, in my opinion, quite clever.
I decided to take it a step further and came up with a concept inspired by the laptop shot above. I was going for something a little more complex and also a totally different take on the 'Camera can Capture' theme.
So at around 9:30am on a Saturday I and my lovely assistant Kim headed down to Russel Square with two laptops kindly lent to me by work (they were getting thrown out anyway) and a couple of wooden spoons. The idea was to make an image that was purposefully incongruous and a bit fun. Rather than try to explain the image I will just show you the end result and then some shots of the process involved.
The Process - Take one laptop - remove hard drive bay - insert wooden spoon and hand over to beautiful assistant. Once the individual photos were taken we went home and then there was a fairly lengthy editing and compositing process where I combined 20-25 photos of the laptops and using a blank photo of the background painted Kim out. End result - Flying laptops!
I had recently seen the website of a guy who had a thing for chucking things in the air and then taking photos of them. The end result was, in my opinion, quite clever.
I decided to take it a step further and came up with a concept inspired by the laptop shot above. I was going for something a little more complex and also a totally different take on the 'Camera can Capture' theme.
So at around 9:30am on a Saturday I and my lovely assistant Kim headed down to Russel Square with two laptops kindly lent to me by work (they were getting thrown out anyway) and a couple of wooden spoons. The idea was to make an image that was purposefully incongruous and a bit fun. Rather than try to explain the image I will just show you the end result and then some shots of the process involved.
Laptops Among the Pigeons
The Process - Take one laptop - remove hard drive bay - insert wooden spoon and hand over to beautiful assistant. Once the individual photos were taken we went home and then there was a fairly lengthy editing and compositing process where I combined 20-25 photos of the laptops and using a blank photo of the background painted Kim out. End result - Flying laptops!
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