Gigapixel Camera Rig

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Published on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 12:23

Made from Lego and controlled using Mindstorms NXT this panoramic rig can capture images at 500000x5000pixels or more (using progressive scanning).The Mindstorms controller rotates the camera on a screw-thread/turret assembly and can rotate in 0.01 Degree increments. I hacked a magnetic switch into one motor controller to isolate the camera from the power and activate the shutter and focus.

It takes about 1 image per second and rotates a small amount, the images get stitched in Photoshop for a really large panorama.

At the moment it can handle a regular Canon camera with 70-200mm lens, but I'll probably need a more robust support for heavier lenses.

Next stop is to add the Y-Tilt axis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ultra High Resolution Images

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Published on Monday, 26 December 2011 23:06

A new collection of zoomable Ultra High Resolution images

http://www.karllilje.com/photos/ultra_high_resolution/index.html

The resolution of these images is around 20,000 x 20,000 pixels and took about 30 minutes each to process. My next set will have double this resolution with greater detail.

I took these using the age-old Mobile Panoramic Head system, ie I take a photo of each small section using a handheld camera and stitch them together into one image later. Photoshop's Automatic panorama feature is a dream, it figures out everything. Before discovering this feature I used to manually align and mask every image.

The camera is set to M mode, with all Auto-adjust, auto-optimise, auto-white balance options turned off. (otherwise each image comes out a different intensity) A quick wave of the camera over the scene with the light meter active gives an idea on the settings to use.

I'm going out this week with a zoom lens so there will be even bigger images of the Western Cape. I'm especially looking forward to shooting from Table Mountain over Cape Town, and then from Lion's Head over Sea Point.

A robotic panoramic head would be amazing, so tinkering with the Lego Mindstorms, or perhaps I'll hijack one from an old telescope. My stop motion controller is made in Lego (including the camera trigger), so adding an extra axis shouldn't be too rocket sciencey.

 

Poetography

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Published on Monday, 26 December 2011 22:28
The Lech
by Jac Montagne
Her black hat pulled low to her brow,
upon her face a certain glow,
Working late into the night
and with light touch upon her skin
The Artist searched for a way in.

Did walk, this innocent specimen
of virtue, grace, and genuflection,
past The Artist's place of work and dream
she did of taking part in all that wild
and sacred art.
But soon derobed from her black clothes
and sitting still,
this harlot woman, once shy young girl,
Did feel his touch upon her skin and search
and probe for his way in.
His dark art burned her beating heart
and, feelings mixed with joy and fear,
a girl once more she did depart,
leaving The Artist in his tomb,
a paintbrush thrust from ear to ear.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I write poetry under the name Jac Montagne. Putting on the hat of another persona to write liberates me from being me. In poetry I don't want to be sincere, I want to entertain. I illustrate the poems with the people the poems are about, and this makes them personal and meaningful to at least one person. I've started designing images to fit the shape of the poetry more closely, I see the whole image with the words as a work of art, the design is not separate from the elements they contain.
 
There's now a collection of 20 different poems; I dream of turning them into a book one day.

The Paint Project

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 22:00

If throwing paint onto people seems like a fun way to spend an afternoon, let me tell you, it is! Of all the projects I've casted for this one has received the most attention. There is something about being physically and viscerally involved with paint that appeals to the inner child, perhaps. The freedom to go back to year 1 and just be messy with all those bright and wonderful colours.

The model here is Dominique, a gorgeous mother of two living in Cape Town. We interpreted the theme as a woman's inherent ability to be creative, her foetal figure lying on the wild paint is symbolic and provocative.

The image is part of a series entitled "The Creative Instinct" and explores our inherent desire to create using whatever we can.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Ethereal Light

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Published on Monday, 12 December 2011 10:30

I love tinkering with old camera parts. The effects that come out of even simple modifications can spark a lot of ideas. I re-found an old crystal lens (made of Fluorite) that was beyond repair after tumbling down the side of a mountain, so I took it apart one lazy Sunday night and started playing with the elements. I noticed a scratch on the lens and thought to try and polish it out. This was a catastrophe, which turned into a lovely surprise. The polishing attempt had left a fine grain on the lens, and I decided to take a photo with it because I'm always curious. In bright sun the diffusion was beautiful! An ethereal glow sprang from each highlight and washed through the image. It was like photographing a river of light.

This lens is now one of my favourites and I've explored this accidental style in depth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show me the money

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Published on Thursday, 01 December 2011 05:36
Hooking up the virtual currency system on www.ModelMoney.org

Creating a virtual currency for a closed community has quite some potential. There's this continual problem of models, photographers, and stylists wanting money, which is necessary of course, but for those who don't have money creating a way to build a portfolio seems beneficial.

The industry standard is to work TFCD, where the model and photographer essentially do a shoot to build their portfolios. The problem with this scenario is it tends to pair amateurs who are still learning, a great thing, but sometimes you want to work with someone more advanced to help you become more advanced. That's where ModelDollars comes in.

Another problem with TFCD is there is usually no sense of urgency or accountability. Models often struggle to get images from a TFCD shoot (the photographers usually claim paid work has priority, even though the TFCD is technically a currency )

I created the virtual currency to help people fund their portfolios. Those who subscribe to the currency can make use of it, and the more people use it the more valuable it becomes. I also decided to create a rewards system for improving portfolios, so that people are encouraged to create rich and detailed examples of their work and get Model Dollars as payment.

Other virtual currencies exists and are doing quite well, like the Talent Exchange in South Africa, which is a virtual currency for a closed community.

To have value a currency must be finite, and show proof of work. A unit of currency is simply a receipt for social contribution, so the more people contribute to ModelMoney.org the more ModelDollars they receive.

The system is currently live and in Beta, with a few successful shoots already conducted through the site. I'm planning a big rollout in 2012 so if you're dreaming of creating your dream portfolio but can't afford the talent you might just have a solution.