Stereographic Planetoids...

quick manipulation project!

if you google for tutorials on "stereographic", "planetoids", or "mini-planets" you will come across to a lot of entries, this one from pjotojojo is pretty clear and to the point

Planetoids Tutorial

I quickly went through my library and selected few panoramas that would fit the project.

Here are the results:

let's start with Bangkok at night with a red/pink twist

01planetBKK1

Moving onto Bangkok at night with a purple/blue twist

02planetBKK2

and then Bangkok at sunset with all the orange and shades...

03planetBKK3

a different subject, one of my selected entries from "water droplets" Droplets blog entry especially adapted for this "planetoids" experiment:

04planetdrops

more experimentations with 2010 Phuket Fun Fly event... humans fly by a "bug-like-planet"...

05planetfly

This next landscape was already "planetized" 2 years back when visited Hong Kong

06planetHK1

This landscape near HK airport is instead a brand new piece

07planetHK2

My home city Napoli couldn't NOT be here...

08planetNapoli

Khao Sok national park with its limestone cliffs and its manmade lake was a beautiful inspiration!

09planetkhaosok

great sunsets by the sea make AMAZING plantes, don't you agree???

10planetsunset

Similan island 8 at sunrise with all its shades of blue and red...

11planetsimilan

From my recent mini project "ball of light"  Ball of light blog entry   one of the temple shots was revisited...

12planet-temple-light

One of my favorites this time: a remaining wall of what once was a house with gate and garden has the look of a mother ship from another planet now!

13planetwall-ship

last but not least, an unfinished dock in Koh Yao Yai with some local fishermen...

14planetYaobridge

I hope you enjoyed this entry as much as I did creating it. See you next time for another project!

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5th Recipe: Bucatini AMATRICIANA

Once again BONKERS COOKING is in action! This time a popular classic Italian with SPICE: Bucatini Amatriciana... bacon, tomato, chili...

Ingredients for 2-3:

Bucatini or Spaghetti 250g
Bacon 100g
Olive Oil 10g
Whisky 1 shot glass (or a glass of white wine)
Tomato in Pulp 400g
Pecorino (goat cheese) or Parmesan 35g
Chili Powder
Salt
Pepper


BONKERS COOKING is unstoppable!

yeah!


with a:

and an:

a bit of mix and stir....

we finally got a:

AMATRICIANA!!!

yummy pixel have come!


here's the link to the video recipe on youtube:


click here for Bucatini AMATRICIANA

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BONKERS COOKING...

as many of my projects, this one started as a joke, and it STILL is btw...

anyway, I like cooking, I LOOOOOOVE pixel (eh???), yes, photo, video, digital manipulation, editing... it is a personal way to express my twisted creativity as I haven't been good enough in drawings all my life...

one lazy sunday I had a go for a video recipe (Risotto Blue Cheese & Red Cabbage), nicknamed "Pilot" episode as we were still wandering where this thing could go...
here's the link to my blog entry:

RISOTTO, click here

and to the video on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpof0_9chHQ

The idea was fun (at least to me and my partner in crime Razzi) and at the next cooking session (Fettuccine Salmon Vodka) we had another go... I specially enjoyed the VODKA FIRE show during the cooking and the ORIGINAL waka-waka song at the end of the episode while the closing titles were running...
here's the blog link

FETTUCCINE, click here

and the video on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud3LE3aPTX8

Practice makes perfect they say... and I agree! far from being perfect, the "show" was taking shape, I was getting more confident in front of the camera (so important!) and every new episode was better edited as well... 3rd Recipe was one of my all-time-favorite: PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE (Eggplant Parmesan), a truly Neapolitan one! deeply rooted in my culture, background and upbringing, it is a winner that I exported (cooked for friends and hosts) almost everywhere I've been: UK, USA, Greece, Spain, France, Denmark, Thailand, Philippines and Italy... duh!
One of the inside joke was on Dean Martin Song "That's Amore" playing in the background at some point. The pixelled DUO were both singing in their minds "that's a MORAY"...

if you've been diving in Hin Daeng & Hin Muang in the last 2 years, you'd understand... anyway,
here's the link to this blog

PARMIGIANA di MELANZANE, click here

and to the Youtube VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBZnDhUnzM


For the 4th Recipe the choice was on quick, super easy, super tasty, CHOCOLATE LOADED, Salame di Cioccolato (Chocolate Salami - you say salami, I say SALAME, you say poteto, I say potato...)
blog entry:
SALAME di CIOCCOLATO, click here

VIDEO Recipe on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waZyeHTE8Bo

I can now say that "BONKERS COOKING" is born... still underground project, still known by a super small bunch of people... yet BK is something... it has a pilot episode, 3 more recipes added, it has a NAME!!! Next step was the "theme", the teaser, the PROMO!!!
As a Tasmanian devil, my creativity went "bonkers" once again...
this is the COVER

and this is the link to the Youtube VIDEO! enjoy it!
with" LURVE", Papa & Razzi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkP1cVNWY8M

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3rd Recipe: Eggplant Parmesan!!!

once more Papa & Razzi (Mr. Wetpixel & CameraGirl) are again in the kitchen messing around and cooking something really tasty: PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE (Eggplant Parmesan)...

I can't tell you guys how much fun and how much good food I've been "forced" to eat lately...

here's the link of the video on youtube...

enjoy!

3rd Recipe VIDEO, click here!

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DROPLETS

DIY droplets photography and makeshift indoor studio

Few weeks ago, I had couple days of “home confinement” due to bad weather (living in Thailand does have some downsides…).

So I started browsing the net in search of some inspiration and came across several hints on how to set up and shoot droplets at home.

Some people have "serious" and expensive equipment ranging from cable release to multiple radio triggered speedlites, external dish lights, professional studio backgrounds... crazy $$$tuff!!!

As I had mostly none of the above mentioned gear, I nibbled info and hints from several tutorials and came up with my own EASIEST and CHEAPEST set up possible.

The Parts 

• Camera with speedlite mounted on, everything on a tripod (Canon 440D, 100mm macro lens and Nissin Di 466 speedlite)

• Clothesrail (other people used a broomstick between 2 pieces of furniture)

• Plastic bag with a pinhole at the bottom (this will make the drops happen)

• Table (the rail will be placede diagonally across the table so the center of the rail will be above the center of the glass and it wont be in camera's way

• A glass full of water in (optional) a glass bowl/container that will collect all the splashes out of the glass

• A pen, pencil, spoon to be put across and on top of the glass to check the alignment and the focus on where the drop will fall

• Clothes or cardboard as background

Set Up 

Possible Variation and Improvements


I haven't tried to use my speedlite in slave mode and away from the camera, by doing so you can have the light coming from different angles and get different results, maybe next time... ;-)

Tips

In order to get the timing right, you'll need to do several attempts. Once you get the rhythm, you'll be sanpping like crazy (and you'll end up with hundreds of stunning pictures to choose from and post edit...)

CROWN: if you want to capture a crown effect (see sample image 3) it is best to use milk, as it is denser and to make it drop on the bottom (now top) of the inverted glass.

Sample Images

here some of my picks...




water pebbles...

red cloth underneath the glass and blue cloth hanging on the chair behind...

one with bokeh effect (gold sequin in the back) and the same red cloth underneath

lastly, the crown of milk as the drop is splashing on the bottom (now top) of the glass, black background gives the "artistic" final effect...

some more...

            

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