Should I Save This For Halloween?
I had just read something online about making pictures called "Horse Maning."
You know, a horse's mane?
Online that's what they called it and I looked up the term a bit more.
It refers to the Headless Horseman and actually was a popular photo theme in the 1920s.
That was about 100 years after Washington Irving wrote the Legend of Sleepy Hollow tale.
This setup was posed at the end of our January Photo Group meeting.
I had mentioned the term earlier and received only quizzical looks in response.
The other term we bantered around was "Planking."
I don't think we got that one right, according to the official rules of how to plank.
Kevin did it properly. He had his arms pinned to his side and his entire body was stiff as a board.
I was thinking of it more as a levitation picture and my Photoshop work needs more work.
My intent was making what he was lying on disappear. Not quite.
No sense trying it again though.
Online it says that photo fad has come and gone.
(Click twice on the photo to make them appear larger.)
This shows how we arranged one body to be holding aloft the head of another person.
No one was injured in the making of this photo.
No heads were lopped off.Labels: Horse Maning, Ichabod Crane, Levitation Photography, planking
One (Semi) Giant Leap....
To travel in space is to leave Earth.
Blasting off on a Shuttle Mission would require trained Astronauts and a huge support team.
Those fellows who landed - and walked - on the moon rightfully claimed a
"giant leap for mankind."
The flag and the Lunar Rover they drove are still sitting up there on the lunar surface.
They left the keys in the ignition, I understand.
That pesky GRAVITY makes it extremely hard to jump high enough to "leave" earth.
My
photo group recently was on a downtown Photo Walk and I suggested we experiment with levitation.
Several of us would pose, crouch and count down
"3-2-1" and then jump as high as we could.
The others in the group - with cameras set at a fast shutter speed - clicked rapidly to record our momentary elevation above the ground.
It was a fun experience and created some interesting digital results.
None of us made it very far up into the sky.
On my way to dinner the other night, I saw an old picnic table next to a brick wall.
I handed my camera to a friend and showed him the area I wanted to include.
We waited until several passersby had passed by and then I stood on the bench seat of the table.
I posed as if I were airborne and he snapped the shutter.
Later, using Photoshop, I "removed" the outdoor bench and table by covering it over with a clone of the bricks.
I am keeping an eye out for something much, much higher for my next launch into space.
(Click - twice- on the photos to see more details.
Look closely at the bricks beneath me.
The next "leap" will have to be spectacular!
Labels: Levitation Photography, lunar lunancy, Lunar Rover, Moon Rover, Photoshop Elements, space walk Moon River?
Walking On Air .....
My
Photography Group did a little downtown Photo Walk Sunday.
On the way, I showed them how to
"levitate."Online, I had just checked the concept of appearing to defy gravity and it's fairly simple.
You need a good camera that can take a picture at 1/4000second.
And 1/8000second is even better.
Have the subject jump as high as he or she can. Snap the shutter.
Pass the digital camera around so everyone can see on the screen that the subject is
suspended in air.
Some appear to be much higher than others.
Age and agility counts here.
And other factors.
We gathered around 10am at the gazebo in
White Point Gardens (foot of Meeting Street) and worked our way up to the
Market area.
I keep forgetting all the quaint alleys and beautiful homes and curving streets in the Historic District.
Oh, that's right, that's why tourists come here and carriages clip-clop by.
One of the "tricks" a member shared with us was attaching his camera to his tripod. Well, duh.
He extended all three legs and set his timer to take a picture in 8 seconds.
Then he raised the tripod over his head - the camera is now about 5 feet higher than his extended arms - and he angles it about where he thinks it should be.
The shutter clicks. Bring it down, check to see if it caught the super high angle he wanted.
If not, repeat. Gotta love digital cameras.
We were nearing the market - and lunch at Tommy Condons - when somebody asked what time it was.
In this age of cell phones that also show the time, I looked at the wrist watch I still wear.
I glanced and saw there was a
sun dial in front of me.
Use it? Check my watch? Pull out my cell phone?
I knew at least two had been adjusted for the end of Daylight Saving Time.
The intended purpose of the Photo Walk was to find natural letters and numbers.
Not signs but individual images that could be combined to spell out names.
Very, very personal gifts.
I decided to try using my middle name LEE.
Almost there.
I saw some iron work letters caught by other members. It looks like I found the other
"E."
I also DID capture a
"C" and an
"H."I'm well on the way to spelling out my first name.
Either Charles or Chuck.
(Click on the photos to see much more detail.)
Look around and see if you can spot any letters or numbers in nature.
Trains you to look closely at what you see.
Nice exercise.
Thanks for walking along with us.
Labels: Daylight Saving Time, DST, LEE. sun dial, Levitation Photography, White Point Gardens
I had mentioned the term earlier and received only quizzical looks in response.
This shows how we arranged one body to be holding aloft the head of another person.
