composite

When we baptize folks at church, I like to take pics. I think people have become accustomed to yours truly staking out a spot right up front. I try hard not to be too obtrusive or distracting. Then I give a free picture to each person who got baptized.

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I tried something new this time. I wanted to shoot high-speed continuous, so I couldn't use flash. This shot is a composite, showing Denise coming out of the water. I did it by using the collage feature in Google's free Picasa program, but first I edited out my pastor, so that he was in the last frame, but gone from the other three shots. That's why you see movement from Denise, but not Pastor John.

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A big thank-you to my buddy Pete, who pulled the microphone out of the picture for me. I like my images to have a simple subject and free from distracting clutter.

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Next time I do this, I will try using brighter bulbs in the cans, and switch from spot meter to area meter. What about you? Do you have any ideas or suggestions?

candy and toys

To whom it may concern:

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I left half-a-bag of Peanut M&M's downstairs next to the remote control. When I returned the following night, I thought I might like to have the rest for a snack. The goodies were gone, but the litter was left behind. That goes beyond just plain wrong, it is downright cruel. Sleep with one eye open.

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And now, on to other things. The camera I used a couple of years ago has come out to play again. It is a Sony Mavica. The battery won't hold a charge, but it works if I plug it in.

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This image is a glass candy dish in the dark, illuminated only with an ultraviolet flashlight. I doubt this little flashlight will cause any harm, but I read somewhere, that UV light stimulates vitamin D production and that it may cause positive mood bursts. That is happy news for anyone who's M&M's have not been absconded.

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You know what else? I discovered that where Picasa's touch-up tool is not small enough, I can open the JPEG in Paint, and use that to color the pixels. That's how I removed the table's glare from under the bowl and my fingers that were pinching the top of the bowl. So easy!!!

show me the monet

Normally, I like my images to be as realistic as possible. Today instead, let's have a little fun playing with post-editing software.

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The above image was a throwaway. It was an experiment with a sunset and remote flash, but the set all turned out too dark. Since I couldn't destroy it any more than it already was, I generously boosted the fill light and added two or three doses of film grain. An impressionable coworker said it was reminiscent of Monet. :-)

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As a bonus, this shot of a 25-foot tall orange Dino Chomper balloon was retouched to remove the guy-lines. Though I couldn't get the angle I wanted with just the right clouds in the background... still, I like it for it's utter simplicity.

big and little

They call this strange little character a bee fly. It is approximately the size of a grain of rice. It was very interested in my bluegreen camera bag. Perhaps it was the color of the canvas tote that worked as a beacon to this cerulean striped fly. Yes, it's actually a fly; it only looks like a bee. The mimicry was designed so that we would think it's a bee and not take its lunch money.

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Hey, do you perchance use Picasa for your photos? The August issue of Popular Photography suggests a shortcut on page 108. To flip an image horizontally, press Ctrl + Shift + H. That nifty little trick should come in handy when attempting to decipher Russian signage.

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Anyhow, that made me wonder what other hidden secrets I might want to learn, so I googled "picasa shortcuts." Here are a couple more that I expect to find useful:

Ctrl + Shift + V flips it vertically

Hovering over a photo, Ctrl + Alt is a full-screen preview.

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Enjoy!

vanishing act

As you can see, I'm learning how to make myself invisible. Now, before a silly person tries to explain how they THINK I did it, let me tell you that I did not take two separate shots without moving the camera, and I did not use the Picasa program's collage function to create a multiple exposure.

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No. My technique involves concentrating on something very, very dull and uninteresting. That, plus some pixie dust, and you can do the vanishing trick as well!

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The reason I want to be able to turn invisible, is so that people don't tense up when I approach them as photographic subjects. Plus, it's awkward when I take a long time to set up a shot. But if they never see me hovering with the camera, it doesn't matter, does it?

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I hope you don't mind that I am so casual and frank about telling you my thoughts on this. We have gotten to know each other a little bit, and I feel comfortable enough with you by now that I think I can be "transparent."