Film | Edit
I have crack jackson jr. on flickr to thank for introducing me to the notion of fake miniatures. There are various techniques for simulating the miniaturisation – the one I’m trying out here uses selective focusing on either PShop or Gimp (I’m using the latter) to approximate the action of a tilt-shift lens. I’m new to the technique it’ll take a while to figure out how to do it. Not least is the problem of how to install plug-ins to the Gimp on OS X
Endless fun with trigger-happy snappers
I stole the name from Julie O’Donnell on flickr, who probably stole it from somebody else so my guilt isn’t burdensome …
Anway, here’s the result of the new lens – an AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D – a fast, cheap, light piece of glass that enables you to shoot in low-light conditions without a flash. I’m using it here for a very shallow DOF (depth of field) effect – notice how little of the lily is actually in focus. I’ve tried a few of these out on the kids, but it’s very hard to get the right bit of the image in focus on someone or something who’s moving as erratically as a two-year-old.
I’ve been playing a lot recently with shallow depth of field (DOF) images with limited success, mainly because I’m still getting to grips with the new camera and also because the close end of my zoom is only f/4.5. Maybe in this case becuase it’s near the gloaming. But I like this picture of Hugo, mainly because of the expression on his face and the portrayal of his character. I can’t really take the credit for it though, it’s just the serendipity of taking snaps, luck if you like. I think that honing the skill of portraits has a lot to do with being comfortable with the camera, and getting a feeling for hitting the shutter release at the right time.
My friend Harry is coming in from Hong Kong pretty soon and he’s bringing a treat – a 50mm f/1.8 which should be a lot of fun when it comes to shallow DOF stuff. I was going to try to get the f/1.4 but it’s outrageously expensive.
After a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the Scousers, Ben, George and I belayed a mid-afternoon funk by heading off to the Sugarloaf with the dogs for a quick scalp up the hill. Strange weather up there with the clouds sitting firmly on top of the mountain and occasional breaks in the mist, giving a Turner-like opportunity for photos and photoshoppery.
So here is something I’ve come across and installed recently. Written by somebody called lumis (David Rencher), it can be found here. Respect to lumis.
lumis*Gallery is a PHP based script which allows flickr members to display the photos they have uploaded to flickr on there own “personal” website. lumis Gallery also allows Flickr members to use flickr as a Content Management System (CMS) for your personal Photo Blog. lumis Gallery uses the flickr API to pull in information from flickr without actually loading the photos to your web server. lumis*Gallery is customizable through the main template files and the CSS files so you can match lumis*Gallery to your sites look and layout.
Brought the boys to football in Belfield this morning, very cold, bright and bracing. Brought the posh camera just in case, and found myself at the foot of the water tower. Quite a bizarre structure when you’re up close and personal with it. Built in 1973 in 7.5 days, according to the contractor’s website.
Shona and I went to Prague for a weekend break last Friday, the first time we’d been away as a couple since March ’02, on our own without kids. Not that we don’t love our kids and all that, just it’s nice to be a couple on our own. Although, having said that, we went with six other people, all good friends.
Prague is a stunning city and we spent our time doing touristy things, like having a boat trip on the River Vltava, a tour round the city in a 1920’s vintage car and a ride to the top of the Clock Tower in the Old Square.
When I get round to doing a bit of editing on the images, I’ll upload them to flickr in due course.
[EDIT] I’ve uploaded a few Prague images which can be seen here.
My first D70 picture ever!
A new departure for me with a truly unremarkable photograph. I’ve been wanting a digital SLR for the longest time, and now finally I bought this beast, second hand. It’s going to take a while to learn how to use it, but hopefully I’ll get there.
Flickr Toys can be fun, but I wonder what was going through fd’s mind when s/he wrote this hockneyizing gadget. Above is a hockeyized Shona, my wife.