Job site in Cambridge, MA

We went up to Cambridge the other day to visit a job site and give a quick seminar on the proper use of internal vibrators -- this was a very exciting place to visit. I shot this VR (Virtual Reality panorama) We are two floors under ground here and the process is called top down construction.  Basically they pour the concrete directly on the dirt and then dig away the dirt beneath the floor they just poured and do another floor.  This will be a five story underground parking lot for the Harvard Law School when finished. To view the vr click and drag on the image.  It is linked here.

Very Clever Stop Motion

Ben and I were looking for animations and found this very very clever animation.  We both think it is one of the best ones we have seen in a while.  To view this animation click here. It was made by Geoffroy de Crecy and Partizan Lab.  Totally awesome!

Camry HDR Photo

This is a picture I took the other night to show Jason my new (well new to me) Camry.  It is made of three shots taken in the dark with just the porch light on. I did three long exposures and during the longest exposure I flashed the lights with the remote and the interior light also went on.  This combined image is the result. I have been having fun with HDR (High Dynamic Range Image) these days and I will likely post a few more soon.  I am also editing a video and have been playing around with some new 360 tools and Flash.

Tattoos

It has been a while since I have posted so I thought I would share a bit of what has been going on at work this week. We are preparing for a trade show and need some things to give out.

We are making temporary tattoos. 

Here is one I created. I made four in all. This is the one I like the best. It is designed so you can trim off the barbed wire and wrap your arm or what ever. The trade show is World of Concrete -- how much fun is that! It takes place in Las Vegas. I wont be attending, maybe next year. It was fun making these without any of the right tools.  I drove down to the Ocean State Job Lot and bought a watercolor set for $1 and a set of the worlds cheapest brushes for $2 and used a non permanent pen (crappy) on copier paper. All in all, a fun project and maybe next time I will bring in some real paints and paper and maybe some nice Windsor & Newton brushes.

HDR Test

This is an image I shot a few minutes ago using my Nikon D70. I shot three exposures and blended them together using a program called Photomatix. I have been experimenting with High Dynamic Range Images (HDRI or HDR) for the past three or so years, and use it frequently as a light source for 3D modeling.  I thought I would do a shot to show as an example of how it works. This happy old guy was given to me by my daughter just after she gave birth to our Grandson and 'Gramps' has been with me ever since so I thought he would be a good subject. What HDR does is use the best of the exposures to create a perfectly exposed photo (if all goes well) with good highlights and good shadows. I posted a much larger version here along with the originals. 

I shot them at F4 @ 1/10th, 1/40th and .4 of a second with an 18 - 70mm zoom at a focal length of 48mm. My tripod was out in my car (and it is cold outside) so the camera was stacked up on top of some stuff on my VR head and I used my remote shutter release to keep vibration down to a minimum. The lighting was a my incandescent desk light, nothing special. All in all I am happy with the shot and Photomatix -- I did no post work in Photoshop except to compress for web delivery. 

Another cool animation

This is a great example of stop motion mixed with Computer Graphics and it is just pretty darned cool.  And this is one of my very favorite sites ---- these guys really know Motion Design and are making some of the coolest videos on the web.  Check out their PROJECTS -- I especially like Saturn and I wasn't made for fighting Another of my faves is Sixes Last which I first saw about two years ago and couldn't believe the animation... absolutely stunning.

On Line Exhibition

It is that time again when I participate in the World Wide Panorama online exhibition.  If you don't know about it let me fill you in.  Back in March of 2004 I began participating in the World Wide Panorama Exhibition --- their first one. We are a large assortment of photographers that shoot 360 degree photos that are viewed on computers using QuickTime. We shoot on the solstices and equinoxes - so we present 4 times a year.  Each shoot is themed and the winter solstice has developed into "the best of' theme.  this time I am presenting a shot I did last summer while cruising. But take some time and look at the shote from all around the world.  We typically have about 300 participants per event so there is a lot to look at. Go here WWP. Or directly to my page here.