Bin doank: 2012

Kamis, 13 Desember 2012

Cara Membuat Sebuah Wol Baja Ringan Vortex Lukisan

Our How I Took It Contest got an impressive number of steel wool light painting tutorials. I wanted to share this one from Mike Mikkelson as it introduces two new elements that we've never had on the blog before: a super smart steel wool cage (rather than the whisker that we usually use) and the creation of a vortex. Enjoy.
I get a lot of comments on my Steel Wool Vortex image, and I have had many people ask me how I took it. Most people are surprised when I let them know that it is steel wool on the end of a cable, lit on fire, and then spun around very fast to create the sparks. Although the art of steel wool photography is not new or unique, I have constructed a re-usable rig that has helped me make some great fire wool images. This thread will explain how I created a custom cage for steel wool photography, and how I made the Fire Wool Vortex image.

Disclaimer:

Lighting things on fire can be a huge crowd-pleaser. Every year millions of Americans flock to watch fireworks on the 4th of July. Folks love to set off bottle rockets, M80's, romans candles, even sparklers in their own backyards. However, each year there are tons of people with less fingers or severe burns due to not being safe. The following is the description of how I was able to use steel wool at the end of a steel cable and create the Fire Wool image.
Replicating these steps is dangerous and can potentially cause fire, explosions, smoldering ruins, burns, itchy-festering wounds, the condition known as hot dog fingers, or death.
If you choose try this method of photography, the safety of the area is your responsibility. Just like fireworks, there is risk involved with setting steel wool on fire. It's not worth the risk of fire or the safety of others if you do not take the proper precautions. In other words, don't try this at home.

Here are some guidelines I use when setting anything on fire:

Never attempt this while operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery.
Always have a fire extinguisher with you and someone who is knowledgeable and ready to use it.
Wait until it has recently rained heavily so your area is wet

What I like to do is ask myself before performing this shot, "Is there anything nearby that could catch on fire?" When I say nearby, I mean within 150 feet. Spinning steel wool as fast as you can will shoot chunks of flaming wool in multiple directions. Unsure whether it's safe? Then don't.

Should I Light Steel Wool on Fire and Spin it Recklessly?

Empty Parking Lot with nothing around? Yes
In the Middle of the woods during dry season? Very Bad Idea
On a sandy beach with nothing around for hundreds of feet? Yes
In your house or garage? Very Bad Idea

What equipment do I need?

Camera with Manual Mode
Wear a hoodie or hat, long sleeves, and pants. Dark clothing, and possibly goggles/glasses.
Steel Wool (#0000)
Lighter or 9V Battery
Fire Extinguisher
Gloves
Flashlight
Spinning Wool Rig (Pending Better Name)
- Maybe DIY Chicken Wire Wool Cage
- Flaming Shards of Death Rig
- Loopty-Loop Wool On Fire Cable Thingie... Um, probably not.

DIY Chicken Wire Re-Usable Wool Cage

I've seen other tutorials where the user has had to tie the wool onto the end of a steel cable each time they want to attempt a shot. This didn't seem to me a very efficient method for this type of shot. I wanted to be able to reload the wool quickly after each sequence, and have something that would be easy to use. The following example is a simple method for constructing a cage to put your wool in and attaching it to the end of a steel cable, saving you time and frustration between shots.

Supplies

Roughly 4 feet of 1/16" steel cable.
Chick wire or wire mesh
1" x 4" Pipe
Dog Leash Buckle
Sleeve Stop wire crimps
Extra Wire
Wire Cutters and Needle Nose Pliers

1. Cut the wire mesh as shown below. This will be bent into the shape of a box. Cut the mesh so that the tabs on the sides are sticking out to be used to hold the structure together. This wire cage will be about 3" wide on each side, but only about 1.5" tall.

2. Bend the sides up

3. Use the protruding wire tabs to bend around the sides to hold together. The step requires a bit of patience and it can help to have your needle nose pliers to help twist the tabs around the support wire on the corners.

4. Repeat on all for corners. Hey, wire box.

5. Cut out a top piece with one row extra on one side and bend that down. This will be the lid, and the extra row bent down helps keep the lid in place when closed.

6. Use the extra wire to make a hinge by wrapping it around the opposite side from the bend, and secure the lid.

7. I created 3 hinges with the spare wire. As you can see the lid swivels up to open.

8. Take the steel cable and string through the front opening and the lid. Create a big enough loop so the you can open the lid far enough to put steel wool inside the cage.

9. Here is the wool inside the cage. I used some pliers to crimp down the cable stops.

10. As far as Steel Wool is concerned, I like to use #0000 as I think that it burns the best, but anything with a #0, #00, or #000 will also work just fine.

11. An example of the lid open to slide the wool inside in between each shot. The cable loop is just big enough to allow the lid to open a couple of inches.

12. Here is the cage while closed. If you string the cable in as shown, the cage will remain shut with the help of the bent lid row, and the cable will keep the top closed while it is spinning. The fast you spin the cage, the more pressure the cable puts into keeping it closed.

13. String the cable through the pipe, and crimp the dog leash buckle on the other end.

14. You hold the buckle in your left hand, and the pipe in your right. This allows you to change the radius of the fire wool by just letting cable in or out as you spin it. This is essential for the wool vortex. You start out with the cable all the way extended, and slowly pull the cable back as you spin it!

The best thing about this cage is that it is re-usable in a quick fashion to set up the next shot. Replacing the steel takes only a few seconds. Be aware that the wire cage can be hot, so it is a great idea to give it a few seconds, or dip it in water before reloading.

Shot Set-Up

Manual Focus Technique with Flashlight

This is where having a buddy can help, as I don't ever recommend doing this shot without a second person. Wherever you plan on standing to spin the wool, have your friend shine a flashlight on their face so you can set the focus manually. On Canon cameras, you turn on Live View and zoom in to set the focus with the help of the LCD screen. Remember, that most likely it will be dark out, so having a flashlight will help in more ways that just being able to set focus.

"Chunks of guys like you..."

You don't want the sparks to fly at the camera, or other people, so I suggest standing perpendicular to the camera when spinning the wool. Chunks of flaming steel wool will be flying out of the spinning cage. The faster you spin, the farther the flaming sparks are able to fly.

Camera Settings (Manual Mode)

To reduce the amount of noise, set the ISO to around 200
Your exposure should be set to 20 to 30 seconds. You can have wool last the entire 30 seconds if you don't spin too fast.
I've experimented with different f-stops, but get less ghosting with settings around f/9. You should experiment too!
Some cameras have long exposure noise reduction settings which can help
Lock the shutter open to minimize camera shake.
Set the camera to include a 10 second delay.
This gives you time to get in position and light the wool. It sort just looks like it's smoldering when you light steel wool. You don't get the dramatic effect until you spin it, causing oxygen to fuel the fire. Sometimes it take sa second to light the wool, so having the extra time is nice.
Instead of a lighter, you can also use a 9 volt battery to ignite the wool. Tip courtesy of the Boy Scouts!
I prefer to use a wide angle lens, but anything will work. The wider the better, as then you don't have to be as far back from the action. Fisheye lens also work great in thisscenario.

Remember Safety!

Is your fire extinguisher ready?
Did you check the area?
How about gloves? Maybe gloves would be good too.
Let's Rock!

How to get the vortex:

Wearing protective clothing is a good idea. Wearing long sleeves, pants, and a hat or hood is smart. Shoes are also a necessity. Wearing shorts and flip-flops will almost guarantee that you'll get some sparks on your tootsies and burn you.
Press the camera shutter to start the 10 second delay. You can start trying to light the wool on fire with the 9V battery or a lighter. Once the wool is lit on fire, and you start by spinning the wool in a small arc, I walk towards the camera slowly and let some cable through to lengthen the diameter of the loop. It is normal for sparks to fly out of the cage while spinning. In the picture below, I walked forward less than 10 feet. In this shot, I chose to stop between the cement pillar and the door and finalize the shot. This gives the added benefit of bouncing additional sparks, and creates a framing effect. During this sequence, I had 2 cameras going for each piece of wool lit on fire. You can see that this is the same sequence, but very different results in the final images. Please note that there might still be some wool chucks in the cage, and they will be hot. You should probably know this already, but have a safe spot to set the cage down. How about a bucket full of water???

Canon 7D: ISO: 200 f/9 Exposure: 30 seconds

Canon 5D Mark II: ISO: 200 f/5.6 Exposure: 30 seconds, Using a secondary camera, I was able to get 2 different angles of the same vortex sequence

If you stand in one place and don't move, and don't change the diameter of the loop, you'll get something like this:

Here are additional samples of the steel wool fire vortex. This one is on a pier walking directly at the camera.

This is an example in a very confined space. The walls of this building were cement, and any sparks going over the side went directly into water. You need to remember your surroundings and be safe. Don't be that guy.

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Selasa, 13 Maret 2012

usb gitar (gadgetsin.com)

Apparently you can play beautiful music with the mini guitar, but it can be used to store your favorite music and songs. If you like the kind of design, let’s go on checking the guitar USB flash drive with carrying case.

Guitar USB Flash Drive with Carrying Case

This is an interesting USB flash drive handmade by Dylan Johnson living in Denver. As we can see from the images, the handcrafted USB drive is shaped as an exquisite classical guitar, and comes with subtle details and elegant color scheme so we can see the thin strings, the mini tuning knobs, the resonating chamber and more. You even can adjust the tension via the tuning knobs. The mini guitar is handmade from pine, while the guitar strings are copper wire. Inside, there is a 8GB flash memory to store your digital contents. Apart from that, the mini guitar ships with a fancy guitar carrying case.

The handmade guitar USB flash drive with guitar carrying case is priced at $85 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Etsy for more details.

Additionally, if you need other options, you might like to check the Mini Cooper USB flash drive, Batman USB flash drive and more via “USB flash drive” tag.

Kamis, 08 Maret 2012

Totally Amazing 3.2 Million Ink Dot Art

10 POHON YANG MENAKJUBKAN

I find Julian Hight’s quote to be the most representative for this list: “Ancient trees are a living link to our past and they often provide a fragile constant in an ever-changing world. This is their story, but in equal measure it is also ours. Each tree has its own distinct shape and character which it carries through its lifetime.”

With this in mind, let’s learn more about some of the world’s most fascinating trees: not just the oldest ones, but the ones with a “distinct shape and character.” There are probably hundreds of spectacular trees, but the following ten really caught my attention:

10. Angel Oak

Located in South Carolina, on Johns Island, the 1,500 year-old Angel Oak shades with its widely spreading canopy an area of 17,200 square feet.

This magnificent tree is thought to be one of the oldest living organisms east of the Mississippi River. With a circumference of 28 feet and branches over 100 feet long, Angel Oak has survived numerous natural disasters, including earthquakes (the Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886), floods and hurricanes (Hurricane Hugo in 1989).

9. Elia Bouybon, Olive Tree of Vouves

Can you trust that the world’s oldest olive tree still produces tasty olives every year? Estimated by the scientists from the University of Crete to be between 3,500 and 4,000 years old, the Olive Tree of Vouves is 15 feet thick at the base.

The ancient olive tree is visited by approximately 20.000 people every year. It is located in the village of Ano Vouves, Crete.

8. Dragon’s Blood Tree

The rare Dragon’s Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari) is also known as the Socotra Dragon Tree in Yemen. It is arguably the most famous plant of the Yemeni island of Socotra. I wrote about this amazing place in Top 10 Unusual Landscapes. Unesco.org claims that “37% of Socotra’s 825 plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world.”

The Dragon Tree resembles an umbrella. The tree’s name originates from its tendency to ooze a red sap, or resin. The local inhabitants still use the Dragon’s blood resin as a cure-all, in cosmetic products or to paint local pottery.

7. El Árbol del Tule, Tule Tree

This massive Tule Tree is a 116 feet high Montezuma cypress tree (Taxodium mucronatum) located in Oaxaca, Mexico. Each branch could itself be an independent tree.

The trunk’s circumference measures 119 feet. It is so large that scientists originally thought that multiple trunks fused together, but DNA tests proved otherwise. The Ahuehuete Tree of Santa María del Tule “is a single genetic individual” (Dorado, O., Avila, G. et al. – The Árbol del Tule, 1996).

6. Teapot Baobab

All eight species of Adansonia are spectacular. The African Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is native to mainland Africa, but can be found also in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Six of these species are native to Madagascar – Grandidier’s Baobab (Adansonia grandidieri Baill), Madagascar Baobab (Adansonia madagascariensis Baill), Perrier’s Baobab (Adansonia perrieri Capuron), Fony Baobab (Adansonia rubrostipa Jum &H.Perrier), Suarez Baobab (Adansonia suarezensis H.Perrier), Za Baobab (Adansonia za Baill) – and one is endemic to Australia, the Australian Baobab (Adansonia gregorii F.Muell). The Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar remains one of the few places where most of these species can be observed in one place.

Interesting is how some Baobab trees take the form of bottles, even teapots. They are located in Ifaty, Madagascar. The above Teapot Baobab is 1,200 years old.

The Baobab can store more than 31,000 US gallons of water (120,000 liters) to endure the severe drought conditions.

5. The Trees from Ta Phrom

The trees growing out of the ruins of Ta Prohm, a Cambodian temple, are fascinating. There are two main species that predominate in Ta Prohm. Some specialists claim that the larger tree (see picture) is a Silk Cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra), others think that it’s a Thitpok (Tetrameles nudiflora). The smaller one seems to be a Strangler Fig tree. The giant tree roots attract thousands of visitors each year.

4. Methuselah

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) is a long-living species that occurs in a relatively narrow latitudinal range in Utah, Nevada and California. This pine grows extremely slowly and, amazingly, the needles and leaves can remain green for over 40 years (Ewers & Schmid 1981).

Methuselah is the oldest living non-clonal organism on Earth. The pine was 4,789 years old when Tom Harlan and Edmund Schulman sampled it in 1957. The 4,843 year-old tree grows in California’s White Mountains, but its exact location has been undisclosed to prevent acts of vandalism.

3. Silk Floss Tree

The beautiful Silk Floss tree (Ceiba speciosa) is one of the many members of the mallow family. Endemic to tropical and subtropical forests of South America (Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina etc.), this tree sometimes reaches more than 81 feet in height. Its trunk and branches are studded with sharp conical prickles (giant spines), which help it to conserve water for subsequent dry periods.

The beautiful red, pink or purple flowers measure four to six inches in diameter and are “followed by pear shaped capsules filled with many seeds embedded in silky white floss,” according to Floridata.com. This silk is sometimes collected and used to stuff cushions.

2. Rainbow Eucalyptus

The Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta) is a huge evergreen tree that can reach heights of 246 feet. The Rainbow Eucalyptus, also known as Mindanao Gum, has a geographic distribution that extends from the Indonesian archipelago to the Philippines. What make this tree so special are the striking stripes of yellow, green, pink, red, purple and orange on its branches and trunk. Believe it or not, these beautiful colors are an entirely natural feature. The Eucalyptus’ bark is smooth, “and as it grows, it exfoliates thin layers of spent tissue. This process occurs in irregular zones at different times. As the newly exposed bark slowly ages, it changes from bright green to a darker green, then bluish to purplish, and then pink-orange. Since this process is happening in different zones of the trunk and in different stages, simultaneously, the colors are varied and almost constantly changing. As a result, the tree will never have the same color pattern twice, making it like a work of living art,” said LariAnn Garner, a research botanist at Aroidia Research in Florida City.

1. Tree of Life

There are numerous examples of long-living clonal colonies of trees, but there’s something magnificent about a 400-year-old tree able to survive in the middle of the desert without any known source of water. The fact that it stands alone since centuries is mind-blowing. The ancient mesquite tree in Bahrain is considered a natural wonder. The Tree of Life is located about 2 km from Jebel Dukhan. To really appreciate the uniqueness of the mesquite, try to view it in Google Earth. You will see that it’s pretty far from any form of vegetation.

By Timeea Vinerean

You can see more magnificent pictures of these bizarre trees at Toptenzpictures.com.