Have you ever wondered how they do that?

A Bokeh Darkly, originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Inspired by the Richard Linklater movie A Scanner Darkly starring Keanu Reeves, which is based on the Philip K Dick novel of the same name.

Find A Scanner Darkly on Amazon

I am not sure of the real facts but this extract was taken from Wikipedia:

After principal photography was finished, the film was transferred to Quicktime for a 15-month animation process: interpolated-rotoscoping. A Scanner Darkly was filmed digitally and then animated with Rotoshop, a proprietary graphics editing program created by Bob Sabiston. Rotoshop uses an animation technique called interpolated rotoscope, which was previously used in Linklater's film Waking Life. Rotoscoping in traditional cel animation originally involved tracing over film frame-by-frame. Rotoshop animation, however, makes use of vector keyframes, and interpolates the in-between frames automatically.

Does that make sense? It does to me.

Originally, pre-recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator. This projection equipment is called a rotoscope, although this device has been replaced by computers in recent years. In the visual effects industry, the term rotoscoping refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.

I did nothing of the sort to produce this shot - I simply applied an artistic filter in Photoshop (Poster Edges) and then with some simple layer manipulation came up with the idea of having the animated me pushing the remote, becoming the out of focus me. I like the shot and when I have a lot of spare time I might try the whole vector, colouring method of producing a shot that resembles A Scanner Darkly more closely.

...and in last place.

...and in last place., originally uploaded by ....Tim.

A kind of homage to the 2008 Beijing Olympics...

When the last competitor crosses the line of the last race it will all be over for another 4 years. See you all in London 2012.

There are two layers here as the snail was a bit dark - I brightened up the bottom layer and gradually erased through until I could see enough detail.

I am really pleased with this shot and me and the kids had great fun making this work in the garden..

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Currently this shot is flying up the "interesting stakes" in my photostream at no 12.

EDIT 26 Aug 08 - now number 1 on my Flickr PhotoStream...

Recovering an over exposed sky...

Ray tried to sneak up on the sheep.., originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 21 mm
ISO Speed: 100

As the title of this post suggests I want o talk about how I recovered the over exposed sky for this shot.. I though the early morning sun rays looked great coming from behind the tree and took a few hasty snaps (I was running late for work!)..

I don't have a polarising filter (must get one!) so the sky was completely blown out. This was the best of the bunch of shots and I wanted to share it. So I simply converted it to mono / sepia and boosted the contrast a litle.. Now the over exposed sky is almost lost in the background because the rays are enhanced and become a real feature of the shot - like yours truly intended.

I am not sure if this is called cheating or if I have actually produced a great shot - but I like it. What do you think?

Lesson 2 - Shooting positions

Ray was rubbish at Hide and Seek..., originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Once you have the camera in position it is important to keep it as steady as possible, especially when shooting with slow shutter speeds (well get to that!).

If you find it difficult or have "the shakes" (perhaps yor a nervous 'cos you are taking a photo of something you shouldn't be) there are other ways to "hold" the camera to keep it from wobbling and to ensure you get that rock steady picture.

1. Leaning on a solid object (like a wall or fence) is a good trick, using your elbows to support the camera. You could even set the camera down on the wall for instance and use the self-timer to take the shot. This removes that downward tendancy when the shutter is pressed. You may want to put the camera on a bag (bean bag) or scarf, jumper etc to protect it from scratches.

2. Lean against a wall or tree or similar. This will add stiffness to your frame and minimise camera shake.

3. Lying down is good, as your arms will form a natual tripod and you also feel like a sniper! Cool!

4. Of course another popular way of "holding" a camera is a tripod.

In a later lesson we will go into more detail about using a tripod and avoiding blur on slow shutter speeds.

Here endeth the lesson.. See I told you this would be fun...

Lesson 1 - How to hold your DSLR.

My Son also liked the new camera.., originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Lets get comfortable with the camera first. Unless you have one of the "new breed" of DSLR with LIVE VIEW, the first thing you will find difficult when moving from a point and shoot is that you have to hold the camera to your face to frame your shots.

Getting into different shooting positions is part of the fun with digital SLR and let's face it, holding one makes you feel like a better photographer straight away. Well I thought I did anyway - my wife says I look like a tourist now! At least I look like a tourist with a decent camera, who knows how to take a photo!!!

You should grip with your right hand, with your index finger poised over the shoot button, and position your left hand underneath the lens, sort of cupping, the opposite way you would tend to hold say a telescope. Now you look like a pro! This gives the lens support and will prevent some blurring - when you move up to bigger lenses and using tripods you will find that you need to hold it more like a telescope to get the rotation.

That's enough for lesson 1... More shooting positions next..

Please note: the shot above is not a DSLR but one of the first shots I took with the EOS 400D. You don't need to see a picture of me holding the camera!

FREE - On line Digital Camera Course...

Since I purchased and registered my Canon DSLR I have been asked to attend some training courses. Obviously you have to pay for these courses and I will admit to being a little tempted. However, I have decided that I already know the basics myself and the only way to learn is to get stuck in.

So I have decided not to pay for a Basic Training course on my camera, instead I am going to run and attend my own training course. That's right, I am going to teach you how to use your camera - if you already know (as I am sure you do), then skip the next dozen or so entries and have a look at my Flickr photostream.

For the rest of you and for my own benefit I am going to spend a little time over the coming weeks exploring the workings and different settings on my Canon EOS 400D and recording my tips, findings and advice. Then I am going to cover some of the more creative sides to photography as I understand them. I will also be using my own photos to demonstrate the features and settings where possible.

I will be calling on friends and contacts for advice, afterall I am no expert. I expect to learn along the way and I expect you guys to tell where I am wrong (because I am sure I will get something wrong at some point!).

Hold on tight - this is gonna be a rough ride...

Just Say No - to shaving!

Just Say No - to shaving!, originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Ok - so this wasn't taken with my Canon, but my old Fuji..

I was tickled today to find out that if you Googled - Good looking guys with beards you got me at number 1 on the web!!!! It shows the power of Flickr and adding notes to your image!

Of course I am also a good looking guy with a beard ! ;o)

http://images.google.com/images?q=good+looking+guys+with+beards

For the record I wasn't looking for good looking guys with beards : I was looking a the photo stats features on Flickr - this shows you where people have come from to view your images and if it was via a search engine what the search words were...

WALL-E : Explore...

Wall-E : What's out there?, originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV (I actually don't remember setting this..!)

So, I will never figure it out. Flickr Explore that is..

This shot has only had a 150 views yet it made it to explore on 30 July. Why? Topical maybe.. I am please with the photo but I didn't rate it this much! I should just accept it.

Enjoy...